Shloka 27

Matsya Purana — Yayāti and His Sons: The Exchange of Youth and Old Age

Devanagari script

किंचित्कालं चरेयं वै विषयान्वयसा तव पूर्णे वर्षसहस्रे तु प्रतिदास्यामि यौवनम् स्वं चैव प्रतिपत्स्ये ऽहं पाप्मानं जरया सह //

Transliteration

kiṃcitkālaṃ careyaṃ vai viṣayānvayasā tava pūrṇe varṣasahasre tu pratidāsyāmi yauvanam svaṃ caiva pratipatsye 'haṃ pāpmānaṃ jarayā saha //

Translation

“Let me, for a little while, pursue the enjoyments of the senses by means of your (youth). When a full thousand years are completed, I shall return your youth; and I myself will take back my own burden of sin, together with old age.”

Word by Word

• kiṃcit-kālam: for some time/a little while

• careyam: may I live/indulge (in conduct)

• vai: indeed

• viṣaya-anvayasā: by connection with sense-objects/through sensual enjoyment

• tava: of you/your

• pūrṇe: when completed

• varṣa-sahasre: a thousand years

• tu: then/indeed

• pratidāsyāmi: I will give back/return

• yauvanam: youth

• svam: my own

• ca eva: and indeed

• pratipatsye: I will take up/accept back

• aham: I

• pāpmānam: sin/taint (moral demerit)

• jarayā saha: together with old age.

Speaker

• King Yayati (in dialogue with his son—commonly Puru—in the Yayati episode as presented within the Matsya Purana’s narrative frame)

Entities Mentioned

• Yayati
• Old age (Jarā)
• Youth (Yauvana)
• Sense-enjoyments (Viṣaya)

Tags

• Dynasties
• Royal Desire
• Ethics
• Karma
• Yayati Episode

FAQs

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

This verse does not address pralaya directly; it teaches moral causality—how indulgence in sense-objects is linked with “pāpmāna” (taint/sin) and the inevitability of jarā (old age).

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

It frames a king/householder’s struggle with kāma (desire): even if power enables enjoyment, the text highlights ethical consequence (pāpmāna) and the inescapability of aging—warning rulers against exploiting others (even family) for personal pleasure.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu, temple-building, iconography, or ritual procedure is referenced in this verse; it is a dharma-ethical statement within a dynastic narrative.