Shloka 14

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

Devanagari script

दुःखस्यान्तमपश्यन्ती प्राणांस्त्यक्तुं व्यवस्थिता पुत्रं मे तारकं देहि ह्य् अस्माद्दुःखमहार्णवात् //

Transliteration

duḥkhasyāntamapaśyantī prāṇāṃstyaktuṃ vyavasthitā putraṃ me tārakaṃ dehi hy asmādduḥkhamahārṇavāt //

Translation

Seeing no end to her sorrow, she resolved to give up her life: “Grant me a son—one who will be my deliverer—so that I may cross beyond this great ocean of grief.”

Word by Word

• duḥkhasya: of sorrow

• antam: an end/limit

• apaśyantī: not seeing

• prāṇān: life-breaths/life

• tyaktum: to abandon/leave

• vyavasthitā: determined/resolved

• putram: a son

• me: to me/my

• tārakam: a deliverer/saviour (lit. ‘one who ferries across’)

• dehi: give/grant

• hi: indeed/please

• asmāt: from this

• duḥkha: grief/suffering

• mahārṇavāt: from the great ocean

Speaker

• A grieving woman/mother (a devotee/supplicant within the narrative frame)

Entities Mentioned

• Tāraka (deliverer son)
• Putra (son)

Tags

• Devotional plea
• Grief
• Putra-prarthana
• Deliverance
• Puranic narrative

FAQs

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

This verse does not describe cosmic creation or Pralaya; it uses an inner, experiential metaphor—“the ocean of grief”—to express personal suffering and the longing for deliverance.

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

It reflects the householder ideal that progeny (putra) is sought not merely for lineage, but as support and spiritual-social continuity; the verse frames a child as a ‘tāraka’—a rescuer from despair—highlighting the Purāṇic emphasis on family responsibility and compassionate protection.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No Vāstu or temple-architecture rule is stated here; the ritual takeaway is the language of supplication (prārthanā) and the Purāṇic motif of seeking divine grace for relief from suffering.