Ugadi 2023: The Connection Between Ugadi And Matsyavataram Of Lord Vishnu

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Bhagavatha purana has the utmost reliable information about matsyavatara which is the first avatar of Lord Vishnu on earth. Lord Vishnu has had several incarnations, taken on earth, to restore peace on earth. The Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, and Narasimha avatars of Lord Vishnu were taken in Satyayuga to restore peace and Dharma.

In the Treta yuga he took his avatar as Vamana, Parashuram and Sri Rama. Dwapara Yuga he took incarnation as Balarama and Krishna and he is going to be incarnating in the Kali Yuga in the name of Kalki.

What Is Yugadi?

Matsya Avatar is the first and the Fish Avatar of Lord Vishnu in Satya Yuga. Yuga means an epoch Adi means beginning. So with Ugadi actual process of creation started. The first day of the nine-day festival Chaitra Navratri is observed as Ugadi in remembrance of the creation process by Brahma. This is where a connection between Ugadi and Matsyavatar can be established.

Brahma knew that the people, since they had degenerated in values and morals, would not be eligible to read the Vedas like earlier. So he saw the need for cleansing humanity from within. So he requested Lord Shiva to bring on a deluge and destroy the world so that a new world could be created. Lord Vishnu came to know about this plan. So he incarnated on time, as a fish to save the creation from complete ruin. However, to do this he should save Manu and Shatarupa, the primordial couple. So he assumed the form of a fish and descended down to earth in search of Manu.

Manu Meets Lord Vishnu

Manu was otherwise known as Satyavrata. While he was washing his hands in a river accidentally a fish swims in and settles in to his hands and perturbs him. As he was looking astonished and about to leave it back into the river, there was a voice that spoke to him which belonged to none other than the fish. It pleads him to save his life as it would be a prey to bigger fishes in the river. In return the fish promises that it would save the king from a bigger deluge that was about to happen. The king soon carried the fish to his palace and slid him into a water pot.

The next day, when he visited the fish in its water pot, it was wiggling due to discomfort as it had grown larger for the pot. He tried a huge vessel, then a pond, and then finally into a river but nothing could accommodate the fish. He had no choice but to send it to the ocean but he had realized that it is not an ordinary fish but God himself. The fish asked him to build a huge boat to keep all medicinal herbs, seeds and animals, Vasuki and the saptarishis. He instructed Manu to just remember him in case the deluge gets fierce so that the Fish or God would help him out of the situation.
Vishnu steps in to the flood scenario, in the form of a huge fish, ties the boat to his horn using Vasuki serpent and leads the boat to the driest point.

Elimination Of Demon Hayagreeva

As the flood gradually reduces in its intensity and subsides, it exposes the demon Hayagreeva, who was hiding inside the waves so far, who had stolen the Vedas from Lord Brahma. Lord Vishnu kills the demon, and restores the Vedas back to Lord Brahma, Animals and seeds started germinating and procreation soon started. Manu performed a yagnya and found a beautiful damsel emerging from the Homagni as a byproduct of the yagnya. She married Manu and the human race also started propagating. Creation process gained momentum and then world was recreated. This day came to be known as Ugadi.

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