THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE HINDUS VOL 17, PART 1 AMS PRESS NEW YORKTHE SACRED BOOKS OF THE HINDUS Translated by various Sanskrit Scholars EDITED BY MAJOR B D BASU, 1MS VOLUME XVII —PART 1 THE MATSYA PURANAM CHAPTERS 1-128 PUBLISHRD BY ‘THE PANINL OFBICE, BHUVANESWARI ASRAMA, BAHADURGAN), ‘Allababad Printap BY Apurva KrisHNa Boss, aT THE INDIAN Press, 1916Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Puranas Matsyapurana English ‘The Mateya puranam Original ed issued as v 17, pts 1-2, of The Sacred books of the Hindus “Most of the appendices are from the pen of my brother, Ra: Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vidyarnava ” Includes some Slokas in Sanskrit 1 A taluqdar of Oudh, tr II Vasu, Srisa Chandra, rai bahadur, 1861-19187 [I Title IV Series The Sacred books of the Hindus, v 17, pts 1-2 BL1136 P773E5 1974 294 5°925 73-3808 ISBN 0-404-57817-9 Reprinted from the edition of 1916, Allahabad Furst AMS edition published, 1974 Manufactured in the United States of America International Standard Book Number Complete Set 0-404-57800-4 Volume 17, pts 1-2 0-404-57817-9 Volume 17, pt 1 0-404 57841-1 AMS Press, INC New York,NY 10003THB MATSYA PURANAM PART 1 TRANSLATED BY A TALUQDAR OF OUDH PUBLISHED BY SUDAINDRA NATHA VASU FROM THB PANINI OFFICE, BHUVANESWARI ASRAMA, BAHADURGANI, ‘Bllababad Printep By APuRvA KRisHNa Boss, AT THR INDIAN Press, 1916OM Fo Fhe Hon'ble Fir Jameo Feorgie Mfeoton, KCSI,LLD,VD, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF THE UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OUDH 1$ RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED THIS TRANSLATION OF THE SACRED MATSYA PURANAM WITH His HONOUR S KIND PERMISSION AS A TOKEN OF THE TRANSLATORS SINCERE ADMIRATION OF HIS HONOUR WHO BY HIS UNRIVALLED SYMPATHY FOR THE PEOPLE OF THESE PROVINCES WHOM PROVIDENCE HAS CALLED HIM TO RULE, HAS ACQUIRED THEIR EVERLASTING GRATITUDE AND AFFECTION AND WHOSE BENEFICIAL ADMINISTRATION THEY WILL ALWAYS COMMEMORATE, BY THE FOLLOWING SONG AF am orERTEEATT , amarereiafeatataga gay wu wa She aE afte TRA, nerd Sra afta aeeh Pat uwFOREWORD Modern Sanskrit scholars have not bestowed that amount of attention on the study of the Pminas which they have done on that of the Vedas This neglect ot the study of the Purinas proceeds from tore causes than one Every one of the Puranas 1s a real Encyclopedia Indica and so a very comprehensive knowledge of the whole range of Sanskrit literature 1s necessary to understand them There aie very few scholars who possess such a knowledge The present translation of the Matsya Purana has been done by an esteemed Talukdar of Oudh—well known for his scholarly attainments 10 Sanskrit and English The introduction has been written by Pandit Lalit Mohan Kai, who obtamed the diploma of Kdvyatutha from the Sanskrit College, the degree of M A in Sanskrit and Pali from the University of Calcutta and 18 professor of Sanskrit im the Kupon College Most of the appendices are from the pen of my brother, Rai Baba- dur Srida Chandra Vidyiinava, whose profound knowledge of Sanskut has enabled him to rightly interpret many difficult passages in this Purana It 18 hoped that the notes and appendices may be of use to echolare interested in the study of the Puranas The greater pait of the present volume is taken up with a descrip- tion of Vratas or fasts, followed by feasts and gifts to the Brahmanas They are of mterest only to the Hiadu public To the non-Hindus they are of very slight importance According to its own statement m Chapter 53, this Purana is 16th, im the order of precedence ‘This 18 according to the northern resconsion, whee the Biahma Purana stands fret According to the southern rescen- sion, the Mateya Purdna heads the list, showing thereby that thisis par excellence the Purfna of the southern people It probably owes its origin to the south To complete the dynastic records of the kings of the Kal: age, the inatter has been somewhat anticipated, and Chapters 271, 272 and 273 have been inserted in this volume ‘This part is completo mm stself, and its second part, which will appear in future, will not break the continuity of the book EprtorCONTENTS Page Introduction t- vib ‘franslation of the Mataya Puranam Chapters 1 128 1-360 Appendix 1 tox ine UL XIM—XXV1 ~ a xxvn —xlva yw Table to face p xlvin ” v ” io eevL hn -Inxv eee laxy -laxyin » VOL bana—xen ek xuv—cl » x cu eviINTRODUCTION The present war between the European Powers, the royal represen- tatives of which, in many cases, stand to each meer setts yet. “8° other in the relation of cousina, brings forth, im the brightest colours to the Indian mind, the Jong past glories of another great field where cousins had met to measure, ther swords The date of that war ia still an open question like many other great events of the Indian tradition Many, indeed, there have been who deny it the name of an Instorical event and lihe to look upon it, af merely a part of the fany tales which the Sanskmt Puapas, an thew opinion, abound with The details of that war are so familar to every one of us that we have never questioned its occurence, but a8 to its probable date we are merely content with believing it to be very very ancient Many European scholars. in then ove1-eagerness to prove Indian civilization to be of a late growth, have assigned to the war a date not far beyond the birth of the Christian era Leaving this tug of war regarding Indian dates to take caro of itself, let us try to find out whatin- ternal evidence the Purdnés can supply us to prove our case Custom, it 1s said, becomes Jaw, when 1 18 recognised by the atate , and tradition, we may say on the same analogy, 1s accepted as history when borne out by evidence 1ecoguisable by critical and scientific ivtellects Thanks to the indefatiguable labouis of scholars like Mr Pargiter, who staited on a study of the Puranas with some faith in the realities of ther accounts—with the requisite amount of Sraddhd which the Vedantins enjoin—we are in 6 position to take the Mahabhiraia War from a realistic point of view Of late Babu Ramaprdné Gupta, in the Asvan issue of the Pravass of the last year (Vol XV Pt 1, 6th issue, pp 740 et seq), has made an attempt to fix the date of the Mahabhfrata War, and has referred to two different theories, vz (1) the 6th century B C, founded on astronomical observations and (2) 2450 B C, based on the Rayatarngim He holds a thud view, namely, that the War took place a thousand and a half years before Chnet, and says thot many great scholars, Indian and European, bave accepted the same view Nore —Hore I beg leave to point out an oversight of Babu Ramaprand Gapta He says, at p 741 [Grst column, towards the bottom) (of which I give the translation) Tt is written in the B4th Sloka, Chap 24, Part IV, of the Vignu that Parikgit was apnointed King 1209x INTRODUCTION years after the commoncement of Kali, eto And he finds it difialt to reconcile this Paomge with what follows 1 the Vigna But evidently this interpretation 18 faulty The verse of the Visnu an question 1s ~ ag wrdthaa we worareq ipitea AAT TENTS GS: ATT TTT. Ut Vignu IV, 24 84 The meaning of the second line 18 — “At that ume (the time of Pariksit) began the Kalryuga, which comprises of 1,200 (divine) years” Cp the lines following in the Vignu What Babu Rimaprina says, appears hike an alternative theory, and may mislead readers This arises, probably, out of the worthless vernacular translations, published by Tndian press, bristling with uustakes, although purposed to have been done by the great Pandite Let us examine this view a little This theory has been built upon the mterval of time that elapsed between the birth of Parikeit and the inauguration of Mahapadma Nanda ‘The words of the different Puranas are quoted below — (1) Brahmanda— @y II-LXXIY —217 isnu— ae attra ser areata | eatery Fa Tay | IV—XX1V —32 (3) BhAgavate— (4) va XI, 1-26 yu merterihatere ser arene ifr: | rg Fd ANNE tt ‘Vol MI, Chap XXXVU—409 All the Parfinas have given the names of the Dynasties which ruled an Indie during this period They are the Barhadratha, the Pradyota and the Sisuniga, which last was overthrown by Mahipadma Nanda The Mateya, the Vayu, and the Brabrinda mention the respective reigns of each king, while the others give only the names and the sum total of the different reignsINTRODUCTION xi fete ges Etec ee According to the first set of Puranas, the kings and the duration of their rules (as suggested by s critical perusal of the different Puranas and. their different versions) are a follows — 1 —22 Barhadrathas — (1) Somadhi + BB yeare (@) Grutasravas 7 1 on (8) Ayatiyus on (@) Niramites 0 (5) Sukpatra Bo (6) Brhatkerman Boe (7) Senayt 50 (8) Srutaoyeya 7 oy (@) Vibha 2» (10) Sachi 38 on (Lt) Kgorme ia (12) Bu 4 oy (18) Sunétra I % on (14) Nirvyti By (15) Susramasys, 8 oy (10) Dydbasena a 4 (17) Mahinétra or (Bumati) By (18) Sucbals By (20) Bonetra 11 oy (20) Batyajie os 8 (21) Yuavant . Bn 22) Rypaajaya ae Total 1,000 years * Regarding this list, it 18 to be noticed, that wherever a parallr! reading has been given by Mr Pargiter, there has been no difference ma the name, except 1n the three following instances — (1) Sunétra T and Dharmanétra, where the readings regarding tho latter are rather confused, and hence less deserving of acceptance (2) Mahinétia and Sumati, where there would be no difference sf the Jang be regaided as having two names, their period of 1ule beg the same (3) Trinétra and Sudrameaya, where 1t appears as if both had an equal claim to be accepted as the correct name But if both were to be accepted, the list would not be of 22 kings, but of 23, but thie 1s impos- sible as the list is confined to 22 and 22 onlyt Now, which name to reject ? * Th oreneit Aeny ced aficaft | Brahminga—CXX1V, 121 1 nine qa @ & afrentt geet: ‘—Drabménda— Ul, exny—121ni INTRODUCTION The Jine devoted to Trinétra reads as follows — ‘wrarfiferey erat cred frets sree eer: 1 which, compared with the lne celebrating Sunétra (II) srennftery sar Cred GAs VAT ae: | presenta a striking similarity (excepting of couree n the number of years) This led me to suppose that it would be a repetition of the same thing af we accepted both these lines, and so I preferred to adopt the line for Sodramasya I find that I am, most fortunately, backed by other readings of the Mataya which actually have Sunétra for Trinétra, and the line for Susramasya cau, therefore, be safely accepted for the one for Trinétra. It may be here remarked that long reigns, and almost absurdly long ones, aro occasionally met with in Indian chronologies But it 1s to be remembered that the names are of memorable kings, and often the reigns of predecessors and successors of minor importance and less worthy of a sepaiate remembrance, have been added on to those of these remarkable ones To give a familiar instance, can anybody, excepting a apec alist, 1+ member with correctness the two shorter periods of 1ule of George IV and Wilbam LV, while the long and memorable reigns of George III and of Victoua the Good, are remembored so oxactly ? If people were to write history after the lapse of a dozen centuries, these two shorter perods would be engulfed in either of the longer ones in the traditions of this long period 11—5 Pradyotas — (1) Pradyote. 28 youre (2) Poulaka Pay (3) Visileh ty ape bo (4) Ayaka 2 (6) Nandivardhane (tho Pradyota) 20 Total = 188_yeura ‘As there are no two opmtons regarding the names, the reigns or the total poriod of these lungs, the traditions regaidu g them seem to have been very well presorsed IM —10 Sisunagas — Sieanége Kakavarna Ksomadharma Keatragya, ‘Yambiséra, Ayotasatra Darwake Udavin andrea (the Baisundga) ‘Mahénandin eon TotalINTRODUCTION mt This 1s exactly the total number of years as given by Mateya Purén& The Vignu gives 362 years as the total period of the Sieundgas, but does not give the reigns against each king So it 18 not verifiable The above reigns have been taken from the maximum periods given m the Puranas, and this must be the correct reckoning, as it tallies exactly with the total periods given even by those Puranas which do not give the details How to account for these 2 years of the Vignu ? But 4 very strange result 1s obtained by adding together these different totals ‘They give the grand total of (1,000+138-+360=) 1,498 years, or, according to the Visnu (1,000+1384+362-=) 1,500 years, while they declare, as already observed, that the period between Parikeit’s birth and Mabépadma Nanda’s inauguration covered 1015, 1050 or 1115 years ‘This discrepancy was observed when working at the Mateya Purana The totalised interval thus coming far above the three different totals, as given by the different Puranas, the only possible explanabon lay in this —When there are three divergent readings in the Puranas, depending, no doubt, on shght variations in the texts, could not there be a fourth and certainly more reasonable reading to say that the period was 1500 yeara ? Very happily this reading has been actually found, as given by Mr Pargntor, at p 58 of his Dynasties of the Kali Age Tins clears up all doubts regarding the interval between Parikeit and Mahipadma Nanda It was a period of 1500 years If a comparative estimate be desired between the totals, as given by the different Purfinas (viz , 1,015, 1050 and 1115 years), and the sum total found out by calculation of the details, the scale must turn in favour of the latter, as 2 corruption, or at least a variation, depends on the mutation of two or three letters of the alphabet, as 1s evident from there beng those different versions of the total period, while the detaila are more defimte It 1s worthy of note bere that this contradiction had struck Sridhar Svimt, the worthy commentator of the Biigavata, whose critical spirit 18 noticeable im another portion of his_commentary, viz, where be dis- cusses the length of the JambGdvipa In his commentary on the 26th verse of the 2nd chapter of the 12th skandha, he remarks — “Tn fact, the interval between Pariksit and Nanda 18 less than ‘one and a half thousand years by two years ° + Cogeeg wifewratrent mat apt vatat erel-aeel weft 1”xiv INTRODUCTION The 2 years added to 360 by the Vignu seems to have proceeded from the desire of making the sum total of the durations of the three dynasties (viz , 1,000+138+360) come exactly to 1,500 years Now, Parikait was a posthumous son of Abhimanyu, who died in the War, so that many months did not elapse between the War and his birth, which preceded Mabipadma Nanda’s mavguration by 1,500 years MahApadma Nanda ascended the throne in 422 B OC, as we come to know from Indian History So from a 1etrospective calculation we arrive et 1922 B C as the date of the Great War fought on the field of the Kurus ‘The astronomical data supphed by some of the Puranas seem to go against this date The Visnu and the Bbagavata state that the Great Bear was in the Magba im Parikait’s ume When it will go to PGrvaeadha, it will be the time of Nanda, and the Kah age will begin to attain maturity (Thero 1s no mention of the speed of the seven Rigis) The Vayu adds the seven Risis dwell in a Nakgatra for a century So, as Ptivisddhé 1s the 10th from Magh3 the interval between the days of Pariksit and Nanda comes to ten centuries The Bramhinga corroborates this But the Mateya soys ‘Tho seven Rigis were then (on 6 line) with the towering, blazing Agm’®, and that being the presiding deity of the Kmttiké, we conclude that in Parikgit’s time the seven Rigte (the Ursa Mayor or the Great Bear) were in the constellanon Kntukaé Fiom Kptuika to Parvasidha ave 19 Nakeatras , and 80, from Pankgt to Mabépadma Nanda, there elapeed a period ‘of 1900 years The statement in the other Purinas may be easily explained In their anxiety to be consistent with the statement of 1015, 1050, or 1115 years—{and rogardless of the totalised number of years)—they fixed on the tenth star from Parvisidha (about which there are no two opimzons), by backward calculation Aq the Mataya claims a superior place among the Purinas, the data at gives, verified by calculations whieh the other Puranas supply as well, and corroborated by backward and forward references, ase throughout consistent, and hence the date arnved at from them are well worth accepting . egetaerat sey weiner” Matsya—OCLIN XX—SiokeINTRODUCTION xv We are thug in a position to say that the Kuruksetra War took place as many years on that side of the birth of the Giver of Peace as the present war has occurred on this side of it ALLAHABAD 13th June, 1916 Lalit Mohan KarFa THE MATSYA PURANAM aft rirgra at: SALULATION TO SRT GANESA % wit arat ATGTaNa | SALUTATION TO THR ADORABLE VASUDEVA Note —The sacrad word “Om 1s formed by the lottors a, u,m Of these, a representa ‘Vianu, 1, Siva, m, Brahm’ Pranaya is, therefore, the symbol of the sacred Trimity CHAPLER 1 May the lotus feetof Bhava who shook the drqgaas at the time of Hhs dance, disperse all obstacles —] Note—Bhasa 15 anameof the God ‘iva Tiniavais4 particular kind of dance of which divas very fond Maygujas It 1s Jad down im tho paurduic allegory that the ‘universe lies balanced on the tusks of ten elephanta- each ek phant supporting # quarter May the words of Lord Visnu, embodied im the Vedas and uttered by His Matsya-avatua, i which imeatnation, at the time of His sallying forth fiom the region of the patala, the blow of His tail caused the seven seas to mtermingle with the high heavens and then to fall down, spattenng the splire of the carth, steal away all your evil! —2 Note —Brahmania, htevally, means the Egg o1 the Creator, and the word, ag it stands, apphes to all the regions—hoth upper and lower In the above “loka BrahmAnia Is coupled with the word Urddha, wich moans upper Here the complete word 18 Urddha Brahm&nua which means the upper regiony Mater ivatara is the mcauation of Lord Visnu, in the form fish Tho Merciful munfests Himself in diferent forms, whenever He finds it neces- sary—(1) To educate the world m the performance of its manifold duties which, 1p apite of their being incorporated 1 th works of fivine revelation, very often remain mcompre- henelble , (2) To save the world from wilful noglect of duty Sonne ae uae wren rortatate area | snares water aera Garey” oak errands earanht Bi ge” (8) Old order changeth yiclding place to now, God fulfle Himself in many ways, Leut one good custom should corrupt the world”2 THE MATSYA PURANAM To deal with tho doubts that ao very often raised on the theory of incarnation, 1 wonld be necessary to make copious referenecs to Vedinta Upameady and NyAya, and to Add oxhaustive commontaries on thove dogmtieal aphorisms which would awell the bull of the Purina Twill therefore confine myself to vers brief notes on most Important items The necessity of Matsyavatira will later on become clear by going throngh this Portna Srnti means the Vedas that ire regarded by the Hindus to be the words of Divine revelation Matsvapn m whichis the dispeller of ali ignorance, should be rend after saluting Navayana, Nara, Navi ttama, Dev Sar issati —3 Note —Nardvant, Narottama, ete aro all analogous expressions and apply to the Supreme Ring who ia omnific, ommpotent, ommprosont ind omniscient Words cannot describe Him or His glory Compare — caret ent erenmrd Regus acceacgren saat orga Grek aft after orear eee aah aa gore oe a ater” T salute Lod Brihmt who though unbon mmifests Tinself for the sake of creation, and is lar an wider different epithets, vez — Narfyana, Trignna - 4 Note—Trigunas are Satva Rays ind Tamas MAy Ais the resnitant of Triganas When MAy@ combines with any partite of Oumapresent Pat sbvalima, that particle 15 known + Brahma Triveda means the three Vedis iz —Rig ¥ yusand Sénan The metro which 1 prosodieal but cannot be chanted 19 called Rule and Rig Ved 1s full of such metres The metre which 1» neither prosodical not cin be ehruited sw ealled Yaua and Yajurveda Is fullofsuch metres The metres (hat ean be chanted are kn fore the Veda containmg such meties is calcd Sfium-Vedy Strictly speaking there forc, thor are only thiee Vedas The sage Vas st ia collected several metros of the shave mentioned three Vedas dealing vih Ayurveda wd S4nbihema cte and compiled the AthrvaeVeda which now forms tho fowth Ved — Lhe Velis ue Unc works of Divine rovelation nd are held very sacred by the lindas Lord Brahm4 1s the chief revealer of tho srered Veday Now, with the above verse ends the introductory verses, after which the subject matter of tha Purfine commences Before proceedins further, como- thing must be said about mangalicharana Mangila is of three hinds vi —(1) Namaskarat- mak—mangala is thet im which there 1s salutation to some Deity ag in “sree Ganessyna mb,’ and‘ Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudev4ya which occur in the very beginping of the Pordna (2) VaatuniedesStniakamingali is that in which (hore 18 Home clue to the subject matter of the work following it (4) Astrvadatamieamangla 1y that in which some Deity ww invoked to ahower Ite blessings on gomobody ‘The couplet ‘Prichand Tan tavélopc, Cle ,coutamus a prayer to Lord sive which shows that lateron there will be something about the annihilation of the universe beva is Sanbarkarté ‘The ‘stanza Pétéludvutpattishuo, ke containea prac to Lord Vigou which shows that there will also bo a description of the Sthili Visuu 19. dutikarté ‘The above two stanens ar both Vistunimdcsitmikvand Asieindatmaha The couplet, ajop: &e contains salutations to Lord Svayambhi 16 Brahoa which shows that the Puréna contains ainstory of creation alko Bramha is Sristikirté This couplet 1s NamaskAritmaka as well as Vastu Sirdesatmake Gancaa The Lond of Sias attendants It 1 Ind down i Siva Paréaa that God Siva waein tho habit of going into His vvode, oven when His consort, the Goddess wen as Sima and there-CHAPTER tf 8 Phevati, would be having her bath ‘The Goddess did not hike thie, and in order to keep hava out at the time of Her bath she once upon 1 time made a figure of aand clay and put life into ib Afterwards, the goddess located Him at the door of the house, directing Hun not to let any one enter A little while after, Lord siya turned up, but the figure at the door drove Him away Siva got vory angry and sont Fis attendants to subdue Him, but they were ropulsed ‘Then the Lord sent a large army under the Dovts to subdue Him They were also on the point of being routed When sive Himself appeared on the scone and overpowi ring Him by Hia large army, cut is hevd with His trident ‘The hoad was carrud away by the nymphs Afterwards, tho sage Narada appeared and related all this to Patvali, who got very much vexed and determined to destroy everyone, which caused a great consternation, and all the Devas bogan to pray The Goddess was pleased with their pryor and devotion, and said that gle would not Rive elfoct to Hor determmation, provided Lor son was recalled to life and allowed the first place 1 all the coremonies, which they all promsed todo But when a sesrch tor the head way made it was not found ‘They found the head of an elephant with only one tusk Iyiug somewhere at a distance which they pat on the body and then rntused life ntort Guess thas came togiave the head of an clephant on His shoulders Afterwards, Ho was given the first place in all ceremonies and wis made the Lord ot bive's attendants Ovang to His hwving the first pleo in all coremonies, He im always saluted at the beginning of Mangal hari im exch worl Wo understand from the Mangalacharana that Matssa Purdna mainly deals with the history of — (1) Tho ereation of the Universe by Krahma, the Crcator ' (2) The annihilation of the Uurverse by Siva, the destroyor ' 8) The preservation of the Carverso from total aniulitation by Visnu the saviour Brabma, Visnu and Siva are the diferent manifestations of the one and the Supreme Being Once upon a time, the mbabitants of Naimisiranya, at the close of a long sacrifice, hegan to relate to one another pious, charming stones fiom different Puranas ‘The gieat sage, Sita, was present in that assembly Saunaka and other sages who were also thero on that ocea- sion, after complimenting Sata on Ins deep lve sad — “0 smless one, we wish to heat again the very eame nectar-like stories of the Purdénas which have been recited to us by you” —-6 Note —Nawisiranya 1s modera Nimkh&r-Vistikh tn the Sitapur district, Oadh “Tell us please, how Biabind created the Universe, and for what reason Visnu adupted the forw of a fish We are also anxious to know why Siva took the goblet of human skull, why Tle 1s called Darin, and how Bhava, the cause of ont prosperity, came to be known as Bhairava? 0, Sdta! be giacious enough to relate all this exhaustavely, for we never feel satiated with listening to you: sweet narrations, as one is not with nectar "—7-8 Note —‘Bhava means the giser of prosperity This 1s » synonym of God Siva “Bhairava means terrific or one who causes feat This term applies tom form of Goa Biva4 THE MATSYA PURANAM Kapali literally means one who earries a human skull This expression alo apphes to iva ‘Vrigabbadhvayy’ meins one who has a bull for his conveyance biva rides the ball, therefore, this term denotes diva Sfita said - ‘ [fear, vow, O, Brilmanas, the sacred Matsyapuréna which was iesealed by Lon] Vienu in the form of a fish 9 Aote —Now follows the narration of the Purtua Tn ancient times (Vaivasvata) Manu, the Merciful, the first king of the Solar dynasty, alte: nakimg over Ins kingdom to lis son, devoted Iumself to rigid aseclicism On a summit of the Malaya mountain, the devout austerities of that resolute hero, who was adorned with apnitual knowledge, and whose equilibrium of mind was just the same im adveisity as in prosperity, were crowned with the attainment o£ transcen- WIL dent yoga (that iy, umon with the Deit ote = 'Ravsnandan’ mans the Sou of the Sun Varvasvala Mana wis tho offspring of (ic Goa en huvera He wie the founder of the Solar ries of K Note =Milwa 16 a range of mountains in Southern India abounding in sandal trees Je as to the weat of Malabar Bamadubichaswkhayir, mein (ho hero who wv nesthor overwbelmod by misfortunes Ror is carried away by prosperity, hut remams firm ander all carcnmstances Suoh a bent of mind 1s not common Only these few who resign themsclves to His will and concentrate their minds on ihe $4 red olicct of there devotinn, ean remain a0 Girm-nunded Devotion to God alone lewis to srich «bis Ie points out to the soul the pitfalls of hfe and tho mundane unrealities It takes away (he shroud of la ton and plices the soul on the pinnacle of celestial glory where eternal porce nud contentment reign Buiktt or Yor hegets such knowledge The King Varawita Mini inspite of lis worldly glories, was, not negligent of the life after doath Like many ancient kings, the first item of his duty was to acquire (ie 3iAna, and he bectme RéreRior Tb 15 therefore no wonder that a Réye-Rest, ike tho King Varyasvata Manu shoald kaye been so flim hom Syd the danghter of Lord tives After a period of ainitlon of years of continued asceticism, Lord Brahma became ploased towards lum, anil told him to ask for a boon —12 Note Kamilisana iy smother namo of God Bechma Tt literally means, one who has lotus to sit upou Tt 1s Lud down im the paurdme allegory that at the time of creation, a lotus Wilh Bribend sitting on at, eprings from the navel of Vasnu Having been thus adtdiessed (by Brahmi), the hing, after saluting Vim, saul“ Loud! [have only ane boon to beg of you, which 18 above all other boons May 1 Late power sufficrent for the protection of the whole creation, moveable and mmoveable, when the hou of Pralaya will come “—13-14 Note —* Pithmaha’ means paternal grand-father Brabmé ts the Creator of the Lunverse He 16 therefore eviled Pitimaba: Note - Pralaya i ebuc8y of two kiods, ofe—(1) Kbauia pralaya, 19 which there ius partial dissolution, and <2) Vabé pralaya in which there 1s a total dissolatfonCHAPTER I 5 In this Parana, there 16 mention of Khantapralaya Mark the boon sought by the iMostrions sovereign of the Solar race This showa how selfless, highly virtuous and righteous the kinga in ancient times were Lord Brahimi, the Soul of the Universe, alter granting the prayer of the king (in the following worls, “ Be it so"), disappeared then and thee, and the Detas profusely showered a rain of foweim from the ethereal regions —15 Note—Puspay ist: The Dovas showered flowors on the king to express Their unbounded pleasure aud appreciation of his Inghcst righteousness One day, in his heuinitage, when the king was making a hbation of water to the manes of his deceased ancestors, a carp (a small fish) fell ito Ins hands along with the water - 16 Note ~Tarpana 1s a ibation of water to the maves of tho dtceased rneestors whioh a Hindu 1s in duty bound to porform regularly {Consult ‘ The Daily Practice of the Hindug ‘by Stat Bahadur Sris Chandra Vidydroava } Papita, ee, tell from the kings vevsel out of which he was pourmg out water for hibation Saphari isa yery small varioty of Ash called carp It 1s very tiny and always reatless Eastcrn povts very often omploy it in their siaules, an their description of the movements of beratiful eyes On seemng that tiny fish, the merciful hing, out of compassion, wanted to preserve it and put at uto lus wate jar ‘That tiny fsb, an course of a day and mght, grow ito the fom of a laige fish, measuring sixteen fingers in length, aud (feeling uncomfortable inside the water jar where it was placed by the king), cried for deliverance — 47-18 The hing took it out of the wate jat and put it i a large pitcher but there also, m couse of a mght, it grew thee hauls in length “I am at yout aerey, come to my succom” ‘The king, again hearing these cries of the fish tool it out of the pitcher and depusited it ina well Later on, the well alsu proved insufficient ‘The kiug then accommodated 1t in a tank —19-20 Note —Suliasrakirandtimaya, the Son of the Sun, te, king Vaivasvata Mana Sahasra- kirapa means the San In the tank, again, the fish grewa yoyana (eight miles) in length, and again appealed to the king, in a plaintive tone, to help it out of the tank ‘Then the king put the fish in the Ganges and, finding that increased there tov, he placed itm the ocean The fish went on increas. ing and increasing in bulk, unuil it very neatly filled the vast expanse of the great ocean the king, seemg this, was awe-sticken and said, “Are you the chief of the Asuras? Or are yon Vasudeva » Who else has such an extraordinaiy power to assume such a tremendously big form extending to sixteen hundred miles ?""—22-25 Note—'Agura’ mons.a demon ‘ luwara Iitersllv means master.8 THE MATSYA PURANAM Thave come to know you, 0, Kedava! You are puzzling me in the form of a fish I bow down to You, 0, Himikeda, Jagannatha, Jagaddhima” [These are all different names of God J—26 Being thus addreased, Bhagavand Jandidana, in the form of a fish, complimented hun, and sand‘ O Spotless Oue, I have been traly known by you Ina few days tune, O King, the Universe shall be deluged with water, along with the mountains and forests The Devas have made this boat to rescue the creation fiom such a calamity, placing im it avedajas, andayas, udbhizas and yaréyujas 0, King! you take charge of this boat and help the distressed at the time of the impending danger When you find the boat i danger of being blown away by the stiong gusts of wind, tie it to my hon By rescuing the afflicted from such an awful misfortune, you will be rendering a gieat paternal service to the creation And, O, blessed sovereign! You shall reign for one Monvantara, from the hegiuming of the Krtayuga, and shall be venerated by the Devas "—27-33 Note —' nvedaya," Iiterally* moans, born of sweat , therefore insects clinging toone’s person, such as bugs, lice, &c, ‘anilaye, ammals born of an egg, Udbhija, things that sprout , ‘Jaryuja,’ born of womb, 1 ¢, Mammals ‘ote —Kritayuga 1s the samo as Satyayuga, the age of trath Manvantata 1s a period 0,000 yoars Here ends the first Chapter dealing with the conversation between Manu-end Vignu CHAPTER I] Sata, continuing his narration, sad, that, on heaiing such words of the Lord, the king begged Him to reveal to him an how many yeare the time of destiuction was likely tocome The king also entieated the Lord to point out to him the means of saving the creation from such a dhatresa and to let him know when he would again be fortunate enough to meet Him face to face —1-2 The fish 1eplied that from that day there would be no rain for a bundfed years, and the universe would be oveitaken by a dire famine. Alter that, all the inferior beings of the umiverse would be scorched to death by the seven ordinay ays of the sun which shall become aeven times more powerful —3 4 Note —The seven rays of the aun, are — (2) agra, (a) eftha, (2) Rowen, (2) frereren, (4) ceey, () erry: (9) GE In addition to all that, the subteranean fire would shoot out, Sesa, from bis abode in the lower regions, would send forth venomous flamesCHAPTER II 7 from his thousand mouths, and a furious fire would emerge from the thnd eye of Siva —5 Note —It sa said in the paurduic allegory that the an: thousand-hooded serpent which 1s more popularly known as Sosa. The fire emitting from the third eyoof Siva He hava third eye in the forehead which et remains ahut The Lord opens that third eye only on oceasions of anger, and 1@ of destruction As woon as the thint eye is opened, all objects falling within its range are reduced to ashes, as st sends forth a big flash of fre. Thus the three worlds would be crumbled to ashes by the combined fury of all thore various fies ‘The sky, with all the stare and planets, would also be destioyed by the heat thus originated --6-7 Then the seven destructive clouds mz—Samvata, Bhimandda, Drona, Chanda, Balihaka, Vidyut pataka and $én4, would spring up from the vapours arising out of anch a heat, and would rain im torrents tll all the seas hecome united into one great masa In fact the whole earth would be covered with one vast expanse of water, then get hold of that yonder boat and put the seed of creation and the sacred Vedas im it After that, fasten the boat to my hoin by means of this rope that I give you, and then the contents of the barge will be saved by my glory” 0, Prous One! when everything will be destoyed, your good-self, the moon, the «nn myself, Riahmi, the sacred river Narmada, the grent sage Markandeya, the sacred Vedas, the Purinas, the God Siva, the various sciences, will alone be saved, and the regn of king Chakeusa Manu shall terminate with the commng paitial dissolution 8-14 At the beginning of the 1¢-cieation of the Universe which would follow the period of destinction, I shall propagate the Vedic knowledge ” So saying, Ho suddenly vamshed away — 15 ree resta on the head of & The king, tll the time of dissolation, of which intimation was given to him by Lord Vasudeva, engaged hunself m the practice of Yoga —16. ‘At the commencement of dissolution, the Lord appeared again in the form of horned fish At the same tine, Sesa, the Serpent King, appeared before the King Vaivasvata Manu in the shape of a rope, and the kang, through hia Yogie power, collected together all living beings and put them in the boat And, afte: fastening the boat to the horn of the fish, by means of the rope, the king saluted the Lord and got into 1t ~17-19 Sata said, “O sages! hea the Instory of creation, &, which you have asked me to nanate [shall now proceed to relate it in the words of the Loud which were addressed to the King Vaivasvata Manu.”—20.21 Manu entreated tbe Lod to relate to him, how the disaolu- tion and the creation of the universe took place, how the generations of mankind came ito being, the meaning of Manvantara, the biographieg8 THE MATSYA PURANAM of eminent men, the expanse of the universe, the ways of chanity, the path of duty, the precepts of Siadidha, the divisions of Varna and Adrama, the ways of sacrificial rites, the greatness of the Devas, ete —22-24 Note —Erfddha 1s an act of devotion to the pitme and manes which evory Hindu bas to perform by means of certain prescribed rites, after which food, ete , 18 distributed to the Brahmunas ‘Varna’ moans tribe, caste, ‘Asrama’ the four kinds of religious order, vie , (1) Bramha- cbaryys or the utudent life, (2) Grabasta or the housoholder’s life, (8) Vanaprastha or the anohorite's life, (4) Sanyaxa or heraut's life Matsya said that during the period of Gieat Dissolution the universe was enveloped in darkness and was in a state of trance, as it were, incon- ceivable, still, and undefinable Jn that state of unimaginable and indesciibable trance, appeared Lord Svayambhu, who 18 also known aa Narayana, owing to His ommpresence m Sthila-arira, made His appearance to create the universe -~25. Note —‘ SthOla Sarira, is corporeal body, 1¢, what 1s visible to the naked eye Svayambhu, with the desire of creating the universe, fist created water and planted the reed of creation in it The seed of creation, re, chaitanya (consciousness) by coming into contact with water, produced avast egg (1, the egg of Brahma), of golden hue, which, after one thousand years, became ten thousand times more Jummous than the sun After that, Svayambhu merged Himself ito that temendous Brahmanda, and owing, to His omnrpresence in it He caine to be known as Vienw --28-30 He (Svayamblu) then cieated the Sun by His glory, which owing to ite first place in the cieation, 18 known as Aditya —31 After dividing the huge Biahménda into two parts, He ‘Svayambhu) made the Heaven and Earth, Akéda and the quartets The upper portion of the divided Brahmande formed the heaven, the lower one the earth ‘The direction in which the Sun was located was termed, purva te, East, the direction on the right handside of Brahma was named dakena, te, South, the duection to His left hand side was styled uttara, te, North, and the one falling at His back came to be known as padchima, +e, West —32 Note.—Purva means Grst, and the direction was #0 named, because proditya the first objeat of orention happened to be located that side Pabchins means bebind This direction was named 80, becsuse it fell to the back of the Oreator, who was standing faced to the East Mekbrina means right. This direction foll to the right of Brahm Uttara means subsequent Afterwards, the principal mountains, like the Meru, elouds,CHAPTER LIL 8 lighting, embryo, rivers, pitts, Manu and the seven oceans, full of various geina, were created — 33-34 Aote —‘ Pitarah' means manes of the dead, Forethors Tbe seven oceans ate 3, NG: TIT, HAT: GU, CAT, KNIT ‘Tho above is the ancient division of oceans Bahia created the Bralmanas anil, owing to His desire of calling the Universe ito being, He 1s also known as Ptayapati Mattanda came into being by the glory of the Creator —35, Note —BhOdeva means the mundane Gods, 1,¢, the Bréhmans They wore so named because they wore inspired with Divine knowledge PrajApati means the father of progeny, 1e , the Creator ‘The Sun, owing to its flashing out of the Brahmfnda at the tune of its breaking, +e, hemg divided anto two parts, 18 known by the namo of Martanda, and the image of the Creator, Brahma, the four-headed Derty, who 1s full of the element of Rajoguna came to be called as Mahat- man — 36 ‘Note —Rajoguna is the constituent quality of all the material substances ‘Tho Creator BrahmA has four mouths (hat are visible, and that 1s why He 18 called ao ‘Mahftman in the phraseology of Sankaya, meina Mahdtsatva, 4, the attribute of buddhr and when this attribute has more of rajogaua then it 18 called Brahma, The same Common Cause of the Universe who created all the Devas, Demons, and mantand is known by the name of Biahmé, who ie full of Rayoguna and who 16 also styled Mahat-satva (or Brahma) —37 Here ends the second Chapter deuling with the destruction of Biahmanda CHAPTER IIT The king askeil the Lord, Low Brahm& created the universe and the reason of His having fom heads —1 The Lord Fish replied that fret of all Brahm§ practised devout austerities, whereby were 1evealed the sacred Vedas, together with ther complements and supplements and the metres The oldest of all Séatras was first recollected by Brahma—the eternal Biahman—in words, with its ten million elaborations After that, Biahmé revealed the sacred Vedas and the sciences of Mimansa, Nyaya, é&c , together with the eightfold proof. Inspired with the Vedic knowledge, Brahim became conscious of His supreme potentiality and through His desire created the ten sages, who are known as the Manasa sons of the Creatm, uz, Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kiatu, Pracheta, Bhrigu, Vasistha and Narada. In addition to the fore-mentioned ten sages, the following came into existence from the various limbs of His body, without having any mother from His right thumb appeaed Prajdpat: Daksa, from10 THE MATSYA PURANAM His breast Dhaima, from His heart Cupid, from His brows Anger, from His lips Greed, from His intellect Delusion, fiom His egoism Arrogance, from Hie throat Glee, fiom His eyes Death, from His hands the sage Bharata ‘These are the nine sons O King and the tenth was a girl, called Abgayt —2-12 ‘Note—‘Angaja’ moans originating from the body At thie, the king Vaivasvata Manu said — “Lod! Lhave understood that intellect hegot Delusion and egoiem hogot at1ogance, but what 18 mtellect ?”"—13 The Lord rephed that the presence of the three attributes, viz ~~ Satva, Rejas, Tatas, in equipoise, form the Prakriti The same Prakpiti 1e algo known as Piadhina, Avyakta and Maya ‘The Creation aprings from this very Prakrite and ultimately disappears into it By a distur- bance in these attributes, the same one form manifested itself into thiee, as Biahmé, Vignu and Mahedwara Similaily, the piesence of the thiee attributes in unequal pats begets Mabilatva, which 15 also known as intellect Egoism aprang from the Mahatatva, and the five organa of perception aud other Give organs of action, otiginated fiom Egoism e These are —The ears, the skin, the eyes, the tonguo, the nose, the anus, the male and the female organs of generation, the hands, the feet, the speech —19 Note—The frat flvo are the organa of perception, and tho last five are the organs of action The five organs of perception produced words, touch, form, favour, and amell , and the five organs of action br vught farth emission, happiness, taking, walking and speech —20 The mind 18 1eckoned to be the eleventh organ, as it helps the faculties of intellect and action im then respective operations ‘The minute molecules of all the o.gans form the substratum for the individual soul that hes enshiined im it, and at is for tus reason that the frame within which hes the asylum of the individual soul is known by the name of subtle body ‘Tho individual soul by coming im contact with this atomic body 1 called corporea! Tho mind, propelled by desire to orente, starts the work of creation The subtle element of sound nought ether into being Sound 15 the only attrihute of ether —21-23 Note.—Lord Brahma frat of all wished to create and then He threw His mind in the achievement of the work of His desire Helped by His mind, He proceeded with the work of oreatlon By a concussion in ether, came forth wind, possessing the qualities of sound and tangrbility, and the subtle element of tangibilityCHAPTER It u SEE are nee eit nto Te guesses produced brilliancy, which caused water attributed with sound, tangibility and form —24-25 The earth was produced by the potency of the subtle element of liquidity inherent in water, and it has the attributes akin to water and also of the eubtle element of fragrance The Mahétatva, which 1s formed by the five subtle and piimary elements, 1s called the Vijiianmaya koga by the Vedintins, buddhs,+e antellect, 16 another name for the same ‘The man possessed of this twenty-fifth element enjoys and suffers —26-27 Note —Twenty-ftth (element), {e (consclousness) God has led down certain Jawa for mankind to follow Any action agaist the established laws leads to wrong which always causes pain We Lave been givon the faculty to distinguish between right and wrong, and it is our own fault if we choose the latter A man always reaps the fraits of his actions He suffers if he deviates from the right path and does wrong, and enjoys ‘as long a8 ho continues to follow the right track and does good. The body therefore comprises the twenty-six elements, and the individual soul, which 18 subordinate to the wishes of the Lord, closes the list of the elements that make up the human body —23 Loid Brahm& created tho Universe by the help of the above enumerated elements , and Sankhya, which 18 one of the sx systems of Hindu philosophy, 18 s0 called by Kapila, etc, because it enuinerates these elements —29 Lord Brahmi, after creating His manasa putras, was not quite aatisGed with the work of His creation He set about devising some plan which would carry on the work of creation and would ieheve Him of the task With this view, He began to invoke Giyatiy After some time the goddess Gayatr:, known under different names, viz —Satarfpé, Savitrl, Sarasvati, Biahmam, &c ,—appeared in the form of a girl fiom the half portion of Bralinés body who at the first sight mistakenly took Her for His daughte:. Afterwards, the Creator, seeing that form of exquisite beauty, was fired with love and repeatedly uttered, “ What an enchanting form !”—30-33 At thie, the Manasa putrae of Brahm, +e, Vasiptha, &, taking Savitri for their sister, began to express their feelings of seething indigna- tion and contempt at the attitude of Their Father (Lord Brahma), but He was 80 much absorbed in love that He did not heed anything in the least —34 Brahm& continued uttering, “Oh! what an enchanting form! ob! what an enchanting form!” in His love for the goddess Savitrt, and tho latter, after saluting Him, began to circumamboulate Him in reverence Brehmé fixed bis gaze on SAvitri and could not distract Himeelf12 THR MATSYA PURANAM from Her As she was circumambulating Him, He felt shy of turning ‘Has head each ime to Her direction, as His Miinasa putras were standing close by He therefore created four heads, each pointed to a direction, tn order that He may see Savitri undisturbed, without having to turn His head each time mn course of Her cucumambulations Seeing Brahmé in such a condition, Satai@p4 went to heaven with the Minas sons of the Crestor, and as she was traveling towards heaven, Brahmé put op a fifth bead right on top which afterwards He covered with His long matted hair ‘This 12 how Biahmé came to have five heads After this, Brahmé lost his powers that He had acquired by practising acesticiam, owing to His not controling Hie mind and falling into the snares of Cupid Then Brahm dispersed His sons, alter directing them to carry on the work of Creation —35-41 ‘The sons of Brahmé, in obedience to His structions, set them- selves to complete the work of creation, and afterwards they took leave of Brahma with salutations —42 Bralini, fired with passion 1 Her company, warned Satardpi and began to pass His days in enjoyment inside a lotus He enjoyed the company of Sivitrl for bundied yeais, and after a long time Manu was born to them --43-44 Manu, thus born, was Svayambhu Manu, who, owing to bis close affinity to Bialima, 19 also called Adipurusa (the fiast man) The piogeny of Svayambliu Manu muluplied considerably aud the Vairijas a1e among them —45-46 Svfirochisa, &c, the seven Minus, and another set of seven Manus, Auttam, &c , altogether the fourteen Manus, belong to the family of Svayambbu Manu “O, King Vaivasiata Manu,” said the Lord, “ You are the seventh of the Jast set of Manus" —47 Here ends the third Chapter dealing with premary ereation CHAPTER 1V The king satd, “O, Merciful’ I feel awfully grieved to hear that Lord Biahind mained Ahgaja “Pray, tell me why be was not regard- ed as having commitied a fearful sin by having done so Remove my doubts, 0, Master of the Universe! by graciously explaining to me why the offspring of Brahwa were allowed to intermarry in their paternal carole without any regard for close-knit kinship” The Lord Fieh replied “O King! such doubts only arise in the case of mankind, for man haveCHAPTER IV is atomic bodies and beget children ina different way, while the primeval ereation 16 celestial in which Rajoguua predommates The Devas not have supersensuous bodies and they beget progeny in quite different ways The celestial forms come into beng in other ways, and itis very difficult for men having sensuous bodies to understand this gieat secret Only supernatural intellect causes celestial creation , therefore those alone can understand its great seciet wlio themselves are possessed with such an imntel- lect, yust as a serpent alone can trace the footprints of another serpent, and aerial tracks can only be discerned by birds and other beings that fy m thoi 0, King! the question of any prescribed order on probibi- tion does not arise in the deeda of the Devas Only Then desire 1s taken into consideration in whatever they do Other beings reap the fruits of their karma (doings) which the Devas do not No doubts should therefore be iuisod regarding tho domgs of the Devas, nor should the beings having sensuous bodies think of doing the same deed '-—1-6 Besides this, as Lord, Brahm4 1s the governor of the Vedas, 80 18 the goddess Gayatri of the Brahmans (the sacred text, ze, the Vedas) She 1s the better-half of the Lord, und that 15 why she appeared from His body Bralind and Gayatri ave inseparables Sometimes only one of the two puts on appearance and sometimes both do the same, but all the same both aie always together They never 1emain apart As sunshine ot light never lives devoid of its shadow, similarly Brahma never hives apart from Gayatii Biahmd 1s the master of the Vedas and Savitri (another name for Gayatri), 18 the governess of the same, Brahmi 18 therefore also the master of the latter, and consequently He committed no ein by marrying Her” —7-10 “Tn spite of all this, Lord Biahma felt ashamed foi not being able to suppress His passion im presence of His manasa sons He therefore got much vexed with the God of love and cursed Him after the departure of Hie (ménasa) sous "—11 “Tho object with which you made me the tsiget of your arrows will ere long lead you to be reduced to ashes by Siva, when you similarly bebave with Him,’ was the curse that Brahma pronounced on Cupid "—12 “Hearmg this curse of Biahma, the God of love shuddered with fea: and cried out in great dismay, ‘O, Lord! You created me with '* Professor Wilson writes — “The Matsya Purana has alittle sllogory of its own, on the subject of Brahma's for it explains the former to moan the Vedas, and the Iattsr, 7 rayer, whlch le their chief text, andlo their eo-aabltatlon there ie, ‘Viena Parana, 2nd Edition Vol Tp (08)14 THE MATSYA PURANAM. the object of captivating the minds of men and women and kindling smorous feelings within them You nevei instructed me to make any exception in Your case I only carried out Your mandate end have com- mitted no ei for which I may be eubjected to such a dreadful curse --13 Therefore, be plessed with me and by Your clemency save me from tle effects of Your curse and grant me the boon of assuming form again” —13-16 “Hearing such entreaties of Cupid, Lord Brahma melted with compassion, and said ‘In the reign of King Vaivasvata, Réma the destroyer of many Rakgasas and my compeer in powei and prowess, will be born in the family of King Yadu When Rama, the valiant prince, will fix Dwarikd as His headquarters, You will be born as a son of Hin brother, the God Kyisna "—17-18 ‘Rows here means Balartwa, the brother of K, ynd not the king of Ayodhya In that body (as the son of pena’, vou will have a senes of enjoyments and afterwards you will be born asa son of Vatsa in the family of King Bharata After this, you will live till the time of dissolu- tion that will close the 1eign of Vidyidharas, and then you will again come back to me," "—19-20 Note—VidySdhare is a class of demi-gods “The God of love took leave of Brahiné and departed with mingled feclings of joy and sadness—joy on account of the hope given by the Loid and sadnens for fear of sufferings, as the effect of His curse" oj After heating this, the King Vatvasvate Manu again addiessed the Lord thus “Lord! Be gracious enough to satisfy ny curiosity by telling me who was King Yadu, in whose family the God of Love took Aia birth, how Lord Siva 1educed Cupid to ashes, who was King Bharata and how the work of creation conunued onwards "—22-23 The Fish-god rephed “King! Gayatrt that appeaied from the body of Brahma possessed of imfinvte forms and organs begot the following seven children —Svayambhu Manu, Rati (the wife of Cupid Tt also means dese of something’ ‘Tapas, Manas (mind), Dik Sambhrama (delusion), and Mahattatva "—24-25 “The Ménesa sons of Brahind—Martchi, & —who weie born first, began to pass their days in the terrestrial globe in the practice of asceticiem The Creator, marking the indifference of His Ménasa sons with regard to the work of creation, produced V&madeva, the wielder of the trident and also Sanatkumar, tbe first even of the first borns "—26-27CHAPTER 1V 15 “ From the mouth of Lord Vaémadeva came foith the Braélmanas, from Has aims the Keatriyas, froin His thighs the Vaidyas, and from His feet the SAdras"— 28 “Afterwards came forth lightning, thunderbolt, clouds, rainbow, metres of varions kinds, several vanieties of medicines, erghtyfour crores of Devas, known as Sadbya, and who have three eyes and are immortals, without any fear of getting old "—29-30 “Lord Brahma, finding Siva creating such a ice of Immortals, said that it was alvisable to create only such beings as would reap the fruit of their own kamaa Siva, on hearing this, instantly stopped The propaganda "—31-32 . Note —Sthénu, literally, the trunk of tree It moans that Siva instantly stopped the work of creation and became fixed liko tho trunk of a tre Th other words, He did not nrry on the work of creation after Brahma offered Him Ais suggestions Brom that day He « 30 known as Sthano “Afterwards, Svayambhu Manu became the husband of Anant, whom he obtained afte great penances {Ny this alhance, Svayambhu Manu was blessed with two sons, 112 —Pnyaviata and Uttinapada, and of these, the latte: was mained to Sanpité the daughter of Dharma "--33-34 “Uttanapida became the father of the following four childyen, mz ~Apanyati, Apasyanta, Kirtimana, and Dhruva (Pole Star) "—35 “In the bygone ages, Dhruva practised severe penances for a period of three thousaud yeais and obtamed fiom Brahma an abode in the eternal celestial regions The Saptariats, acknowledging Inm as then chef clustered themselves round him "—36-37 Note —The seven Risis (sages), :¢, the Manasa sons of Brahma 1t means the cons- tellation known as Ursa Major (tho soven lara of which aro said to be the seven sages, ues, the Manasa gous of Brahma) “Dhrava begot a son, Sista, from Dhany’, the daughter of Svayainbhu Manu, and Sista had five children, vz -—Knpa, Ripuijaya, Vpita, Vika, and Viakateyasa, fiom Suebchhfy8, the daughter of Agm Ripaajaya became the futher of Chakgu fom Virim, the grand-daughter of Brabina Chaksu became the father of Chikeusa Manu from the daughter of Virini, and ChSkeusa Manu begot on the princess Nadvalé ten vahant and enterprising sons, or —Urd, Pura, Satadyumne, Satyavaka, Hav:, Agmotut, Atrdtra, Sudyumna, Apardyta, and Abhimanyu, "—38-42 “UrG had the following x sous, oz—Agm, Suman, KhyAt, Ratu, Angira, and Gay4, from his cousoit, Agney! — 43 “ Amgiré became the father of Véna, from Sunithé, the daughter of Pith The sages rubbed Véna to death, owing to bis tyranny, and, ap16 THE MATSYA PURANAM they were rubbing him, King Prithu appeared from hia hand ‘The great King Prithu was the father of Antardhana and Havidhina "— 44 “Marcha was the son of Anterdhina from Sikhandint, and Havirdhana had six sony, v1 —Prichinvarlisa, Siuga, Yama, Sulia, Vala and Subba, fiom Dhigna, the daughtes of Agni "—45 " Pyachinvarhiga begot many children belonging to the Havirdhan clan He had ten stalwart sone, well versed in archery, who are known as Prachetas, from Savarna, the daughter of Samudia ‘hey all devoted themselves to asceticism, and the trees that they grew to fom a small jungle where they could piactise thei austerities, in process of time developed into a thick forest of vast latitudes which was ultimately burnt down by the fira at the commands of [ndia (the God of Rain) "—46-48 “The ten Prachetas had Mais, the daughter of Chandramé, for their wife, from whom they begot the Piayipat: Dakea "—49 “ After giving buth to Prajipaty Dakga the daughter of the moon brought forth the trees, the herbs, and the river Chandhavati "—50 “Now hear the talo of the multiplication of the erghty crores of Daksa’s sons ”"—51 “‘Dakea became the progenitor of a most queer race Among his eluldren some were bipeds, some had more feet, some had long ears and some broad ones, some had features resembling those of the horse, the bear, the lion, the dog, the boar, o: the camel On seing such a vast inulttade of lus progeny, Daksa created a large number of women” —52:53 “Oat of the gulk he created, he gave ten to Dhaima, thirteen to Kadyapa, anil twentyseven to the moon that form a certain galaxy of stars These very same daughters of Daksa produced the further race of Devas, Riksasas, mankind and the other beings inhabiting the extensive universe "—54-55 CHAPTER V ‘The sages, after hearing this, requested the Sage Sita to relate to them how Devas, Danavas, Gandhatvas, serpents and Rikgasas were born, -l Sata said that in the days gone by, the work of creation was originated by desne, perception and touch Later on, Daksa started the work of creation by the conjunction of men and women —2 “Hear, O sages! I shall now relate to you how Dakea introduced # new syatemn of creation at the injunction of Brahma "—3CHAPTER V 17 Daksa begot thousands of ssenes from his wife, Panchayant, when he saw that the Devas, the Risis, and the serpents, ete, created from the mind of the Creator, bad not the same faculty to help the growth of creation —4 Narada, on seemg the progress of Dakea in the field of creation, said —5 “0, ye Rigis, who are sons of Daltsa! firat reconnoitie the extent of the universe and then set yourselves to the work of cieation ”—6 “On hearing the above words of the Sage Narada, the sons of Dakya started to survey the longth and breadth of the universe, and ultumately lost themselves, as the rivers do when they fall into the ocean ‘They have not returned unto this day "—7 The lort sons of Daksa were known by the name of Haryadva, and the former giving them up for lost, created one thousand Brah- imanas known as Saval --8 On finding the Savals carymg on the work of creation, the Sage Narada went to them and said —" Fist examine the extent of the universe and try to reclaim your lost bothers, then carry on the work of creation "—9-10 “Taking to the words of the sage, they started to reclaim their lost brothers, but met with the same fate, and itis fo this reason that no one dares to repeat the same experiment unto this day "—1L On losing the latter batch of his sons, Daksa begot erxty daughters from Panchajani, the daughter of Vuan: Out of those girls, he gave ten to Dharma, thiteen to Kasyapa, twentyseven to ChandramA& and four to Anstanem: He also gave two to the son of Bhngu, another two to Kaiididva, and two to Agira Their names will be related hereafter —12-14 Marutvatt, Vasu, Yami, Lambi, Bhinu, Arundhatl, Satkalpé, Muharti, Sadhya, Visva, who were given to Dharma, were the mothers of the Devas —15-16 Visvadeva waa born of Visvé, Sidhyaguna from Sfidhya, Marutvanta- gan fiom Marutvati, Vasava from Vasu, Bhanave from Bhanu, Muhdrtake from MuhGrté, Glove from Lambi, Nagiithi from Yami, the dweller in pitéla from Arundhati, Satkalpa from Sakalpi —17-19 The most powerful of the Devas that pervade the univeise are known by the name of Vasus, who are eight in number, vz —Aps, Dbruva, Soma, Dhara, Anila, Anala, PratyQga and Prahbea —20-21 The fou sons of Apa are Sinta, Danda, Samva, and Mamvakra They became the protectors of sarifical rites —22 ‘18 THE MATSYA PURANAM Dhruva became the father of Kale, Sém of Varcha, Dhara of Dravina and Havyavaha Davina and Havyavaba weie born of Kalyaal, and Menohard, the daughter of Hai, was the mother of Prina, Ramans, Sisra —23-24 Anila became the father of the two powerful sons, x2 —Manoyava and Aviyfstgat from Siva —25 Anala perchance cast is seed in a heap of eels, whence sprang up Kumara, Sikla, Vilikha and Naigameya They were fostered by the Pleiades, and that 1s why they are hnown as Kirtikéya, aud the great Rigt Devala was begotten by Piatydsa —26-27 Ne Erittike, the third of the 27 Junar mz ne or asteriems isting of wx stare The alx stars ore represented as nymphs acting as aurses to Kartikeya, the God of war Prabhasa begot the renowned architect and builder—the great Visvakarm& toinake mansions, pleasure gaidens, statues, ornaments, tanks, wells, ete 23 Viimadevas, 1e, Rudras, the creators of the Immortals, are eleven im number, wiz Ajaikaptda, Alurbudhnya, Virdpiksa, Raivata, Haia, Bahurapa, Tiyamvaka, Savitia, Jayanta, Pinakt, Aparajita The eleven Rudias wore created by the mind of Brahmé each holding a tident im his hand An account of then having cieated a race of Immortals, numbering 84 crores, lias been given before The Itudras pervade and protect the wil verse and have begotten many children fiom the womb of Surabhi —29-2 Here ends the fifth Chapter, dealing with the progemes of Vasus and Rudias CHAPTER VI Sota, addressing the sages who were hstening to his narrations with wiapt attention at Namnéiranya, said —'‘O, sages! 1 shall now enumerate to you the names of Kasyapa’s sons that he had fiom his 13 wives Aditi, Dit, Danu, Avista, Sursé, Surabhi, Vinati, Tamra, Krodhavadé, Ira, Kadru, Vidva and Mum were the thirteen wives of Kadyapa —1-2 Devas called Tugita who flourished in the reign of Chakgugu Manu, eame to be known as Adityas (Suns), owing to then having been born as the sons of Devas called glorions Kadyapa from his wife, Aditi, durmg the reign of King Vaivaavata Manu ‘They were twelve in number, riz, Indra, Dhata, Bhaga, Tvasta, Mitra, Varuna, Yama, Vivasvana, Savita, Pug, An- Suména, and Vieou These were the 12 Adityas—the centre of rays —3-5 ‘The Devaprahaianas the sons of Kristsva Rugi, and the twelve Adityas appear at the beginning of every Manvantera and Kalpa and vanish at their termination Dstt, the second wife of Kadyapa, gave birth to two sons,CHAPTER VI 18 oz, Huanyakadipu and Hirany.ikga Hiranyakadipu had four sons, 1 Prohlida, Anublade, Samhlida and Hlida Prahlide had the following eons —Ayushmana, Shivi, Biskala, and Vuochana Buh was the son of Buochana, and the former had one hundied gone, the oldest of whom was Bina —6-10 ‘Tho uotable brothers of Bina were —Dhritarastra, Sdrya, Chandra, Chandramsutpana, Nikumbhanabha,Gurbaksa, Kukgibhima, and Vibbi- yona —11 These were the wost notable of Bana’s bothers Bana had one thousand arms, and each arm was bedecked with a different kind of weapon Vana was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva, and had won over the latter by his deep devotions Tn fact, he was such an earnest devotee that he had almost unified himself with the Lord His realm was guarded by Siva Himself, the wielder of the tdent —12-13 Ulaka, Sakum, Bhita-samtipana, and Mahindbha were the sons of Miranyikea ‘The four sons of Hirany ikea begot an invineible band of demons, numbering 77 cries, who had amghty limbs, vaions lands of faces, aud were most hardy ~]4-15 Danu, the Unird wile of Kasyapa, brought forth one hundred myhty demons, the prinerpal one of whom was Viprachitts —16 DvinGrdhd, Sakum, Sankudnodlara, Ayomukha, Sambara, Kapisa, Vamana, Marchi, Meghavina, Iri, Garbhasira, Vidhabana, Ketu, Ketuvirya, Sathnida, Indiapit, Saptayit, Vananabha, Ehachakia, Mahabahu, Vapakea, ‘Tiraka, Asiloma, Pulomé, Vind, Bana, Svaibhinu, Viigaparva were cluefly the noteworthy biothers of Viprachit —17-20 Svarbhinu gave buth to a daughter, named Piabhé, PulomA gave buth to Sachi, Maya to Updanavi, Mandodari and Kuhd, Vnigaparvén to Sarmiathé, Sundin and Chandré, and Vaivénara to Pulomé and Kahka —21-22 Puloms and Kahki were mairied to the demon King, Mirfebi, who begot another fornndable batch of Rakgasas, numbermg 60 thousand from them —23 The Paulomas and the Kalikéyas, 1e, the demon progeny of Pulomé and Kalik@, after emg made invulnerable even against the Devas, began to live in Hiranyapura Lord Vigan killed the Paulomes and Kalikéyas, who had become most haughty alter they were mude invul- nerable by BialmA uly Vipiaclit survived, and he produced another 1ace of thirteen demons, known ag Sathimkéya from the womb of Simbika the susie: of Hiranyakasipu —24-2520 HE MATSYA URANAM Note—The Paulomas and the Kalkéyas wore only made involnorable by Brahma, andonly the minor Gods could not kill thew, but Lord Visnu is the Supreme God Vyamsa, Kalpa, Nala, Vatapi, Ilvala, Namuchi, Svasripa, Ayana, Naruka, ibha, Samana, Kilavirya, Potarana were among the Swhupkéya class of demons Samlilada, the son of Huanyakaéipu, produced the race of Nivathavacha demons —26 28 Note —Potarans, the thirteenth demon of the Ssihimkaiya class, is not mentioned in the text, but the number thirteen is luid down in the text To complete the lt, therefore, I have Included the namo of Potarand, on the authority of Har: Vameapurias ‘This class of Nivata-kavacha demons that was made invulnerable to the Devas, demons and serpents, was ultnnately destroyed by Aijuna—a hero of Mshiphaiata—by the grace of Siva —29 Kasyapa had the following six daughters, fiom his wife, Tamra. — Sukt, Seni, Bhasl, Sugrivi, Grdhyka, Such: —30 Sukt became the inother of Suka and Ulaka, Seni of Syena, Bhust of Kuiara, Gridit of Gridbia and Kapéta, Such: of Hamsa, Sfrasa and Vaka, & —32 Note — 60ka=Parrot Uldka=Ow) Syent Vulture Kap6ta=Pigeon Homsa=Swan Sérasz awk Kurara=Osprey Gpidhra= ane Vaka=Duek Sugrivi gave birth to goat, horse, 1am, camel, mule, &c From his wife Vimti, Kadyapa begot Gainda, the lord of birds, the Aruna, and a daughter, named Saudémini (Laghtming) —33-34 Samp4ti and Jatdynh weie the sons of Arana, and Vabhru and Sighragha were the sons of Sampati —35 Jataynh was the father of Kainikara, Satagimt, Sirasé, Rayjuvale and Bherunda —36 The above-mentioned sone of Jatiyuh became: the ancestors of different species of buds, and Smasi, one of the wives of Kadyapa, became the mother cf serpents —37 Kadid—a wife of Kadyapa—gave buth to several thousand-hooded serpents, the principal ones of whom aie —Sesa, Visuki, Karkofa, Sankba, Atrivata, Kambalu, Dbanaijaya, Mabinila, Padina, Asvatara (rmaule), ‘Vakgake, Elapatta, Muhipadma, Diuitaristie, Balahoka, Sankhapéla, Mabisankha, Pudpadatsta, Subhunani, Sankwiomé, Babula, Vémana Panina, Kapila Durmuhkha, and Pataijals 38-4] The above-named sons of Kadiu and Kadsupa were the fore-fathers of different classes of serpents, most of whom were consumed in the great sacrifice of Jaiimeyaya --42 Note —Jaiimejeya was the non of King Parlksita The latter was bitten by a serpent and dled in consequence Jafimejaya, therefore, to avenge bis father's desth, performed » (great asorifice to consume all tho serpents in which & large number of thom was destroyedCHAPTER VII 21 From lis wife, Krodhvadé, Kadyapa had a race of Krodbavada demons, numbering a million who were ultimately killed by Bhimasena —a hero of Mahabharata — 43 Smabbi, one of the wives of Kadynpa, gave bnth to the attend- ana of Rudras, cows, buffaloes, &¢ —44 ‘Note —Rudras are a group of Gods, eleven in number, supposed to be the man:festa- tons of Siva, who is said to be the head of the group Moni and Arisa, other two wives of Kadyapa, gave bnth to the class of Munis and Apsaias and the race tf Kinnatas and Gandharvas, respectively —45 From ha, Kasyapa begot reeds, trees, creepers, &c, and from lis wife Vidvé, he produced a race of numerous Yaksas and demons —46 Diti—a wife of Kadyapa—gave birth to 49 waruts (Gods of wind), who were the heloved of the Devas Here ends the sath Chapter dealing with the progeny of Kasyapa CHAPTER VII The [isis ad —How did Dis aga beget the Maiuts and bow did the latter become the friends of the Devas ?—1 Sita sad —In the days gone by, when Lord Visnu des troyed the offspring of Ditton the great war between the Devas and Asuras, Diti repaired to Syamantapafichaka—a holy place—on the banks cf the Saasvats, and devoted herself to the worship of her husband and practised severe penances for a considerable length of time —2-3 Note—A true Hindu wife always regards her husband as her supreme Lord She has Che game devotion for her as one bas for God Her salvation lies through her ‘busband After a litte more than acentury, Dits, the mother of demons, who had practised hard penances like a Rigi and had become emaciated and aged owing to her ning on phalahara and regularly keeping up Chéndiayana and other fasts, asked Vasistla and other sages —4-5 Note—Phalauara The Hinds in course of their fasts do not take cooked food They only take light things end particularly fruits Phalahdra hterally means a repast of fraite Chindréyana xe a particular fast, the chief feature of which 1s that one has to regu. late bis morsela of phalahdru to the phases of the moon, +e, on the new-moon day he has to take only one morse] which he goes on [ucreasing oue by one each day, for a fortnight, when the fast terminates “Sages! Tell me some such vrata that would free me from the crnshing guef of my son's destruction and make me feel happy m this world as well ag in the next "—622 THE MATSYA PURANAM Note—Vrata means fast Any self-imposed religious observance, Restriction, ‘Vow, Precept, Penance In this world as well os m the next The Hindus believe in the transmigration of soul According to this idea, there is a life after death until the soul becomes totally unified with Brahms, which 1s Nirvéoa or final reat The next world here, thoretore, refers to the re-birth after transmigration of soul The sage Vasistha advised Diti to observe the Madana-Dvidasi fast, by keeping which Dit: became the mother of the Maruts and was liberated from her pangs of grief —7 The Rigs said —“O, Pious Sage, Sita! we ae very anxious to know something of the Madana-Dvadadi fast, by the observance of which Ditt hegot forty-nine sons again (after her progeny was destroyed by Visou'"—8 Sfite sad —"Hear,O Risis'! what the Sage Vasistha said to Diti about the fast in question I shall :epeat to you the same in detail” -9 “The fast begins in the month of Chaitra, on the 12th day of the bright fortmght One who observes this fast should place a jar of gold, silver, copper, brass o: eaith—aceoding to his means—on an earthen platform, afte: filling it with different fruits, ptecea of sugai- cane, and white rice Before placing the yar on the platform, it should also be painted with white sandal and covered with two pieces of white cloth After this, asmall plate of copper containing some fruits, gold and raw sugar sbould be placed on the top of the yar Above it should be placed a plantain leaf, beating an image of Cupid, and to the left of it should be placed the image of Rati made of sugar After this, the worship of Cupid and Rati should be performed im the following manner — ‘The images should first be bathed with incense and water, then white flowers, rice, and sesamum should be offered Afterwards, the AngapGji (body worship) should follow, as indicated below —Aiter pronouncing Om Kaéméya, worship the feet After pronouncing Om Saubhdgyadéya, worship the legs After pronouncing Om Smardya, worship the thhghe Alter pronouncing Om Manmathdya, worship the waist After pronouncing Om Svaschodardya, worship the stomach After pronouncing Om Anangdya, worship the breast After pronouncing Om Padmamukhéya, worship the mouth After pronouncing Om Panchaéaraya, worslup the hands After pronouncing Om Sarvétmane, woishop the bead On the completion of this worship, sandal and incense should be offered, and then prayers should be sung accompained by music In case there be no one to aing prayers and play on the music, then the gloues of Kama and Kedava