Matsya Avatara
It is said that, during the Satya Yuga, the people on earth had become irreligious and disorderly in the way they lived their lives. This is when the Gods collectively decided to flood the earth and prepare it for the process of renovation. Lord Brahma, the creator, had been given the guidelines to remodel the earth by Lord Vishnu. These guidelines were the Vedas, the four principle books of Hinduism. Lord Brahma decided to rest before this grand task as he was quite tired from the process of creation. At this time, a horse-headed demon named Hayagriva came out of Brahma's nose and stole the Vedas from him. He then left and hid in the depths of the Earth's oceans. Meanwhile, a devout devotee of Vishnu, a devout king named Satyabratha, regularly worshipped Vishnu and wanted to meet him. So Vishnu decided to visit Manu. Satyabrata, the ancient Dravidian king and a devotee of Vishnu later known as Manu, was washing his hands in a river when a small fish swam into his palms and begged him to save its life. He put it in a jar and it soon grew. Then he moved it to a reservoir, a river, and finally the sea, but no avail. Then the fish showed himself as Lord Vishnu and said that in 7 days there will be a flood that will destroy all life. The fish told Manu that when Kali Yuga was over, the mares living on the seafloor would open their mouths and spit poisonous fire. This same fire will burn the entire universe, gods, constellations and everything else. The seven apocalyptic clouds will flood the earth until everything becomes one sea. Thus, the fish instructed Satyavrata to build an ark that would take the poisonous fire" with all herbs, all kinds of seeds and seven saints" along with the snake Vasuki and other animals. When the time of the flood was near, Manu's ark was ready. When the flood swept the Earth, Manu asked Vishnu why humanity had to face such a fatal fate, and Matsya Vishnu told Manu that he was the only moral person alive and would be the father of future generations of people. Matsya killed Hayagriva and returned the Vedas to Brahma. He then used Vasuki as a rope to tie himself to Manu's ark, protecting it from storms and floods. When the storm stopped and the waters subsided, Matsya Vishnu left Manu and others in the Himalayas, where they could start anew human civilization.
