Agni Purana

नैमिषे हरिमीजाना ऋषयः शौनकादयः । तीर्थयात्राप्रसङ्गेन स्वागतं सूतमब्रुवन्

At Naimiṣa, the sages beginning with Śaunaka, engaged in pilgrimage, welcomed Sūta and spoke to him.

ऋषय ऊचुः सूत त्वं पूजितोऽस्माभिः सारात्सारं वदस्व नः । येन विज्ञानमात्रेणसर्व्वज्ञत्वं प्रजायते

The sages said: Sūta, you have been honored by us; tell us the essence of all essences, by knowing which one attains omniscience.

सूत उवाच सारात्सारो हि भगवान् विष्णुः सर्गादिकृद्विभुः । ब्रह्माहमस्मि तं ज्ञात्वा सर्व्वज्ञात्वं प्रजायते

Sūta said: The essence of all essences is indeed the Blessed Viṣṇu, the Lord who creates and so forth; knowing Him as Brahman, I have become omniscient.

द्वे ब्रह्मणी वेदितव्ये शब्दब्रह्म परं च यत्। द्वे विद्ये वेदितव्ये हि इति चाथर्वणी श्रुतिः

Two forms of Brahman are to be known: the Brahman of sound and the supreme; indeed, two forms of knowledge are to be known, as the Atharvaṇic scripture declares.

अहं शुक्रश्च पैलाद्या गत्वा वदरिकाश्रमम् । व्यासं नत्वा पृष्टवन्तः सोऽस्मान् सारमथाब्रवीत्

I, Śukra, and others like Paila, having gone to the hermitage at Badarikā, bowed to Vyāsa and questioned him; he then spoke the essence to us.

व्यास उवाच शुकाद्यैः श्रृणु सूत त्वं वशिष्ठो मां यथाऽब्रवीत्। ब्रह्मसारं हि पृच्छन्तं मुनिभिश्च परात्परम्

Vyāsa said: Hear from me, Sūta, as Vasiṣṭha spoke to me when I, along with Śuka and others, inquired about the supreme essence of Brahman.

वसिष्ठ उवाच द्वैविध्यं ब्रह्मा वक्ष्यामि श्रृणु व्यासाखिलानुगम्। यथाऽग्निर्मां पुरा प्राह मुनिभिर्दैवतैः सह

Vasiṣṭha said: I will explain to you, Vyāsa, the twofold nature of Brahman, as Agni once told me in the presence of sages and gods.

पुराणं परमाग्नेयं ब्रह्मविद्याक्षरं परम् । ऋग्वेदाद्यपरं ब्रह्म सर्वदेवसुखावहम्

The supreme Agni Purāṇa is the highest imperishable knowledge of Brahman; the other Brahman is the Ṛgveda and the rest, which bring happiness to all the gods.

अग्निनोक्तं पुराणं यदाग्नेयं ब्रह्मसम्मितम् भुक्तिमुक्तिप्रदं दिव्यं पठतां श्रृण्वतां नृणाम्

The Purāṇa spoken by Agni, which is called Agneya and is equated with Brahman, grants enjoyment and liberation to those who recite and hear it.

वसिष्ठ उवाच संसारसागरोत्तारनावं ब्रह्मेश्वरं वेद। विद्यासारं यद्विदित्वा सर्वज्ञो जायते नरः

Vasiṣṭha said: The Veda, which is Brahman and Īśvara, is the boat to cross the ocean of worldly existence; knowing its essence, a person becomes all-knowing.

अग्निरुवाच विष्णुः कालाग्निरुद्रोऽहं विद्यासारं वदामि ते। विद्यासारं पुराणं यत्सर्वं सर्वस्य कारणम्

Agni said: Viṣṇu, Kāla, Agni, and Rudra—I am all these; I will tell you the essence of knowledge, the Purāṇa, which is the cause of everything.

सर्गस्य प्रतिसर्गस्य वंशमन्वन्तरस्य च। वंशानुचरितादेश्च, मत्स्यकूर्म्मादिरूपधृक्

The creation, the dissolution, the genealogies, the ages of Manus, and the accounts of the lineages, as well as the forms of Matsya, Kūrma, and others.

द्वे विद्ये भगवान् विष्णुः परा चैवापरा च ह। ऋग्यजुः सामाथर्वाख्या वेदाङ्गानि च षड् द्विज

The Blessed Viṣṇu is twofold knowledge: the higher and the lower; the Ṛg, Yajus, Sāma, and Atharva Vedas, and the six Vedāṅgas, O twice-born one.

शिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं ज्योतिषाङ्गतिः। छन्दोऽभिधानं मीमांसा धर्म्मशास्त्रं पुराणकम्

Phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, astronomy, metrics, lexicon, inquiry, law, and the Purāṇa.

न्यायवैद्यकगान्धर्वं धनुर्वेदोऽर्थशास्त्रकम्। अपरेयं परा विद्या यया ब्रह्माभिगम्यते

Logic, medicine, music, the science of archery, and economics—these are the lower knowledge; the higher knowledge is that by which Brahman is attained.

यत्तददृश्ययमग्राह्यमगोत्रचरणं ध्रुवम्। विष्णुनोक्तं यथा मह्यं देवेभ्यो ब्रह्मणा पुरा

That which is invisible, intangible, without lineage or class, and eternal, as Viṣṇu once spoke to me, as Brahmā did to the gods in ancient times.

तथा ते कथयिष्यामि हेतुं मत्स्यादिरूपिणम्

In the same way, I will tell you the reason for the forms such as Matsya and others.

इत्यदिमहापुराणे आग्नेये प्रश्नो नाम प्रथमोध्यायः

Thus ends the first chapter, called 'The Question,' in the Agni Purana, which is one of the great ancient Puranas.

वसिष्ठ उवाच मत्स्यादिरूपिणं विष्णुं ब्रूहि सर्गादिकारणम् । पुराणं ब्रह्म चाग्नेयं यथा विष्णोः पुरा श्रुतम्

Vasishtha said: Tell me about Vishnu, who took the form of a fish and other incarnations, and the cause of creation and so on. O Brahma, recount the Agni Purana as it was once heard from Vishnu.

अग्निरुवाच मत्स्यावतारं वक्ष्येऽहं वसिष्ठ श्रृणु वै हरेः । अवतारक्रिया दुष्टनष्ट्यै सत्पालनाय हि

Agni said: I will describe the fish incarnation of Hari, O Vasishtha, listen. The act of incarnation is for the destruction of the wicked and the protection of the good.

आसीदतीतकल्पान्ते ब्राह्मो नैमित्तिको लयः । समुद्रोपप्लुतास्तत्र लोका भूरादिका मुने

At the end of the previous kalpa, there was a Brahmic, occasional dissolution. At that time, O sage, the worlds beginning with Bhur were flooded by the ocean.

मनुर्वैवस्वतस्तेपे तपो वै भुक्तिमुक्तये। एकदा कृतमालायां कुर्वतो जलतर्पणम्

Manu, son of Vivasvat, performed austerities for enjoyment and liberation. Once, while offering water in the Kritamala river,

तस्याञ्चल्युदके मत्स्यः स्वल्प एकोऽभ्यपद्यत। क्षेप्तुकामं जले प्राह न मां क्षिप नरोत्तम

A small fish appeared alone in the water he held in his hands. As he was about to throw it back into the water, it spoke: 'Do not cast me away, O best of men.'

ग्राहादिभ्यो भयं मेऽद्यतच्छ्रुत्वा कलशेऽक्षिपत्। स तु वृद्धः पुनर्मत्स्यः प्राह तं देहि मे बृहत्

'I am afraid today of creatures like alligators.' Hearing this, he placed it in a pot. But the fish grew and again said to him, 'Give me a larger place.'

स्थानमेतद्वचः श्रुत्वा राजाऽथोदञ्चनेऽक्षिपत्। तत्र वृद्धोऽब्रवीद् भूपं पृथु देहि पदं मनो

Hearing these words, the king placed it in a water jar. There, as it grew, it said to the king, 'Give me a broader space, O king.'

सरोवरे पुनः क्षिप्तो ववृधे तत्प्रमाणवान् । ऊचे देहि बृहत् स्थानप्राक्षिपच्चाम्बुधौ ततः

Again placed in a lake, it grew to the size of that place. It said, 'Give me a greater space,' so he placed it in the ocean.

लक्षयोजनविस्तीर्णः क्षणमात्रेण सोऽभवत्। मत्स्यं तमद्‌भुतं दृष्ट्वा विस्मितः प्राव्रवीन्‌ मनुः

In a moment, it became as vast as a hundred thousand yojanas. Seeing that wondrous fish, Manu, astonished, spoke:

को भवान्ननु वै विष्णुः नारायण नमोऽस्तुते। मायया मोहयसि मां किमर्थं त्वं जनार्दन

'Who are you? Surely, you are Vishnu, O Narayana, I bow to you. Why do you bewilder me with your maya, O Janardana?'

मनुनोक्तोऽब्रवीन्मत्स्यो मनुं वै पालने रतम्। अवतीर्णो भवायास्य जगतो दुष्टनष्टये

Addressed by Manu, the fish spoke to Manu, who was devoted to protection: 'I have descended for the welfare of this world, to destroy the wicked.'