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85-802: The flood-myth motif occurs in many cultures, including the manvantara -sandhya in Hinduism , Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek mythology , the Genesis flood narrative , the Mesopotamian flood stories, and the Cheyenne flood story. One example of a flood myth is in the Epic of Gilgamesh . Many scholars believe that this account was copied from the Akkadian Atra-Hasis , which dates to

170-627: A vrata (vow) with fasting and worshipping Matsya (as a golden fish) in a three lunar-day festival culminating on the twelfth lunar day of the month of Margashirsha . There are very few temples dedicated to Matsya. Prominent ones include the Shankhodara temple in Bet Dwarka and Vedanarayana Temple in Nagalapuram . Matsya Narayana Temple, Bangalore also exists. The Brahma Purana describes that Matsya-madhava (Vishnu as Matsya)

255-470: A Stone Age society which lived close to the Mediterranean Sea could have been wiped out by the rising sea level , an event which could have served as the basis for the story. Archaeologist Bruce Masse stated that some of the narratives of a great flood discovered in many cultures around the world may be linked to an oceanic asteroid impact that occurred between Africa and Antarctica , around

340-492: A meteor or comet crashed into the Indian Ocean around 3000–2800 BCE, and created the 18-mile (29 km) undersea Burckle Crater and Fenambosy Chevron , and generated a giant tsunami that flooded coastal lands. Mesopotamia , like other early sites of riverine civilisation , was flood-prone; and for those experiencing valley-wide inundations, flooding could destroy the whole of their known world. According to

425-457: A boundary between the earthly existence and land of salvation beyond. The protection of the fish and its horn represent the sacrifices that help guide Manu to salvation. Treated as a parable, the tale advises a good king should protect the weak from the mighty, reversing the "law of fishes" and uphold dharma , like Manu, who defines an ideal king. In the tales where the demon hides the Vedas, dharma

510-420: A cometary flood, but from cometary fire, and a cometary rain of stones." Footnotes Citations List of flood myths Flood myths are common across a wide range of cultures, extending back into Bronze Age and Neolithic prehistory. These accounts depict a flood, sometimes global in scale, usually sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution . Although

595-413: A conch is sometimes depicted attacking Matsya with a sword as Matsya combats or kills him. Both of them may be depicted in the ocean, while the god Brahma and/or manuscripts or four men, symbolizing the Vedas, may be depicted in the background. In some scenes, Matsya is depicted as a fish pulling the boat with Manu and the seven sages in it. The story of a great deluge is found in many civilizations across

680-554: A flood hero and the idea of the flood hinted at by that name in the Old Babylonian Version of " Instructions of Shuruppak " are only developments during that Old Babylonian Period, when also the didactic text was updated with information from the burgeoning Antediluvian Tradition. In the Hebrew Genesis ( 9th century BC ), the god Yahweh , who had created man out of the dust of the ground, decides to flood

765-458: A flood myth similar to the earlier versions. In it, the Bronze race of humans angers the high god Zeus with their constant warring. Zeus decides to punish humanity with a flood. The Titan Prometheus , who had created humans from clay, tells the secret plan to Deucalion , advising him to build an ark in order to be saved. After nine nights and days, the water starts receding and the ark lands on

850-597: A holy bath on Matsya Jayanti and worship Matsya or Vishnu in the evening, ending their fast. Vishnu temples organize a special Puja . The Meena community claim a mythological descent from Matsya, who is called Meenesh ("Lord of the Meenas"/ "Fish-Lord"). Matsya Jayanti is celebrated as Meenesh Jayanti by the Meenas. The Varaha Purana and the Margashirsha-Mahatmya of the Padma Purana recommends

935-482: A little fish that miraculously increases in size over time and soon he transfers the fish to the Ganges and later to the ocean. Manu recognizes the fish as Vishnu. The fish warns him about the impending fiery end of kalpa accompanied with the pralaya as a deluge. The fish once again has a horn, but the gods gift a ship to Manu. Manu carries all types of living creatures and plant seeds to produce food for everyone after

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1020-408: A major flood myth. The namazu is considered a creature that brings earthquakes, which in turn bring tsunamis, but they do not count as floods in a strict mythological sense. Japanese scholars in the 19th century such as Hirata Atsutane and Motoori Norinaga have used the global flood myths of other cultures to argue for the supremacy of Shinto and promote Japanese nationalism . They claimed that

1105-581: A mountain. The Cheyenne , a North American Great Plains tribe, believe in a flood which altered the course of their history, perhaps occurring in the Missouri River Valley . Floods in the wake of the Last Glacial Period (c. 115,000 – c. 11,700 years ago) are speculated to have inspired myths that survive to this day. Plato's allegory of Atlantis is set over 9,000 years before his time, leading some scholars to suggest that

1190-587: A prayer in the Bhagavata Purana , Matsya is invoked for protection from the aquatic animals and the waters. The Agni Purana suggests that Matsya be installed in the Northern direction in temples or in water bodies. The Vishnudharmottara Purana prescribes worship for Matsya for grain. Matsya is invoked as a form of Vishnu in hymns in the Brahma Purana . The Vishnu Sahasranama version of

1275-474: A ship by that day, one he can attach to its horn. On the predicted day, Manu visits the fish with his boat. The devastating floods come. Manu ties the boat to the horn. The fish carries the boat with Manu to the high grounds of the northern mountains (interpreted as the Himalayas ). The lone survivor Manu then re-establishes life by performing austerities and yajna (sacrifices). The goddess Ida appears from

1360-486: A shock of a comet would produce. A similar hypothesis was popularized by Minnesota congressman and pseudoarchaeology writer Ignatius L. Donnelly in his book Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel (1883), which followed his better-known book Atlantis: The Antediluvian World (1882). In Ragnarok , Donnelly argued that an enormous comet struck the Earth around 6,000 BCE to 9,000 BCE, destroying an advanced civilization on

1445-546: A small fish with Manu's protection grows to become a big fish, and the fish saves the man who would be the progenitor of the next race of mankind. In later versions, Matsya slays a demon named Hayagriva who steals the Vedas , and thus is lauded as the saviour of the scriptures. The tale is ascribed with the motif of flood myths , common across cultures. Mind element descend from vaikunth to earth, hence mind called avatar. mind of aquatic creatures descends from vaikunth to earth

1530-595: A turbulent storm. The danger passes. The fish then reveals himself as Brahma and gives the power of creation to Manu. The key difference between the Vedic version and the Mahabharata version of the allegorical legend are the latter's identification of Matsya with Brahma, a more explicit discussion of the "law of the fishes" where the weak needs the protection from the strong, and the fish asking Manu to bring along sages and grains. The Matsya Purana identifies

1615-589: A watershed in early history of the world was probably a new historiographical concept emerging in the Mesopotamian literary traditions during the Old Babylonian Period, as evident by the fact that the flood motif did not show up in the Ur III copy and that earliest chronographical sources related to the flood show up in the Old Babylonian Period. Chen also concludes that the name of " Ziusudra " as

1700-491: A worldwide flood had been the result of a near-miss by a comet. The issue was taken up in more detail by William Whiston , a protégé of and popularizer of the theories of Isaac Newton , who argued in his book A New Theory of the Earth (1696) that a comet encounter was the probable cause of the Biblical Flood of Noah in 2342 BCE. Whiston also attributed the origins of the atmosphere and other significant changes in

1785-434: Is called Matsya Avatar. The deity Matsya derives his name from the word matsya ( Sanskrit : मत्स्य ), meaning "fish". Monier-Williams and R. Franco suggest that the words matsa and matsya , both meaning fish, derive from the root mad , meaning "to rejoice, be glad, exult, delight or revel in". Thus, matsya means the "joyous one". The Sanskrit grammarian and etymologist Yaska ( c.  600 BCE ) also refers to

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1870-532: Is installed as the Manu of the current kalpa . The Agni Purana narrative is similar to the Bhagavata Purana version placed around Kritamala river and also records the rescue of Vedas from the demon Hayagriva. It mentions Vaivasvata Manu only collecting all seeds (not living beings) and assembling the seven sages similar to the Mahabharata version. It also adds the basis of the Matsya Purana , being

1955-740: Is located in the small town of Meenangadi situated on the highway between Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad . Matsyamurti is the name of the principal deity, though the idol itself is that of Vishnu. The second temple dedicated to Matsya in the state is the Mootoli Sree Mahavishnu Temple in Kakkodi , Kozhikode . The third temple is the Perumeenpuram Vishnu Temple in Kakkur , Kozhikode. The idol

2040-522: Is missing. Another account in the Padma Purana mentions that a demon son called Makara steals the Vedas from Brahma and hides them in the cosmic ocean. Beseeched by Brahma and the gods, Vishnu takes the Matsya-form and enters the waters, then turns into a crocodile and destroys the demon. The sage Vyasa is credited with re-compilation of the Vedas in this version. The Vedas are then returned to Brahma. The Brahma Purana states that Vishnu took

2125-560: Is reciprocated by the fish. Though Matsya does not appear in older scriptures, the seeds of the legend may be traced to the oldest Hindu scripture, the Rigveda . Manu (lit. "man"), the first man and progenitor of humanity, appears in the Rigveda . Manu is said to have performed the first sacrifice by kindling the sacrificial fire ( Agni ) with seven priests; Manu's sacrifice becomes the archetypal sacrifice. Narayan Aiyangar suggests that

2210-468: Is said to rest at a Himalayan peak, where the herb grows. Maurice Bloomfield suggests that this may be an allusion to Manu's ship. The tale of Matsya also appears in sec. 186 of Book 3 (the Vana Parva ) of the epic Mahabharata . The legend begins with Manu (specifically Vaivasvata Manu , the present Manu. Manu is envisioned as a title, rather than an individual) performing religious rituals on

2295-458: Is threatened and Vishnu as the divine Saviour rescues dharma, aided by his earthly counterpart, Manu - the king. Another theory suggests that the boat of Manu and the fish represents the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor respectively, when the star Thuban was the Pole Star (4th to 2nd millennium BCE). Matsya is invoked as a form of Vishnu in various hymns in scriptures. In

2380-730: Is worshipped with Shveta-madhava (King Shveta) in the Shveta-madhava temple of Vishnu near the sacred Shweta ganga pond in Puri . A temple to Machhenarayan (Matsya) is found in Machhegaun , Nepal , where an annual fair is held in honour of the deity. The Koneswaram Matsyakeswaram temple in Trincomalee , Sri Lanka is now destroyed. There are three temples dedicated to Matsya in Kerala. The Sree Malsyavathara Mahavishnu Temple

2465-589: The Garuda Purana includes Matsya. The Vishnu Sahasranama in the Skanda Purana includes Matsya , Maha-matsya ("Great fish") and Timingila ("a great aquatic creature"). The third day in the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Chaitra is celebrated as Matsya Jayanti, the birthday of Matsya, when his worship is recommended. Vishnu devotees observe a fast from a day before the holy day; take

2550-399: The Garuda Purana regard Matsya as the tenth of 22 avatars and describe him as the "support of the earth". The Ayidhya-Mahatmya of the Skanda Purana mentions 12 avatars of Vishnu, with Matsya as the 2nd avatar. Matsya is said to support Manu, plants and others like a boat at the end of Brahma's day ( pralaya ). The Vishnu Purana narrative of Vishnu's boar avatar Varaha alludes to

2635-535: The Kritamala river (identified with Vaigai River in Tamil Nadu , South India ). There he finds a little fish. The fish asks him to save him from predators and let it grow. Satyavrata is filled with compassion for the little fish. He puts the fish in a pot, from there to a well, then a tank, and when it outgrows the tank, he transfers the fish finally to the sea. The fish rapidly outgrows the sea. Satyavrata asks

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2720-656: The Maya of Americas and the Yoruba of Africa. The flood was a recurring natural calamity in Ancient Egypt and Tigris–Euphrates river system in ancient Babylonia. A cult of fish-gods arose in these regions with the fish-saviour motif. While Richard Pischel believed that fish worship originated in ancient Hindu beliefs, Edward Washburn Hopkins rejected the same, suggesting its origin in Egypt. The creator, fish-god Ea in

2805-788: The Old Babylonian Period . With regard to the Sumerian King List , observations by experts have always indicated that the portion of the Sumerian King List talking about before the flood differs stylistically from the King List Proper. Essentially Old Babylonian copies tend to represent a tradition of before the flood apart from the actual King List, whereas the Ur III copy of the King List and

2890-790: The Sumerian and Babylonian version warns the king in a dream of the flood and directs him to build a boat. The idea may have reached the Indian subcontinent via the Indo-Aryan migrations or through trade routes to the Indus Valley civilisation . Another theory suggests the fish myth is home-grown in the Indus Valley or South India Dravidian peoples . The Puranic Manu is described to be in South India. As for Indus Valley theory,

2975-498: The flood myth in Hinduism. It does not associate the fish Matsya with any other deity in particular. The central characters of this legend are the fish (Matsya) and Manu . The character Manu is presented as the legislator and ancestor king. One day, water is brought to Manu for his ablutions. In the water is a tiny fish. The fish states that it fears being swallowed by a larger fish and appeals to Manu to protect it. In return,

3060-434: The "lost continent" of Atlantis . Donnelly, following others before him, attributed the Biblical Flood to this event, which he hypothesized had also resulted in catastrophic fires and climate change . Shortly after the publication of Ragnarok , one commenter noted, "Whiston ascertained that the deluge of Noah came from a comet's tail; but Donnelly has outdone Whiston, for he has shown that our planet has suffered not only from

3145-541: The 18th century BCE. In the Gilgamesh flood myth , the highest god, Enlil , decides to destroy the world with a flood because humans have become too noisy. The god Ea , who had created humans out of clay and divine blood, secretly warns the hero Utnapishtim of the impending flood and gives him detailed instructions for building a boat so that life may survive. Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and Atra-Hasis are preceded by

3230-571: The Creator-god (Brahma or Vishnu), who recreates the universe after the great destruction. This link to Creation may be associated with Matsya regarded as Vishnu's first avatar. Matsya is believed to symbolise the aquatic life as the first beings on earth. Another symbolic interpretation of the Matsya mythology is, states Bonnefoy, to consider Manu's boat to represent moksha (salvation), which helps one to cross over. The Himalayas are treated as

3315-465: The Earth to the effects of comets. In Pierre-Simon Laplace 's book Exposition Du Systême Du Monde ( The System of the World ), first published in 1796, he stated: [T]he greater part of men and animals drowned in a universal deluge, or destroyed by the violence of the shock given to the terrestrial globe; whole species destroyed; all the monuments of human industry reversed: such are the disasters which

3400-709: The Matsya and Kurma avatars, saying that Brahma (identified with Narayana, an epithet transferred to Vishnu) took these forms in previous kalpa s. The Agni Purana , the Brahma Purana and the Vishnu Purana suggests that Vishnu resides as Matsya in Kuru-varsha, one of the regions outside the mountains surrounding Mount Meru . Matsya is depicted in two forms: as a zoomorphic fish or in an anthropomorphic form. The Agni Purana prescribes Matsya be depicted zoomorphically. The Vishnudharmottara Purana recommends that Matsya be depicted as horned fish. In

3485-559: The Mediterranean Sea into the Black Sea basin. This has become the subject of considerable discussion. The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis offered another proposed natural explanation for flood myths. However, this idea was similarly controversial and has been refuted. The earliest known hypothesis about a comet that had a widespread effect on human populations can be attributed to Edmond Halley , who in 1694 suggested that

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3570-500: The Vedas as well as the Manu. In another instance, it states that Vishnu as Matsya killed the demon Pralamba in the reign of the third Manu - Uttama. The Narada Purana states that the demon Hayagriva (son of Kashyapa and Diti) seized the Vedas of the mouth of Brahma. Vishnu then takes the Matsya form and kills the demon, retrieving the Vedas. The incident is said to have happened in the Badari forest . The deluge and Manu are dropped in

3655-421: The Vedas from Brahma, while Vishnu was sleeping. The Vedas escape from his clutches and hide in the ocean. Implored by the gods, Vishnu wakes on Prabodhini Ekadashi and takes the form of a saphari fish and annihilates the demon. Similar to the Padma Purana , the sages re-compile the scattered Vedas from the oceans. The Badari forest and Prayag also appear in this version, though the tale of growing fish and Manu

3740-634: The Vedas from the waters and then presents the same to Brahma in Prayag . This Purana does not reveal how the scriptures drowned in the waters. Vishnu then resides in the Badari forest with other deities. The Karttikamsa-Mahatmya in the Skanda Purana narrates that slaying of the asura (demon) Shankha by Matsya. Shankha (lit. "conch"), the son of Sagara (the ocean), snatches the powers of various gods. Shankha, wishing to acquire more power, steals

3825-517: The Vedas he recovered from the demon. Over his elbows is an angavastra draped, while a dhoti - like draping covers his hips. In rare representations, his lower half is human while the upper body (or just the face) is of a fish. The fish-face version is found in a relief at the Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura . Matsya may be depicted alone or in a scene depicting his combat with a demon. A demon called Shankhasura emerging from

3910-462: The Vedas. He realizes that they are in the cosmic waters . He takes the form of a gigantic fish and rescues the Vedas and other scriptures. In another instance, Narayana retrieves the Vedas from the Rasatala (netherworld) and grants them to Brahma. The Purana also extols Narayana as the primordial fish who also bore the earth. PPL The Garuda Purana states that Matsya slew Hayagriva and rescued

3995-489: The anthropomorphic form, the upper half is that of the four-armed man and the lower half is a fish. The upper half resembles Vishnu and wears the traditional ornaments and the kirita-mukuta (tall conical crown) as worn by Vishnu. He holds in two of his hands the Sudarshana chakra (discus) and a shankha (conch), the usual weapons of Vishnu. The other two hands make the gestures of varadamudra , which grants boons to

4080-643: The ark disembark and have Yahweh's promise that he will never judge the earth with a flood again. Yahweh causes a rainbow to form as the sign of this promise. In Hindu mythology , texts such as the Satapatha Brahmana ( c. 6th century BCE) and the Puranas contain the story of a great flood, manvantara -sandhya , wherein the Matsya Avatar of the Vishnu warns the first man, Manu , of

4165-600: The banks of the Chirini River in Vishāla forest. A little fish comes to him and asks for his protection, promising to save him from a deluge in the future. The legend moves in the same vein as the Vedic version. Manu places him in the jar. Once it outgrows the jar, the fish asks to be put into a tank which Manu helps with. Then the fish outgrows the tank, and with Manu's help reaches the Ganges River (Ganga), finally to

4250-608: The continent has relatively few flood legends, African cultures preserving an oral tradition of a flood include the Kwaya , Mbuti , Maasai , Mandin , and Yoruba peoples. Egypt Floods were seen as beneficial in Ancient Egypt, and similar to the case with Japan, Ancient Egypt did not have any cataclysmic flood myths picturing it as destructive rather than fertile force. One "flood myth" in Egyptian mythology involves

4335-507: The cosmic symbolic residue in the form of Shesha. In this account, the ship of Manu is called the ship of the Vedas, thus signifying the rites and rituals of the Vedas. Roy further suggests that this may be an allusion to the gold ship of Manu in the Rigveda . In the Garuda Purana , Matsya is said to have rescued the seventh Manu, Vaivasvata Manu, from the great deluge by placing him in a boat. The Linga Purana praises Vishnu as

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4420-442: The deluge from their Thean (แถน), supreme being object of faith . Matsya Matsya ( Sanskrit : मत्स्य , lit.   'fish') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu . Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars , Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu , from a great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, often golden in color, or anthropomorphically with

4505-441: The deluge is over. When the great flood begins, Manu ties the cosmic serpent Shesha to the fish's horn. In the journey towards the mountains, Manu asks questions to Matsya and their dialogue constitutes the rest of the Purana. The Matsya Purana story is also symbolic. The fish is divine to begin with, and needs no protection, only recognition and devotion. It also ties the story to its cosmology, connecting two kalpa s through

4590-401: The devotee, and abhayamudra , which reassures the devotee of protection. In another configuration, he might have all four attributes of Vishnu, namely the Sudarshana chakra , a shankha , a gada (mace) and a lotus. In some representations, Matsya is shown with four hands like Vishnu, one holding the chakra, another the shankha, while the front two hands hold a sword and a book signifying

4675-431: The discourse of Matsya to Manu, similar to the Bhagavata Purana version. While listing the Puranas, the Agni Purana states that the Matsya Purana was told by Matsya to Manu at the beginning of the kalpa . The Varaha Purana equates Narayana (identified with Vishnu) as the creator-god, instead of Brahma. Narayana creates the universe. At the start of a new kalpa , Narayana wakes from his slumber and thinks about

4760-415: The discovery of such remains in such locations; the Greeks hypothesized that Earth had been covered by water on several occasions, citing the seashells and fish fossils found on mountain tops as evidence of this idea. Speculation regarding the Deucalion myth has postulated a large tsunami in the Mediterranean Sea, caused by the Thera eruption (with an approximate geological date of 1630–1600 BCE), as

4845-402: The dry nature of Eastern Iran, as flood myths did not have as much of an effect as harsh winters. He has argued that the mention of melted water flowing in Videvdad 2.24 is a remnant of the flood myth, and mentions that the Indian flood myths originally had their protagonist as Yama, but it was changed to Manu later. In Plato 's Timaeus , written c.  360 BCE , Timaeus describes

4930-437: The duplicate from the Brockmon collection indicate that the King List Proper once existed independent of mention of the flood and the tradition of before the flood. Essentially, Chen gives evidence to prove that the section of before the flood and references to the flood in the Sumerian King List were all later additions added in during the Old Babylonian Period, as the Sumerian King List went through updates and edits. The flood as

5015-417: The earth because of the corrupted state of mankind. Yahweh then gives the protagonist, Noah , instructions to build an ark in order to preserve human and animal life. When the ark is completed, Noah, his family, and representatives of all the animals of the earth are called upon to enter the ark. When the destructive flood begins, all life outside of the ark perishes. After the waters recede, all those aboard

5100-418: The earth. It is often compared with the Genesis narrative of the flood and Noah's Ark . The fish motif reminds readers of the Biblical ' Jonah and the Whale' narrative as well; this fish narrative, as well as the saving of the scriptures from a demon, are specifically Hindu traditions of this style of the flood narrative. Similar flood myths also exist in tales from ancient Sumer and Babylonia , Greece ,

5185-448: The excavation report of the 1930s excavation at Shuruppak (modern Tell Fara, Iraq), the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic layers at the site were separated by a 60-cm yellow layer of alluvial sand and clay, indicating a flood, like that created by river avulsion , a process common in the Tigris–Euphrates river system . Similar layers have been recorded at other sites as well, all dating to different periods, which would be consistent with

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5270-400: The fact that Japan has no flood myth showed that it was both the centre and highest point on Earth, making it the closest place on Earth to the heavens. As such, to them this demonstrates the veracity of the Japanese creation myth, where Japan comes first and foremost. There are many folktales among Tai peoples , included Zhuang , Thai , Shan and Lao , talking about the origin of them and

5355-436: The fish avatar teaches the highest knowledge to the sages and Satyavrata to prepare them for the next cycle of existence. The Bhagavata Purana states that this knowledge was compiled as a Purana, interpreted as an allusion to the Matsya Purana . After the deluge, Matsya slays the demon and rescues the Vedas, restoring them to Brahma, who has woken from his sleep to restart creation afresh. Satyavrata becomes Vaivasvata Manu and

5440-451: The fish is common in the seals ; also horned beasts like the horned fish are common in depictions. Even if the idea of the flood myth and the fish-god may be imported from another culture, it is cognate with the Vedic and Puranic cosmogonic tale of Creation through the waters. In the Mahabharata and the Puranas, the flood myth is in fact a cosmogonic myth. The deluge symbolizes dissolution of universe (pralaya); while Matsya "allegorizes"

5525-417: The fish promises to rescue Manu from an impending flood. Manu accepts the request. He puts the fish in a pot of water where it grows. Then he prepares a ditch filled with water, and transfers it there where it can grow freely. Once the fish grows further to be big enough to be free from danger, Manu transfers it into the ocean. The fish thanks him, tells him the timing of the great flood, and asks Manu to build

5610-412: The fish-savior (Matsya) with Vishnu, instead of Brahma. The Purana derives its name from Matsya and begins with the tale of Manu. King Manu renounces the world. Pleased with his austerities on Malaya mountains (interpreted as Kerala in Southern India ), Brahma grants his wish to rescue the world at the time of the pralaya (dissolution at end of a kalpa ). As in other versions, Manu encounters

5695-588: The floor of the Gulf, which was a huge (800 km × 200 km, 500 mi × 120 mi) low-lying and fertile region in Mesopotamia, in which human habitation is thought to have been strong around the Gulf Oasis for 100,000 years. A sudden increase in settlements above the present-day water level is recorded at around 7,500  BP . The historian Adrienne Mayor theorizes that global flood stories may have been inspired by ancient observations of seashells and fish fossils in inland and mountain areas. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all documented

5780-419: The form of a rohita fish when the earth was in the netherland to rescue the Vedas. The Krishna -centric Brahmavaivarta Purana states that Matsya is an avatar of Krishna (identified with Supreme Being) and in a hymn to Krishna praises Matsya as the protector of the Vedas and Brahmins (the sages), who imparted knowledge to the king. The Purusottama-Ksetra-Mahatmya of Skanda Purana in relationship of

5865-399: The god Ra and his daughter Sekhmet . Ra sent Sekhmet to destroy part of humanity for their disrespect and unfaithfulness which resulted in the gods overturning wine jugs to simulate a great flood of blood, so that by getting her drunk on the wine and causing her to pass out her slaughter would cease. This is commemorated in a wine drinking festival during the annual Nile flood. Japan lacks

5950-407: The impending flood, and also advises him to build a giant boat. In Zoroastrian Mazdaism , Ahriman tries to destroy the world with a drought, which Mithra ends by shooting an arrow into a rock, from which a flood springs; one man survives in an ark with his cattle. Norbert Oettinger argues that the story of Yima and the Vara was originally a flood myth, and the harsh winter was added in due to

6035-452: The myth's historical basis. Although the tsunami hit the South Aegean Sea and Crete , it did not affect cities in the mainland of Greece, such as Mycenae , Athens , and Thebes , which continued to prosper, indicating that it had a local rather than a region-wide effect. The Black Sea deluge hypothesis offers a controversial account of long-term flooding; the hypothesis argues for a catastrophic irruption of water about 5600 BCE from

6120-403: The narrative. The Shiva Purana praises Vishnu as Matsya who rescued the Vedas via king Satyavrata and swam through the ocean of pralaya . The Padma Purana replaces Manu with the sage Kashyapa , who finds the little fish who expands miraculously. Another major divergence is the absence of the deluge. Vishnu as Matsya slays the demon Shankha. Matsya-Vishnu then orders the sages to gather

6205-617: The nature of river avulsions. Shuruppak in Mesopotamian legend was the city of Uta-napishtim , the king who built a boat to survive the coming flood. The alluvial layer dates from around 2900 BC. The geography of the Mesopotamian area changed considerably with the filling of the Persian Gulf after sea waters rose following the last glacial period. Global sea levels were about 120 m (390 ft) lower around 18,000  BP and rose until 8,000 BP when they reached current levels, which are now an average 40 m (130 ft) above

6290-546: The ocean. Manu is asked by the fish, as in the Shatapatha Brahmana version, to build a ship and additionally, to be in it with Saptarishi (seven sages) and all sorts of seeds, on the day of the expected deluge. Manu accepts the fish's advice. The deluge begins. The fish arrives to Manu's aid. He ties the ship with a rope to the horn of the fish, who then steers the ship to the Himalayas, carrying Manu through

6375-491: The one who saved various beings as a fish by tying a boat to his tail. The Bhagavata Purana adds another reason for the Matsya avatar. At the end of the kalpa , a demon Hayagriva ("horse-necked") steals the Vedas , which escape from the yawn of a sleepy Brahma. Vishnu discovers the theft. He descends to earth in the form of a little saphari fish, or the Matsya avatar. One day, the king of Dravida country (South India) named Satyavrata cups water in his hand for libation in

6460-545: The origin of the herb Damanaka states that a daitya (demon) named Damanaka tormented people and wandered in the waters. On the request of Brahma, Vishnu takes the Matsya form, pulls the demon from the waters and crushes him on land. The demon transforms into a fragrant herb called Damanaka, which Vishnu wears in his flower garland . Matsya is generally enlisted as the first avatar of Vishnu, especially in Dashavatara (ten major avatars of Vishnu) lists. However, that

6545-408: The protection, the little fish grows to become big and ultimately saves all existence. The boat that Manu builds to get help from the saviour fish, states Bonnefoy, is symbolism of the means to avert complete destruction and for human salvation. The mountains represent the doorway for ultimate refuge and liberation. Edward Washburn Hopkins suggests that the favour of Manu rescuing the fish from death,

6630-469: The sacrifice and both together initiate the race of Manu, the humans. According to Bonnefoy, the Vedic story is symbolic. The little fish alludes to the Indian "law of the fishes", an equivalent to the " law of the jungle ". The small and weak would be devoured by the big and strong, and needs the dharmic protection of the legislator and king Manu to enable it to attain its full potential and be able to help later. Manu provides

6715-484: The same stating that fish are known as matsya as "they revel in eating each other". Yaska also offers an alternate etymology of matsya as "floating in water" derived from the roots syand (to float) and madhu (water). The Sanskrit word matsya is cognate with Prakrit maccha ("fish"). The section 1.8.1 of the Shatapatha Brahmana ( Yajur veda ) is the earliest extant text to mention Matsya and

6800-534: The ship from the Matsya legend alludes to the ship of Sacrifice referred in the Rigveda and the Aitareya Brahmana . In this context, the fish denotes Agni - God as well as the sacrificial flames. The legend thus signifies how man (Manu) can sail the sea of sins and troubles with the ship of sacrifice and the fish-Agni as his guide. In a prayer to kushta plant in the Atharvaveda , a golden ship

6885-506: The similar Eridu Genesis ( c.  1600 BCE )—the oldest surviving example of such a flood-myth narrative, known from tablets found in the ruins of Nippur in the late 1890s and translated by assyriologist Arno Poebel . Academic Yi Samuel Chen analyzed various texts from the Early Dynastic III Period through to the Old Babylonian Period, and argues that the flood narrative was only added in texts written during

6970-475: The supernatural fish to reveal its true identity, but soon realizes it to be Vishnu. Matsya-Vishnu informs the king of the impending flood coming in seven days. The king is asked to collect every species of animal, plant, and seeds as well as the seven sages ( Saptarshi ) in a boat. The fish asks the king to tie the boat to its horn with the help of the Shesha serpent. The deluge comes. While carrying them to safety,

7055-400: The time of a solar eclipse , that caused a tsunami . Among the 175 myths he analyzed were a Hindu myth speaking of an alignment of the five planets at the time, and a Chinese story linking the flood to the end of the reign of Empress Nu Wa . Fourteen flood myths refer to a full solar eclipse . According to Masse these indications point to the date May 10, 2807 BC. His hypothesis suggests that

7140-436: The torso of Vishnu connected to the rear half of a fish. The earliest account of Matsya is found in the Shatapatha Brahmana , where Matsya is not associated with any particular deity. The fish-saviour later merges with the identity of Brahma in post-Vedic era, and still later, becomes regarded with Vishnu. The legends associated with Matsya expand, evolve, and vary in Hindu texts. These legends have embedded symbolism, where

7225-613: Was not always the case. Some lists do not list Matsya as first, and only later texts start the trend of Matsya as the first avatar. In the Garuda Purana listing of the Dashavatara, Matsya is the first. The Linga Purana , the Narada Purana , the Shiva Purana , the Varaha Purana , the Padma Purana , the Skanda Purana also mention Matsya as the first of the ten classical avatars. The Bhagavata Purana and

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