Matsya Purana
Also known as: The Fish Purana, Matsyapurana, Matsya-Purana
A Purāṇa framed as Viṣṇu’s fish (Matsya) teaching Manu. It compiles creation cycles, the flood, royal genealogies, temple and image canons, rites, and extensive pilgrimage praises, interweaving myths of gods, sages, and kings.
Description
The Matsya Purana is a Sanskrit Purāṇa presented as the discourse of Viṣṇu in his fish form to the primordial king Manu. Within a broad Purāṇic scaffolding—creation and dissolution cycles, time and cosmography, and dynastic lists—it preserves the classic flood narrative in which Matsya rescues Manu, the seeds of beings, and the Vedas from a demon. The text is encyclopedic: it outlines rites of life-cycle and death, royal duties and gifts, temple architecture, image-making and iconography, festivals, vows, and local sacred geographies (tīrtha-māhātmyas) such as Prayāga and Kāśī. Mythic episodes touch Śiva, Devī, and various avatāras, while genealogies connect cosmic time to remembered kings. Its layered composition reflects centuries of ritual, regional, and sectarian accretions, making it both a mythic compendium and a manual for religious life.
Historiography
Surviving manuscripts vary widely in chapter counts and order, pointing to multiple regional recensions and extensive interpolation. The core Matsya–Manu instruction frame is generally early, while tirtha lists, temple canons, and some ritual digests show medieval expansions. Modern editions collate diverse North and South Indian witnesses; no single critical edition commands consensus. Citations across later Purāṇas and Smṛti digests indicate the text’s authority for pilgrimage and iconographic norms.
Date Notes
Composite Purāṇa with multiple recensions; core narrative likely Gupta-era with medieval accretions, especially pilgrimage and ritual sections.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Vishnu
- Manu
- Brahma
- Shiva
Myths
- Matsya Rescues Manu
- Recovery of the Vedas
- Cosmology and the Temple Arts
Facts
- Framed as a discourse of Vishnu’s fish avatar to Manu at the dawn of a new cycle.
- Preserves a classic South Asian flood myth integrated with Purāṇic cosmology.
- Combines mythic narrative with pragmatic ritual, legal, and architectural guidance.
- Contains extensive tirtha-mahatmya sections elevating specific sacred geographies.
- Transmits temple and image canons influential in medieval iconography.
- Dynastic genealogies link cosmic time to remembered kings and sages.
- Verse counts and chapter orders vary significantly across manuscripts.
- Sections show Vaishnava framing while incorporating Śaiva and Śākta materials.
- Frequently cited in later Smṛti and Purāṇa compilations for pilgrimage rules.
- Redactional layering indicates a living text updated across many centuries.