Matsya Purana — Intermediate Dissolution, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

व्यञ्जयन्नेतदखिलं प्रादुरासीत् तमोनुदः यो ऽतीन्द्रियः परो व्यक्ताद् अणुर् ज्यायान् सनातनः नारायण इति ख्यातः स एकः स्वयम् उद्बभौ //

Transliteration

vyañjayannetadakhilaṃ prādurāsīt tamonudaḥ yo 'tīndriyaḥ paro vyaktād aṇur jyāyān sanātanaḥ nārāyaṇa iti khyātaḥ sa ekaḥ svayam udbabhau //

Translation

إذ أظهر هذا الكون بأسره تجلّى مُبدِّد الظلمة. هو فوق الحواس، الأسمى، أرفع من الظاهر؛ أدقّ من الذرّة ومع ذلك أعظم من الأعظم، سرمدي. يُعرَف باسم نارايانا (Nārāyaṇa)، وذلك الواحد وحده نهض من ذاته.

Word by Word

• vyañjayan: revealing, making manifest

• etat: this

• akhilam: entire, all

• prādurāsīt: appeared, manifested

• tamonudaḥ: dispeller of darkness/ignorance

• yaḥ: who

• atīndriyaḥ: beyond the senses

• paraḥ: supreme, transcendent

• vyaktāt: than the manifest (the expressed world)

• aṇuḥ: atom, the infinitesimal

• jyāyān: greater, vaster

• sanātanaḥ: eternal

• nārāyaṇaḥ: Nārāyaṇa (Vishnu as the supreme ground of being)

• iti: thus

• khyātaḥ: renowned, called

• saḥ: he

• ekaḥ: one, singular

• svayam: by himself, self-caused

• udbabhau: arose, came forth

Speaker

• Sūta (narrative voice in Purāṇic recitation; creation account being related)

Entities Mentioned

• Nārāyaṇa

Tags

• Creation
• Cosmology
• Vedānta
• Pralaya
• Vishnu

FAQs

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

It presents creation as a manifestation (vyañjayan) initiated by the self-existent Nārāyaṇa, who dispels primordial darkness (tamas). The verse implies that even when the world is unmanifest, the transcendent source remains eternal and re-emerges as the revealer of the cosmos.

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

Indirectly, it grounds dharma in a transcendent moral order: since Nārāyaṇa is the supreme, self-existent source who dispels ignorance, rulers and householders are expected to uphold dharma as a means of reducing tamas (confusion, injustice) and aligning social life with cosmic order.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or iconographic rule is stated; however, the verse supplies a theological basis for ritual and temple practice—worship is directed to Nārāyaṇa as the transcendent-yet-immanent source, beyond senses yet manifesting the universe, which later supports consecration (pratiṣṭhā) and devotional visualization.