Matsya Purana — Intermediate Dissolution, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

अविज्ञेयमविज्ञातं जगत् स्थास्नु चरिष्णु च ततः स्वयम्भूर् अव्यक्तः प्रभवः पुण्यकर्मणाम् //

Transliteration

avijñeyamavijñātaṃ jagat sthāsnu cariṣṇu ca tataḥ svayambhūr avyaktaḥ prabhavaḥ puṇyakarmaṇām //

Translation

从那不可知、未被认识的本原，生起此世界——不动与动者皆然。由彼而生自生者（Svayambhū）、未显者（Avyakta），为诸功德业及其果报之源。

Word by Word

• avijñeyam: unknowable

• avijñātam: unknown/unperceived

• jagat: the world/universe

• sthāsnu: stationary/immovable

• cariṣṇu: moving/mobile

• ca: and

• tataḥ: from that/from there

• svayambhūḥ: the self-born/self-existent (Brahmā/Hiraṇyagarbha)

• avyaktaḥ: the unmanifest (primordial principle)

• prabhavaḥ: origin/source

• puṇya-karmaṇām: of meritorious deeds (and their results)

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (Vishnu), instructing Vaivasvata Manu on cosmology

Entities Mentioned

• Svayambhu
• Avyakta

Tags

• Creation
• Cosmology
• Avyakta
• Svayambhu
• Karma

FAQs

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

It frames creation (sarga) as emerging from an unmanifest, unknowable source (avyakta), from which the moving and unmoving cosmos unfolds—implying that even after dissolution, manifestation can re-emerge from that same unmanifest ground.

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

By calling the unmanifest source the basis from which “puṇya-karmas” proceed, it reinforces moral causality: kings and householders should uphold dharma and perform meritorious acts, trusting that righteous action is rooted in—and aligned with—the cosmic order.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or iconographic rule is stated here; the takeaway is foundational: rituals and sacred architecture are traditionally grounded in cosmology—linking visible forms (manifest) back to the avyakta principle they symbolically represent.