Matsya
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- This article concerns the Hindu avatar. For the ancient kingdom, see Matsya Rajya.
Image:Matsya painting.jpg Matsya (Fish in Sanskrit) was the first Avatara of Vishnu.
According to legend, the king Manu was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and begged him to save it. He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew; he successively moved it to a tank, a river and then the ocean. The fish then warned him that a Great Flood would occur in a week that would destroy all life. Manu therefore built a boat which the fish towed to a mountaintop when the flood came, and thus he survived along with some "seeds of life" to re-establish life on earth.
The story strangely resembles Noah's Ark story.
A statue in Keshava Temple, Somnathpur, Karnataka depicts Matsya.
See also
| Hinduism | Dashavatara of Vishnu | Image:Hindu swastika.svg |
|---|---|
| Matsya | Kurma | Varaha | Narasimha | Vamana | Parashurama | Rama | Krishna | Balarama | Buddha | Kalki |
fr:Matsya ja:マツヤ pl:Matsja pt:Matsya sv:Matsya ta:மச்ச அவதாரம்