Shloka 4
Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa
On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation
शक्र उवाच चण्डालयोनौ जातेन नावाप्यं वै कथंचन । अन्यं काम॑ वृणीष्व त्वं मा वृथा तेडस्त्वयं श्रम:
śakra uvāca | caṇḍālayonau jātena na avāpyaṃ vai kathaṃcana | anyaṃ kāmaṃ vṛṇīṣva tvaṃ mā vṛthā te ’stu ayaṃ śramaḥ ||
Śakra dit : «Ô Mataṅga, celui qui naît d’un sein caṇḍāla ne peut, d’aucune manière, obtenir l’état de brahmane. Choisis donc un autre bienfait selon ton désir, afin que ton effort ne soit pas vain.»
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Śakra’s assertion that social-spiritual status (here, Brahminhood) is fixed by birth and cannot be attained by effort alone; it frames an ethical tension central to the Mataṅga episode—whether dharma and worth are determined by lineage or by conduct and austerity.
Indra (Śakra) addresses Mataṅga, discouraging his pursuit of Brahminhood on the grounds of his Caṇḍāla birth, and urges him to ask for a different boon so that his prolonged effort and austerity will not be wasted.