Matsya Purana — Brahmā’s Four Faces, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

केचित् प्रधानम् इत्य् आहुर् अव्यक्तम् अपरे जगुः एतद् एव प्रजासृष्टिं करोति विकरोति च //

Transliteration

kecit pradhānam ity āhur avyaktam apare jaguḥ etad eva prajāsṛṣṭiṃ karoti vikaroti ca //

Translation

يقول بعضهم إنّه «برادهانا» (Pradhāna)، أي المبدأ الأوّل، ويقول آخرون إنّه «أفيَكْتا» (Avyakta)، أي غير المتجلّي. وهو وحده الذي يُنشئ خلق الكائنات، وهو أيضًا الذي يُحوِّل العالم المخلوق.

Word by Word

• केचित् (kecit): some

• प्रधानम् (pradhānam): Pradhāna, primordial material cause (Prakṛti)

• इति (iti): thus

• आहुः (āhuḥ): say

• अव्यक्तम् (avyaktam): the unmanifest, not perceptible

• अपरे (apare): others

• जगुः (jaguḥ): declared/said

• एतत् (etat): this

• एव (eva): alone/indeed

• प्रजा-सृष्टिम् (prajā-sṛṣṭim): creation of creatures/progeny

• करोति (karoti): makes/produces

• विकरोति (vikaroti): alters/transforms/modifies

• च (ca): and.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, cosmological teaching context)

Entities Mentioned

• Pradhana
• Avyakta
• Prakriti

Tags

• Creation
• Sankhya
• Cosmology
• Prakriti
• Metaphysics

FAQs

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

It identifies the unmanifest material principle (Pradhāna/Avyakta) as the underlying cause that generates beings and also brings about their change—implying cyclical manifestation and reconfiguration across cosmic phases, including dissolution and re-creation.

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

By grounding the world in an impersonal, law-governed causal principle, it supports the Purāṇic ethic that rulers and householders should act in harmony with cosmic order (dharma), recognizing that prosperity, decline, and social change are part of a larger, regulated process.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated; however, the verse supplies the cosmological premise often used in ritual and temple thought: visible forms arise from an unmanifest source, so consecration and design symbolically “manifest” order from the unseen principle.