Shloka 70

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

Devanagari script

श्रुत्वा च सिंहनादं च सुराणामतिकोपनः जम्भो जज्वाल कोपेन पीताज्य इव पावकः //

Transliteration

śrutvā ca siṃhanādaṃ ca surāṇāmatikopanaḥ jambho jajvāla kopena pītājya iva pāvakaḥ //

Translation

Hearing the lion-like battle-roar of the gods, Jambha—fierce with excessive anger—blazed up with fury, like fire fed with clarified butter.

Word by Word

• श्रुत्वा (śrutvā): having heard

• च (ca): and

• सिंहनादम् (siṃhanādam): lion-roar, thunderous roar

• च (ca): and

• सुराणाम् (surāṇām): of the gods

• अतिकोपनः (atikopanaḥ): exceedingly wrathful, prone to great anger

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

• जज्वाल (jajvāla): blazed, flared up

• कोपेन (kopena): with anger, by rage

• पीताज्यः (pītājyaḥ): having drunk/imbibed ghee, ghee-fed

• इव (iva): like

• पावकः (pāvakaḥ): fire

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the battle episode (contextual narrator voice within the Purana)

Entities Mentioned

• Jambha
• Suras (Devas)

Tags

• Deva-Asura War
• Daityas
• Battle Narrative
• Puranic Simile
• Wrath

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya or cosmology; it is a battlefield description highlighting how a daitya (Jambha) reacts with blazing rage to the gods’ thunderous roar.

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

Indirectly, it serves as an ethical contrast: uncontrolled anger is depicted as consuming and inflaming like ghee-fed fire—an implicit warning valued in Purana ethics for rulers and householders to master krodha (wrath).

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vastu or ritual procedure is taught here; the only technical image is a poetic simile—fire intensified by ghee—used to convey the force of anger in a war narrative.