Shloka 13

Matsya Purana — The Array of the Gods: Description of the Vaiṣṇava Host and the Lokapālas

Devanagari script

कालपाशान्समाविध्यन् हयैः शशिकरोपमैः वाय्वीरितैर् जलाकारैः कुर्वंल्लीलाः सहस्रशः //

Transliteration

kālapāśānsamāvidhyan hayaiḥ śaśikaropamaiḥ vāyvīritair jalākāraiḥ kurvaṃllīlāḥ sahasraśaḥ //

Translation

He hurled the nooses of Time, and with horses gleaming like moonbeams—water-formed shapes driven onward by the wind—he performed thousands of feats as if in play.

Word by Word

• kāla: Time (death/time-principle)

• pāśān: nooses, bonds

• samāvidhyan: striking/launching/hurling repeatedly

• hayaiḥ: with horses

• śaśikara-upamaiḥ: comparable to moonlight/moonbeams

• vāyu-īritaiḥ: impelled/driven by wind

• jala-ākāraiḥ: having the form of water, water-like forms

• kurvan: doing, performing

• līlāḥ: sportive acts, divine play, feats

• sahasraśaḥ: by the thousand, innumerably

Speaker

• Suta (narratorial voice describing the action within the Matsya Purana’s mythic account)

Entities Mentioned

• Kāla (Time as a binding force)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Kāla
• Divine Play (Līlā)
• Mythic Battle Imagery
• Cosmic Forces

FAQs

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

It uses pralaya-coded imagery—“kāla-pāśa” (Time’s noose) and wind-driven water-forms—to portray the cosmos as bound and propelled by Time and elemental forces, even while the divine agent acts with effortless mastery (līlā).

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

Indirectly, it frames Time as an unavoidable bond; the ethical takeaway consistent with the Matsya Purana is disciplined action without arrogance—power should be exercised as duty under Dharma, remembering that Kāla ultimately restrains all beings.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated; the verse is primarily mythic-poetic. Its usable ritual/interpretive hint is symbolic: wind (vāyu) and water (jala) as controlled forces, a theme later echoed in purification and consecration contexts rather than concrete temple-measure rules here.