Matsya

About Matsya

Matsya is Vishnu's first descent — shown as a four-armed figure with a human upper body and a fish's tail, a single horn jutting from the head. The Bhagavata Purana says a tiny fish leapt into the palms of King Satyavrata of Dravida as he poured water in the Kritamala river. It grew until only the sea could hold it. When the great flood came, Satyavrata roped his boat to that horn using the serpent Vasuki, and Matsya towed the saptarishi, all seeds, and the Vedas to safety. He then slew the horse-headed demon Hayagriva, who had stolen the Vedas from a drowsy Brahma. Devotees remember this descent on Kartik Purnima.