आकाशमूष्मणा तप्तं भविष्यति परंतप ततः सदेवनक्षत्रं जगद्यास्यति संक्षयम्
The sky will be intensely heated, O scorcher of foes, and then the world, along with the gods and stars, will come to destruction.
संवर्तो भीमनादश्च द्रोणश्चण्डो बलाहकः विद्युत्पताकः शोणस्तु सप्तैते लयवारिदाः
Saṃvarta, Bhīmanāda, Droṇa, Caṇḍa, Balāhaka, Vidyutpatāka, and Śoṇa—these seven are the clouds of dissolution.
अग्निप्रस्वेदसम्भूताः प्लावयिष्यन्ति मेदिनीम् समुद्राः क्षोभमागत्य चैकत्वेन व्यवस्थिताः
Born from the sweat of fire, they will flood the earth; the oceans, agitated, will merge together as one.
एतदेकार्णवं सर्वं करिष्यन्ति जगत्त्रयम् वेदनावमिमां गृह्य सत्त्वबीजानि सर्वशः
They will make all three worlds into a single ocean, taking up the boat of the Vedas and all the seeds of beings.
आरोप्य रज्जुयोगेन मत्प्रदत्तेन सुव्रत संयम्य नावं मच्छृङ्गे मत्स्यभावाभिरक्षितः
Fastening the boat with a rope I have given you, O virtuous one, you shall secure it to my horn, protected by me in the form of a fish.
एकः स्थास्यसि देवेषु दग्धेष्वपि परंतप सोमसूर्यावहं ब्रह्मा चतुर्लोकसमन्वितः
You alone will remain among the gods, even when they are burned, O scorcher of foes, together with Brahmā, who carries the moon and sun, and the four worlds.
नर्मदा च नदी पुण्या मार्कण्डेयो महानृषिः भवो वेदाः पुराणानि विद्याभिः सर्वतोवृतम्
The sacred river Narmadā, the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya, Bhava, the Vedas, the Purāṇas, and all the sciences, surrounded on every side—
त्वया सार्धमिदं विश्वं स्थास्यत्यन्तरसंक्षये एवमेकार्णवे जाते चाक्षुषान्तरसंक्षये
With you, this universe will endure through the intermediate dissolution; thus, when the one ocean arises at the dissolution of the Cākṣuṣa epoch—
वेदान्प्रवर्तयिष्यामि त्वत्सर्गादौ महीपते एवमुक्त्वा स भगवांस् तत्रैवान्तरधीयत
At the beginning of your creation, O king, I will set forth the Vedas; having spoken thus, the Blessed Lord vanished right there.
मनुर् अप्यास्थितो योगं वासुदेवप्रसादजम् अभ्यसन् यावद् आभूतसम्प्लवं पूर्वसूचितम्
Manu, too, engaged in the yoga born of Vāsudeva’s grace, practicing until the foretold great flood arrived.
काले यथोक्ते संजाते वासुदेवमुखोद्गते शृङ्गी प्रादुर्बभूवाथ मत्स्यरूपी जनार्दनः
When the appointed time came, from the mouth of Vāsudeva, the horned one appeared—Janārdana in the form of a fish.
भुजंगो रज्जुरूपेण मनोः पार्श्वमुपागमत् भूतान्सर्वान्समाकृष्य योगेनारोप्य धर्मवित्
A serpent, in the form of a rope, approached Manu’s side; gathering all beings, the knower of righteousness placed them on board through yoga.
भुजंगरज्ज्वा मत्स्यस्य शृङ्गे नावमयोजयत् उपर्युपस्थितस्तस्याः प्रणिपत्य जनार्दनम्
With the serpent-rope, he fastened the boat to the fish’s horn; standing above it, he bowed to Janārdana.
आभूतसम्प्लवे तस्मिन्न् अतीते योगशायिना पृष्टेन मनुना प्रोक्तं पुराणं मत्स्यरूपिणा तदिदानीं प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणुध्वमृषिसत्तमाः
When that great flood had passed, Manu asked the fish-formed Lord, who reclined in yoga, about the ancient lore; I shall now relate that, so listen, O best of sages.
यद्भवद्भिः पुरा पृष्टः सृष्ट्यादिकमहं द्विजाः तद् एवैकार्णवे तस्मिन् मनुः पप्रच्छ केशवम्
O twice-born, what you previously asked me about—the origin of creation and so forth—Manu asked that very same question of Keshava on the primeval ocean.
उत्पत्तिं प्रलयं चैव वंशान्मन्वन्तराणि च वंश्यानुचरितं चैव भुवनस्य च विस्तरम्
He inquired about creation and dissolution, the lineages and the Manus, the deeds of their descendants, and the expanse of the worlds.
दानधर्मविधिं चैव श्राद्धकल्पं च शाश्वतम् वर्णाश्रमविभागं च तथेष्टापूर्तसंज्ञितम्
He also asked about the rules of charity and righteousness, the eternal rites of ancestor worship, the divisions of class and stage of life, and what is known as acts of sacrifice and beneficence.
देवतानां प्रतिष्ठादि यच्चान्यद्विद्यते भुवि तत्सर्वं विस्तरेण त्वं धर्मं व्याख्यातुमर्हसि
He asked about the establishment of the gods and whatever else exists on earth; you should explain all this dharma in detail.
महाप्रलयकालान्त एतदासीत्तमोमयम् प्रसुप्तमिव चातर्क्यम् अप्रज्ञातमलक्षणम्
At the end of the great dissolution, all this was enveloped in darkness—unfathomable, unmanifest, and without discernible characteristics, as if in deep sleep.
अविज्ञेयमविज्ञातं जगत् स्थास्नु चरिष्णु च ततः स्वयम्भूर् अव्यक्तः प्रभवः पुण्यकर्मणाम्
The world, both stationary and moving, was unknowable and unknown; then the self-born, unmanifest source of all virtuous deeds arose.
व्यञ्जयन्नेतदखिलं प्रादुरासीत् तमोनुदः यो ऽतीन्द्रियः परो व्यक्ताद् अणुर् ज्यायान् सनातनः नारायण इति ख्यातः स एकः स्वयम् उद्बभौ
He, who dispels darkness and is beyond the senses, greater and subtler than the manifest, eternal, known as Narayana, alone manifested himself to reveal all this.
यः शरीराद् अभिध्याय सिसृक्षुर्विविधं जगत् अप एव ससर्जादौ तासु वीर्यम् अवासृजत्
Desiring to create the diverse world by thought from his own body, he first produced the waters and then placed his seed within them.
तदेवाण्डं समभवद् धेमरूप्यमयं महत् संवत्सरसहस्रेण सूर्यायुतसमप्रभम्
That became the cosmic egg, vast and shining like gold and silver, radiant as ten thousand suns, over a thousand years.
प्रविश्यान्तर्महातेजाः स्वयम् एवात्मसम्भवः प्रभावाद् अपि तद्व्याप्त्या विष्णुत्वम् अगमत् पुनः
Entering within by his own great brilliance, self-born, by his power and pervasion, he again assumed the form of Vishnu.
तदन्तर्भगवानेष सूर्यः समभवत्पुरा आदित्यश्चादिभूतत्वाद् ब्रह्मा ब्रह्म पठन्न् अभूत्
Within that, the blessed Sun was first born; because he was the original being, he became Brahma, the reciter of the Veda.
दिवं भूमिं समकरोत् तदण्डशकलद्वयम् स चाकरोद्दिशः सर्वा मध्ये व्योम च शाश्वतम्
He made the heavens and the earth from the two halves of the egg, and he created all the directions and, in the middle, the eternal sky.
नद्यो ऽण्डनाम्नः संभूताः पितरो मनवस् तथा सप्त ये ऽमी समुद्राश् च ते ऽपि चान्तर्जलोद्भवाः लवणेक्षुसुराद्याश् च नानारत्नसमन्विताः
The rivers arose from the cosmic egg, as did the ancestors and Manus; these seven oceans also came forth from the inner waters, filled with salt, sugarcane juice, wine, and various precious gems.
स सिसृक्षुर् अभूद् देवः प्रजापतिर् अरिन्दम तत्तेजसश् च तत्रैष मार्तण्डः समजायत
Desiring to create, the god Prajapati, O subduer of foes, from that brilliance, the Sun—Martanda—was born there.
मृते ऽण्डे जायते यस्मान् मार्तण्डस् तेन संस्मृतः रजोगुणमयं यत्तद् रूपं तस्य महात्मनः चतुर्मुखः स भगवान् अभूल् लोकपितामहः
Because he was born from the dead egg, he is remembered as Martanda; that great soul's form, composed of the quality of passion, became the four-faced Lord, the grandsire of the worlds.
येन सृष्टं जगत् सर्वं सदेवासुरमानुषम् तमवेहि रजोरूपं महत् सत्त्वम् उदाहृतम्
Know that the one by whom the entire world—gods, asuras, and humans—was created, is called the great being, the embodiment of passion.