Shloka 60

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

Devanagari script

काचित्प्रियं परित्यज्य अशक्ता गन्तुमन्यतः पुरः प्रियस्य पञ्चत्वं गताग्निवदने क्षयम् //

Transliteration

kācitpriyaṃ parityajya aśaktā gantumanyataḥ puraḥ priyasya pañcatvaṃ gatāgnivadane kṣayam //

Translation

Some woman, having abandoned her beloved and unable to go anywhere else, comes to ruin—like a moth entering fire—when her beloved passes into the state of the five elements (death).

Word by Word

• kācit: a certain (woman)

• priyam: beloved (dear one)

• parityajya: having abandoned/left behind

• aśaktā: unable, powerless

• gantum: to go

• anyataḥ: elsewhere

• puraḥ: before, in front (thereupon/then)

• priyasya: of the beloved

• pañcatvam: the condition of becoming the five (elements), death

• gatā: having gone/attained

• agni: fire

• vadane: into the mouth/face (i.e., into fire)

• kṣayam: destruction, ruin

Speaker

• Sūta (narratorial voice) conveying a general dharmic observation within the Matsya Purana’s discourse

Entities Mentioned

• Pañca-mahābhūtas (five elements)

Tags

• Vairagya
• Grief
• Impermanence
• Death
• Dharma

FAQs

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

It does not describe cosmic Pralaya directly; it uses the idea of “pañcatva” (return into the five elements) as an individual dissolution at death, emphasizing impermanence.

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

It warns against crippling attachment: a householder should practice steadiness and dharma even amid loss, and a king should govern with detachment, not being undone by personal grief.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-rule detail appears here; the only technical term is “pañcatva,” often invoked in funeral/antyeṣṭi contexts to indicate the body’s return to the elements.