Shloka 45
Matsya Purana — Brahmā’s Four Faces
स्वायंभुवो इति ख्यातः स विराड् इति नः श्रुतम् तद्रूपगुणसामान्याद् अधिपुरुष उच्यते //
svāyaṃbhuvo iti khyātaḥ sa virāḍ iti naḥ śrutam tadrūpaguṇasāmānyād adhipuruṣa ucyate //
He is renowned as Svāyaṃbhuva, and we have heard that he is also called Virāṭ. Because his form and qualities are universal and common to all, he is therefore spoken of as the Adhipuruṣa, the Supreme Over-Person.
FAQs
It frames the creative principle as the universal Cosmic Person (Virāṭ/Svāyaṃbhuva), emphasizing a single overarching source whose form and qualities pervade creation—an idea that underlies both emanation (sarga) and re-absorption (pralaya), even though pralaya is not explicitly described here.
By presenting the Adhipuruṣa as universal in form and qualities, it supports the ethical Purāṇic view that rulers and householders should act with impartiality and welfare-mindedness, seeing all beings as sharing in one cosmic order rather than as separate, competing interests.
No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated, but the Virāṭ/Adhipuruṣa doctrine is commonly used as a theological basis for iconography and temple consecration—treating the deity’s form as a universal archetype reflected in sacred images and spatial order.