Shloka 139

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

Devanagari script

चकार यक्षकामिनी तरुं कुठारपाटितं गजस्य दन्तमात्मजं प्रगृह्य कुम्भसंपुटम् विपाट्य मौक्तिकं परं प्रियप्रसादमिच्छते समांसशोणितासवं पपुश्च यक्षराक्षसाः //

Transliteration

cakāra yakṣakāminī taruṃ kuṭhārapāṭitaṃ gajasya dantamātmajaṃ pragṛhya kumbhasaṃpuṭam vipāṭya mauktikaṃ paraṃ priyaprasādamicchate samāṃsaśoṇitāsavaṃ papuśca yakṣarākṣasāḥ //

Translation

The Yakṣa-woman fashioned (something) from a tree split by an axe; and, taking an elephant’s tusk as though it were her own child, she broke open the pot-like casket and drew out a supreme pearl, seeking the beloved’s favor. And the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas drank a liquor of blood mixed with flesh.

Word by Word

• चकार: made, fashioned

• यक्षकामिनी: Yakṣa-woman, a woman of the Yakṣas

• तरुम्: a tree

• कुठारपाटितम्: split/cleft by an axe

• गजस्य: of an elephant

• दन्तम्: tusk

• आत्मजम्: (as) her own child/offspring

• प्रगृह्य: having seized/taken

• कुम्भसंपुटम्: a pot-like container/casket (lit. ‘kumbha-casket’)

• विपाट्य: having split open/broken

• मौक्तिकम्: pearl

• परम्: supreme, excellent

• प्रियप्रसादम्: the favor/grace of the beloved

• इच्छते: desires, seeks

• समांसशोणितासवम्: liquor (āsava) with flesh (māṃsa) and blood (śoṇita)

• पपुः: drank

• च: and

• यक्षराक्षसाः: Yakṣas and Rākṣasas.

Speaker

• Narrator (Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta reporting the episode within Matsya Purāṇa’s continuous discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Yaksha
• Rakshasa
• Yaksha-woman

Tags

• Yaksha-Rakshasa
• Puranic narrative
• Pearl symbolism
• Violent imagery
• Mythic episode

FAQs

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

This verse is not about cosmic Pralaya; it belongs to a mythic episode describing Yakṣa–Rākṣasa behavior and does not present flood/creation doctrine directly.

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

Indirectly, it functions as a cautionary contrast: the grotesque consumption of blood-and-flesh liquor and the pursuit of favor through violent/unnatural acts highlights adharma—what a king and householder should restrain and punish or avoid.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or temple-ritual rule is taught; the only material motif is the ‘kumbha’ (pot/casket) being broken to obtain a pearl, which can be read symbolically but is not a Vāstu prescription.