Shloka 19

Matsya Purana — The Strategy to Defeat Tāraka: Pārvatī’s Birth

Devanagari script

हुताशनविमुक्तो ऽपि न धूमेन विराजसे भस्मनेव प्रतिच्छन्नो दग्धदावश्चिरोषितः //

Transliteration

hutāśanavimukto 'pi na dhūmena virājase bhasmaneva praticchanno dagdhadāvaściroṣitaḥ //

Translation

Even though you have been released from the fire, you do not shine with smoke; you are as though covered with ash—like a forest conflagration that has long since burned out.

Word by Word

• hutāśana: fire (Agni)

• vimuktaḥ api: even though released/freed

• na: not

• dhūmena: with smoke

• virājase: you shine/appear radiant

• bhasmanā iva: as if with ash

• praticchannaḥ: covered/veiled

• dagdha-dāvaḥ: a burnt forest-fire/forest conflagration

• cira-uṣitaḥ: long elapsed/long since passed

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (instructing Vaivasvata Manu in a Vastuvidya-style didactic passage)

Entities Mentioned

• Agni (Hutāśana)

Tags

• Vastu Shastra
• Material Testing
• Defects
• Simile
• Ritual Fire

FAQs

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

It does not directly teach Pralaya; it uses the image of a burned-out forest fire to convey a state of exhaustion/defect—something that has lost its vital “brightness.”

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

In the Matsya Purana’s practical ethics, a king or householder should avoid flawed or “spent” resources when building public works or homes; the verse signals that what looks “finished” may still be unsuitable—like ash-covered remains after a fire.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The simile functions as a Vastu guideline: a material or element that should appear clean/bright but instead seems smoke-darkened or ash-covered is treated as inferior or defective and should be rejected for sacred or durable construction.