MATSHYA AVATAR

Matshya is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu in the form of a fish. Often listed as the first avatar in the lists of the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, Matshya is described to have rescued the first man- Manu, from a great deluge. Matshya may be depicted as a giant fish, or anthropomorphically with a human torso connected to the rear half of a fish.

The earliest accounts of the legend associate Matshya with the creator god Prajapati (identified with Brahma). However, Puranicscriptures incorporate Matshya as an avatar of Vishnu. Matshya forewarns Manu about an impending catastrophic flood and orders him to collect all the grains of the world in a boat; in some forms of the story, all living creatures are also to be preserved in the boat. When the flood destroys the world, Manu - in some versions accompanied by the seven great sages - survives by boarding the ark, which Matshya pulls to safety. In later versions of this story, the sacred texts Vedas are hidden by a demon, whom Matshya slays: Manu is rescued and the scriptures are recovered.