Shloka 29

Matsya Purana — The Battle for Tripura: Portents

Devanagari script

रक्तानि चाशेषवनैर्युतानि साशोकखण्डानि सकोकिलानि गृहाणि हे नाथ पितः सुतेति भ्रातेति कान्तेति प्रियेति चापि उत्पाट्यमानेषु गृहेषु नार्यस् त्व् अनार्यशब्दान्विविधान्प्रचक्रुः //

Transliteration

raktāni cāśeṣavanairyutāni sāśokakhaṇḍāni sakokilāni gṛhāṇi he nātha pitaḥ suteti bhrāteti kānteti priyeti cāpi utpāṭyamāneṣu gṛheṣu nāryas tv anāryaśabdānvividhānpracakruḥ //

Translation

Houses—red-stained, hemmed in by forests on every side, with groves of aśoka and the calls of cuckoos—were being torn up; and the women raised many uncouth cries: “O lord! O father! O son! O brother! O beloved! O dear one!”

Word by Word

• रक्तानि: blood-red / stained red

• च: and

• अशेष-वनैः: with forests on every side / with all forests

• युतानि: joined, surrounded

• स-अशोक-खण्डानि: with aśoka-groves/stands

• स-कोकिलानि: with cuckoos (their calls)

• गृहाणि: houses, homes

• हे नाथ: O lord

• पितः: O father

• सुत-इति: ‘O son!’

• भ्राते-इति: ‘O brother!’

• कान्ते-इति: ‘O beloved!’

• प्रिये-इति: ‘O dear!’

• च अपि: and also

• उत्पाट्यमानेषु: while being uprooted/torn away

• गृहेषु: in/among the houses

• नार्यः: women

• तु: indeed

• अनार्य-शब्दान्: uncivil/inarticulate cries

• विविधान्: various, many kinds

• प्रचक्रुः: uttered, raised, set forth.

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the scene of calamity within the Pralaya/utpāta narrative

Entities Mentioned

• aśoka (tree/grove)
• kokila (cuckoo)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Utpata (omens)
• Lamentation
• Calamity
• Social order breakdown

FAQs

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

It depicts dissolution as a lived catastrophe: homes are physically uprooted, nature imagery turns ominous (red-stained surroundings), and social order frays as people cry out in panic and grief.

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

By showing homes being destroyed and families calling for protection, it implicitly highlights the householder’s duty to safeguard dependents and the king’s duty to provide refuge and stability when calamities and omens strike.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Architecturally, the focus is on the vulnerability of gṛhas (houses) being “uprooted,” underscoring why later Matsya Purana Vastu Shastra guidance stresses stable site-selection and construction; ritually, the verse functions as an utpāta-style warning rather than a procedure.