Shloka 50

Matsya Purana — The Strategy to Defeat Tāraka: Pārvatī’s Birth

Devanagari script

तारकस्य निहन्ता स भास्कराभो भविष्यति सांप्रतं चाप्यपत्नीकः शंकरो भगवान्प्रभुः //

Transliteration

tārakasya nihantā sa bhāskarābho bhaviṣyati sāṃprataṃ cāpyapatnīkaḥ śaṃkaro bhagavānprabhuḥ //

Translation

He will become the slayer of Tāraka, radiant like the Sun; and at present the Lord Śaṅkara—the Blessed One, the sovereign—remains without a wife.

Word by Word

• तारकस्य: of Tāraka

• निहन्ता: slayer, destroyer

• स: he

• भास्कराभः: sun-like in radiance

• भविष्यति: will become

• सांप्रतम्: at present, now

• च: and

• अपि: also/indeed

• अपत्नीकः: without a wife, spouse-less

• शंकरः: Śaṅkara (Śiva)

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord

• प्रभुः: master, sovereign

Speaker

• Likely Sūta (narrator) relating the Purāṇic account (Shaiva–Skanda episode) within the Matsya Purana’s discourse

Entities Mentioned

• Tāraka
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Tags

• Prophecy
• Skanda
• Shaiva
• Asura-vadha
• Kumāra

FAQs

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

This verse does not discuss pralaya; it is a prophetic statement within a mythic-heroic narrative about the future slaying of Tāraka and Śiva’s present unmarried state.

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

Indirectly, it foregrounds the householder theme by noting Śiva as “apatnīka” (without a wife), setting up the narrative necessity of marriage for cosmic order—an ideal mirrored in Purāṇic householder dharma, though no explicit royal duty is taught here.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No vastu/temple rule is stated in this verse; its ritual-theological significance lies in framing a future divine mission (the destruction of Tāraka) and the precondition of Śiva’s marital status in the larger Skanda-related cycle.