Shloka 21

Matsya Purana — Intermediate Dissolution

Devanagari script

यद्भवद्भिः पुरा पृष्टः सृष्ट्यादिकमहं द्विजाः तद् एवैकार्णवे तस्मिन् मनुः पप्रच्छ केशवम् //

Transliteration

yadbhavadbhiḥ purā pṛṣṭaḥ sṛṣṭyādikamahaṃ dvijāḥ tad evaikārṇave tasmin manuḥ papraccha keśavam //

Translation

O twice-born sages, the very subject of creation and related matters that you once asked me—on that same topic, in that time of the single cosmic ocean, Manu questioned Keśava (Viṣṇu).

Word by Word

• yad: that which

• bhavadbhiḥ: by you (honored ones)

• purā: formerly/earlier

• pṛṣṭaḥ: asked/inquired

• sṛṣṭi-ādikam: creation and the rest (origination, dissolution, etc.)

• aham: I

• dvijāḥ: O twice-born (brāhmaṇa) sages

• tat eva: that very (same)

• ekārṇave: in the one ocean / at the time of the single flood-like ocean

• tasmin: in that (situation/time)

• manuḥ: Manu (Vaivasvata Manu)

• papraccha: asked/inquired

• keśavam: Keśava (Viṣṇu, Lord Matsya in context).

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) addressing the assembled dvijas (sages)

Entities Mentioned

• Manu
• Keśava (Viṣṇu / Lord Matsya by context)
• Dvijas (sages)

Tags

• Creation
• Pralaya
• Matsya-Avatara
• Manu
• Puranic Dialogue

FAQs

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

It frames the teaching as arising in the ekārṇava—an all-engulfing ocean condition associated with pralaya—where Manu asks Viṣṇu about creation and allied cosmological topics.

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

Indirectly: it establishes Manu (the archetypal lawgiver and ruler) as receiving foundational cosmological knowledge from Viṣṇu, which underpins later dharma-guidance for governance and right living.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

None explicitly in this verse; it is a narrative bridge introducing a cosmological inquiry rather than Vāstu or ritual procedure.