Shloka 51

Matsya Purana — Catalogue of the Eighteen Puranas

Devanagari script

अधिकृत्याब्रवीत्सप्तकल्पवृत्तं मुनीश्वराः तन्मात्स्यमिति जानीध्वं सहस्राणि चतुर्दश //

Transliteration

adhikṛtyābravītsaptakalpavṛttaṃ munīśvarāḥ tanmātsyamiti jānīdhvaṃ sahasrāṇi caturdaśa //

Translation

O foremost sages, having undertaken the narration of the course of the seven kalpas, he declared: “Know this as the Matsya (Purāṇa); it comprises fourteen thousand verses.”

Word by Word

• अधिकृत्य (adhikṛtya): having undertaken/with reference to

• अब्रवीत् (abravīt): he spoke/declared

• सप्त (sapta): seven

• कल्प-वृत्तम् (kalpa-vṛttam): the account/chronicle of the kalpas (cosmic aeons)

• मुनीश्वराः (munīśvarāḥ): O lords among sages

• तत् (tat): that

• मात्स्यम् (mātsyam): the Matsya (Purāṇa)

• इति (iti): thus

• जानीध्वम् (jānīdhvam): know/understand (you all)

• सहस्राणि (sahasrāṇi): thousands

• चतुर्दश (caturdaśa): fourteen

Speaker

• Sūta (or the Purāṇic narrator) addressing the assembled sages (Munis)

Entities Mentioned

• Munis (Sages)
• Kalpa

Tags

• Purana-Enumeration
• Textual-Identity
• Kalpas
• Matsya-Purana
• Phalaśruti

FAQs

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

It frames the text as a chronicle of cosmic cycles (“seven kalpas”), implying repeated creation–dissolution rhythms, though it does not detail a specific pralaya event in this verse.

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

Indirectly: by identifying the Purāṇa’s scope and authority, it positions the Matsya Purāṇa as a source text from which kings and householders later derive dharma-guidance, but this verse itself is bibliographic rather than prescriptive.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

None explicitly; the verse is about the Matsya Purāṇa’s subject-matter (kalpa accounts) and its extent (14,000 verses), not about Vāstu or ritual procedure.