Matsyapurana 147

English (machine translation) 147

Language: English

147.1

Varāṅgī said: / "I have been terrified, cast about, beaten, and tormented / by the fierce king of the gods repeatedly, like one whose protector is lost!

147.2

Seeing no end to my suffering, I am resolved to abandon my life-breaths. / Grant me a son who will be a deliverer from this great ocean of sorrow and grief!"

147.3

Spoken to thus, the lord of Daityas, his eyes agitated with rage— / though capable of retaliating against the king of gods, the great Asura—

147.4

the mighty Daitya resolved to perform austerity once more. / Knowing his resolve, which was now even fiercer,

147.5

Brahmā then arrived at the place where that son of Diti was. / The blessed Lord spoke to him in a sweet voice:

147.6

Brahmā said: / "Why do you, my son, again desire a cruel observance / when you were about to take food, O Daitya? Tell me that, O keeper of great vows!

147.7

Whatever fruit is attained by one who fasts for a thousand years, / that very fruit can be obtained in a single moment by relinquishing food that has been placed before one.

147.8

For the renunciation of desires not yet attained is not as weighty / as abandoning a desire once it has been attained, O lotus-eyed one."

147.9

Hearing this speech of Brahmā, the Daitya, joined with austerity, / contemplating in his heart what had been uttered by the mouth of Brahmā, spoke with folded hands:

147.10

Vajrāṅga said: / "When I arose from absorption at your command, / I saw my queen terrified, miserable, weeping beneath a tree.

147.11

And I spoke to that slender-limbed woman with an aching heart: / 'Why are you in this state, timid one? Speak, what do you wish to do?'

147.12

Spoken to thus by me, O Lord, she spoke with faltering words, / and that slender-limbed woman, frightened, made this speech supported by reasons:

147.13

Varāṅgī said: / 'I have been terrified, cast about, dragged, and tormented / by the fierce king of the gods repeatedly, like one whose protector is lost!

147.14

Seeing no end to suffering, I am resolved to abandon my life-breaths. / Grant me a son who will be a deliverer from this great ocean of sorrow!'

147.15

Thus addressed, deeply agitated, and determined for the sake of her son, / I shall perform dread austerity for the conquest of the dwellers of heaven."

147.16

Hearing this speech, the god born of the lotus-womb, / the four-faced one, being pleased, then spoke to the king of the Daityas:

147.17

Brahmā said: / "Enough of your austerity, my child! Do not enter into insurmountable affliction! / You will have a mighty son named Tāraka,

147.18

who will loosen the braids of hair of the wives of the gods." / Thus addressed, the lord of Daityas bowed down to Pitāmaha,

147.19

and returning, gladdened his queen with a joyful face. / Those two spouses, having attained their goal, went joyfully to their own hermitage.

147.20

Varāṅgī of fair complexion carried the embryo / deposited by Vajrāṅga in her womb for a full thousand years.

147.21

Then, at the end of the thousand years, Varāṅgī gave birth to a son. / While that lord of Daityas, terrifying to the worlds, was being born,

147.22

the entire earth shook, and the oceans trembled; / all the mountains moved, and fearsome winds blew.

147.23

The best of sages muttered their prayers; wild beasts and snakes wailed; / the sun and the moon lost their splendor; and the directions were filled with fog.

147.24

When that great Asura was born, all the great Asuras / came there exultant, as did the Asura women.

147.25

Filled with joy, they sang, and the Asura women danced; / then a great festival took place among the Dānavas, O best of the twice-born!

147.26

The gods, together with Mahendra, then became downcast in mind; / while Varāṅgī, beholding her own son, was then filled with joy.

147.27

She considered even the victory over the lord of the gods as nothing compared to that. / As soon as he was born, that lord of Daityas, Tāraka of fierce prowess,

147.28

was consecrated by all the Asuras—Kujambha, Mahiṣa, and others, / capable of weighing down the earth—into the sovereign kingship over all the Asuras.

147.29

Having obtained supreme sovereignty, O best of sages, Tāraka / spoke these reasoned words to the foremost Dānavas:

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit