Shloka 31

Matsya Purana — The Battle for Tripura: Portents

Devanagari script

परश्वधैस्तत्र शिलोपलैश्च त्रिशूलवज्रोत्तमकम्पनैश्च शरीरसद्मक्षपणं सुघोरं युद्धं प्रवृत्तं दृढवैरबद्धम् //

Transliteration

paraśvadhaistatra śilopalaiśca triśūlavajrottamakampanaiśca śarīrasadmakṣapaṇaṃ sughoraṃ yuddhaṃ pravṛttaṃ dṛḍhavairabaddham //

Translation

There, with battle-axes and with stones and boulders, and with tridents and thunderbolt-like weapons that shook even the finest warriors, a most dreadful battle broke out—destroying the abodes of bodies (i.e., lives)—driven on by firmly bound enmity.

Word by Word

• परश्वधैः (paraśvadhaiḥ): with battle-axes

• तत्र (tatra): there

• शिलोपलैः (śilopalaiḥ): with stones and rock-fragments/boulders

• च (ca): and

• त्रिशूल (triśūla): trident

• वज्र (vajra): thunderbolt/adamantine weapon

• उत्तम (uttama): best/excellent

• कम्पनैः (kampanaiḥ): with shakings/that cause trembling

• च (ca): and

• शरीर (śarīra): body

• सद्म (sadma): dwelling/abode

• क्षपणम् (kṣapaṇam): destruction/ruin

• सुघोरम् (sughoraṃ): exceedingly terrible

• युद्धम् (yuddham): battle/war

• प्रवृत्तम् (pravṛttam): commenced/arose

• दृढ (dṛḍha): firm

• वैर (vaira): enmity

• बद्धम् (baddham): bound/fastened (i.e., entrenched).

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the scene (third-person puranic narration; specific interlocutors not explicit in this verse)

Tags

• Battle
• Weapons
• Kshatriya Dharma
• Epic Narrative
• Violence and Consequence

FAQs

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

This verse is not about cosmic Pralaya; it depicts a human-scale “dissolution” through warfare—life (the ‘dwelling of the body’) being destroyed by violent conflict born of entrenched enmity.

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

It reflects the Kshatriya sphere where war can arise from unresolved hostility; by implication, kings are warned to restrain ‘dṛḍha-vaira’ (hardened enmity) through diplomacy and dharmic rule, since unchecked hatred culminates in mass destruction.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vastu or ritual procedure is directly taught here; the only architectural metaphor is ‘śarīra-sadma’—the body as a dwelling—used to emphasize the total ruin caused by battle.