Matsya avtar - Myths , Different Views

The Matsya Avtar is The first avatar out of the ten primary avatars of Lord Vishnu, Matsya is represented as a human torso connected to the lower half of a fish.

According to Matsya Purana, Manu was a kind and virtuous king who handed over his kingdom to his son and went to the Malay mountain to perform penance. He obtained a boon from Brahma to protect all the creatures on earth at the time of dissolution.

A mermaid is a mythical sea creature with the head and trunk of a human and the tail of a fish. Similar was the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a fish.

One day he found a small fish in his palm in the river. Manu put it in a clay pot. The fish grew in size. He kept it in a jar and the same thing happened. Then it was shifted to a well, pond, river Ganga respectively and finally to the sea where it filled the whole sea with its gigantic size. Amazed, the king asked him its real identity.

The fish replied that there would be a deluge within a few days and the whole earth will be submerged underwater. The fish advised Manu to build a huge boat, preserve all the seeds and living creatures in the boat accompanied by the seven Rishis and fasten it to its horns when the ship will tremble.

It also predicted that after the storm, Manu will procreate the living world and will be crowned as ‘Prajapati’ of this earth. The fish disappeared. On the foretold day, Manu did the same as told by the fish and saved the world

Some other legends mention that a demon had stolen the Vedas from Brahma when he was asleep. Because of it, Narayana took the form of a Matsya, killed him and recovered the Vedas.