Matsya Avatar: The First Incarnation of Vishnu - The Great Flood and Manu

Guru Shyama Khyapa: First came Matsya (the fish), then Kurma (the tortoise)—meaning it could move in both water and on land. Then Varaha (the boar), which could walk entirely on land. I am explaining this to you through the lens of evolution. Through sequential evolution, Narasimha came next—neither fully animal nor fully human, but half-lion and half-man. After the Narasimha avatar came Vamana (the dwarf). This Vamana avatar is the one who later placed his foot on the head of King Bali.

Host: Pranam, Gurudev.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Pranam, my child. Pranam.

Host: Greetings, viewers! Welcome to the Gupto Sadhak Syamakhyapa 2.0 channel. As I have mentioned before, I will say it once again: this channel is no longer restricted just to YouTube. You can now watch it on Facebook and Instagram as well, and you will find the links to all our episodes in the description box.

Host: The topic I want to discuss with Gurudev today—the subject of our conversation—is quite vast. It is the Ten Avatars (Dashavatara) of Narayana.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: The 10 Avatars of Narayana. What can I say? Imagine a time when there were no humans on Earth, absolutely nothing. No trees, no plants, no animals—nothing was known. At that time, the Earth was covered only in water. Narayana used to play in these waters. From this emerged aquatic life, the fish. The fish was the only creature Narayana played with, and it was His divine will to manifest as the Matsya (Fish) Avatar.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: The saint Ramprasad once sang a song: "When the universe didn't exist, where did you get your garland of skulls, Mother?" He was asking Goddess Kali how she could wear a garland of human skulls when the universe itself hadn't been created yet. It's a true concept—at that time, Earth had nothing but water; there were no trees, no humans. That is why he affectionately questioned the Mother.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: So, the word is Brahmanda (Universe). Brahmanda literally means the Anda (egg) of Brahma. You all probably know of Lord Brahma. His cosmic egg is this Brahmanda. In this universe, many divine plays have occurred, are occurring, and will occur. Everything will happen.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Now, back to the topic. There is nothing much more to the origin of the Matsya Avatar other than the fact that He resided in the water in the form of a fish. That is why He was named Matsya. Out of Narayana's ten avatars, the very first is the Matsya Avatar. From this, sequentially, more and more creations originated as Narayana repeatedly took on new forms. The first was Matsya. Then He took a second, a third, and so on, revealing all ten avatars to humanity.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Now, you all constantly chant, "Krishna, Krishna!" But Krishna is actually not included in this specific list of ten. Krishna is made of a different essence. We cannot just call Krishna a regular deity; we consider Him an Atimanav (a Supreme Being / Superman).

Guru Shyama Khyapa: There is a story. The Dravidian King, Satyavrata, was very close to Narayana and had immense devotion and respect for Him. From him, the lineage of "Manu" begins. We have 14 Manus, and he is one of them. Anyway, one day, King Satyavrata went down to a pond to wash his hands and feet. He saw a tiny fish that pleaded with him, "Please save me!" Not knowing what else to do, Satyavrata picked up the fish, brought it home, and put it in a pot.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: But the fish continuously kept growing larger. It grew so big that it again said, "Save me!" So, Satyavrata placed it in a pond. But its growth was so massive that he eventually had to move it to a river, and then from the river to the ocean. Yet, nothing changed; it just kept growing.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Finally, Lord Vishnu revealed Himself in His avatar form. He told the King, "In seven days, a great calamity (a massive flood) will strike the Earth. Gather all your belongings, collect the seeds of all plants and herbs, take them onto a ship, and stay there."

Guru Shyama Khyapa: King Satyavrata obeyed Narayana's command. He gathered all necessary resources, from crops to seeds, and placed them on the ship. Seven days later, a true cataclysmic flood (Pralaya) occurred. Following this flood, the Matsya Avatar officially manifested. He told Satyavrata, "From today onwards, you will be transformed into a Manu." Among the 14 Manus, King Satyavrata is the first Manu.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: This is the primary story of the Matsya Avatar; there isn't much else found about it. Narayana took the form of a fish and played in the waters—that is the main proof we have. So, this was the Matsya Avatar, and from this avatar, the first Manu was established.

Host: Viewers, you just heard about Matsya, the first of Narayana's ten avatars, from Gurudev. The ten avatars of Narayana are: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Balarama, Buddha, and Kalki. We will go through each of these one by one in upcoming episodes. Gurudev will explain everything to you. Before I conclude, let me just say a couple of things: this is our new channel. Please stand by it, and ask others to support it too.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: And Arindam, this is cyclic. First came Matsya (Fish), then Kurma (Tortoise)—meaning it could live in both water and on land. Then Varaha (Boar), which lived entirely on land. I am explaining this to you through the lens of evolution (Krama Bibartan).

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Through this gradual evolution, Narasimha came—not entirely human, but a half-lion, half-man avatar. Then came Vamana (the dwarf). Up until Vamana, the forms were transitioning. Vamana was born as a human within the 10 avatars. Then came Parashurama. By the time Parashurama arrived, fully formed humans had been established.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: After Parashurama came Rama. Rama knew he had come to Earth to defeat Ravana. Do you know who he took his initiation from? Rama's guru was Parashurama. Parashurama taught him, initiated him, and not only that, he passed down all his knowledge to Rama.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Then came Balarama. As I said, Krishna is not counted as an avatar [in this specific sequence]; He is a Supreme Being. Under no circumstances is He just equated with the standard ten avatars. Balarama is counted. Then came Buddha, and finally Kalki. See, by the Kali Yuga, humanity has fully developed.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: In this cyclic way, through evolution, starting from the fish, the 14 Manus were created. Each Manu has a story. The first Manu is King Satyavrata of Dravida. Remember this. And sequentially, there are 14 Manus and 14 worlds (Bhuvan), etc., which we can discuss later.

Host: Gurudev, I have a request. We are currently living in the Kali Yuga. In the Kali Yuga, Narayana is everything, and His holy name is everything. We say this often, but if you could chant the Lord's name in your own voice, it would be wonderful.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: You all should chant with me too.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare.
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Harer Nama Eva Kevalam. (The Holy Name is the only way)
Harer Nama Eva Kevalam.
Harer Nama Eva Kevalam.
Kalau Nastyeva, Kalau Nastyeva, Kalau Nastyeva Gatir Anyatha. (In Kali Yuga, there is no other way, no other way, no other way.)

Guru Shyama Khyapa: In Kali Yuga, there is no salvation without the Holy Name. The Name is supreme in this age. Everyone should chant this name. I won't do it alone; all of you chant together.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare.
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Harer Nama Eva Kevalam. Harer Nama Eva Kevalam. Harer Nama Eva Kevalam.
Kalau Nastyeva, Kalau Nastyeva, Kalau Nastyeva Gatir Anyatha.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Yes, this is it. This is the truth. Everyone, stay healthy and stay well.

Host: Pranam, Gurudev.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Pranam, pranam, pranam, pranam.

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