Manu, Matsya and the great flood

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Once upon a time there lived a holy man called Manu. He spent his days in prayer and service to mankind. One day as he washed his hands in the river or as some say, filled water in his kamandalu (a water pot that is used largely in the Indian subcontinent) a fish jumped into his hand.

“Save me,” said the fish and, then proceeded to instruct Manu on the steps that had to be taken for its safety. “Take me home,” the fish said, and “put me in a pot of water.” Manu did that but the fish soon outgrew the pot and then, a larger vessel and a tank and the house.

Let with no other option, Manu took the fish to the ocean and set it into the waters. The fish thanked him and before he disappeared into the waters, told Manu that a great flood would soon wash the world away. He asked Manu to build himself a barge and stay on it, no matter how stormy the seas or how thunderous the skies. Manu had earned the protection of the gods because he had helped the fish to safety.

As predicted, a flood descended upon earth and swept it away. Manu survived, holed up inside the barge and tossed about in the rising tide. And as the waters swelled all around him and it seemed as if there was no escape from the raging ocean, the fish arrived. It had a horn rising out of the centre of its forehead. Alongside the fish came Vasuki, the king of serpents. Vasuki became the tow-tug, knotting himself around the horn of the fish and the prow of the boat. Manu was dragged to the mountain Himavat, to safe, dry land. And this is where he is said to have sacrificed to the gods and gave birth to a new race of humans.

The earliest account of the story of Manu and the fish is found in the Satapatha Brahmana. In this telling, the fish is described as a wonderful fish, as an extraordinary creature with divine powers. Over several retellings, the story gathers more details and in the Puranas (Bhagwat and Matsya), we see the emergence of the concept of the fish being an incarnation of Hari and Vishnu. And, interestingly, in the Mahabharata, the fish is associated with another god, the creator god Brahma. This story then becomes a part of the Dasavatara string of tales, which are all about the life and work of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu.