Matsya Purana — Description of the Daitya–Dānava War Preparations and Maya’s Divine Chariots, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तदद्भुतं दैत्यसहस्रगाढं वाय्वग्निशैलाम्बुदतोयकल्पम् बलं रणौघाभ्युदये ऽभ्युदीर्णं युयुत्सयोन्मत्तम् इवाबभासे //

Transliteration

tadadbhutaṃ daityasahasragāḍhaṃ vāyvagniśailāmbudatoyakalpam balaṃ raṇaughābhyudaye 'bhyudīrṇaṃ yuyutsayonmattam ivābabhāse //

Translation

Pasukan yang menakjubkan itu—padat oleh ribuan Dānava—tampak laksana angin dan api, laksana gunung dan awan badai, laksana gelora air; dan ketika banjir pertempuran bangkit, ia makin mengembang, seolah gila oleh hasrat bertempur.

Word by Word

• tad: that

• adbhutam: wondrous, astonishing

• daitya-sahasra-gāḍham: densely filled with thousands of Daityas (demons)

• vāyu: wind

• agni: fire

• śaila: mountain

• ambuda: cloud

• toya: water

• kalpam: comparable to, like

• balam: army, force, strength

• raṇa: battle

• ogha: flood, torrent, mass

• abhyudaye: at the rising, in the onset

• abhyudīrṇam: swollen, surged up, expanded

• yuyutsayā: with the desire to fight

• unmattam: intoxicated, frenzied

• iva: as if

• ababhāse: shone forth, appeared.

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing the battlefield scene

Entities Mentioned

• Daityas

Tags

• Daitya army
• Battle imagery
• Puranic warfare
• Epic similes
• Matsya Purana narrative

FAQs

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

It does not describe cosmic Pralaya directly; instead it borrows Pralaya-like natural forces—wind, fire, mountains, clouds, and floodwaters—to convey the overwhelming surge of the Daitya host as battle begins.

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

Indirectly, it frames the battlefield as a dangerous “flood” of conflict, implying the royal duty to meet chaos with steadiness and discipline; the verse contrasts ordered leadership with an army that appears frenzied by mere lust for combat.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated; the verse is purely martial-poetic, using elemental comparisons (wind, fire, water, cloud, mountain) as a literary device rather than technical architectural instruction.