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The Matsya Purana is the first and the oldest of all the Puranas and Hindu scriptures and texts. It is primarily the story of the first Avatar of Lord Vishnu, in the form of a fish or Matsya. The Arya way of life, most likened to the Hindu way of life in present times is supposed to have begun after this epoch.
The story is set in pre-ancient Dravida, where the central characters are Lord Matsya and the then Emperor of Dravida called Satyavrata who is later known as Manu, the "Father of all Aryaas." The timeline is rather bizarre as it is assigned a staggering two billion years and more. The most important part of the story begins when Lord Vishnu incarnates as Lord Matsya just before a deluge to King Satyavrata, when he is in penance at the foot of the Malaya Mountains in his native Dravida, after which his ship is perched on top of the same Malaya Mountains.[1]
The Purana describes the life of Satyavrata or Manu who is also the son of the Sun God, Surya. However, its main content is the description of the deluge that follows and the manner in which Lord Matsya directs Manu, his family and a handful of others to safety, and then reveals the Vedas to him, and the norms of the new Arya or Vedic way of life.
References
Further reading
- Mani, Vettam. Puranic Encyclopedia. 1st English ed. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975.
External links
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