Matsya Purana 148.62.2

148.62.2

prāpya taṃ śailarājānaṃ sa gireḥ kandarasthitam
uvāca tārakaṃ devo girā madhurayā yutaḥ.. 149.15
putrālaṃ tapasā te'stu nāstyasādhyaṃ tavā'dhunā .. 148.16
varaṃ vṛṇīṣva ruciraṃ yatte manasi varttate.
ityuktasyārako daityaḥ praṇamyātmabhuvaṃ vibhum
uvāca prāñjalirbhūtvā praṇataḥ pṛthuvikramaḥ.. 148.17
tāraka uvāca.
deva! bhūtamanovāsa! vetsi jantuviceṣṭitam .. 148.18
kṛtapratikṛtākāṅkṣī jigīṣuḥ prāyaśo janaḥ.
vayañca jātidharmeṇa kṛtavairāḥ sahāmaraiḥ.. 148.19
taiśca niḥśeṣitā daityāḥ krūraiḥ santyajya dharmitām.
teṣāmahaṃ samuddharttā bhaveyamiti me matiḥ .. 148.20
avadhyaṃ sarvabhūtānāmastrāṇāñca mahaujasām.
syāmahaṃ paramo hyeṣa varo mama hudi sthitaḥ .. 148.21
etanme dehi deveśa! nānyo me rocate varaḥ
tamuvāca tato daityaṃ viriñciḥ suranāyakaḥ .. 148.22
na yujyante vinā mṛtyuṃ dehino daityasattama.
yatastato'pi varaya mṛtyuṃ yasmānna śaṅkhase .. 148.23
tataḥ sañcintya daityendraḥ śiśorvai saptavāsarāt.
vavre mahāsuro mṛtyumavalepanamohitaḥ .. 148.24
brahmā cāsmai varaṃ datvā yatkiñcinmanasepsitam.
jagāma tridivaṃ devo daityo'pi svakamālayam .. 148.25
uttīrṇaṃ tapasastaṃ tu daityaṃ daityeśvarāstathā.
paribabruḥ sahasrākṣaṃ divi devagaṇā yathā.. 148.26
tasmin mahati rājyasya tārake daityanandane.
ṛtavo mūrttimantaśca svakāla guṇabṛṃhitāḥ 148.27
abhavan kiṅkarāstasya lokapālāśca sarvaśaḥ.
kāntidyutirdhṛtirmedhāḥ śrīravekṣya ca dānavam .. 148.28
paribabrurguṇākīrṇā niśchidrāḥ sarva eva hi.
kālāguruviliptāṅgaṃ mahāmukuṭabhūṣaṇam .. 148.29

Brahmâ said —"Son! now your penances are over, nothing further is left for you to accomplish Ask for a boon what thou desirest."—16

Hearing those words of the Lord Brahmâ, Târakâsura saluted the Great Lord, and with his hands, joined together, said as follows—17

Taraka said —"Lord! you know what is in the mind of everyone Every one wishes to conquer his enemy in revenge Natural enmity exists between the Devas and ourselves For the former have driven away the latter from everywhere and well nigh annihilated them , I, therefore, long to be able to be the sole deliverer of the Asuras through your grace That I should not die at anybody's hands and by any kind of arms is the desire that is uupermost in my mind I do not want any other thing O, Lord of Devas !-grant this boon to me "-17 21

Hearing those words of Târakâsura, Brahmâ said —"O Great Daitya ! no living thing can escape death, so you might seek your death from some one whom you do not fear "-22

Then that Asura thought a while and becoming haughty said —"Let me die then from the hands of a babe of seven days old" Granting him the boon Brahmâ went to heaven and the demon returned to his abode—23-24

Afterwards, he began to offer to the fire 1½ tolâs of his flesh by slicing it from his body When no flesh was left on him he looked an image of asceticism At that time all the beings seemed to be burnt by his fire All the Devas shivered at his asceticism and Brahmâ on being pleased appeared before him from heaven to grant him a boon Standing at the mouth of the cavern in the mountain, He addressed the demon with the following sweet speech—12 15

When Târakâ returned after completing his penance, the other Daityas came and surrounded him It seemed as if the Devas had surrounded Indra When Târakâsura began to rule, the seasons, by his terror, seemed to be endowed with their qualities and became incarnate before him, the Lokapalas acknowledged his sovereignty, and became his servants, lustre, beauty, intelligence, wealth and authority all began to serve openly the Danava lord and fixed their abode in him The nymphs incessantly began to wave chowries over the head of the sovereign, seated on his throne with scent rubbed on his body, head decorated with a lofty crown and arms adorned with armlets The Sun and the Moon served the purpose of lamps, wind that of fans and Dharmrâja acted as his foremost herald in all his actions Having thus reigned for many years, Târkâsura haughtily said to his ministers —26 31