Shloka 18
Adhyāya 188: Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of Yuga-Decline and the Restoration Motif
Kali-yuga to Kalki
विचेष्टितुं च कौन्तेय मत्स्यो वाप्यां विशाम्पते । मनुं मत्स्यस्ततो दृष्टवा पुनरेवाभ्यभाषत,नराधिप कुन्तीनन्दन! वह उस बावलीमें हिल-डुल भी नहीं पाता था। अतः मनुको देखकर वह पुनः बोला--
viceṣṭituṁ ca kaunteya matsyo vāpyāṁ viśāmpate | manuṁ matsyas tato dṛṣṭvā punar evābhyabhāṣata || narādhipa kuntīnandana! saḥ asyāṁ bāvalyāṁ hil-dul api na śaknoti sma; ataḥ manuṁ dṛṣṭvā saḥ punar uvāca—
ਹੇ ਕੌਂਤੇਯ, ਹੇ ਨਰਾਧਿਪ! ਉਹ ਮੱਛੀ ਉਸ ਤਾਲਾਬ ਵਿੱਚ ਹਿਲ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਕਦੀ ਸੀ। ਇਸ ਲਈ ਮਨੂ ਨੂੰ ਵੇਖ ਕੇ ਉਹ ਫਿਰ ਬੋਲ ਪਈ—
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic attentiveness: suffering and constraint in a weaker being becomes a direct ethical call to the righteous—especially rulers—to protect, assist, and act responsibly rather than remain indifferent.
In Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration, the fish is confined in a pond and cannot move freely. When Manu comes into view, the fish speaks to him again, setting up a request or instruction that advances the well-known Manu–Matsya episode.