Matsya Purana — Intermediate Dissolution, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

यद्भवद्भिः पुरा पृष्टः सृष्ट्यादिकमहं द्विजाः तद् एवैकार्णवे तस्मिन् मनुः पप्रच्छ केशवम् //

Transliteration

yadbhavadbhiḥ purā pṛṣṭaḥ sṛṣṭyādikamahaṃ dvijāḥ tad evaikārṇave tasmin manuḥ papraccha keśavam //

Translation

Hỡi các bậc hiền triết song sinh, chính đề tài về sự sáng tạo và các điều liên hệ mà xưa kia các ngài đã hỏi ta—cũng về đề tài ấy, vào thời kỳ đại dương vũ trụ duy nhất, Manu đã thưa hỏi Keśava (Viṣṇu).

Word by Word

• yad: that which

• bhavadbhiḥ: by you (honored ones)

• purā: formerly/earlier

• pṛṣṭaḥ: asked/inquired

• sṛṣṭi-ādikam: creation and the rest (origination, dissolution, etc.)

• aham: I

• dvijāḥ: O twice-born (brāhmaṇa) sages

• tat eva: that very (same)

• ekārṇave: in the one ocean / at the time of the single flood-like ocean

• tasmin: in that (situation/time)

• manuḥ: Manu (Vaivasvata Manu)

• papraccha: asked/inquired

• keśavam: Keśava (Viṣṇu, Lord Matsya in context).

Speaker

• Sūta (narrator) addressing the assembled dvijas (sages)

Entities Mentioned

• Manu
• Keśava (Viṣṇu / Lord Matsya by context)
• Dvijas (sages)

Tags

• Creation
• Pralaya
• Matsya-Avatara
• Manu
• Puranic Dialogue

FAQs

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

It frames the teaching as arising in the ekārṇava—an all-engulfing ocean condition associated with pralaya—where Manu asks Viṣṇu about creation and allied cosmological topics.

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

Indirectly: it establishes Manu (the archetypal lawgiver and ruler) as receiving foundational cosmological knowledge from Viṣṇu, which underpins later dharma-guidance for governance and right living.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

None explicitly in this verse; it is a narrative bridge introducing a cosmological inquiry rather than Vāstu or ritual procedure.