Shloka 33
Matsya Purana — Vishnu’s Battle with Mathana
जम्भो वचो विष्णुमुखान्निशम्य निमिश्च निष्पेष्टुमियेष विष्णुम् गदामथोद्यम्य निमिः प्रचण्डां जघान गाढां गरुडं शिरस्तः //
jambho vaco viṣṇumukhānniśamya nimiśca niṣpeṣṭumiyeṣa viṣṇum gadāmathodyamya nimiḥ pracaṇḍāṃ jaghāna gāḍhāṃ garuḍaṃ śirastaḥ //
Hearing the words that came from Viṣṇu’s mouth, Nimi sought to crush Viṣṇu. Then Nimi, raising his exceedingly fierce mace, struck Garuḍa hard upon the head.
FAQs
This verse does not discuss pralaya or cosmology; it portrays a martial episode where Nimi reacts to Viṣṇu’s words and violently strikes Garuḍa, emphasizing conflict rather than creation/dissolution themes.
Indirectly, it functions as a cautionary narrative: acting from aggression and attempting to harm the divine (or the righteous) leads to adharma. In Purāṇic ethics, restraint, right counsel, and reverence toward dharma are implied virtues by contrast.
No explicit Vāstu, temple-building, iconography, or ritual procedure is mentioned; the technical focus is on combat imagery (gadā) and the mythic figure of Garuḍa.