Shloka 6

Matsya Purana — The Tale of Brahmadatta: Past-life Memory

Devanagari script

अधर्म एष इति वः पिता तान् अभ्यवारयत् वृद्धं पितरमुत्सृज्य दरिद्रं वनवासिनः //

Transliteration

adharma eṣa iti vaḥ pitā tān abhyavārayat vṛddhaṃ pitaramutsṛjya daridraṃ vanavāsinaḥ //

Translation

Saying, “This is unrighteous (adharma),” your father restrained them—for they had abandoned their aged father, leaving him poor and dwelling in the forest.

Word by Word

• अधर्मः: unrighteousness, adharma

• एषः: this

• इति: thus, saying

• वः: your

• पिता: father

• तान्: them

• अभ्यवारयत्: restrained, forbade, held back

• वृद्धम्: aged, old

• पितरम्: father (accusative)

• उत्सृज्य: abandoning, casting off

• दरिद्रम्: poor, destitute

• वनवासिनः: living in the forest, forest-dweller

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in discourse to Vaivasvata Manu, narrating an ethical episode)

Entities Mentioned

• father (pitā)
• aged father (vṛddha pitṛ)

Tags

• Dharma
• Pitru-seva
• Family ethics
• Adharma
• Householder duties

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it teaches dharma by condemning the adharma of abandoning an aged parent, emphasizing social and familial order rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

It frames pitṛ-sevā (service to one’s parents) as a core duty: a householder must maintain and protect aged parents, and a king upholds such dharma by restraining and correcting wrongdoing in society.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-ritual rule is stated here; the verse’s significance is ethical—identifying abandonment of parents as adharma, a key principle that underlies ritual purity and righteous living in the Purāṇic worldview.