The Matsya Puranam

The Matsya Puranam alone, among the eighteen maha-puranas, displays the dasa laksana (ten features) which are; Sarga (creation), prati sarga (disintegration) and recreation, vamsa (genealogies of Gods and Sages), manvantara (ages of Manus), vamsyanucarita (genealogies of kings), vrtti (means of subsistence), raksa (divine incarnations), mukti (final release), hetu (prime cause) and apasraya (Supreme being). Its scope is encyclopaedic; for it deals with dharma (right conduct), artha (politics and economics), kama (erotica) and moksa (emancipation). Thus it is an inexhaustible mine of information on religion, philosophy, science, literature, history, geography, politics, economics, sociology and folk-lore. This translation of the Matsya Puranam by the erudite Taluqdar of Oudh adheres, as closely as possible, to the spirit of the original. The lucid text with the appendices will be of great use to scholars.