Shloka 33

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

Devanagari script

बिभिदुः सायकैस्तीक्ष्णैः सूर्यपादा इवाम्बुदान् प्रमथा अपि सिंहाक्षाः सिंहविक्रान्तविक्रमाः खण्डशैलशिलावृक्षैर् बिभिदुर् दैत्यदानवान् //

Transliteration

bibhiduḥ sāyakaistīkṣṇaiḥ sūryapādā ivāmbudān pramathā api siṃhākṣāḥ siṃhavikrāntavikramāḥ khaṇḍaśailaśilāvṛkṣair bibhidur daityadānavān //

Translation

With sharp arrows they pierced them—like the sun’s rays cleaving the clouds. Those Pramathas too, lion-eyed and lion-striding in valor, shattered the Daityas and Dānavas with fragments of mountains, boulders, and trees.

Word by Word

• बिभिदुः (bibhiduḥ): they split/pierced

• सायकैः (sāyakaiḥ): with arrows

• तीक्ष्णैः (tīkṣṇaiḥ): sharp, keen

• सूर्यपादाः (sūryapādāḥ): sun-rays (lit. feet/strands of the sun)

• इव (iva): like

• अम्बुदान् (ambudān): clouds

• प्रमथाः (pramathāḥ): the Pramathas (Śiva’s fierce attendants)

• अपि (api): also/indeed

• सिंहाक्षाः (siṁhākṣāḥ): lion-eyed

• सिंहविक्रान्तविक्रमाः (siṁha-vikrānta-vikramāḥ): whose prowess is like a lion’s stride

• खण्डशैलशिलावृक्षैः (khaṇḍa-śaila-śilā-vṛkṣaiḥ): with broken mountain-masses, rocks, and trees

• बिभिदुः (bibhiduḥ): they smashed/pierced

• दैत्यदानवान् (daitya-dānavān): the Daityas and Dānavas (asura clans)

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the battle scene (third-person narration within the Matsya Purana)

Entities Mentioned

• Pramathas
• Daityas
• Danavas
• Surya

Tags

• Deva-Asura War
• Shaiva Ganas
• Puranic Warfare
• Mythic Battles
• Asura Clans

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it uses a cosmic simile (sun-rays splitting clouds) to intensify a battlefield description, highlighting divine-scale power rather than dissolution doctrine.

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

Indirectly, it reflects the Purāṇic ideal that adharma-driven forces (Daityas/Dānavas) are checked by disciplined, valorous protectors; for kings this echoes the kṣātra duty to restrain हिंसा used in defense of order, not for greed.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is taught here; the only material imagery is martial—mountain-fragments, stones, and trees used as weapons—serving as poetic amplification rather than architectural instruction.