Matsya Purana — The Strategy to Defeat Tāraka: Pārvatī’s Birth, Shloka 19
हुताशनविमुक्तो ऽपि न धूमेन विराजसे भस्मनेव प्रतिच्छन्नो दग्धदावश्चिरोषितः //
hutāśanavimukto 'pi na dhūmena virājase bhasmaneva praticchanno dagdhadāvaściroṣitaḥ //
అగ్నినుండి విముక్తుడైనప్పటికీ నీవు ధూమప్రకాశంతో వెలగవు; నీవు భస్మంతో కప్పబడినవాడివలె ఉన్నావు—చిరకాలం క్రితమే దగ్ధమైన అడవిదావానలంలా।
FAQs
It does not directly teach Pralaya; it uses the image of a burned-out forest fire to convey a state of exhaustion/defect—something that has lost its vital “brightness.”
In the Matsya Purana’s practical ethics, a king or householder should avoid flawed or “spent” resources when building public works or homes; the verse signals that what looks “finished” may still be unsuitable—like ash-covered remains after a fire.
The simile functions as a Vastu guideline: a material or element that should appear clean/bright but instead seems smoke-darkened or ash-covered is treated as inferior or defective and should be rejected for sacred or durable construction.