The Matsya Purana is one of Hinduism's eighteen main Puranas, and it is one of the earliest and best-preserved of the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature. The text is a Vaishnavism scripture that is called after Vishnu's half-human, half-fish incarnation.
It tells the narrative of Matsya, the first of the Hindu god Vishnu's ten main avatars. The literature tells the legend of a great flood in which the Matsya avatar of Vishnu saved the seeds of all plants and mobile living things, as well as the world's knowledge books (Vedas), from the world and mankind headed by Manu.
The Matsya Purana, like all Puranas, was
constantly amended and updated. According to Ramachandra Dikshitar, who is
recognised for providing old dates for Indian literature, the text's writing
began in the latter years of the first millennium BCE, and its initial edition
was completed by the 3rd century of the common era. Pandurang Vaman Kane, for
example, dates the earliest version of the book to around 200–500 CE. In
chapter 53 of the Matsya Purana, there is a comment indicating that as a
Purana, it must be edited and amended in order to stay helpful to society.
Wendy Doniger estimates that the Matsya
Purana was written between 250 and 500 CE.Scholars agree that the Matsya Purana
is one of the earlier Puranas, with the initial version completed in the 3rd
century CE, although portions of it were regularly updated, removed, and
enlarged over the years, up to the 2nd millennium CE.
Like other Puranas, the Matsya Purana has
a convoluted chronology. According to Dimmitt and van Buitenen, each Purana is
written in an encyclopaedic style, making it impossible to determine when,
when, why, and by whom they were written:
The Puranas are a layered literature in their current form. Each named piece is made up of material that has accumulated through time as a result of various accretions. As a result, there is no fixed date for the writing of any Purana. (...) It's like if they're libraries with new books being added on a regular basis, not necessarily at the end of the shelf, but at random
The Matsya Purana (IAST: Matsya Purana) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and one of the oldest and best-preserved in Hinduism's Puranic literature. The text is a Vaishnavism scripture that is called after Vishnu's half-human, half-fish incarnation.
The book is titled after Matsya, the Hindu deity Vishnu's fish
incarnation.
The Tamil translation of the Matsya Purana includes 172 chapters
and is divided into two sections: Purva (early) and Uttara (later). There are
291 chapters in other documented Matsya Purana manuscripts.
According to the text and tradition, the Matsya Purana has 20,000
verses. Extant manuscripts, on the other hand, include between 13,000 and
15,000 verses.
Matsya Purana is classified as a Tamas Purana, or one that celebrates Shiva or Agni, according to the Padma Purana. Scholars believe the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas categorization to be "completely fictitious," and nothing in the text really supports this classification.
The Tamil translation of the Matsya Purana includes 172 chapters and is divided into two sections: Purva (early) and Uttara (later). There are 291 chapters in other documented Matsya Purana manuscripts. According to the text and tradition, the Matsya Purana has 20,000 verses.
It tells the narrative of Matsya, the
first of the Hindu god Vishnu's ten main avatars. The literature tells the
legend of a great flood in which the Matsya avatar of Vishnu saved the seeds of
all plants and mobile living things, as well as the world's knowledge books
(Vedas), from the world and mankind headed by Manu.
The Matsya Purana covers a wide range of
topics, many of which are unrelated to Vishnu, and its encyclopaedic nature led
Horace Hayman Wilson, a 19th-century Purana scholar and translator, to declare
that "it is too mixed a character to be considered a genuine Purana"
and that it is largely a collection of miscellaneous topics.The book devotes a
portion to goddess Shakti and provides a comparable treatment of deity Shiva
and god Vishnu tales. The significance and observance of Hindu festivals and family
festivities, such as those linked to the Sanskara, are discussed in chapters
54-102 of the book (rite of passage). The text's conceptions of kingship and
good governance are discussed in chapters 215-227, while chapters 252-257
provide a technical study of how to select a stable soil for home construction,
various architectural designs, and construction-related ceremonial rituals.
The Matsya Purana, along with books like
the Brihat Samhita, is one of the earliest extant manuscripts, having extensive
sections on temple, sculpture, and artwork design. The Purana mentions 20
different types of Hindu temples, including Meru, Mandara (later Mandir), and
Kailasa. The book lays out requirements for the foundation, visitor rooms
within the central temple, and the tower (Vimana or Shikhara).
The book claims that a square grid is
optimal for a Hindu temple, focusing on an 8x8 grid but also considering a
smaller 3x3 floor layout (above). In other chapters, the Matsya Purana
discusses its views on town planning and public works like as water reservoirs.
The book emphasises the square design
concept, recommending that big temples' land and design be based on 64 squares
(mandala or yantra), as well as a variety of alternative square grid designs,
such as the 16 square grid smaller temple. According to the literature, a
temple's primary entrance and sanctuary space should open east towards the
dawn, while the human body served as the temple's pattern, with Atman and
Brahman (Purusha) as residents.In chapters 253-269, as well as other portions
such as chapters 58-65, the text specifies the relative ratios of various
levels and spaces that it claims are inherently appealing, such as those of
entry height, lengths and heights, and carving placement. The text, for example,
suggests that the pillar inside the temple (stambha) be divided into nine
parts, with terms such as Padma, Kumbha, Antara, and others, with the pillar's
width and each of these parts having specific ratios, and the structural
features or carvings being laid out on these nine parts. Despite the fact that
it is titled after a Vishnu avatar, the book contains several parts on Shiva
Linga installation, as well as other chapters.
According to Michael Meister, the design
guidebooks included in the Matsya Purana were most likely recommendations, not
binding on those who funded or built the temples. Field evidence shows,
however, that 1st-millennium Hindu temples across India, which have survived
until the contemporary day, did embrace the square concept, and that the design
roughly matches the basic ideas mentioned in old writings such as the Matsya
Purana.
Many Amarkantaka temples are mentioned in
the Matsya Purana, which are located near the Narmada river's source in eastern
Madhya Pradesh.
The Mahatmya is a compilation of chapters
found in the Matsya Purana, as it is in other Puranas. These were ancient or
mediaeval Indian "promotional works intended towards travellers from that
era," according to Ariel Glucklich.
The Matsya Purana's most extensive
collection, chapters 189-194, is about scenery, mythology, and temples around
the Narmada river area in contemporary Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and
Gujarat. Another tour guide in the book is the PrayagaMahatmya, which comprises
chapters 103-112 of the Matsya Purana and includes poems on the Kumbh Mela.
Other Tirtha (pilgrimage) sites mentioned in the tour guide portions of this Purana include those in eastern and southern India linked to Goddesses (Shakti).The chapters 180-185 of the text present AvimuktaMahatmya, which is a travel guide for Benaras (Varanasi, Kashi).
Yoga is mentioned in several early and late chapters, with various descriptions. For example, the Matsya Purana asserts in Chapter 52 that for a novice Yogi, Karma Yoga is more vital than Jnana Yoga since Karma Yoga leads to Jnana Yoga, and Jnana Yoga does not emerge without Karma Yoga. In verses 52.8-52.10, the text lists eight spiritual qualities of a Karma Yogi: clemency and non-injury to others and all living beings, forbearance, protection of those who seek aid in distress, freedom from envy, external and internal purification, calmness, non-miserliness in helping those who are distressed, and never hankering after another person's wealth or wife.Every day, Karma Yogi, according to the text in verses 52.13-52.14, does five acts of devotion: worshipping the Devas, worshipping one's parents and ancestors, feeding the destitute and giving hospitality to guests, feeding animals and birds, and reading the Vedas to worship sages and instructors. In Chapter 183 of the Matsya Purana, it is said that there are two types of yoga: Saguna yoga and Nirguna yoga
Geeta Press Gorakhpur; 1st edition (1 January 2015)
1086 pages
Gita Press
768 Pages
The Tamil version of the Matsya Purana has two
sections, Purva (early) and Uttara (later), and it consists of 172 chapters.
Other versions of the published Matsya Purana manuscripts have
291 chapters. The text and tradition asserts that Matsya Purana had
20,000 verses.
24 x 18 x 1 cm
Hondi , Sanskrit
Origin. Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata, is hagiographically credited as the compiler of the Puranas. The ancient tradition suggests that originally there was but one Purana.
Geeta Press Gorakhpur; 1st edition (1 January 2015)
Wendy Doniger dates the Matsya Purana to have been composed between 250 to 500 CE.
1 January 2015