Shloka 56

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

Devanagari script

स वज्रनिहतो दैत्यो वज्रसंहननोपमः पपात वज्राभिहतः शक्रेणाद्रिरिवाहतः //

Transliteration

sa vajranihato daityo vajrasaṃhananopamaḥ papāta vajrābhihataḥ śakreṇādririvāhataḥ //

Translation

Struck down by the thunderbolt, that Daitya—whose frame was as hard as the thunderbolt itself—fell, smitten by Śakra’s vajra, like a mountain shattered by a blow.

Word by Word

• स (sa): that

• वज्रनिहतः (vajra-nihataḥ): struck down by the thunderbolt

• दैत्यः (daityaḥ): the Daitya (demon of the Diti line)

• वज्रसंहननोपमः (vajra-saṃhanana-upamaḥ): having a build comparable to the thunderbolt, adamantine-bodied

• पपात (papāta): fell

• वज्राभिहतः (vajrābhihataḥ): smitten/struck by the vajra

• शक्रेण (śakreṇa): by Śakra (Indra)

• अद्रिः (adriḥ): a mountain

• इव (iva): like

• आहतः (āhataḥ): struck, smitten

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the battle scene (third-person narration within the Purana’s discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Daitya
• Śakra (Indra)
• Vajra

Tags

• Devasura war
• Indra
• Vajra
• Puranic battle imagery
• Daityas

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it uses epic imagery (a mountain struck) to emphasize the sudden, decisive destruction of a Daitya by Indra’s vajra in a Deva–Daitya conflict.

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

Indirectly, it reinforces the Puranic ethic that protective power (kṣatra/royal force) must decisively remove violent threats to order—symbolized here by Indra’s vajra—so that dharma and social stability can endure.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vastu or ritual procedure is taught here; the only “technical” element is the vajra as a mythic weapon and the simile of a mountain (adri) struck, used for poetic force rather than architectural instruction.