Shloka 188

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

Devanagari script

जघ्ने मुहूर्तमात्रेण गन्धर्वाणां दशायुतम् यक्षाणां पञ्च लक्षाणि रक्षसामयुतानि षट् //

Transliteration

jaghne muhūrtamātreṇa gandharvāṇāṃ daśāyutam yakṣāṇāṃ pañca lakṣāṇi rakṣasāmayutāni ṣaṭ //

Translation

In merely a single muhūrta, he slew ten ayutas of Gandharvas, five lakṣas of Yakṣas, and six ayutas of Rākṣasas.

Word by Word

• जघ्ने (jaghne): he struck down, slew

• मुहूर्त-मात्रेण (muhūrta-mātreṇa): in only a muhūrta (a short fixed time period)

• गन्धर्वाणाम् (gandharvāṇām): of the Gandharvas

• दश-अयुतम् (daśa-ayutam): ten ayutas (ten-thousands, i.e., 100,000)

• यक्षाणाम् (yakṣāṇām): of the Yakṣas

• पञ्च (pañca): five

• लक्षाणि (lakṣāṇi): lakhs (hundred-thousands)

• रक्षसाम् (rakṣasām): of the Rākṣasas/demons

• अयुतानि (ayutāni): ayutas (ten-thousands)

• षट् (ṣaṭ): six

Speaker

• Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) reporting the battle episode

Entities Mentioned

• Gandharvas
• Yakṣas
• Rākṣasas

Tags

• Battle
• Mythic warfare
• Supernatural beings
• Matsya Purana narrative
• Puranic cosmology

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe pralaya directly; it emphasizes overwhelming, time-bound martial power within the Purāṇic cosmos by quantifying the rapid destruction of celestial and demonic hosts.

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

Indirectly, it mirrors the kṣatriya ideal of swift protection and removal of violent threats; the stress on decisive action “within a muhūrta” functions as a model of effective enforcement of order (daṇḍa) when adharma manifests as hostile forces.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated in this verse; its significance is narrative and cosmological—enumerating classes of beings and the scale of conflict rather than prescribing temple-building or rites.