File:Matsya_Avatar_of_Vishnu_Printed_by_Ravi_Varma_Press_-_Vintage_Poster.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Matsya
Sign in to saveMatsya () is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, often golden in color, or anthropomorphically with the torso of Vishnu connected to the rear half of a fish.
Matsya is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, typically described as his first avatar, and is credited with rescuing the first man, Manu, from a great flood in Hindu mythology. The figure is commonly depicted either as a giant golden fish or as a hybrid form combining Vishnu's human torso with a fish's lower body.
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Key facts
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.type
- Hindu
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.image
- Matsya Raja Ravi Varma Press.jpg
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.caption
- Matsya avatar by Raja Ravi Varma
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.name
- Matsya
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.Devanagari
- मत्स्य
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.affiliation
- Avatar of Vishnu
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.weapon
- Sudarshana Chakra, Kaumodaki
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.festivals
- Matsya Jayanti
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.member_of
- Dashavatara
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.consort
- Lakshmi
- Deity<! Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology >.mantra
- Om Namo Bhagavate Matsya Devaya
- Royalty.name
- Dashavatara Sequence
- Royalty.successor
- Kurma
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Matsya Raja Ravi Varma Press.jpg
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Matsya
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Article
14 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Legends and scriptural references
- Vedic origins
- Saviour of Manu from the Deluge
- Saviour of the Vedas
- In avatar lists
- Other scriptural references
- Iconography
- Evolution and symbolism
- Worship
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Matsya () is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, often golden in color, or anthropomorphically with the torso of Vishnu connected to the rear half of a fish.
The earliest account of Matsya is found in the Shatapatha Brahmana, where Matsya is not associated with any particular deity. The fish-saviour later merges with the identity of Brahma in post-Vedic era, and still later, becomes regarded with Vishnu. The legends associated with Matsya expand, evolve, and vary in Hindu texts. These legends have embedded symbolism, where a small fish with Manu's protection grows to become a big fish, and the fish saves the man who would be the progenitor of the next race of mankind. In later versions, Matsya slays a demon named Hayagriva who steals the Vedas, and thus is lauded as the saviour of the scriptures.