Shloka 4
Matsya Purana — Yayati’s Fall from Heaven and the Greatness of the Righteous
*ययातिरुवाच सुरर्षिगन्धर्वनरावमानात् क्षयं गता मे यदि शक्रलोकाः इच्छाम्यहं सुरलोकाद्विहीनः सतां मध्ये पतितुं देवराज //
*yayātiruvāca surarṣigandharvanarāvamānāt kṣayaṃ gatā me yadi śakralokāḥ icchāmyahaṃ suralokādvihīnaḥ satāṃ madhye patituṃ devarāja //
Yayāti said: “If, because I slighted the gods, the seers, the Gandharvas, and men, my stay in Śakra’s heaven has come to an end, then—bereft of the heavenly worlds—I desire, O king of the gods, to fall among the righteous.”
FAQs
This verse does not discuss Pralaya; it highlights moral causality—heavenly enjoyment ends when merit is exhausted, especially when tainted by disrespect (avamāna).
It warns rulers and householders that arrogance toward gods, sages, and society undermines one’s accumulated merit; Yayāti’s wish to fall among the righteous implies that association with the virtuous is a safeguard after moral failure.
No Vāstu or temple-ritual rule is stated here; the ritual takeaway is ethical—honoring devas and ṛṣis is treated as essential to preserving spiritual merit.