Matsya Purāṇa

Matsya Purāṇa, “the Purāṇa told by Matsya”

Matsya has other meanings too: see all meanings of Matsya.

The Matsya Purāṇa holds a first place among the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas, often praised as the sāttvika scripture that bridges the ancient flood with the new creation. It is a divine dialogue held in the most fearful of times, the pralaya (great dissolution), when the Supreme Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa took the form of a giant golden fish (Matsya Avatāra) and guided the pious King Satyavrata (Manu) through the waters of destruction. It is more than an account of survival: it is a full guide to rājadharma (the duties of kings), Vāstu Śāstra (architecture), and the detailed rites that keep the cosmic order. In it Bhagavān Vishṇu Himself explains the matsya nyāya (the law of the fish, where the strong eat the weak) and then rises above it with the law of dharma.

The text is a dialogue between Bhagavān Matsya and Manu, told by Sūta to the ṛshis gathered at Naimishāraṇya. It takes in the making of the worlds, creation, all fourteen Manvantaras, the family lines of the Solar and Lunar dynasties, the complete Śrāddha Kalpa, great narratives such as the Yayāti cycle and the Deva–Asura wars, long vaṃśāvalīs (lists of descent) down to the Kuru and Pāṇḍava dynasties, and a Triśatī stotra of Śiva beside a list of Vishṇu’s ten avatāras.

Significance

The significance of this scripture lies in its speaker. Matsya is the first of the Daśāvatāras (ten avatāras) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. As the fish moves through rough waters with ease, this Purāṇa carries the devotee across the ocean of saṃsāra.

The text itself tells of its own greatness. It is the sixteenth Purāṇa in the traditional list and holds fourteen thousand verses (ślokas). Its chief value is its encyclopedic range: it is one of the earliest texts to set out in order the science of making mūrtis (pratimā lakshaṇa) and temple architecture, and so it is needed by sthapatis (temple architects) and devotees alike.

The Matsya Purāṇa is told by Bhagavān Vishṇu Himself, in His Matsya form, to a human hearer during the pralaya. So it carries both the authority of Īśvara-vākya (the word of Parameśvara) and the closeness of teaching passed from guru to śishya (disciple) across a cosmic threshold. It is valued most for its complete Śrāddha Kalpa, its full vaṃśāvalī sections tracing lines down to the time of the Mahābhārata, and the Śiva Triśatī it holds.

A verse on the merit of the Matsya Purāṇa says:

mātsyaṃ ca yat purāṇaṃ hi yatroktaṃ maukshikaṃ vidhim।
matsyarūpeṇa ca hariḥ kathayāmāsa kauravāḥ॥

That Purāṇa in which Hari, in the form of a fish, set out the path to moksha and the sacred laws, is known as the Matsya.

The Vāmana Purāṇa names the Matsya Purāṇa as the best of the Purāṇas. The maharshis, teaching the rākshasa king Sukeśī, set out the best of each kind: Janārdana among the devatās, Himavān among mountains, Sudarśana among weapons, Garuḍa among birds, Gaṅgā among rivers, the aśvamedha among yajñas, Agastya among tapasvīs, the Vedas among the āgamas, the Matsya Purāṇa among the Purāṇas, the Svāyambhuva Saṃhitā among the saṃhitās and the Manusmṛti among the smṛtis. They give this long list to teach its opposite: just as these are the best of their kinds, the kṛtaghna, the one who forgets a kindness done to him, is the lowest of all wrongdoers. (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 12)

Narrator and Audience

The setting of this Purāṇa is dramatic and divine.

• First narrator: The Supreme Bhagavān Vishṇu, in the form of a horned fish (Matsya), is the main speaker.
• First hearer: The one who receives this knowledge is Vaivasvata Manu (King Satyavrata), seated in a boat tied to the horn of the divine fish and floating on the waters of the dissolution with the Saptarshis (seven ṛshis).
• Later telling: As with other Purāṇas, this dialogue was later told by Sūta Romaharshaṇa to the ṛshis in the Naimishāraṇya forest, who were holding a twelve-year yajña.

The Purāṇa opens in the sacred forest of Naimishāraṇya. The great ṛshi Śaunaka and thousands of ṛshis have gathered there for a twelve-year sattra (long yajña). They come to Sūta Lomāharshaṇa and ask him to tell the Purāṇa that Bhagavān Matsya taught to Manu during the pralaya. Sūta learned it through the line of teachers (paramparā) coming down from Vyāsa. He agrees and begins with the Matsya Avatāra itself. All the text that follows is the teaching Bhagavān Matsya, Vishṇu in the form of a fish, gave to Vaivasvata Manu during the long night of Brahmā‘s pralaya, while the boat was drawn through the first ocean (chapter 1). The third part of the Purāṇa goes on within this frame of Sūta teaching at Naimishāraṇya.

Per Agni Purāṇa, when Vaivasvata Manu had tied his boat to the horn of the golden Matsya, he praised that Matsya with stotras and heard from him the Matsya Purāṇa, which removes pāpas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 2). In Pushkara‘s account of the gift of each Purāṇa (Purāṇa-dāna), Bhagavān Vishṇu in the form of Matsya told the Matsya Purāṇa of 13,000 ślokas to Manu at the beginning of the kalpa. It is given in dāna together with gold and a pearl (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 272).

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Śuka Maharshi tells Parīkshit that when the waters of the pralaya rose and King Satyavrata, seated in the ship with the maharshis, had bound it to the one horn of the golden fish with the nāga Vāsuki as a rope and praised him, Śrī Hari, moving about in the great ocean in the form of the fish, taught him the nature of the ātmā. He taught the king in full the saṃhitā called the Matsya Purāṇa, composed by himself, in which ātma-jñāna, bhakti-yoga and karmas (rites) are set forth, and with it the secret of his own nature. Hearing from Bhagavān Matsya of the Parabrahma beyond time, the king had his doubts removed, and by Bhagavān Vishṇu’s grace he became Vaivasvata Manu in this kalpa (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 24). In its list of the eighteen Purāṇas, Sūta Maharshi counts the Matsya Purāṇa sixteenth, and in the last chapter of the Purāṇa he gives it 14,000 ślokas (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapters 7, 13).

Structure

The Matsya Purāṇa has about 291 chapters. The Vishṇu Purāṇa is divided into aṃśas (parts); the Matsya flows as one continuous narrative, though its chapters can be grouped by theme into creation, royal duties, rites and architecture.

Contents

Creation and the Deluge

The text opens with the famous account of King Satyavrata offering arghya (water offering) in the Kṛtamālā river. A tiny fish appears in his hands, begging for protection. The king protects it, but the fish grows wondrously, from a pot to a pond, to a river, and at last to the ocean. Knowing that this is no ordinary creature but Bhagavān Hari Himself, Manu surrenders. Bhagavān Hari foretells the coming pralaya and tells Manu to gather the seeds of creation in a boat. During the flood, Bhagavān Hari tells Manu the secrets of the cosmos (sarga and pratisarga).

Genealogies and Narratives

The Purāṇa sets out the Sūrya Vaṃśa (Solar Dynasty) and Candra Vaṃśa (Lunar Dynasty). It tells vividly of Yayāti and his sons (Yadu and Pūru), and the love of Kaca and Devayānī. It gives much space to the family line of the Pitṛs (ancestors) and explains the importance of śrāddha rites. It also tells of the burning of Tripura (the three cities) by Bhagavān Śiva, showing the oneness of Hari and Hara.

Rājadharma and Polity

A special feature of the Matsya Purāṇa is its long treatise on statecraft. It advises kings on choosing ministers, giving justice (daṇḍa), fortifying kingdoms, and the rules of war. It stresses that a king must protect dharma, ruling with the rod of justice to prevent the chaos where the big fish eat the small (matsya nyāya).

Vāstu and Rituals

This Purāṇa is a cornerstone of Indian architecture. It gives detailed measures for building temples and palaces and for making mūrtis (of Vishṇu, Śiva, the Devī and others). It describes the Mahādānas (sixteen great gifts), such as the Tulāpurusha (weighing oneself against gold) and the Hiraṇyagarbha dāna, which remove great pāpas. It also gives vratas (vows) such as the Anaṅgadāna Vrata and Bhīma Dvādaśī.

The contents part by part

Part 1: chapters 1–50

The first fifty chapters cover these themes.

Matsya Avatāra and creation (chapters 1–8): the fish avatāra appearing to Manu; the pralaya and the rescue of the Vedas; the cycle of creation and dissolution; Brahmā‘s day and night; the coming forth of the Vedas; Brahmā’s creation of the ṛshis and Śatarūpā; the Brahmā–Sāvitrī narrative; Manmatha and Kāmadeva; the children of Daksha; the wives of Dharma and their children; the eleven Rudras; the thirteen wives of Kaśyapa and the full list of their children (Ādityas, Daityas, Dānavas, serpents, garuḍas and all creatures); the birth of the forty-nine Maruts; the Madana Dvādaśī vrata; and Brahmā’s appointment of rulers over the realms of creation.

Manvantaras (chapter 9): an ordered account of all fourteen Manvantaras, from Svāyambhuva to Bhautya, giving for each the name of the Manu, the ruling devas, the Saptarshis and the royal sons.

Solar Dynasty (chapters 10–12): the narrative of Vena and the churning of Pṛthu from his body; the milking of the earth; the family line of the Sūryavaṃśa from Sūrya, through the account of Saṃjñā and Chāyā, Yama‘s tapas and the Aśvinī devatās, to Ikshvāku and his descendants, among them Kakutstha, Māndhātā, Sagara, Bhagīratha, Daśaratha and Rāma; Iḷā‘s change of form and her meeting with Budha.

Pitṛ-vaṃśa and Śrāddha Kalpa (chapters 13–22): a full treatment of the seven classes of Pitṛs (among them Vairāja, Agnishvātta, Barhishad, Saumya and Kravyāda) and the well-known narrative of Acchodā. Then the complete Śrāddha Kalpa: inviting the brāhmaṇas, the full steps of śrāddha, the Ābhyudayika rite for happy occasions, the rules of āśauca (impurity), the ekoddishṭa śrāddha, the fruits each offering brings by pleasing the Pitṛs, the Kauśika vaṃśa and how they reached Vishṇuloka and Brahmaloka through right śrāddha, and the tīrthas and times that work best.

Lunar Dynasty (chapters 23–24): the birth of Candra from the eye of Atri, the Tārakāmaya war, the birth of Budha from Tārā, and the family line of the Candravaṃśa through Purūravas, Urvaśī, Raji, Nahusha and Yayāti.

Yayāti cycle (chapters 25–42): the longest narrative of Part 1. Kaca studies under Śukrācārya and wins the Saṃjīvanī vidyā; Devayānī and Śarmishṭhā; Śukra’s śāpa (curse) on Yayāti; Yayāti exchanges his old age for the youth of his son Pūru; his life in the forest; his rise to svarga and his fall from it; and the long dialogue with Ashṭaka on dharma.

Vaṃśāvalīs and narratives (chapters 43–50): the Yadu vaṃśa; Kārtavīrya Arjuna; the Syamantaka maṇi and Kṛshṇa‘s part in recovering it; the Vṛshṇi vaṃśa; the Śūra line leading to Vasudeva and Kṛshṇa (with Kṛshṇa’s birth fixed on Śrāvaṇa amāvāsyā); the births of the Pāṇḍavas; the twelve Deva–Asura wars; the slaying of Bhṛgu‘s wife by Vishṇu and the śāpa of seven births; Śukra’s ūrdhvamukha tapas (tapas with face turned upward) to Śiva; the Śiva Triśatī stotra; the list of Vishṇu’s ten avatāras; the narrative of Dīrghatamas and the five sons of Bali who founded the eastern kingdoms (Aṅga, Vaṅga, Suhma, Puṇḍra, Kaliṅga); and the complete Pūru, Bharata, Kuru and Pāṇḍava family lines.

Part 2: chapters 51–126

The second part is the Kriyā Yoga Prakaraṇam, the section on rites, sacred geography and the order of the worlds, told by Nandikeśvara to Nārada. Within it stands the dialogue of Mārkaṇḍeya and Yudhishṭhira. It also holds full sections on bhūgola (the geography of the earth) and khagola (the sphere of the sky).

Vratas and rites (chapters 51–100): a full list of Vishṇu vratas kept through the lunar calendar, among them the Vibhūti Dvādaśī, the Saṅkrāntyudyāpana, the Āditya-vāra Nakta Vrata, and sixty other vratas kept through the year (chapter 99). The section ends with the Snāna Vidhi, the complete steps of the sacred bath: Gaṅgā āvāhana (inviting Gaṅgā), mṛttikā snāna (bathing with earth), tarpaṇa to Gaṅgā and the pitṛs, and the arghya to Sūrya.

Prayāga Māhātmya (chapters 101–110): the longest tīrtha account of this part, told as Mārkaṇḍeya’s teaching to the grieving Yudhishṭhira after the Mahābhārata war. It covers the bounds of the Prajāpati kshetra; its divine guardians (Indra, Hari, Maheśvara); the Akshaya-vaṭa; all the tīrthas within the maṇḍala of five yojanas (Kambala-Aśvatara, Haṃsa-prapātana, Urvaśī-pulina, Saṃdhyā-vaṭa, Koṭi-tīrtha, Daśāśvamedha-ghāṭa, Ṛṇa-pramocana); the fruit of bathing in Māgha; and the teaching on prāyaścitta (atonement). It ends with Yudhishṭhira going to Prayāga and receiving Vāsudeva’s abhisheka, and with Mārkaṇḍeya’s counsel that tīrtha-yātrā stands above all yajñas.

Bhūgola, the map of the earth (chapters 111–122): the cosmos of seven dvīpas with Jambū-dvīpa at the centre. Detailed accounts of Jambū-dvīpa (Meru, the nine varshas, the great rivers); Bhārata Varsha (nine sub-khaṇḍas, seven kula-parvatas, six groups of regional janapadas); the Irāvatī (Rāvī) river; the Himālaya (forests, plants, animals, Atri‘s āśrama); and Kailāsa (seven lakes and rivers in the directions, and Gaṅgā’s descent in seven streams). Then the Śāka, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śālmali, Gomeda and Pushkara dvīpas, with their oceans, parvatas, varshas and rivers. Beyond all the dvīpas stand the Lokāloka parvata and the boundary of the five elements (pañcabhūta).

Purūravas Madra Caritraṃ (chapters 114–119): the narrative of King Purūravas of the Madra kingdom. He is born ugly because, in a former birth, he broke the rule against an oil bath (abhyaṅga-snāna) on a fast (upavāsa) day. He travels to the Himālaya, offers pūjā to the divine mūrti of Vishṇu at Atri’s lake, holds firm against the play of gandharvas and apsarases, and after a month of tapas in Māgha receives Janārdana’s grace (anugraha) through Atri’s blessing and reaches moksha.

Khagola, the sphere of the sky (chapters 123–126):

• The sizes of Sūrya (9,000 yojanas), Candra (18,000 yojanas) and the earth (50 lakh yojanas).
• The nine nakshatra-vīthīs (paths of the stars) in three mārgas: Nāga, Gaja and Airāvata in the north; Vṛshabha, Go and Jaraddava in the middle; Aja, Mṛga and Vaiśvānara in the south.
• Dhruva controls all motion in the sky through cords of wind (vāyu-pāśas).
• The Śiśumāra Cakra (the figure of the cosmic dolphin): the upper jaw is Uttānapāda, the lower jaw Dharma, the heart Nārāyaṇa; the feet are the Sādhyas, the Aśvins, Varuṇa and Aryaman; the tail is Agni, Indra, Mārīca, Kaśyapa and Dhruva.
• The ratha of Sūrya: its one wheel is the saṃvatsara (year), its five spokes the yuga of five years (pañca-saṃvatsara), its seven horses the seven chandas (metres, Gāyatrī through Ushṇik), and its axle joins Dhruva and the Mānasa parvata.
• The six retinues of the seasons, each with 2 Ādityas, 2 Ṛshis, 2 Nāgas, 2 Gandharvas, 2 Apsarases, 2 Grāmaṇīs and 2 Rākshasas.
• Candra‘s ratha, with three wheels and ten white horses.
• The rathas of the planets: Budha (Mercury), 8 horses of many colours; Maṅgala (Mars), 8 red horses born of fire; Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), 8 golden horses; Śukra (Venus), 8 swift horses; Śani (Saturn), a slow iron ratha; Rāhu, 8 black horses; Ketu, smoky ones.
• Agni and Sūrya enter each other at sunset and sunrise.
• Sūrya’s 1,000 kiraṇas (rays): 400 amṛta rays for rain, 300 candra rays for snow, 300 śukla rays for heat.

Part 3: chapters 127–170

The third part goes on with Sūta teaching at Naimishāraṇya. It has five great groups of narratives with the teachings that go with them.

Tripurāsura Upākhyāna (chapters 127–139): the fifth of the twelve Deva–Asura wars. After the death of Tāraka, Maya, Tārakāksha and Vidyunmālī did fierce tapas and won from Brahmā the vara (boon) of the Tripura: three cities that none could take (of iron, of silver and of gold), which could be destroyed only when they stood in line, by a single arrow, at the Pushya yoga. The narrative covers the dānavas’ good conduct at first and their later fall; the stotra of Śiva with 51 names sung by the devas; the gathering of Śiva’s cosmic ratha; Nārada‘s visit to warn the dānavas; the amṛta-vāpī (pool of nectar); the battles, in which Nandīśvara slew Tārakāksha; and the final destruction of the Tripura by Śiva’s single arrow (eka-bāṇa).

Kāla-nirṇaya and teachings on dharma (chapters 140–144): the order of the worlds at amāvāsyā, including Purūravas‘s monthly rise to svarga; the four parva-tithis (Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā, Anumati); the fifteen kalās and the sushumnā ray; the table of the yuga of five years; three classes of pitṛs; and the dharma of parakīya and svakīya śāstras. Chapter 144 gives five grades of ṛshitva (being a ṛshi), the five inner conditions for a mantra to be revealed (ārtatā), the 92 mantra-seeing ṛshis (mantra-drashṭā) in six gotra lines, and how the size of the human body matches the yugas.

Tārakāsura Upākhyāna (chapters 145–159): the sixth Deva–Asura war, told in full: Diti‘s request; the 49 Maruts; the birth of Vajrāṅga and his capture of Indra; the torments of Varāṅgī; the birth of Tārakāsura and his vara; the battles of devas and asuras; the death of Jambhāsura at Indra’s hands; Brahmā’s plan for Pārvatī‘s birth; the part of Vibhāvarī; the burning of Manmatha; Pārvatī’s tapas and her Gaurī form; the wedding of Śiva and Pārvatī; the birth of Kumāra through Agni, Gaṅgā and the śaravaṇa (reed forest); the abhisheka of Kārttikeya; and Tāraka’s final defeat.

Hiraṇyakaśipu and Narasiṃha (chapters 160–162): the seventh Deva–Asura war. Hiraṇyakaśipu’s tapas in water for eleven thousand years; Brahmā’s many-sided vara; his conquest of all three worlds; the detailed account of his splendid sky-borne sabhā (hall); Narasiṃha’s appearance as half man and half lion; the battle in which every weapon fails; the cosmic omens of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s death; and his slaying by Narasiṃha’s nails. Brahmā’s stotra to Narasiṃha closes the episode.

Pādma Kalpa Sṛshṭi (chapters 163–170): the lengths of the yugas and how dharma changes through all four; the pralaya in seven stages; Mārkaṇḍeya surviving the pralaya and his vision of the child Nārāyaṇa on the banyan leaf; the lotus rising from the navel, Brahmā’s birth from the lotus, and the creation of the Pādma Kalpa; the birth and slaying of Madhu and Kaiṭabha, with the Matsya Purāṇa’s own detail that Bhagavān Vishṇu granted them high standing in future kalpas (hence the name Madhusūdana). Then the secondary creation: the three mānasa-putras (mind-born sons) Svāyambhuva, Bhuva and Bhūrbhuva; Nārāyaṇa as teacher of yoga (Yogācārya) and Kapila as teacher of Sāṃkhya (Sāṃkhyācārya); the Gāyatrī mantra; the four Vedas; and Dharma as Brahmā’s first mānasa-putra.

Phala Śruti (Fruits of Recitation)

The text ends by listing the great benefits of studying this scripture.

• Purification: Hearing the Matsya Purāṇa cleanses the devotee of all pāpas and gives the puṇya of an Aśvamedha yajña.
• Long life and children: It gives long life, health and good children to those who read it with devotion.
• The divine abode: In the end, the devotee who meditates on the teachings of the divine fish reaches the supreme abode of Vishṇu and never falls back into the cycle of saṃsāra.

Character of the Purāṇa

The Matsya Purāṇa has several special features:

• Authority on architecture: The Agni Purāṇa and Garuḍa Purāṇa touch on architecture. The Matsya Purāṇa is held to be a main technical text for Vāstu and Śilpa Śāstra, with exact proportions for making mūrtis.
• The pralaya as setting: Among the Purāṇas, the Matsya gives a first-hand account of the Naimittika Pralaya as the setting for the whole dialogue, so its setting is the end of a world and the saving of those who take refuge.
• Room for all: It gives its place to Vishṇu (the narrator) and to Śiva (through detailed narratives such as the Tripuradahana), and even holds rites for the pūjā of the Devī, so it brings together the main paths of Sanātana Dharma.

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Sources

• Matsya Purāṇa, chapters 1–170
• Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 12
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 2, 272
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 24; Skandha 12, Chapters 7, 13