Page 189 - Eye of the beholder

The story of the great flood is one that occurs in most mythologies and is a part of the major religious texts - Christian, Jewish, Hindu. Apparently, some recent scientific studies have also thrown up evidence that supports the story of the great flood.
It rained continuously. It rained heavily. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights consecutively. The flood that ensued threatened to consume the world. Material objects were one thing, but the core corpus of knowledge that mankind had accumulated, and codified in the four Vedas could not be risked to be lost.
The story of the flood is told with a few variations in the Satapatha Brahman, The Mahabharata, and the Bhagavat Puran. According to the later text, Vishnu assumed the form of a Saphari fish, dives down into the ocean, and siezes the Vedas back from the demon Hayagriva, who had stolen them in the first place.
This Pisces (Matsya) avatar of Vishnu is the first of his 10 avatars, and was subsequently celebrated by Jayadeva about 1000 years back in his melodious epic - the Geet Govinda. The story also provided inspiration to miniature paintings from numerous schools in subsequent years, one of which has just come into my collection.
“Pralaya-payodhijale dhrtavānasi vedam vihita-vahitra-caritram akhedam | keśava dhrta-mīna-śarīra
jaya jagadīśa hare ||”
“- (Ch. 1; Geeta Govinda by Jayadeva. 12th Century CE)
Here is an amateurish attempt at translation:
“Rescuing the Vedas in the deluvian days Assuming a benedictive floating bay Keshava in a Piscean apparition lay Jaya Jagadisha Harey “.
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