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

Wahai yang terbaik antara para penutur, Mātsya Purāṇa yang diajarkan oleh jelmaan Ikan kepada Manu ialah yang keenam belas menurut urutan. Bilangannya empat belas ribu śloka.

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.