One day, unknowingly, King Manu caught a tiny fish in the his palms, from the river. Suddenly, the fish spoke.
"A talking fish? Who are you!" asked the surprised King. "I am MATSAYA," answered the fish. Enchanted Manu decided to put the fish in a pond, rather than the river.
The next day, King Manu decided to visit the fish. Imagine his shock, when he saw that the fish had grown so much over night; it was bigger than the pond!
King Manu took the giant fish to the holy river Ganga . Alas ! Even in the river Ganga , Matdata began to expand . He became so large that even Ganga could not contain him . Manu took Matsaya to the sea . But Matsaya continued to grow " This is no ordinary fish ," King Many realized . He bowed to the ground and beseeched " Command me , my Lord ."
The gigantic form of Matsaya dissolved and Lord Vishnu appeared! "There will be a frightening deluge. Everything will be destroyed," Lord Vishnu slowly predicted.
" O Lord , tell us what to do ? " asked Manu . " Build a huge boat , " Lord Vishnu adviced him . " This boat will sail towards Mount Himavan . The passengers of this boat will also include the seven sages . With the sages , pick one of every kind of existing life forms . That is animals , seeds , plants , insects , people , etc . Put them on the boat too . As Matsaya , I shall pull the boat up Mount Himavan . You have seven days to build the boat , " instructed Vishnu seriously .
The next day, the entire kingdom was at the work. Woodcutters busily collected wood. Carpenters cut the structure. Finally, the boat was ready; the giant-sized boat was brimming with the seven sages and all kinds of species on earth .
Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Matsaya. "Tie the boat's rope to my tail, so I can pull it up to Mount Himavan," commanded Matsaya. Manu tied his tail to the boat with a rope. It did not work. Every time the fish surged ahead, the tail stretched and the loop of the rope slipped away.
"We will have to use Vasuki as a rope," suggested Matsaya. Vasuki was the powerful king of snakes. In a flash, Vasuki appeared. Manu explained the situation to him. The next instant, Vasuki grasped the anchor of the boat firmly with his tail. Vasuki then coiled his head around Matsaya's tail.
Matsaya heaved the boat uphill with Vasuki's help! The fish and the serpent, thus carried forth their tedious journey. The boat reached the safety of Mount Himavan, just in time, since the deluge broke soon after. The floods ravaged the earth. Months later, the floods receded. Slowly, things returned to normal. Lord Vishnu successfully guided humanity into a new era of evolution thereon.
The next Avatar will be uploaded tomorrow !!!