Matsya Purana — Brahmā’s Four Faces, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

केचित् प्रधानम् इत्य् आहुर् अव्यक्तम् अपरे जगुः एतद् एव प्रजासृष्टिं करोति विकरोति च //

Transliteration

kecit pradhānam ity āhur avyaktam apare jaguḥ etad eva prajāsṛṣṭiṃ karoti vikaroti ca //

Translation

ചിലർ ഇതിനെ ‘പ്രധാന’ എന്നു പറയുന്നു; മറ്റുചിലർ ‘അവ്യക്ത’ എന്നു പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കുന്നു. ഇതുതന്നെ പ്രജാസൃഷ്ടി നടത്തുകയും, വികാരമേറ്റു ലോകത്തെ പരിവർത്തിപ്പിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു.

Word by Word

• केचित् (kecit): some

• प्रधानम् (pradhānam): Pradhāna, primordial material cause (Prakṛti)

• इति (iti): thus

• आहुः (āhuḥ): say

• अव्यक्तम् (avyaktam): the unmanifest, not perceptible

• अपरे (apare): others

• जगुः (jaguḥ): declared/said

• एतत् (etat): this

• एव (eva): alone/indeed

• प्रजा-सृष्टिम् (prajā-sṛṣṭim): creation of creatures/progeny

• करोति (karoti): makes/produces

• विकरोति (vikaroti): alters/transforms/modifies

• च (ca): and.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, cosmological teaching context)

Entities Mentioned

• Pradhana
• Avyakta
• Prakriti

Tags

• Creation
• Sankhya
• Cosmology
• Prakriti
• Metaphysics

FAQs

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

It identifies the unmanifest material principle (Pradhāna/Avyakta) as the underlying cause that generates beings and also brings about their change—implying cyclical manifestation and reconfiguration across cosmic phases, including dissolution and re-creation.

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

By grounding the world in an impersonal, law-governed causal principle, it supports the Purāṇic ethic that rulers and householders should act in harmony with cosmic order (dharma), recognizing that prosperity, decline, and social change are part of a larger, regulated process.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or ritual rule is stated; however, the verse supplies the cosmological premise often used in ritual and temple thought: visible forms arise from an unmanifest source, so consecration and design symbolically “manifest” order from the unseen principle.