Shloka 1
Matsya Purana — Vishnu’s Names Across Yugas and the Gods’ Refuge During the Tārakāmaya War
*मत्स्य उवाच विष्णुत्वं शृणु विष्णोश्च हरित्वं च कृते युगे वैकुण्ठत्वं च देवेषु कृष्णत्वं मानुषेषु च //
*matsya uvāca viṣṇutvaṃ śṛṇu viṣṇośca haritvaṃ ca kṛte yuge vaikuṇṭhatvaṃ ca deveṣu kṛṣṇatvaṃ mānuṣeṣu ca //
Lord Matsya said: “Hear about Vishnu’s ‘Vishnu-ness’—and also his aspect as Hari: in the Kṛta Yuga (he is known) as Hari; among the gods (he is revered) as Vaikuṇṭha; and among human beings (he is known) as Kṛṣṇa.”
FAQs
This verse is not describing pralaya directly; it maps how Vishnu is recognized by different epithets across yuga-time and across realms (devas vs. humans), emphasizing continuity of the same supreme divinity rather than a flood or dissolution event.
By teaching stable recognition of Vishnu through his names (Hari, Vaikuṇṭha, Kṛṣṇa), the verse supports bhakti-based dharma: a king or householder should uphold righteous conduct and worship with right understanding of the deity’s forms and titles appropriate to tradition and context.
No explicit Vāstu or temple-measurement rule appears here; the ritual takeaway is theological—mantra and worship can legitimately invoke Vishnu through context-appropriate names (Hari/Vaikuṇṭha/Kṛṣṇa), which informs icon-labeling and liturgical address in pūjā.