Shloka 12

Matsya Purana — Tārakāsura’s Austerity and Boon; Mobilization for War; Bṛhaspati’s Fourfold P...

Devanagari script

ततः स्वदेहादुत्कृत्य कर्षं कर्षं दिने दिने मांसस्याग्नौ जुहावासौ ततो निर्मांसतां गतः //

Transliteration

tataḥ svadehādutkṛtya karṣaṃ karṣaṃ dine dine māṃsasyāgnau juhāvāsau tato nirmāṃsatāṃ gataḥ //

Translation

Then, cutting from his own body—day after day—one karṣa at a time, he offered his flesh into the sacrificial fire; and thus he came to a state of being without flesh.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon

• sva-dehāt: from his own body

• utkr̥tya: cutting out, excising

• karṣam karṣam: one karṣa at a time (a fixed measure/weight)

• dine dine: day by day

• māṃsasya: of flesh

• agnau: into the fire

• juhāva: he offered (as oblation)

• āsau: that person/he

• tataḥ: thereafter

• nirmāṃsatām: fleshlessness, being devoid of flesh

• gataḥ: attained, reached

Speaker

• Sūta (narrating the episode as part of the Matsya Purana’s discourse tradition)

Entities Mentioned

• Agni (sacrificial fire)
• Yajña (implied through juhāva)

Tags

• Tapas
• Yajña
• Austerity
• Self-sacrifice
• Puranic ethics

FAQs

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

This verse does not address cosmic dissolution; it focuses on tapas presented in the idiom of yajña—an individual’s bodily self-offering as an extreme form of ritualized discipline.

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

It presents the principle of sacrifice and self-restraint in its most radical form. For kings and householders, the ethical takeaway is not literal self-harm, but unwavering commitment to dharma—daily, measured self-control and offering (tyāga) through lawful duties, charity, and regulated living.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it uses technical yajña language (juhāva, agnau) and a precise measure (karṣa), emphasizing that offerings are regulated and quantified—an important Vedic-Puranic ritual principle, even when the narrative employs hyperbolic austerity.