Matsya Purana — The Devasura War: Tumult, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

भग्नदन्ता भिन्नकुम्भाश् छिन्नदीर्घमहाकराः गजाः शलनिभाः पेतुर् धरण्यां रुधिरस्रवाः //

Transliteration

bhagnadantā bhinnakumbhāś chinnadīrghamahākarāḥ gajāḥ śalanibhāḥ petur dharaṇyāṃ rudhirasravāḥ //

Translation

The elephants—with broken tusks, shattered temples, and their long mighty trunks severed—fell upon the earth like felled śāla trees, streaming with blood.

Word by Word

• bhagna-dantāḥ: with broken tusks

• bhinna-kumbhāḥ: with split temples/forehead-bosses (kumbha = elephant’s temporal region)

• chinna: cut off/severed

• dīrgha: long

• mahā-karāḥ: having great trunks (kara = trunk/hand)

• gajāḥ: elephants

• śāla-nibhāḥ: resembling śāla trees

• petuḥ: fell down

• dharaṇyām: on the earth/ground

• rudhira-sravāḥ: bleeding, streaming blood

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) describing the battlefield scene (third-person narration)

Entities Mentioned

• Gaja (war elephants)
• Śāla tree

Tags

• Battle
• Royal chronicle
• War elephants
• Itihasa-style narration
• Matsya Purana episode

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe Pralaya; it is a vivid battlefield image, emphasizing destruction in war rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

Indirectly, it reflects the grave cost of warfare that a king must weigh when pursuing rājadharma—victory and protection of the realm are portrayed alongside the severe suffering inflicted in battle.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is taught here; the key technical imagery is martial—war elephants (gaja) and the simile of śāla trees felled to the ground.