Shloka 136

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

Devanagari script

विकृष्टपीवरान्त्रकाः प्रयान्ति जम्बुकाः क्वचित् क्वचित्स्थितो ऽतिभीषणः श्वचञ्चुचर्वितो बकः मृतस्य मांसमाहरञ्छ्वजातयश्च संस्थिताः क्वचिद्वृको गजासृजं पपौ निलीयतान्त्रतः //

Transliteration

vikṛṣṭapīvarāntrakāḥ prayānti jambukāḥ kvacit kvacitsthito 'tibhīṣaṇaḥ śvacañcucarvito bakaḥ mṛtasya māṃsamāharañchvajātayaśca saṃsthitāḥ kvacidvṛko gajāsṛjaṃ papau nilīyatāntrataḥ //

Translation

In some places jackals wander about, dragging thick entrails. Elsewhere, a terrifying crane stands—its beak chewed and mangled by dogs—while dog-packs gather, hauling away the flesh of the dead. In another place a wolf drinks the blood of an elephant and then slips away, hiding among the intestines.

Word by Word

• विकृष्ट (vikṛṣṭa): dragged, pulled out

• पीवर (pīvara): thick, fleshy

• आन्त्रकाः (āntrakāḥ): intestines, entrails

• प्रयान्ति (prayānti): go about, roam

• जम्बुकाः (jambukāḥ): jackals

• क्वचित् (kvacit): somewhere, in some place

• स्थितः (sthitaḥ): standing, stationed

• अतिभीषणः (atibhīṣaṇaḥ): exceedingly dreadful

• श्व (śva): dog

• चञ्चु (cañcu): beak

• चर्वितः (carvitaḥ): chewed, gnawed

• बकः (bakaḥ): crane

• मृतस्य (mṛtasya): of the dead

• मांसम् (māṃsam): flesh

• आहरन् (āharan): carrying off, bringing away

• श्वजातयः (śva-jātayaḥ): dog-kind, dog packs

• च (ca): and

• संस्थिताः (saṃsthitāḥ): gathered, positioned

• वृकः (vṛkaḥ): wolf

• गजासृजम् (gaja-āsṛjam): elephant-blood (blood from an elephant)

• पपौ (papau): drank

• निलीयत (nilīyata): hid, slipped away

• आन्त्रतः (āntrataḥ): among/within the entrails, in the mass of intestines

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu) addressing Vaivasvata Manu (likely narrative frame)

Entities Mentioned

• Jackals (jambuka)
• Dogs (śva)
• Crane (baka)
• Wolf (vṛka)
• Elephant (gaja)

Tags

• Pralaya
• KaliYuga
• Famine
• Desolation
• Portents

FAQs

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

It depicts a world in breakdown—death, fear, and scavengers dominating the landscape—an ominous, pralaya-like desolation used to signal societal and ecological collapse.

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

By showing the horrors of lawlessness and famine, it implicitly stresses the king’s duty to protect life, maintain order, and prevent conditions where the dead lie uncremated and society falls to predation.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vastu or temple-rule is stated directly; the ritual implication is the breakdown of funerary rites (proper cremation and protection of the dead), which is portrayed as a key marker of adharma and civilizational decline.