Matsya Purana — The Strategy to Defeat Tāraka: Pārvatī’s Birth
श्रुत्वैतत्संभ्रमाविष्टो ध्वस्तधैर्यो महाबलः नारदं प्रत्युवाचाथ साश्रुकण्ठो महागिरिः //
śrutvaitatsaṃbhramāviṣṭo dhvastadhairyo mahābalaḥ nāradaṃ pratyuvācātha sāśrukaṇṭho mahāgiriḥ //
Hearing this, the mighty Mahāgiri was seized by agitation; his composure shattered, his throat choked with tears—he then replied to Nārada.
This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it signals a dramatic narrative turn—Mahāgiri’s shock suggests that what Nārada has said concerns a grave cosmic or moral matter, but the dissolution theme is not explicit here.
Indirectly, it models a dharmic moment of accountability: even the “mighty” can be shaken when confronted with truth or warning. In Purāṇic ethics, such emotional upheaval often precedes counsel on right conduct (dharma) and corrective action.
No vastu-śāstra, temple-building rule, or ritual procedure is stated in this verse; it functions as a narrative connector introducing Mahāgiri’s response to Nārada.