Shloka 38

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

Devanagari script

दितिजस्य शरीरमवाप्य गतं शतधा मतिभेदमिवाल्पमनाः आसारधूलिध्वस्ताङ्गा द्वारस्थाः स्मः कदर्थिनः लब्धप्रवेशाः कृच्छ्रेण वयं तस्यामरद्विषः //

Transliteration

ditijasya śarīramavāpya gataṃ śatadhā matibhedamivālpamanāḥ āsāradhūlidhvastāṅgā dvārasthāḥ smaḥ kadarthinaḥ labdhapraveśāḥ kṛcchreṇa vayaṃ tasyāmaradviṣaḥ //

Translation

Having entered the body of that Daitya, we were shattered into a hundred parts—as if a feeble mind were split by conflicting notions. Our limbs were battered by rain and dust; we stood at the doorway, humiliated. We—haters of the gods—won entry only with great difficulty.

Word by Word

• ditijasya: of the Daitya/son of Diti

• śarīram: body

• avāpya: having obtained/entered

• gatam: gone/come to a state

• śatadhā: into a hundred (pieces/ways)

• mati-bhedam: division of thought, mental conflict

• iva: as if

• alpa-manāḥ: weak-minded, small-souled

• āsāra: rain-shower

• dhūli: dust

• dhvasta-aṅgāḥ: with limbs battered/defiled

• dvāra-sthāḥ: standing at the door/threshold

• smaḥ: we were

• kadarthinaḥ: insulted, humiliated, ill-treated

• labdha-praveśāḥ: having gained entry/admission

• kṛcchreṇa: with difficulty

• vayam: we

• tasya: of him/that one

• amara-dviṣaḥ: haters of the immortals (gods).

Speaker

• Daitya/Asura group (first-person plural report; exact named speaker unclear in isolated verse)

Entities Mentioned

• Daitya (Ditija)
• Amaras (Devas)

Tags

• Daitya
• Deva–Asura
• Humiliation
• Possession/Entry
• Conflict

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe Pralaya; it is a narrative of Daityas reporting distress and fragmentation after entering a Daitya’s body, using “mental division” as a simile rather than cosmological dissolution.

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

Indirectly, it cautions against alpa-manāḥ—weak, divided resolve. In dharma literature, inner discord (mati-bheda) leads to failure and humiliation; steadiness of mind is implied as a virtue for rulers and householders.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated explicitly; “standing at the doorway” (dvārasthāḥ) is narrative imagery of exclusion and disgrace, not a prescriptive architectural rule.