Shloka 27

Matsya Purana — Intermediate Dissolution

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

Revealing this entire cosmos, the Dispeller of darkness manifested. He is beyond the senses, supreme, higher than the manifest; subtler than the atom yet greater than the greatest, eternal. Known as Nārāyaṇa, that One alone arose by Himself.

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.