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Rare Temples where Lord Vishnu is Worshipped as Matsya Avatar – Must Visit !!
Lord Vishnu is considered as the God of Preservation. It is believed that whenever the earth is in danger and when evil threatens to overpower good, Lord Vishnu would descend from the heaven to incarnate on the earth. There are ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Of which the first Avatar of Lord Vishnu is called as Matsya Avatar (Matsya means “fish”).
Matsya Avatar – Story Behind:
As per the Hindu Mythology, it is said that when the end of Satya Yuga was approaching, Gods collectively decided to flood the earth and prepare it for the process of renovation. Lord Brahma was given all the guidelines for remodeling the earth and these guidelines are none but the 4 Vedas. Then Lord Brahma decided to take rest before this grand task. When He was fast asleep, a horse-headed demon named Somukasura came out of Brahma’s nose and stole the Vedas from him. Then Somukasura went and hid deep in the oceans of the earth. Vedas are required by Lord Brahma for the creation and so He prayed to Lord Vishnu for help. Responding to the prayers of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu took the form of a small fish and came to the small river where the king Manu was performing his morning prayers to Sun God. Manu was a Dravidian king and he was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Then this small fish pleaded with the king Manu to carry it in his pot since there were bigger fishes in the river that could kill it. As soon as Manu brought the fish to his palace, it started growing in size tremendously. At one stage, due to its enormous size, the king Manu was forced to leave the fish in the ocean and then he realized that the fish was none other than Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu then informed him about the pralayam (great flood) that was approaching. He also ordered him to build a huge ship and take the seeds of all the plants, the male and female of every animal, divine snake Vasuki and the seven sages (Saptarishis) along with their families in the ship. After giving these instructions to Manu, the fish went deep into the ocean to the place where the demon Somukasura was hiding the Vedas. The fish fought with the asura, killed it, restored the Vedas and handed it over to Lord Brahmma.
In the meanwhile, Manu built the ship completely and also brought the Saptarishis along with their family in it. As the end of Satya Yuga approached, there were heavy rains and the flood water washed away everything completely. The ship was wobbling in the storm and the huge fish appeared again and ordered Manu to tie up the Snake Vasuki as a rope connecting its horn and the ship. Once the fish was tied to the ship, the fish guided the ship in the sea and kept the ship safe during the storm. On the way, Lord Vishnu taught the Vedas to the king Manu and the Saptarishis. This way, Lord Vishnu fulfilled the purpose of the avatar by saving the Vedas and the world from Deluge. It is said that, once the storms ended and the water subsided, Matsya Vishnu left Manu and the others at the Himalayas, where human civilization began again.
Matsya Avatar Temples:
There are only very few temples in India where Lord Vishnu graces His devotees in the form of Matsya (in the form of Fish). They are,
- Vedanarayana Swamy temple, Nagalapuram, Chittoor, Andra Pradesh
- Matsya Narayana Swamy Temple, Hegdal, Bellary, Karnataka
Vedanarayana Swamy temple, Nagalapuram
The Vedanarayana Swamy temple is called Matsya Avatar Sthala as Lord here is seen in the form of Matsya Avatar, which is the first and foremost avatar (incarnation) among 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu. Here the Lord Veda Narayana Perumal is seen in Matsya avatar along with His consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi. The peculiar feature of this idol is that the upper half of the main idol depicts Lord Vishnu with Shanku & Sudarshana Chakra, the lower half is in the form of Matsya (no feet are visible). The Sudarshana Chakra is seen in the form of Prayoga (ready to be released).
This temple was built during the period of the king Krishna Deva Raya. And he named the place as Nagalapuram in memory of his mother Nagamba. The temple is now maintained by Tirumala Tirupathi Devastana.
The unique feature of this temple is the Surya Pooja. During this time, the sun rays would fall on the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum during the sunset (6 PM to 6.15PM). This miracle happens only once in a year (i.e) on the 12th, 13th, and 14th Day of the Phalguna month (February – March). On the first day, the sun rays will fall at the feet of the Lord. On the second day, the rays would fall on the chest and on the third day, the rays would fall on the forehead. The sun rays reach the Lord not through the ceiling or any opening in the temple, but from the entrance of the temple.
It is still a mystery how the sun rays of the setting sun could sneak through the temple grounds to touch the main deity, which is placed some 600 ft away from the entrance !! It is believed that this event signifies Sun God’s (Surya) Seva (Pooja) to the Lord to warm up his chilled body, as the Lord has been under water for many years during his war against demon Somukasura.
Some of the other deities that are found in this temple are Vedavathi Thayar, Kodanda Ramaswamy, Lakshmi Varaha Swamy, Venugopala Swamy, Lakshmi Narayana Swamy and Lord Hayagriva.
Matsya Narayana Swamy Temple, Hegdal
Another temple with the unique form of the Lord in the Matsya Avatar is the Matsya Narayana Swamy Temple located in the village called Pinjar Hegdal in Hagari Bommanhalli Taluka, Bellary district. This temple was constructed in 1926 by Late Sri Ambalam Buchi Venkatachar.
As per the temple history, it is said that Lord Vishnu had appeared in the dreams of Sri Venkatachar and informed that a Matsya Narayana idol is at the Tungabhadra river bed. This dream repeated several times to him and so, he approached the king of Anegundi and shared his dream. The king then retrieved the idol and gifted the same to Acharya Buchi Venkatachar. On the possession of the idol, Lord appeared again in his dreams and directed him to go to the village of Pinjar Hegdal. The Acharya then met the devotees of Lord Vishnu in that village and requested for a piece of land to construct the temple. On receiving the land donation from the villagers, he constructed a small temple and installed the idol of Lord Matsya Narayana.
The main deity of the temple is represented as a four-armed deity having the upper half of Maha Vishnu with four arms. Two arms hold the Shanku and the Chakra and the other two hands are in Abhaya and Varadha Mudra. The lower half of the idol is in the form of Fish (Matsya). This temple is now maintained by Sri Matsya Narayana Swami Devasthanam Samithi.
