Matsya, the fish, is the first avatar of Vishnu in the Dashavatara. According to the Bhagavata Purana (8.24), in the deluge at the end of the last kalpa he drew the boat carrying King Satyavrata, the rishis, the plants and the seeds, tied to his horn, and he slew the danava Hayagriva and gave the Vedas back to Brahma. That Satyavrata became Vaivasvata Manu in this kalpa.
- In the Dashavatara
- The first avatar
- Form
- A fish; in the deluge a vast golden fish with one horn (Bhagavata 8.24.44)
- When
- According to the Bhagavata (8.24.7), at the deluge that closed the last (Brahma) kalpa; tradition counts it in the Satya yuga
- Others in the story
- King Satyavrata (Vaivasvata Manu), the seven rishis, the danava Hayagriva, Brahma
- Where the story is told
- Shatapatha Brahmana 1.8.1; Mahabharata, Vana Parva; Matsya Purana; Bhagavata Purana 8.24
- Jayanti
- Matsya Jayanti: Chaitra Shukla Tritiya (by tradition)
The story in the Bhagavata
At the end of the last kalpa, as Brahma was about to sleep, the Vedas slipped from his mouth, and a mighty danava named Hayagriva, who was close by, carried them off (8.24.7-8). Seeing this, Lord Hari took the form of a small shining fish (8.24.9). At that time Satyavrata, a royal sage and king of the Dravida land, was doing tapas living on water alone (8.24.10, 13).
As he offered water in the river Kritamala, a tiny fish came into the water in his cupped hands. It said the big creatures of the river would eat it, so the king put it in his water-pot (8.24.12-16). In one night it outgrew the pot; then a larger vessel, then a lake, then ever bigger waters, until at last the king let it into the sea (8.24.17-23). The king understood that this was no ordinary fish but Narayana himself (8.24.25-27).
The Lord told him that on the seventh day the three worlds would sink in the waters of the deluge and a great boat would come to him; the king was to board it with all plants and seeds and the seven rishis, and tie it to his horn with a great serpent (8.24.32-36). So it happened: in the deluge a vast golden fish with one horn appeared, and the king tied the boat to its horn with Vasuki (8.24.44-45).
To the king and the rishis on the boat the Lord taught the knowledge of the self and of Brahman; the Bhagavata (8.24.55) says this teaching is the Matsya Purana. When the deluge was over and Brahma awoke, the Lord slew Hayagriva and gave the Vedas back to him (8.24.57), and Satyavrata became Vaivasvata Manu in this kalpa (8.24.58).
The oldest telling: the Shatapatha Brahmana
In the Shatapatha Brahmana (1.8.1.1-6) a fish comes into Manu’s washing water and says “Rear me, I will save thee”, because a flood will carry away all creatures. It lives first in a jar, then in a pit, then in the sea. Manu builds a ship as it told him, ties the ship to the fish’s horn when the flood comes, and the fish carries him to the northern mountain. Here the fish is not linked to any god.
Where the sources differ
- Who the fish is: the Shatapatha Brahmana does not link the fish to a god; in the Mahabharata’s Vana Parva the fish says it is Brahma; in the Matsya Purana and the Bhagavata it is Vishnu.
- Who stole the Vedas: Hayagriva in the Bhagavata; according to Wikipedia the Padma and Skanda Purana versions name the danava Shankha. Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda says only that the fish held up the Vedas in the waters of the deluge.
- The place: the river Kritamala in the Bhagavata (the Vaigai of Tamil Nadu, according to a note in Tagare’s translation); in the Matsya Purana Manu does tapas on the Malaya mountains.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the Matsya avatar happen?
According to the Bhagavata (8.24), for two reasons: to win back from Hayagriva the Vedas that had slipped from Brahma’s mouth, and to carry King Satyavrata, the seven rishis and all seeds safely through the deluge to the next creation.
Who was the king in the Matsya story?
Satyavrata, a royal sage and king of the Dravida land, who in this kalpa became Vaivasvata Manu (Shraddhadeva), son of the Sun (Vivasvan) (Bhagavata 8.24.10-13, 58). In the Shatapatha Brahmana he is simply ‘Manu’.
When is Matsya Jayanti?
By tradition on Chaitra Shukla Tritiya. We have not checked this tithi against a verse of any Purana.
How is the Matsya Purana linked to the Matsya avatar?
According to the Bhagavata (8.24.55), the teaching the fish gave Satyavrata on the boat is the Matsya Purana. The Matsya Purana itself opens as a dialogue between Manu and the fish.
Sources
- Bhagavata Purana 8.24.7-61, 9.1.2-3 (G. V. Tagare’s English translation, Motilal Banarsidass, archive.org)
- Shatapatha Brahmana 1.8.1.1-6 (Julius Eggeling’s translation, Sacred Books of the East, vol. 12, archive.org)
- Vishnu Purana 1.4 (H. H. Wilson’s translation, archive.org): the fish and tortoise forms of earlier kalpas
- Wikipedia: “Matsya” (the Mahabharata and Matsya Purana versions, the Shankha variant, Matsya Jayanti)
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