Shloka 1

Matsya Purana — Prologue to the Matsya Purana and the Manu–Pralaya Rescue Narrative

Devanagari script

पातालादुत्पतिष्णोर् मकरवसतयो यस्य पुच्छाभिघाताद् ऊर्ध्वं ब्रह्माण्डखण्डव्यतिकरविहितव्यत्ययेनापतन्ति विष्णोर्मत्स्यावतारे सकलवसुमतीमण्डलं व्यश्नुवानास् तस्यास्योदीरितानां ध्वनिर् अपहरताद् अश्रियं वः श्रुतीनाम् //

Transliteration

pātālādutpatiṣṇor makaravasatayo yasya pucchābhighātād ūrdhvaṃ brahmāṇḍakhaṇḍavyatikaravihitavyatyayenāpatanti viṣṇormatsyāvatāre sakalavasumatīmaṇḍalaṃ vyaśnuvānās tasyāsyodīritānāṃ dhvanir apaharatād aśriyaṃ vaḥ śrutīnām //

Translation

May the reverberation of the words uttered from the mouth of Viṣṇu in his Matsya incarnation remove all inauspiciousness from your Vedic recitations—he whose tail-strike made the makaras dwelling in Pātāla leap upward and fall in disordered inversion amid the clashing fragments of the cosmic egg, as he pervaded the whole circle of the earth.

Word by Word

• pātālāt: from Pātāla/the netherworld

• utpatiṣṇoḥ: of those leaping up/rising

• makara-vasatayaḥ: the dwellers (inhabitants) among makaras/crocodile-like sea-creatures

• yasya: whose

• puccha-abhighātāt: from the striking of the tail

• ūrdhvam: upward

• brahmāṇḍa-khaṇḍa: fragments/sections of the cosmic egg (universe)

• vyatikara: collision/intermixture

• vihita: produced/caused

• vyatyayena: in reversal/disorder

• āpatanti: they fall/come down

• viṣṇoḥ: of Vishnu

• matsya-avatāre: in the Fish incarnation

• sakala: entire

• vasumatī-maṇḍalam: the circle/disc of the earth

• vyaśnuvānaḥ: pervading/spreading over

• tasya: of that

• āsya: mouth

• udīritānām: of the uttered (words/sounds)

• dhvaniḥ: resonance/sound

• apaharatāt: may it remove/carry away

• aśriyam: misfortune/inauspiciousness

• vaḥ: your

• śrutīnām: of the Vedas/recitations

Speaker

• Suta (narratorial invocation/benediction before the dialogue begins)

Entities Mentioned

• Vishnu
• Matsya (Fish incarnation)
• Pātāla
• Makara
• Brahmāṇḍa (cosmic egg)
• Śruti (Veda)

Tags

• Pralaya
• Matsyavatara
• Invocation
• Cosmology
• Śruti

FAQs

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

It uses pralaya-style cosmic imagery—Pātāla, violent upheaval, and the ‘brahmāṇḍa’—to frame Matsya as a world-pervading, stabilizing divine power whose very utterance restores auspicious order.

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

Indirectly, it stresses śruti-śuddhi (the auspicious, correct condition of Vedic recitation): rulers and householders uphold dharma by maintaining pure rites and listening to/reciting sacred teaching under divine protection.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, it is a maṅgalācaraṇa (opening benediction) seeking removal of inauspiciousness from Vedic chanting—an important principle behind temple/ritual commencements, though no specific Vāstu rule is stated in this verse.