Shloka 1

Matsya Purana — The Birth of Tāraka: Varāṅgī’s Lament

Devanagari script

*वराङ्ग्युवाच त्रासितास्म्यपविद्धास्मि ताडिता पीडितापि च रौद्रेण देवराजेन नष्टनाथेव भूरिशः //

Transliteration

*varāṅgyuvāca trāsitāsmyapaviddhāsmi tāḍitā pīḍitāpi ca raudreṇa devarājena naṣṭanātheva bhūriśaḥ //

Translation

Varāṅgī said: “I have been terrified, cast aside, struck, and tormented as well—by the fierce lord of the gods. I am like a woman bereft of her protector, O Bhūriśa.”

Word by Word

• वराङ्गी (varāṅgī): Varāṅgī

• उवाच (uvāca): said

• त्रासिता (trāsitā): terrified

• अस्मि (asmi): I am

• अपविद्धा (apaviddhā): rejected/cast away

• ताडिता (tāḍitā): struck/beaten

• पीडिता (pīḍitā): oppressed/afflicted

• अपि (api): also

• च (ca): and

• रौद्रेण (raudreṇa): by the fierce/terrible one

• देवराजेन (devarājena): by the king of the gods (Indra)

• नष्टनाथा (naṣṭa-nāthā): one whose protector is lost

• इव (iva): like

• भूरिशः (bhūriśaḥ): O Bhūriśa (vocative, an addressed person).

Speaker

• Varāṅgī

Entities Mentioned

• Varāṅgī
• Devarāja (Indra)
• Bhūriśa

Tags

• Matsya Purana narrative
• Puranic dialogue
• Indra episode
• Women's lament
• Dharma and protection

FAQs

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

This verse does not address pralaya or cosmology; it is a personal lament describing fear, rejection, and suffering caused by the Devarāja’s wrath.

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

By depicting a woman “bereft of a protector,” it implicitly highlights the dharmic ideal that rulers and householders should offer protection to the vulnerable and restrain cruelty born of anger.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu, temple-building, or ritual procedure is mentioned in this verse; it functions purely as narrative speech within an episode.