- Matsya
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- This article concerns the Hindu avatar. For the ancient kingdom, see Matsya Rajya. For other uses, see Matsya (disambiguation).
Matsya 
Incarnation of Vishnu as a Fish, from a devotional textKnowledge Devanagari मत्स्य Affiliation Avatar of Vishnu Weapon Chakra and Mace Consort Shri Matsya (Sanskrit: मत्स्य) (Fish in Sanskrit) was the first Avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The great flood finds mention in Hindu mythology texts like the Satapatha Brahmana,[1] where in the Matsya Avatar takes place to save the pious and the first man, Manu and advices him to build a giant boat.[2][3]
The Legend
According to the Matsya Purana, the king of pre-ancient Dravida and a devotee of Vishnu, Satyavrata who later was known as Manu was washing his hands in a river when 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. Therefore, Satyavrata was instructed to take "all medicinal herbs, all the varieties of seeds, and accompanied by the seven saints”[4] along with the serpent Vasuki and other animals. Lord Matsya is generally represented as a four-armed figure with the upper torso of a man and the lower of a fish.
Matsya Avatar, ca 1870.
See also
Notes
- ^ The great flood -- Hindu style (Satapatha Brahmana)
- ^ Matsya Britannica.com
- ^ Klaus K. Klostermaier (2007). A Survey of Hinduism. SUNY Press. p. 97. ISBN 0791470822. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=E_6-JbUiHB4C&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=the+great+flood+in+Hinduism#v=onepage&q=the%20great%20flood%20in%20Hinduism&f=false.
- ^ Asiatic Soc. Res, Sir William Jones, Vol.i.230ff
Further reading
- Bonnefoy, Yves. (1993). Asian Mythologies. University of Chicago Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN 0226064565.
External links
Avatars of Vishnu Dashavatara 
Other avatars Catursana · Narada · Nara-Narayana · Kapila · Dattatreya · Yajna · Rishabha · Prithu · Dhanvantari · Mohini · Vyasa · Prsnigarbha · Hayagriva · Hamsa*Buddha or Balarama is considered the ninth avatar of Vishnu, depending on the tradition. In North India, Buddha is included and in south India, Balarama.Hindu deities and texts Gods 
Goddesses Texts Categories:- Forms of Vishnu
- Flood myths
- Mythical fish
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