The Matsya Purana

Lomaharshana and the Other Sages

There was a forest known as naimisharanya. Many years ago, several sages organized a yajna (sacrifice) in the forest. After the sacrifice was over, the assembled sages told Lomaharshana. “You have recited to us many Puranas. These accounts are so sacred that we would like to hear them once more. Please satisfy our thirst for knowledge.”

“I will recount for you the most holy of all the Puranas,” replied Lomaharshana. “This is the great Matsya Purana, told by Vishnu to Manu. Prepare your minds, for I am about begin.”


Vishnu and Manu

There used to be a king named Manu. He was the son of the sun-god.

When it was time for Manu to retire to the forest, he handed over the kingdom to his son. (The son’s name is not given, but must have been Ikshvaku.) Manu then went to the foothills of Mount Malaya and started to perform tapasya (meditation). Thousands and thousands of years passed. Such were the powers of Manu’s meditation that Brahma appeared before him.

“I am pleased with your prayers,” said Brahma. “Ask for a boon.”

“I have only one boon to ask for,” replied Manu. “Sooner or later there will be a destruction (pralaya) and the world will no longer exist. Please grant me the boon that it will be I who will save the world and its begins at the time of the destruction.”

Brahma readily granted this boon.

Days passed. On one particular occasion, Manu was performing ablutions in a pond near his hermitage. He immersed his hands in the water so that he might offer some water to his ancestors. When he raised his cupped hands, he found that there was a minnow (shafari) swimming around in the water. Manu had no desire to kill the minnow. He placed it carefully in his water-pot (kamandalu).

But the minnow started to grow and within a day, it was sixteen fingers in length. “Save me, king.” said the fish. “This water-pot is too small for me.”

Manu then placed the fish in a vat. But the fish continued to grow and, within a day, it was three hands in length. “Save me, king.” said the fish. “This vat is too small for me.”

Manu put the fish in a well, but the well soon became too small for the fish. Manu transferred the fish to a pond, but the pond was also too small for the fish. Manu now removed the fish to the holy river Ganga, but even this was too small for the fish. Finally, Manu transferred the fish to the ocean. There the fish grew so much that it soon occupied the entire ocean.

“Who are you?” asked Manu. “I have never seen or heard of such wonders. Are you a demon that is deluding me with its illusions? No, I do not think that you are a demon. You must be the great Vishnu himself. Please tell me the truth and satisfy my curiosity.”

Vishnu then revealed that it was indeed he who had adopted the form of a fish. He told Manu that the earth would soon be flooded with water. Vishnu had got a boat built by the gods. (In other accounts, Manu was himself asked to construct the boat). When the earth was flooded, Manu was to place all living beings in the boat and thus save them. Vishnu would himself arrive in his form of the fish and Manu was to tie the boat to the fish’s horn. Thus the living beings would be saved. And when the waters of the flood receded, Manu could populate the world afresh and rule over it. (This is the more customary account. But in the Mahabharata, it was Brahma who appeared before Manu in the form of a fish.)

Vishnu disappeared, and for a hundred years there was a terrible drought on earth. The drough led to famine and people died of starvation. Meanwhile, the sun blazed in fury and burnt up the entire world. When everything had burnt to ashes, dark clouds loomed in the sky. These are the clouds that appear at the time of destruction and there are seven classes of cush clouds, known as samvarta, bhimananda, drona, chanda, valahaka, vidyutapataka and kona. From the clouds, rain began to pour and soon, water engulfed the entire earth. The land mass was flooded. As instructed by Vishnu, Manu gathered together living beings inside the boat. And when the fish appeared, he tied the boat to the fish’s horn. What do you think Manu used a rope? He used a gigantic snake.

While the boat was thus thethered and dragged around by the fish, Manu asked Vishnu several questions. The answered that Vishnu provided form the text of the Matsya Purana.

Creation

In the beginning, there was nothing in the universe. There was only darkness and the divine essence (brahman). It is impossible to describe the brahman, it has no traits that can be described.

When the time came for creation to start, the brahman removed the darkness and divided itself into three. These three parts came to be known as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The first object that was created was water and Vishnu slept on this water. Since nara means water and ayana means resting-place, Vishnu is accordingly also known as Narayana.

In this water next appeared a golden (hiranya) egg (anda). The egg shone with the radiance of a thousand suns. Inside the egg, Brahma created himself. Since he effectively created (bhuva) himself (svayam), Brahma is also known as Svayambhuva. The egg, you will remember, was golden. Garbha means womb, and since Brahma was born inside a golden egg, he is also known as Hiranyagarbha.

For a thousand years Brahma stayed inside the egg. He then split the shell into two and emerged out. Heaven (svarga) was made from one half of the shell and the earth from the remaining half. All the land masses, the oceans, the rivers and the mountains, had been inside the egg in embryonic form. Brahma made them manifest.

The sun was also born. Since he was the first (adi) being to be born, he is known as Aditya. (The name Aditya is more commonly explained as characterising the offspring of Aditi, from whom all the gods were descended. The Matsya Purana refers to this later.) The word mrita means dead. Since the sun was born when the egg (anda) died, the sun was also known as Martanda. (There is an alternative explanation of the name Martanda, as given, for example, in the Markandeya Purana. This again relates to the sun being born as the son of Aditi and the sage Kashyapa.)

Brahma’s first act was to meditate. It was while he was meditating that the Vedas, the Puranas and the other shastras (sacred texts) emerged from Brahma’s mouth.

Ten sons were also born to Brahma. Created from Brahma’s mental powers, they all became sages. Their names were Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Pracheta, Vashishtha, Bhrigu and Narada. There were others too who were born. Daksha was born from Brahma’s right toe. And the god Dharma was born from his chest.

But for further creation to continue, it was essential that created beings should have proper mothers and fathers. Brahma accordingly created two beings from his body, one was male and the other was female. The male half was named Svayambhuva Manu and the female half was named Shatarupa. (This is the customary account in the other Puranas as well. But the Matsya Purana contradicts itself immediately and states that Svyambhuva Manu was the son of Shatarupa and Brahma.)

Shatarupa is also referred to as Savitri, Gayatri, Sarasvati or Brahmani. Since she had been born from Brahma’s body, she was like Brahma’s daughter. In fact, Vashishtha and the other sages who were Brahma’s sons welcomed her as their sister. But Shatarupa was so beautiful that Brahma fell in love with her and wished to marry her.

Shatarupa circled Brahma and showed her respects to him. When she stood in front of him. Brahma gazed upon her with the face that he had. But when she went and stood behind him, Brahma could see her no longer. (Brahma, obviously, did not want to turn his head.) Another head with another face therefore sprouted behind Brahma’s first head so that he might be able to see Shatarupa. In similar fashion, a head sprouted to Brahma’s first head so that he might be able to see Shatarpa. In similar fashion, a head sprouted to Brahma’s right an another one to his left. And when Shatarupa rose above him, a head sprouted towards the top as well. Thus it was that Brahma came to have five heads and five faces.

Brahma married Shatarupa and they lived together as man and wife for a hundred years. Their son was named Svayambhuva Manu.

Remember that this story was being told by Vishnu to Vaivasvata Manu.

Hearing the account, Vaivasvata Manu exclaimed. “But what you have just said is truly amazing. How could Brahma have married his own daughter? Surely that is a sin.”

“Perhaps,” replied Vishnu, “but it is not for humans to judge the actions of the gods. How could creation proceed if Brahma did not marry Shatarupa?’

To continue with the account of the creation, Brahma created a sage named Sanatakumara and Shiva. (It is usually stated that, in addition to the sages who were created earlier, Brahma created four more sons through his mental powers. Their names were Sananda, Sanaka, Sanatana and Sanatakumara, and they became sages.)

Brahma asked Shiva to help him in the act of creation. “Why don’t you create some beings as well?’ asked Brahma.

Shiva complied and started to create. But all the beings that he created were just like him in appearance. That is , they were all immortal.

“What are you doing?” asked Brahma. “Don’t create immortal beings. Create mortal ones instead.”

“That I refuse to do,” retorted Shiva. “If I am to create, I shall create only immortals.”

“Please do not create then,” requested Brahma. “I will take care of creation myself.”

Svayambhuva Manu performed very difficult tapsaya and obtained a wife named Anati. (In other Puranas, Svayambhuva Manu is stated to have married Shatarupa.) Svayambhuva Manu and Ananti had two sons named Priyavrata and Uttanapada.

From Uttanapada was descended Prachinavarhi. Prachinavarahi married Savarna, the daugther of the ocean, and they had ten sons. These sons were known as the Prachetas. The ten Prachetas married a woman named Marisha. That is, all of them had the same wife.

Daksha was the son of the Prachetas and Marisha.