Shloka 30

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

Devanagari script

जरयाहं प्रतिच्छन्नो वयोरूपधरस्तव यौवनं भवते दत्त्वा चरिष्यामि यथेच्छया //

Transliteration

jarayāhaṃ praticchanno vayorūpadharastava yauvanaṃ bhavate dattvā cariṣyāmi yathecchayā //

Translation

Covered by old age, I have assumed your form and your years; having bestowed my youth upon you, I shall live as I desire.

Word by Word

• jarayā: by old age

• aham: I

• praticchannaḥ: covered/veiled

• vayaḥ-rūpa-dharaḥ: bearing the form (appearance) of age

• tava: of you/your

• yauvanam: youth

• bhavate: to you (sir)

• dattvā: having given

• cariṣyāmi: I shall live/move about

• yathā-icchayā: according to (my) wish/as I please

Speaker

• A son of King Yayāti (commonly Purū), consenting to exchange youth with his father (Yayāti)

Entities Mentioned

• Yayāti
• Jarā (old age)
• Yauvana (youth)

Tags

• Yayati episode
• Youth and old age
• Puranic ethics
• Kingship
• Desire and renunciation

FAQs

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

This verse is not about cosmic dissolution; it uses the human realities of old age (jarā) and youth (yauvana) to convey an ethical lesson within a royal narrative.

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

It highlights the moral tension between desire and responsibility: a ruler’s pursuit of pleasure is shown as ethically consequential, while a dutiful heir’s sacrifice (yielding youth) exemplifies filial duty and the dharmic ideal of placing obligation above personal enjoyment.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu, temple-building, or ritual procedure is stated in this verse; its significance is primarily ethical and narrative, centered on aging, desire, and duty.