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Matsyavatara: Vishnu’s Fish Incarnation
Lord Sri Krishna said in Srimad Bhagavad Gita that He takes an avatar (incarnation) in this material world. Avatara means descending from His eternal abode of Sri Vaikuntam and taking birth in this world.
During His sermon, He indicated the time, cause and purpose of His Avatara. He declares that whenever there is an attack on Dharma (righteousness)- that is a decline of Sanatana Dharma and that of the rise of Adharma (evil), He takes an Avatara (that is, He manifests Himself in this world) in every Yuga.
The purpose of His Avatara is to protect Sadhus (righteous people) and establish Sanatana Dharma, which has declined. While doing so, He annihilates the evil-doers to the Sadhus mentioned above.
It is said in Puranas that the Lord has taken many Avataras to establish His purpose. But for some special reasons, ten Avataras have been clubbed and it has come to be known as ‘Dasavatara’. It is a beauty that the Dasavatara depicts the evolution of God’s Creation. God created water first and the living beings therein. Thereafter he created living beings living both on water and earth (Like Kurmavatara).
The first among the Dasavatara is ‘Matsyavatara‘. Mathsya means fish. As it is a living being in water, it is proper that the first incarnation of the Lord fits the creation basis. Mathsyaavatara is described in Mathsya Purana- one of the Eighteen Puranas authored by Vyasa Bhagavan.
In this Purana, the text describes the mythology of a great flood (deluge) that drowned the entire world. But led by sage Manu, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, the seeds of all plants, specimens of all living beings as well as the Vedas were saved by Mathsyaavatara of Lord Vishnu. It is told that a great sage Manu, got a small fish in his puja vessel which grew to a giant size. The Fish was then put into the ocean.
In a few days, the deluge happened. Meanwhile, a demon stole the four Vedas from Brahma, the god of Creation and hid them under the sea. Because of the loss of Vedas, he could not continue his work and surrendered unto Lord Vishnu, who took the form of the Giant Fish referred to above. When the deluge happened, Sage Manu saved himself by tying his boat to the horn of the Giant Fish- Mathsyaavatara Vishnu. The Lord appeared before him and blessed him.
Then the Lord went down to the bottom of the sea, killed the demon and brought back the Vedas and handed them over to Brahma, who was very much pleased and continued his work of creation as before.
The story of Mathsyaavatara described in Srimad Bhagavatam is a little different.
During the deluge, the demon Hayagriva stole the Vedas and hid them under the ocean. To restore them, the Lord took avatar as a fish in a river called Kruthamala in South India. Satyavrata, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, the king of the Pandya kingdom got hold of the fish in his hand while bathing in the river which he took home and reared. But in a short time the fish grew into a giant size which the king left in the ocean.
After seven days the deluge took place and the king got himself saved by tying his boat to the horn of the Giant Fish. Then, the king meditated on the Lord and got his Darshan. The Lord appeared before him and blessed him with the spiritual knowledge. This Satyavrata became the ‘Vaivasvara Manu’ in due course. The Lord then fought with the demon and restored the Vedas to Brahma.
In both stories, we find the Lord killed the demon, restored the Vedas, which are the basis of our Sanatana dharma and protected Brahma.
So it emphasizes that the avataras of the Lord always serve the purpose of and establish victory of righteousness over evil.
We learn from Mathsyaavatara that
- The Devotees are never forsaken by the Lord and are always protected by Him.
- The Lord is prepared to take the form of even a lowly creature like Fish to protect the Sanatana Dharma.
- The Lord in His wisdom takes the shape and form as demanded by the occasion to establish, as in the Mathsyaavatara, to go deep into the sea to restore Vedas.
