Matsya Purana — Questions on Padmanabha’s Lotus-Creation in the Padma Mahakalpa; Prelude to N..., Shloka 4

Devanagari script

*मनुरुवाच कथं पाद्मे महाकल्पे तव पद्ममयं जगत् जलार्णवगतस्येह नाभौ जातं जनार्दन //

Transliteration

*manuruvāca kathaṃ pādme mahākalpe tava padmamayaṃ jagat jalārṇavagatasyeha nābhau jātaṃ janārdana //

Translation

منو نے کہا: اے جناردن! پادْم مہاکلپ میں، جب آپ آبِ محیط میں مقیم تھے، تو آپ کی ناف سے یہ آپ کا کمل-صورت جگت یہاں کیسے پیدا ہوا؟

Word by Word

• manuḥ uvāca: Manu said

• katham: how

• pādme mahākalpe: in the great Lotus-aeon (Pādma Mahākalpa)

• tava: of you/your

• padma-mayam: made of/manifest as a lotus

• jagat: the world/universe

• jala-arṇava-gatasya: of (you) who had entered/abided in the watery ocean

• iha: here (in this context/at that time)

• nābhau: in/from the navel

• jātam: born/arisen

• janārdana: O Janārdana (Vishnu).

Speaker

• Vaivasvata Manu

Entities Mentioned

• Vaivasvata Manu
• Janardana (Vishnu)
• Padma (Lotus)
• Padma Mahakalpa
• Jalarnava (Cosmic Ocean)

Tags

• Creation
• Cosmic Ocean
• Lotus-Navel
• Pralaya
• Pādma Kalpa

FAQs

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

It frames re-creation after cosmic inundation: Vishnu abides in the cosmic waters (jalārṇava), and the lotus-linked emergence of the universe is questioned as the mechanism of renewed creation.

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

Indirectly, it models dharmic inquiry: Manu, the archetypal lawgiver-king, seeks the cosmic origin to ground right governance and household life in a correct understanding of time-cycles (kalpa) and divine order.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No explicit Vāstu or ritual rule is stated, but the lotus (padma) is a key sacred design archetype later used in temple plans and iconography; this verse supplies the cosmological symbolism behind “padma” patterns in Purāṇic sacred architecture.