Shloka 4

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

Devanagari script

पूर्णे वर्षसहस्रे तु त्वदीयं यौवनं त्व् अहम् दत्त्वा सम्प्रतिपत्स्यामि पाप्मानं जरया सह //

Transliteration

pūrṇe varṣasahasre tu tvadīyaṃ yauvanaṃ tv aham dattvā sampratipatsyāmi pāpmānaṃ jarayā saha //

Translation

When a thousand years are completed, I shall give back to you your youth; and I will then take upon myself the burden of sin together with old age.

Word by Word

• pūrṇe: when completed/fulfilled

• varṣa-sahasre: a thousand years

• tu: indeed/then

• tvadīyam: your (belonging to you)

• yauvanam: youth

• tv: and (enclitic, sandhi)

• aham: I

• dattvā: having given (back)

• sampratipatsyāmi: I shall take up/assume/accept

• pāpmānam: sin/evil consequence

• jarayā: with old age/decay

• saha: together with

Speaker

• Likely the one temporarily enjoying borrowed youth (a human king/recipient in a moral episode); presented within Sūta’s narration of the Matsya Purana tradition

Tags

• Karma
• OldAge
• Ethics
• YouthExchange
• PuranicNarrative

FAQs

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

This verse does not address Pralaya directly; it teaches a karmic principle: moral burdens (pāpmāna) and bodily decline (jarā) are consequences that can be assumed or transferred within a narrative framework to illustrate responsibility and the cost of desire.

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

It underscores accountability: enjoyment (youth) is not free from consequence, and a ruler/householder must ultimately face or accept the results of actions. The implied dharma is restraint and readiness to bear the outcomes rather than evade them.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu, temple-building, or ritual procedure is mentioned in this verse; its focus is ethical-philosophical, using “youth” and “old age” as narrative symbols for pleasure and its karmic residue.