Shloka 6
Matsya Purana — Yayāti’s Fall
*ययातिरुवाच इमं भौमं नरकं क्षीणपुण्यः प्रवेष्टुम् ऊर्वीं गगनाद्विप्रकीर्णः उक्त्वाहं वः प्रपतिष्याम्य् अनन्तरं त्वरन्त्वमी ब्रह्मणो लोकपा ये //
*yayātiruvāca imaṃ bhaumaṃ narakaṃ kṣīṇapuṇyaḥ praveṣṭum ūrvīṃ gaganādviprakīrṇaḥ uktvāhaṃ vaḥ prapatiṣyāmy anantaraṃ tvarantvamī brahmaṇo lokapā ye //
Yayāti said: “My merit is spent; I am to enter this earthly hell. Cast down from the sky and scattered toward the ground, having said this to you, I shall fall immediately. Let the guardians of the worlds who belong to Brahmā (lokapāla) hurry.”
FAQs
It does not describe Pralaya; it teaches karmic causality—when merit is exhausted, even a heavenly state ends and the soul falls into suffering (naraka) according to cosmic order.
It frames kingship and household life under the law of karma: status and enjoyment are unstable without sustained dharma. The implied warning is to cultivate lasting merit through righteous rule, restraint, and charity rather than relying on temporary rewards.
No Vastu or temple-building rule appears here; the ritual takeaway is doctrinal—lokapālas and Brahmā’s order symbolize that results of actions are administered within a regulated cosmic governance.