Shloka 28

Matsya Purana — Skanda’s Consecration

Devanagari script

*तारक उवाच दृष्टं ते पौरुषं शक्र रणेषु शतशो मया निस्त्रपत्वान्न ते लज्जा विद्यते शक्र दुर्मते //

Transliteration

*tāraka uvāca dṛṣṭaṃ te pauruṣaṃ śakra raṇeṣu śataśo mayā nistrapatvānna te lajjā vidyate śakra durmate //

Translation

Tāraka said: “O Śakra (Indra), I have seen your ‘manliness’ a hundred times on battlefields. Being shameless, you have no sense of shame at all, O Śakra—fool of a mind!”

Word by Word

• तारकः: Tāraka

• उवाच: said

• दृष्टम्: seen/witnessed

• ते: your

• पौरुषम्: valor/manliness

• शक्र: O Śakra (Indra)

• रणेषु: in battles/on battlefields

• शतशः: hundreds of times/repeatedly

• मया: by me

• निस्त्रपत्वात्: due to shamelessness/being without modesty

• न: not

• ते: in you/for you

• लज्जा: shame/modesty

• विद्यते: exists/is found

• दुर्मते: of evil counsel/fool-minded

Speaker

• Tāraka

Entities Mentioned

• Tāraka
• Śakra (Indra)

Tags

• Deva-Asura War
• Indra
• Taunt
• Heroism
• Ethics

FAQs

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

This verse does not address pralaya or cosmology; it is a battlefield taunt in a Deva–Asura conflict episode, focusing on character and conduct rather than creation/dissolution.

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

Indirectly, it highlights the Purāṇic moral lens where honor (lajjā) and restraint are markers of proper conduct; by condemning shamelessness, it implies that leaders should uphold dignity, truthful valor, and ethical behavior even in conflict.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu, temple-building, iconography, or ritual procedure is mentioned in this specific verse; it is purely a rhetorical rebuke within a martial dialogue.