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:,इन्द्रने कहा--मतंग! चाण्डालकी योनिमें जन्म लेनेवालेको किसी तरह ब्राह्मणत्व नहीं मिल सकता; इसलिये तुम दूसरी कोई अभीष्ट वस्तु माँग लो। जिससे तुम्हारा यह परिश्रम व्यर्थ न जाय
śakra uvāca | caṇḍālayonau jātena na avāpyaṃ vai kathaṃcana | anyaṃ kāmaṃ vṛṇīṣva tvaṃ mā vṛthā te ’stu ayaṃ śramaḥ ||
Śakra disse: “Ó Mataṅga, aquele que nasce de um ventre caṇḍāla não pode, de modo algum, alcançar a condição de brâmane. Portanto, escolhe outro dom que desejas, para que teu esforço não se perca em vão.”
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.