Shloka 36

Matsya Purana — The Burning of Tripura and Rudra’s Victory

Devanagari script

तया भिन्नतनुत्राणो विभिन्नहृदयस्त्वपि विद्युन्माल्यपतद्भूमौ वज्राहत इवाचलः //

Transliteration

tayā bhinnatanutrāṇo vibhinnahṛdayastvapi vidyunmālyapatadbhūmau vajrāhata ivācalaḥ //

Translation

By that blow his armor was shattered; even his heart was rent. Vidyunmālī fell to the ground like a mountain struck by the vajra, with lightning flashing about him like a garland.

Word by Word

• tayā: by her/that (instrumental—by that blow/weapon)

• bhinna: split, shattered

• tanu-trāṇaḥ: body-protection, armor

• bhinna-tanu-trāṇaḥ: whose armor was broken

• vibhinnahṛdayaḥ: whose heart was pierced/rent

• tu api: even, indeed

• vidyun-mālya: garland of lightning, lightning-like radiance

• patat: falling

• bhūmau: on the ground

• vajra-āhataḥ: struck by a thunderbolt

• iva: like

• acalaḥ: a mountain

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) / Purāṇic narrator describing the battle scene (speaker not explicitly marked in the single verse)

Tags

• Matsya Purana battle scene
• Puranic simile
• Heroic narrative
• Dramatic fall
• Asura-vadha tone

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it uses cosmic imagery (lightning and thunderbolt) as a poetic simile to portray the sudden, overwhelming force of a battle-strike.

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

Indirectly, it reflects the Purāṇic ethic of kṣātra-dharma: in war, decisive force and steadfastness are idealized, and the verse dramatizes the consequence of being overcome in righteous combat.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is specified; the only technical element is poetic—comparing a warrior’s collapse to a thunderbolt-struck mountain, a common Purāṇic trope for immense impact.