Shloka 94

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

Devanagari script

आविवेश मुखे रात्रिः सुचिरस्फुटसंगमा जन्मदाया जगन्मातुः क्रमेण जठरान्तरे //

Transliteration

āviveśa mukhe rātriḥ sucirasphuṭasaṃgamā janmadāyā jaganmātuḥ krameṇa jaṭharāntare //

Translation

Then Night entered her mouth—after a long and manifest union—and, in due order, the giver of birth, the World-Mother, drew it into the inner chamber of her womb.

Word by Word

• आविवेश (āviveśa): entered

• मुखे (mukhe): into the mouth

• रात्रिः (rātriḥ): Night (personified)

• सुचिर (sucira): for a long time

• स्फुट (sphuṭa): clear, manifest

• संगमा (saṃgamā): union, conjunction

• जन्मदाया (janmadāyā): bestower/giver of birth

• जगन्मातुः (jaganmātuḥ): of the Mother of the world

• क्रमेण (krameṇa): gradually, in due sequence

• जठरान्तरे (jaṭharāntare): within the belly, in the interior of the womb.

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the Matsya–Manu Pralaya account in Purāṇic style)

Entities Mentioned

• Rātri (Night, personified)
• Jaganmātā (World-Mother / cosmic womb principle)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Cosmic Night
• Dissolution
• Mythic Cosmology
• Matsya Purana Narrative

FAQs

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

It depicts dissolution imagery: “Night” (a cosmic darkness) is re-absorbed, entering the “mouth” and then the “womb” of the World-Mother—suggesting the ordered withdrawal of manifested reality into a primordial matrix.

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

Indirectly, it frames worldly order as cyclical and perishable; in the Matsya Purana’s ethical arc, such pralaya-awareness supports dharma—urging kings and householders to govern and live with restraint, preparedness, and detachment from impermanent power and possessions.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or temple-rule instruction appears; the significance is symbolic-cosmological, often used ritually to contemplate re-absorption (laya) and the return of forms into the cosmic womb during night/dissolution meditations.