Then Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu, said to the Brahmana, Markandeya,
‘Do thou now narrate the history of Vaivaswata Manu?
“Markandeya replied, ‘O king, O foremost of men, there was a powerful and
great Rishi of the name of Manu. He was the son of Vivaswan and was equal
unto Brahma in glory. And he far excelled his father and grandfather in
strength, in power, in fortune, as also in religious austerities. And
standing on one leg and with uplifted hand, that lord of men did severe
penance in the jujube forest called Visala. And there with head downwards
and with steadfast eyes he practised the rigid and severe penance for ten
thousand years. And one day, whilst he was practising austerities there
with wet clothes on and matted hair on head, a fish approaching the banks
of the Chirini, addressed him thus, ‘Worshipful sir, I am a helpless
little fish, I am afraid of the large ones; therefore, do thou, O great
devotee, think it worth thy while to protect me from them; especially as
this fixed custom is well established amongst us that the strong fish
always preys upon the weak ones. Therefore do thou think it fit to save
me from being drowned in this sea of terrors! I shall requite thee for
thy good offices.’ On hearing these words from the fish, Vaivaswata Manu
was overpowered with pity and he took out the fish from the water with
his own hands. And the fish which had a body glistening like the rays of
the moon when taken out of the water was put back in an earthen
water-vessel. And thus reared that fish O king, grew up in size and Manu
tended it carefully like a child. And after a long while, it became so
large in size, that there was no room for it in that vessel. And then
seeing Manu (one day), it again addressed these words to him, ‘Worshipful
sir, do thou appoint some better habitation for me.’ And then the
adorable Manu, the conqueror of hostile cities, took it out of that
vessel and carried it to a large tank and placed it there. And there
again the fish grew for many a long year. And although the tank was two
yojanas in length and one yojana in width, even there, O lotus-eyed son
of Kunti and ruler of men, was no room for the fish to play about! And
beholding Manu it said again, ‘O pious and adorable father, take me to
the Ganga, the favourite spouse of the Ocean so that I may live there; or
do as thou listest. O sinless one, as I have grown to this great bulk by
thy favour I shall do thy bidding cheerfully.’ Thus asked the upright and
continent and worshipful Manu took the fish to the river Ganga and he put
it into the river with his own hands. And there, O conqueror of thy
enemies, the fish again grew for some little time and then beholding
Manu, it said again, ‘O lord, I am unable to move about in the Ganga on
account of my great body; therefore, worshipful sir, do thou please take
me quickly to the sea!’ O son of Pritha, Manu then taking it out of the
Ganga, carried it to the sea and consigned it there. And despite its
great bulk, Manu transported it easily and its touch and smell were also
pleasant to him. And when it was thrown into the sea by Manu, it said
these words to him with a smile, ‘O adorable being, thou hast protected
me with special care; do thou now listen to me as to what thou shouldst
do in the fulness of time! O fortunate and worshipful sir, the
dissolution of all this mobile and immobile world is nigh at hand. The
time for the purging of this world is now ripe. Therefore do I now
explain what is good for thee! The mobile and immobile divisions of the
creation, those that have the power of locomotion, and those that have it
not, of all these the terrible doom hath now approached. Thou shall build
a strong massive ark and have it furnished with a long rope. On that must
thou ascend, O great Muni, with the seven Rishis and take with thee all
the different seeds which were enumerated by regenerate Brahmanas in days
of yore, and separately and carefully must thou preserve them therein.
And whilst there, O beloved of the Munis, thou shall wait for me, and I
shall appear to thee like a horned animal, and thus, O ascetic, shall
thou recognise me! And I shall now depart, and thou shall act according
to my instructions, for, without my assistance, thou canst not save
thyself from that fearful flood.’ Then Manu said unto the fish, ‘I do not
doubt all that thou hast said, O great one! Even so shall I act!’ And
giving instructions to each other, they both went away. And Manu then, O
great and powerful king and conqueror of thy enemies, procured all the
different seeds as directed by the fish, and set sail in an excellent
vessel on the surging sea. And then, O lord of the earth, he bethought
himself of that fish. And the fish too, O conqueror of thy enemies and
foremost scion of Bharata’s race, knowing his mind, appeared there with
horns on his head. And then, O tiger among men, beholding in the ocean
that horned fish emerging like a rock in the form of which he had been
before appraised, he lowered the ropy noose on its head. And fastened by
the noose, the fish, O king and conqueror of hostile cities, towed the
ark with great force through the salt waters. And it conveyed them in
that vessel on the roaring and billow beaten sea. And, O conqueror of thy
enemies and hostile cities, tossed by the tempest on the great ocean, the
vessel reeled about like a drunken harlot. And neither land nor the four
cardinal points of the compass, could be distinguished.
And there was water everywhere and the waters covered the heaven and the
firmament also. And, O bull of Bharata’s race, when the world was thus
flooded, none but Manu, the seven Rishis and the fish could be seen. And,
O king, the fish diligently dragged the boat through the flood for many a
long year and then, O descendant of Kuru and ornament of Bharata’s race,
it towed the vessel towards the highest peak of the Himavat. And, O
Bharata, the fish then told those on the vessel to tie it to the peak of
the Himavat. And hearing the words of the fish they immediately tied the
boat on that peak of the mountain and, O son of Kunti and ornament of
Bharata’s race, know that that high peak of the Himavat is still called
by the name of Naubandhana (the harbour). Then the fish addressing the
associated Rishis told them these words, ‘I am Brahma, the Lord of all
creatures; there is none greater than myself. Assuming the shape of a
fish, I have saved you from this cataclysm. Manu will create (again) all
beings--gods, Asuras and men, all those divisions of creation which have
the power of locomotion and which have it not. By practicing severe
austerities he will acquire this power, and with my blessing, illusion
will have no power over him.’
“So saying the fish vanished instantly. And Vaivaswata Manu himself
became desirous of creating the world. In this work of creation illusion
overtook him and he, therefore, practised great asceticism. And endowed
with ascetic merit, Manu, O ornament of Bharata’s race, again set about
his work of creating all beings in proper and exact order. This story
which I have narrated to thee and the hearing of which destroyeth all
sin, is celebrated as the Legend of the Fish. And the man who listeneth
every day to this primeval history of Manu, attaineth happiness and all
other objects of desire and goeth to heaven.”