Matsya- Hindu GodDeity"The Fish"

The Growing Fish

The Shatapatha Brahmana tells how Manu found a tiny fish while performing his morning ablutions. The fish begged for protection from larger creatures. Manu placed it in a jar. By the next day it had outgrown the jar. He moved it to a pond, then to the ocean. At each stage the fish grew until the sea itself could barely contain it. Then the fish spoke: it was Vishnu. A flood would soon swallow all creation. Manu must build a boat.

The Flood

Manu loaded the boat with the Vedas and the seeds of all life. The seven sages came aboard. When the waters rose, Matsya appeared in full divine form: a golden fish bearing a single horn. Manu fastened the boat to the horn using the serpent Vasuki as a rope, and Matsya towed the vessel through the deluge to the peak of the northern mountains, where dry land first appeared.

The Stolen Vedas

During the cosmic dissolution, a demon named Hayagriva stole the Vedas from Brahma while the creator slept. The scriptures sank into the primordial waters. Matsya pursued the demon through the depths, slew him, and returned the Vedas to Brahma at the dawn of the new creation.