Matsya Purana — Intermediate Dissolution, Shloka 17
काले यथोक्ते संजाते वासुदेवमुखोद्गते शृङ्गी प्रादुर्बभूवाथ मत्स्यरूपी जनार्दनः //
kāle yathokte saṃjāte vāsudevamukhodgate śṛṅgī prādurbabhūvātha matsyarūpī janārdanaḥ //
Khi thời khắc đã được báo trước đến—đúng như lời phát ra từ chính miệng Vāsudeva—Janārdana liền hiển hiện trong hình tướng cá, mang một chiếc sừng.
FAQs
It signals the exact, foretold timing of the divine intervention preceding the Flood narrative: Vishnu manifests as Matsya precisely when the prophesied time arrives, indicating pralaya unfolds under cosmic order rather than randomness.
Indirectly, it emphasizes obedience to dharmic instruction and preparedness: since the Lord’s words prove true “in due time,” rulers and householders are urged to heed authoritative counsel (āpta-vākya) and act before crisis—an ethic central to the Manu episode.
No direct Vāstu or ritual procedure is stated in this verse; its practical takeaway is iconographic—Matsya is described as “horned” (śṛṅgī), a feature often linked in the wider flood account to fastening or guiding the vessel, informing how Matsya may be visualized in Purāṇic imagery.