Shloka 119

Matsya Purana — The Slaying of Jambha and the Rise of Tāraka: Divine Battle Formations

Devanagari script

प्रनष्टायां तु मायायां ततो जम्भो महासुरः चकार रूपमतुलं चन्द्रादित्यपथानुगम् विवृत्तवदनो ग्रस्तुम् इयेष सुरपुंगवान् //

Transliteration

pranaṣṭāyāṃ tu māyāyāṃ tato jambho mahāsuraḥ cakāra rūpamatulaṃ candrādityapathānugam vivṛttavadano grastum iyeṣa surapuṃgavān //

Translation

But when the māyā was destroyed, Jambha, the great Asura, assumed a matchless form that moved along the path of the Moon and the Sun; with his mouth gaping wide, he sought to swallow the foremost of the gods.

Word by Word

• प्रनष्टायाम् (pranaṣṭāyām): when destroyed/vanished

• तु (tu): then/indeed

• मायायाम् (māyāyām): the illusion, magical delusion

• ततः (tataḥ): thereafter

• जम्भः (jambhaḥ): Jambha (a demon/asura)

• महासुरः (mahāsuraḥ): great Asura

• चकार (cakāra): made/assumed

• रूपम् (rūpam): form

• अतुलम् (atulam): incomparable, matchless

• चन्द्रादित्य-पथ-अनुगम् (candrāditya-patha-anugam): following the course/track of the Moon and Sun (i.e., ranging across the sky/heavens)

• विवृत्त-वदनः (vivṛtta-vadanaḥ): with mouth opened wide, gaping-mouthed

• ग्रस्तुम् (grastum): to swallow, devour

• इयेष (iyeṣa): desired, intended

• सुर-पुंगवान् (sura-puṃgavān): the best/bull among the gods (a foremost deity).

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) relating the episode within the Matsya Purana’s dialogue frame (commonly framed as Matsya’s teaching to Manu overall)

Entities Mentioned

• Jambha
• Asura
• Sura-puṃgava (foremost god)

Tags

• Daitya-Deva battle
• Māyā (illusion)
• Cosmic scale form
• Puranic warfare
• Solar-lunar path

FAQs

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

It does not describe Pralaya directly; it uses the motif of māyā being destroyed—signaling the collapse of deceptive power—after which the Asura manifests a vast, cosmic-scale form.

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

Indirectly, it underscores a key Purāṇic ethic: when deception is removed, raw force and ambition may surface; kings and householders are advised to cultivate discernment (viveka) and protection of dharma against both fraud (māyā) and violence.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is taught in this verse; its significance is primarily mythic-cosmological imagery (the Sun–Moon path) used to convey the enormity of the Asura’s manifested form.