Shloka 5

Matsya Purana — Narasimha’s Victory over Hiraṇyakaśipu and the Catalogue of Apocalyptic Omens

Devanagari script

शैलसंवर्ष्मणस् तस्य शरीरे शरवृष्टिभिः अवध्यस्य मृगेन्द्रस्य न व्यथां चक्रुराहवे //

Transliteration

śailasaṃvarṣmaṇas tasya śarīre śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ avadhyasya mṛgendrasya na vyathāṃ cakrurāhave //

Translation

In battle, showers of arrows caused no pain to that lion-king—invulnerable—whose body was as hard as a mountain.

Word by Word

• śaila: mountain

• saṃvarṣmaṇaḥ: having a hardened/compact body (mountain-like frame)

• tasya: of him

• śarīre: in/on the body

• śara-vṛṣṭibhiḥ: by rains/showers of arrows

• avadhyasya: of the unkillable/invulnerable one

• mṛgendrasya: of the lord of beasts (lion-king)

• na: not

• vyathām: pain/distress

• cakruḥ: they caused/made

• āhave: in battle

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) describing the battle episode (as transmitted in Purāṇic narration)

Entities Mentioned

• Mṛgendra (lion-king)

Tags

• Battle
• Invulnerability
• Heroic Narrative
• Rajadharma
• Puranic Warfare

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it focuses on battlefield description, emphasizing an enemy’s invulnerability and the futility of ordinary weapons.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

Indirectly, it reflects Rajadharma through the realism of conflict: a ruler’s duty includes discerning effective strategy and recognizing when conventional force (like volleys of arrows) is insufficient against an invulnerable foe.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated; the imagery is metaphorical—'mountain-like body'—used to convey hardness and invulnerability rather than architectural instruction.