Shloka 2

Matsya Purana — The Battle at Tripura: Shiva’s Strategy

Devanagari script

इलावृतमिति ख्यातं तद्वर्षं विस्तृतायतम् यत्र यज्ञो बलेर्वृत्तो बलिर्यत्र च संयतः //

Transliteration

ilāvṛtamiti khyātaṃ tadvarṣaṃ vistṛtāyatam yatra yajño balervṛtto baliryatra ca saṃyataḥ //

Translation

That region is renowned as Ilāvṛta; it is vast and widely extended. There the sacrifice of Bali was performed, and there too Bali was restrained (subdued and bound).

Word by Word

• इलावृतम् (ilāvṛtam): Ilāvṛta (a central varṣa/region)

• इति (iti): thus

• ख्यातम् (khyātam): famed, well-known

• तत् (tat): that

• वर्षम् (varṣam): region/varṣa

• विस्तृत-आयतम् (vistṛta-āyatam): broad and extensive

• यत्र (yatra): where

• यज्ञः (yajñaḥ): sacrifice/ritual offering

• बलेः (baleḥ): of Bali

• वृत्तः (vṛttaḥ): occurred, was carried out

• बलिः (baliḥ): Bali (the Daitya king)

• यत्र (yatra): where

• च (ca): and

• संयतः (saṃyataḥ): restrained, controlled, bound/subdued

Speaker

• Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) describing sacred geography within the Matsya Purana’s cosmography section

Entities Mentioned

• Ilāvṛta
• Bali

Tags

• Cosmography
• Sacred Geography
• Yajna
• Vaishnava Lore
• Bali

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it belongs to the cosmographic mapping of regions (varṣas) and marks Ilāvṛta as a vast central land associated with famous divine events.

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

By recalling Bali’s yajña and his restraint, the verse indirectly highlights the Purāṇic ethic that royal power and ritual merit must remain under dharma and divine order, not unchecked sovereignty.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The explicit ritual element is yajña: Ilāvṛta is presented as a sanctified landscape remembered for a major sacrifice and its consequence, reinforcing the idea that places gain tīrtha-like prestige through great rites and dharmic events.