Shloka 140

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

Devanagari script

मृताश्वकेशवासितं रसं प्रगृह्य पाणिना प्रियाविमुक्तजीवितं समानयासृगासवम् न पथ्यतां प्रयाति मे गतं श्मशानगोचरं नरस्य तज्जहात्यसौ प्रशस्य किंनराननम् //

Transliteration

mṛtāśvakeśavāsitaṃ rasaṃ pragṛhya pāṇinā priyāvimuktajīvitaṃ samānayāsṛgāsavam na pathyatāṃ prayāti me gataṃ śmaśānagocaraṃ narasya tajjahātyasau praśasya kiṃnarānanam //

Translation

Taking in the hand a liquid reeking of the hair of a dead horse, and bringing a ferment made of blood, (one says,) “My beloved has been deprived of life.” For me, having entered what is fit only for the cremation-ground, it is not wholesome. That praised one, Kinnara-faced, abandons that man.

Word by Word

• मृत (mṛta): dead

• अश्व (aśva): horse

• केश (keśa): hair

• वासितम् (vāsitam): perfumed/reeking, odor-tainted

• रसम् (rasam): liquid/juice/essence

• प्रगृह्य (pragṛhya): having taken/holding

• पाणिना (pāṇinā): with the hand

• प्रिया (priyā): beloved

• विमुक्त (vimukta): deprived/released from

• जीवितम् (jīvitam): life

• समानय (samānaya): bring/produce/prepare

• असृक् (asṛk): blood

• आसवम् (āsavam): fermented drink/liqueur

• न (na): not

• पथ्यताम् (pathyatām): wholesomeness/fitness as a remedy

• प्रयाति (prayāti): goes/attains

• मे (me): for me/to me

• गतम् (gatam): gone/entered

• श्मशान (śmaśāna): cremation-ground

• गोचरम् (gocaram): range/domain

• नरस्य (narasya): of a man

• तत् (tat): that

• जहाति (jahāti): abandons/gives up

• असौ (asau): that one/he

• प्रशस्य (praśasya): praised/commendable

• किंनराननम् (kiṃnarānanam): Kinnara-faced (a being with a Kinnara-like face).

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) conveying a didactic verse within the Matsya Purana’s moral-discursive flow (speaker not explicitly marked in the provided excerpt).

Entities Mentioned

• Kiṃnara (Kinnara being)

Tags

• Dharma
• Ashaucha
• Impurity
• Prohibited substances
• Smashana

FAQs

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

This verse is not about cosmic dissolution; it is a dharma-style warning emphasizing impurity and revulsion associated with death, blood, and the cremation-ground.

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

It cautions householders (and by extension rulers responsible for public order) to avoid impure, death-associated substances and practices—upholding bodily/ritual cleanliness and social-religious propriety.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it highlights śmaśāna (cremation-ground) associations as impure and “unwholesome,” reinforcing avoidance rules and purity boundaries that often govern funeral rites and post-death observances.