Shloka 126

Matsya Purana — War of Devas and Dānavas: Yama and Kubera Defeated; Kālanemi’s Māyā and the A...

Devanagari script

रथमारुह्य जग्राह रक्षो वामकरेण तु केशेषु निरृतिं दैत्यो जानुनाक्रम्य धिष्ठितम् //

Transliteration

rathamāruhya jagrāha rakṣo vāmakareṇa tu keśeṣu nirṛtiṃ daityo jānunākramya dhiṣṭhitam //

Translation

Mounting his chariot, the rākṣasa seized Nirṛti by the hair with his left hand; the daitya pressed her down with his knee and stood over her in dominance.

Word by Word

• ratha-māruhya: having mounted the chariot

• jagrāha: seized, grasped

• rakṣaḥ: the rākṣasa (demon)

• vāma-kareṇa: with the left hand

• tu: indeed/and

• keśeṣu: by the hair (in the locks)

• nirṛtim: Nirṛti (personified ruin/destruction, a goddess-like figure)

• daityaḥ: the daitya (demon)

• jānunā: with the knee

• ākramya: having trodden/pressed down

• dhiṣṭhitam: stood over, dominated, held down

Speaker

• Sūta / Purāṇic narrator (third-person narration within the Matsya Purana’s ongoing discourse)

Entities Mentioned

• Nirṛti
• Daitya
• Rākṣasa
• Ratha (chariot)

Tags

• Puranic battle
• Nirṛti
• Daitya-Rākṣasa
• Personification
• Adhyaya 150

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe cosmic pralaya directly; it uses the figure of Nirṛti (ruin/destruction) in a battle-like scene, suggesting the personification of destructive forces that can overwhelm or be subdued within the cosmic-moral order.

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

Indirectly, it frames ‘nirṛti’ (ruin, disorder) as something that must be restrained; in dharma literature this aligns with the king’s duty to suppress forces of chaos and protect social order, and with the householder’s duty to avoid actions that invite decline and misfortune.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or ritual procedure appears in this verse; its value is primarily narrative and symbolic—Nirṛti is also a directional/inauspicious concept in ritual thought, but here she is presented as a combatant figure rather than a Vāstu rule.