Shri Matsya Mahapuran

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The Puranas are sacred texts which were composed many hundreds of years ago. There are many stories and rituals which form an integral part of Hinduism. Most of these are to be found in the Puranas. Together with the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Puranas are read, revered and believed in.

Thre are eighteen major Puranas or mahapuranas, the word maha, meaning great. There are also several other minor Puranas or upapuranas, the word upa signifying minor. It is sometimes believed that the upapuranas are also eighteen in number.

Amongst the eighteen mahapuranas, the Matsya Purana is number sixteen. This does not mean that it is sixteenth in order of important. It just happens to be sixteenth in the list.

The Puranas themselves describes the five characteristics (pancha lakshana) that a text must satisfy before being classified as a mahapurana. That is, any such text must describe five different subjects. These are the original creation of the universe (sarga), the periodical process of destruction and re-creation (pratisaryga), the various eras (manvantara), the histories of the solar dynasty (surya vamsha), and lunar dynasty (chandra vamsha) and royal genealogies vamshanu-charita). As you will see, the Matysa Purana does describe these five different subjects.

Traditionally, the Ramayana is believed to have been composed by the sage Valmiki and the Mahabharata is believed to have been composed by the sage Vedavyasa. Vedavyasa was the son of Satyavati and the sage Parashara. His real name was Krishna Dvaipayana. The word krishna means dark and he came to acquire the name because he was dark in complexion. The word dvipa means island and the sage acquired the name of Dvaipayana as he was born on an island.

The Mahabharata has one lakh shlokas or couplets. It is believed that, after composing the Mahabharata. Vedavyasa composed the eighteen mahapuranas. These texts have four lakh shlokas between them, although they are not equal in length. The Matsya Purana is a medium-length Purana, is comprises of fifteen thousand couplets. The longest Purana, the Skanda Purana, has eighty-one thousand. And the shortest Purana, the Markandeya Purana, has only nine thousand. The fourteen thousand shlokas of the Maysya Purana are divided into two hundred and ninety-one chapters (adhyaya).

The Puranas are sacred texts which were composed many hundreds of years ago. There are many stories and rituals which form an integral part of Hinduism. Most of these are to be found in the Puranas. Together with the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Puranas are read, revered and believed in.

Thre are eighteen major Puranas or mahapuranas, the word maha, meaning great. There are also several other minor Puranas or upapuranas, the word upa signifying minor. It is sometimes believed that the upapuranas are also eighteen in number.

Amongst the eighteen mahapuranas, the Matsya Purana is number sixteen. This does not mean that it is sixteenth in order of important. It just happens to be sixteenth in the list.

The Puranas themselves describes the five characteristics (pancha lakshana) that a text must satisfy before being classified as a mahapurana. That is, any such text must describe five different subjects. These are the original creation of the universe (sarga), the periodical process of destruction and re-creation (pratisaryga), the various eras (manvantara), the histories of the solar dynasty (surya vamsha), and lunar dynasty (chandra vamsha) and royal genealogies (vamshanu-charita). As you will see, the Matysa Purana does describe these five different subjects.

Traditionally, the Ramayana is believed to have been composed by the sage Valmiki and the Mahabharata is believed to have been composed by the sage Vedavyasa. Vedavyasa was the son of Satyavati and the sage Parashara. His real name was Krishna Dvaipayana. The word krishna means dark and he came to acquire the name because he was dark in complexion. The word dvipa means island and the sage acquired the name of Dvaipayana as he was born on an island.