Shloka 5

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

Devanagari script

*यदुरुवाच सितश्मश्रुधरो दीनो जरसा शिथिलीकृतः वलीसंततगात्रश्च दुर्दर्शो दुर्बलः कृशः //

Transliteration

*yaduruvāca sitaśmaśrudharo dīno jarasā śithilīkṛtaḥ valīsaṃtatagātraśca durdarśo durbalaḥ kṛśaḥ //

Translation

Yadu spoke: bearing a white beard, dejected, loosened by old age; his body was covered with wrinkles, hard to look upon, weak, and emaciated.

Word by Word

• yaduḥ: Yadu

• uvāca: spoke

• sita: white

• śmaśru-dharaḥ: bearing a beard

• dīnaḥ: dejected, downcast

• jarasā: by old age

• śithilī-kṛtaḥ: made slack/feeble

• valī: wrinkles

• saṃtata: spread over, covered throughout

• gātraḥ: limbs/body

• ca: and

• durdarśaḥ: difficult to look at, unpleasant to behold

• durbalaḥ: very weak

• kṛśaḥ: thin, emaciated.

Speaker

• Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing Yadu; framed within the Matsya Purana’s genealogical narration)

Entities Mentioned

• Yadu

Tags

• Dynasties
• Genealogy
• Old Age
• Renunciation
• Kings

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe pralaya; it emphasizes bodily decline through time (jarā), a moral reminder of impermanence rather than cosmic dissolution.

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

By portraying Yadu weakened by age, it implicitly supports the Purāṇic ethic that rulers and householders should recognize life’s transience, prepare for succession, and gradually turn toward restraint and dharma as strength declines.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated here; the verse is a narrative-psychological description used to frame an episode in dynastic history.