Matasarasura Gets Boons from Lord Shiva

Upon hearing about the intense tapas of Matsarasura, Lord Shiva, along with Parvathy Devi and other Devas, went to him.

The Lord told him, ‘Wake up, I am pleased with your tapasya. I am happy with your devotion, your commitment, your dedication. Not simply caring about the physical hardship. I am happy. Ask for whatever you want. I will give you.’

Matsarasura offered sashtanga pranama at the Lord’s feet, sang a stotra in his praise, and said,

‘Give me bhakti, achanchala bhakti upon you.

And,

पंचभूतात्मकं सर्वं त्रिगुणैः सुविराजितम्
तस्मान्मे मरणं शंभो न कदाचिद्भवेदिह
आरोग्यादिसमायुक्तं ऐश्वर्यं देहि शाश्वतम्
ब्रह्मांडस्य च राज्यं मे देहि देहि सदाशिव’

What all did he ask for?

• My death should not happen by anything made up of the pancha bhutas and consisting of the trigunas. That includes all living beings, objects, everything, even fire, water, everything.
• Along with health, wealth, and rulership of the whole universe.

The Lord granted him all that he asked for.

Matsarasura went back home. All his people became happy. Everybody respected him for what he achieved. Two sons were born to him. The elder one was named Sundarapriya. The younger one was Vishaya Priya. Both were as brave and valorous as their father.

One day, Matsarasura went to his in-laws' place. A lot of Asuras met him there. They told him, ‘What are you waiting for? Mahadeva has given you a boon to become the ruler of the universe itself. What are you waiting for? Let’s attack Swarga. We are all there with you. Let’s conquer Swarga and enjoy the comforts there.

Swarga is the place where all pleasures are there. In Bhumi and other lokas, there is a limit to pleasure. The degree of pleasure is limited. In Swarga, the pleasure is unlimited. That’s why everyone wants Swarga. Men want to go to Swarga.

Asuras are aggressive. They want to conquer Swarga and enjoy.’

Matsarasura said, ‘I also want to do this. But my mother, she always stops me. She says, Indra is your father. You can’t be doing this. You should respect the Devas. You can’t be attacking them.’

The Asuras said, ‘Between Devas and Asuras, nothing matters. We are permanent enemies. And Indra being your father—don’t you remember Jalandhara was Shiva’s son? Still, he attacked Shiva. He even asked Parvathy as his wife, whose position was that of his mother.

For someone, if Devas are good, then Daityas are bad.
For someone, if Daityas are good, then Devas are bad.

Your mother, Bhumi—you can’t trust her. She is giving support to so many of those rishis and munis.’

Upon being instigated by the Asuras, Matsara decided to leave his mother.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi