Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

मात्स्यं मत्स्येन यत्प्रोक्तं मनवे षोडशं क्रमात् । तच्चतुर्दशसाहस्रं संख्यया वदतां वर

Transliteration

mātsyaṃ matsyena yatproktaṃ manave ṣoḍaśaṃ kramāt | taccaturdaśasāhasraṃ saṃkhyayā vadatāṃ vara

Translation

മത്സ്യാവതാരം മനുവിന് ഉപദേശിച്ച മാത്സ്യപുരാണം ക്രമത്തിൽ ഷോഡശമാണ്. ഹേ വക്താക്കളിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനേ! അതിന്റെ സംഖ്യ പതിനാലായിരം ശ്ലോകങ്ങളാണ്.

Word by Word

• mātsyam: the Mātsya (Purāṇa)
• mātsyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (पुराणनाम)

• matsyena: by Matsya (the Fish-incarnation)
• matsyena: Karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: matsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रयोगः (relative pronoun)

• proktam: was spoken/taught
• proktam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (वच्) (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि (was said)

• manave: to Manu
• manave: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन

• ṣoḍaśam: sixteenth
• ṣoḍaśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषणम् (16th)

• kramāt: in order/according to sequence
• kramāt: Hetu/Apadana (Ablative of manner/source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थः (in due order)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देश (that)

• caturdaśa-sāhasram: fourteen thousand
• caturdaśa-sāhasram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (१४-सहस्रम्)

• saṃkhyayā: by count
• saṃkhyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• vadatām: of those who speak
• vadatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √vad (वद्) (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त present active participle) ‘vadat’; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ‘वर’ इत्यस्य षष्ठी-सम्बन्धः

• vara: O best (one)
• vara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: vadatāṃ vara (best among speakers)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic scene with a mythic inset: foreground sages reciting the Purāṇa list; background vignette shows Matsya (fish form) instructing Manu near waters, symbolizing the origin of the Mātsya Purāṇa teaching.

Characters & Entities

• Mātsya Purāṇa
• Matsya (avatāra)
• Manu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It underscores divine-to-human transmission of dharma through Purāṇas, linking scripture to avatāra and progenitor (Manu) lineages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; the verse is part of a catalogue rather than a site-specific māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides identification and extent of the Mātsya Purāṇa.