Matsya Avatar - The Fish

Long, long ago, King Manu was bathing in a river when a tiny fish swam into his palm. The fish pleaded to be saved from bigger fish that would eat it. Kind-hearted Manu placed it in a small pot. The next day, the fish had outgrown the pot. Manu moved it to a pond, then a lake, then a river, and finally the ocean — but the fish kept growing larger and larger. Manu realized this was no ordinary fish. The fish revealed its true form — it was Lord Vishnu's Matsya Avatar, the divine fish incarnation. Lord Matsya warned Manu that a great flood would engulf the entire earth in seven days. He instructed Manu to build a massive boat and fill it with seeds of every plant and pairs of every living creature. When the devastating flood arrived, Lord Matsya, now enormous with a golden horn, towed the boat through the raging waters to safety. In this way, Manu preserved all life, and after the flood receded, a new world began afresh.