Lord Vishnu takes the Matsya Avatar
Matsya, (Sanskrit: “Fish”) one of the 10 avatars
(incarnations) of the Hindu god Vishnu. In this appearance Vishnu saved the
world from a great flood. Manu, the first man, caught a little fish that grew
to giant size. When the flood approached, Manu saved himself by tying his boat
to the horn on the fish's head.
Lord Vishnu
appeared in the form of a fish to save the four Vedas from the clutches of the
demons and save Manu from the Jal Pralaya.
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata
Abhyutthanam
adharmasya tadatmanam srjamy aham
Paritranaya
sadhunam vinasaya ca duskritam
Dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
Matsya was the first Avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The great flood finds mention in Hindu mythology texts like the Satapatha Brahmana. Matsya Avatar takes place to save the pious and the first man, Manu, and advise him to build a giant boat. Lord Matsya is generally represented as a four-armed figure with the upper torso of a man and the lower of a fish.
It is said that, during the Satya Yuga, the people on
earth had become irreligious and disorderly in the way they lived their lives.
This is when the Gods collectively decided to flood the earth and prepare it
for the process of renovation. Lord Brahma, the creator, had been given the
guidelines to remodel the earth by Lord Vishnu. These guidelines were the
Vedas, the four principal books of Hinduism. Lord Brahma was quite tired from the process of creation.
At this time, a horse-headed demon named Hayagriva had stolen the Vedas from
Brahma. Then demon Hayagriva1 went and hid himself deep in
the oceans of the earth.
Meanwhile, a pious king named Satyavrata who was a
great admirer of Lord Vishnu, regularly worshipped Lord Vishnu and wished to
meet Him. Satyavrata, the king of pre-ancient Dravida2 and
a devotee of Vishnu, who later was known as Manu.
Manu is believed to be the son of
Brahma and the first human being to take birth on Earth. He is believed to be
the father of humans. According to a legend, Manu was produced by Brahma and so
was Shatrupa, his spouse. The couple then took various human forms to establish
humans.
Shatrupa was ageless because of a
boon granted by Brahma, and therefore, she maintained her original form, while
Manu started ageing. Yet, Shatrupa and Manu stood by each other through thick
and thin and proved to be an ideal couple.
Manu and Shatrupa gave birth to humans and life flourished on
earth. However, gradually, when things took an ugly turn and humans indulged in
bloodshed like the Danavas, Manu decided to do intense penance to save
humanity. Hence, to pray for the well-being of people, Manu gave up food and
performed penance. Shatrupa, his soulmate, too gave up eating and helped him in
doing the penance with utmost devotion.
Subsequently, when Lord Shiva created floods at the behest of
Brahma, Vishnu saved Manu and his wife, Shatrupa.
One day when Manu was washing his hands in a
river a little fish swam into his hands and pleaded with him to save its life.
He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew. He then moved it to a tank, a river
and then finally the ocean but to no avail. The fish then revealed himself to
be Vishnu and told him that a deluge would occur within seven days that would
destroy all life.
It was Lord Vishnu, who had taken the avatar of Matsya (fish),
appeared before Manu, and informed him about the Jal Pralaya. And since Manu's
existence was essential for keeping people alive, Lord Vishnu presented a boat
to him. Then, he asked Manu to tie the boat to his fin with the help of Shesha
Nag. Thus, Vishnu safely escorted Manu and Shatrupa.
The fish instructed Satyavrata (Manu) to take “all
medicinal herbs, all the varieties of seeds, and accompanied by the seven
saints” along with the serpent Vasuki and other animals. As the
time of the flood approached, Manu’s boat was complete. As the flood swept over
the land, Manu asked Vishnu why mankind had to meet such a deadly fate to which
Matsya Vishnu told Manu that he was the only moral man alive and that he would
be the father of the future generations of men. Matsya killed Hayagriva
and returned the Vedas to Brahma. Then he tied himself to Manu’s ark using
Vasuki as a rope and protected them from the storm and the floods. When the
storms ended and the water subsided, Matsya Vishnu left Manu and the others at
the Himalayas, where they could begin human civilization again.
Interestingly, Manu not only saved people, but he also saved
knowledge by taking the Saptarishis along with him. And to maintain the
ecological balance, he also took various species of plants and animals with
him.
Thus, after finding a new abode, Manu and Shatrupa gave birth to
humans once again and sowed the seeds of a new beginning.
Notes:
[1]. (Demon Hayagriva may not
to be confused with Lord
Hayagriva,
the avatar of Vishnu and a symbol of wisdom and knowledge.) Associated with the Matsya
Avatar of Vishnu, there lived a demon named Hayagriva. He was the son
of Sage Kashyap and his wife, Danu. People saluted sage Kashyap for being a boon to
humanity, but Hayagriva was the exact opposite. The demon was chosen as
the Danav Raj (king of the demons). And his sole motive was to
stop the humans from becoming more powerful than the Danavs.
Hayagriva
wanted to establish the Danav clan as the most superior one. Therefore, he made
several attempts to disrupt the progress of the human class. And after learning
that Lord Vishnu handover the four Vedas to Lord Brahma, he decided to steal
them to stop the sacred texts from reaching the humans.
[2]. The kingdoms along
with the Dravidas were Sakas, Yavanas, Savaras, Kanchis, Paundras and Kiratas,
Nishada, Yavanas and Sinhalas, and the barbarous kingdoms of Khasas, Chivukas,
Pulindas, Chinas Hunas with Keralas, Mlecchas etc. Sahadeva's conquests]
References:
templepurohit.com
Matsya
| Hinduism - Encyclopedia Britannica
Matsya Purana
