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'''Matsya''' (devanāgarī: मत्स्य) (''Fish'' in [[Sanskrit]]) was the first [[Avatar]] of [[Vishnu]] in [[Hinduism]]. Lord Matsya is generally represented as a four-armed figure with the upper torso of a man and the lower of a fish.

Lord Matsya revealed himself to Vaivasvata, the seventh [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]] and progenitor of the human race, and told him a [[deluge]] would occur within seven days that would destroy all life. He instructed Manu to build a giant boat and, accompanied by the [[Prajāpati|seven Rishis]], take all medicinal herbs, all the varieties of seeds, along with the serpent Vasuki and other animals.

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] wrote that "the Matsya Avatar of Vishnu and Vaivasvata’s Deluge are correctly connected with an event that happened on our Earth during this Round".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 369.</ref> Also: "Vaivasvata Manu is the one human being—some versions add to him the seven Rishis—who in the Matsya Avatar allegory is saved from the Deluge in a boat, like Noah in the Ark."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 69, fn.</ref>

== Notes ==

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[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Hindu concepts]]
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]