HomeMatsya PuranaAdh. 142Shloka 59

Shloka 59

Matsya Purana — Measures of Time: Caturyuga Computation

जायन्ते च तदा शूरा आयुष्मन्तो महाबलाः न्यस्तदण्डा महायोगा यज्वानो ब्रह्मवादिनः //

jāyante ca tadā śūrā āyuṣmanto mahābalāḥ nyastadaṇḍā mahāyogā yajvāno brahmavādinaḥ //

And then are born heroic men—long-lived and exceedingly strong—who have laid aside violence, are great practitioners of yoga, devoted sacrificers, and proclaimers of Brahman, the Vedic truth.

jāyanteare born
jāyante:
caand
ca:
tadāthen/at that time
tadā:
śūrāḥheroes/valiant men
śūrāḥ:
āyuṣmantaḥlong-lived/blessed with vitality
āyuṣmantaḥ:
mahābalāḥvery strong
mahābalāḥ:
nyasta-daṇḍāḥthose who have set down the rod (renounced punishment/violence)
nyasta-daṇḍāḥ:
mahā-yogāḥgreat yogins/advanced practitioners of yoga
mahā-yogāḥ:
yajvānaḥsacrificers/performers of Vedic rites
yajvānaḥ:
brahma-vādinaḥspeakers of Brahman, expounders of the Veda
brahma-vādinaḥ:
Likely Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) describing the characteristics of an age within the Matsya Purana’s discourse on dharma and societal conditions
BrahmanYogaYajña (Vedic sacrifice)
Yuga-DharmaAhimsaYogaYajnaVedic-Teaching

FAQs

This verse does not describe Pralaya directly; it describes the moral-spiritual quality of people born in a righteous phase of time—marked by strength joined with non-violence, yoga, and Vedic truth.

It presents an ideal social outcome of dharma: rulers and householders should cultivate restraint (nyasta-daṇḍa as non-cruelty), support yajña and Vedic learning, and encourage yogic discipline—creating a society where power is aligned with righteousness.

The explicit ritual element is yajña (Vedic sacrifice): the verse praises a culture of properly performed rites and Vedic proclamation; it does not state Vāstu or temple-building rules in this line.