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Matsya
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 7/26/21
Matsya
Member of Dashavatara
Anthropomorphic depiction of Matsya as half-human, half-fish
Devanagari मत्स्य
Affiliation Vishnu (first avatar)
Weapon Sudarshan Chakra, Kaumodaki
Festivals Matsya Jayanti
Matsya (Sanskrit: मत्स्य, lit. fish) is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man Manu from a great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, often golden in color, or anthropomorphically with the torso of Vishnu connected to the rear half of a fish.
The earliest accounts of Matsya is mentioned in the Shatapatha Brahmana where Matsya is not associated with any particular deity. The fish-savior later merges with the identity of Brahma in post-Vedic era and still later transferred to Vishnu. The legends associated with Matsya expand, evolve and vary in Hindu texts. These legends have embedded symbolism, where a small fish with Manu's protection grows to become a big fish, and the fish saves earthly existence. In later versions, Matsya slays a demon who steals the sacred scriptures - the Vedas and thus lauded as the saviour of the scriptures.
The tale is in the tradition of the family of flood myths, common across cultures.
Etymology
The deity Matsya derives his name from the word matsya (Sanskrit: मत्स्य), meaning "fish". Monier-Williams and R. Franco suggest that the words matsa and matsya, both meaning fish, derive from the root √mad, meaning "to rejoice, be glad, exult, delight or revel in". Thus, matsya meaning the "joyous one".[1][2][3] The Sanskrit grammarian and etymologist Yaska (circa 600 BCE) also refers to the same stating that fish are known as matsya as "they revel eating each other". Yaska also offers an alternate etymology of matsya as "floating in water" derived from the roots √syand (to float) and madhu (water).[4] The Sanskrit word matsya is cognate with Prakrit maccha ("fish").[5]
Legends and scriptural references
Vedic origins
Matsya, Central India, 9th - 10th century. British Museum.[6]
The section 1.8.1 of the Shatapatha Brahmana (Yajur veda) is the earliest extant text to mention Matsya and the flood myth in Hinduism. It does not associate the fish Matsya with any other deity in particular.[7] [Roy 2002, p. 79; Roy, J. (2002). Theory of Avatāra and Divinity of Chaitanya. Atlantic. ISBN 978-81-269-0169-2.] [8][9]
Matsya
by Wikipedia
Accessed: 7/26/21
-- Manu (Hinduism), by Wikipedia
-- Manusmriti, by Wikipedia
-- Institutes of Hindu Law: Or, The Ordinances of Menu, According to the Gloss of Culluca. Comprising the Indian System of Duties, Religious and Civil, Verbally translated from the original Sanscrit, With a Preface, by Sir William Jones
-- Matsya, by Wikipedia
-- Sethona. A Tragedy. As it is Performed at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, by Alexander Dow
-- Menes [Mneues], by Wikipedia
-- Mannus, by Wikipedia
Matsya
Member of Dashavatara
Anthropomorphic depiction of Matsya as half-human, half-fish
Devanagari मत्स्य
Affiliation Vishnu (first avatar)
Weapon Sudarshan Chakra, Kaumodaki
Festivals Matsya Jayanti
Matsya (Sanskrit: मत्स्य, lit. fish) is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man Manu from a great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, often golden in color, or anthropomorphically with the torso of Vishnu connected to the rear half of a fish.
The earliest accounts of Matsya is mentioned in the Shatapatha Brahmana where Matsya is not associated with any particular deity. The fish-savior later merges with the identity of Brahma in post-Vedic era and still later transferred to Vishnu. The legends associated with Matsya expand, evolve and vary in Hindu texts. These legends have embedded symbolism, where a small fish with Manu's protection grows to become a big fish, and the fish saves earthly existence. In later versions, Matsya slays a demon who steals the sacred scriptures - the Vedas and thus lauded as the saviour of the scriptures.
The tale is in the tradition of the family of flood myths, common across cultures.
Matsya
As related in the main article, Matsya, the fish avatar of Vishnu, appears to Manu to warn him of an impending deluge. After being reared by and growing to an enormous size, Matsya then guides Manu's ship to safety at the peak of a mountain, where Manu re-establishes life through the performance of Vedic sacrificial rites (yajna). In Puranic accounts, Matsya also rescues the Vedas taken under the water, after they were stolen from Brahma by the Asura called Hayagriva (not to be confused with Hayagriva, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu). From the Shatapatha Brahmana:manave ha vai prātaḥ | avanegyamudakamājahruryathedam pāṇibhyāmavanejanāyāharantyevaṃ tasyāvanenijānasya matsyaḥ pāṇī āpede
sa hāsmai vācamuvāda | bibhṛhi mā pārayiṣyāmi tveti kasmānmā pārayiṣyasītyaugha imāḥ sarvāḥ prajā nirvoḍhā tatastvā pārayitāsmīti kathaṃ te bhṛtiriti
sa hovāca | yāvadvai kṣullakā bhavāmo bahvī vai nastāvannāṣṭrā bhavatyuta matsya eva matsyaṃ gilati kumbhyām māgre bibharāsi sa yadā tāmativardhā atha karṣūṃ khātvā tasyām mā bibharāsi sa yadā tāmativardhā atha mā samudramabhyavaharāsi tarhi vā atināṣṭro bhavitāsmīti
śaśvaddha kaṣa āsa | sa hi jyeṣṭhaṃ vardhate 'thetithīṃ samāṃ tadaugha āgantā tanmā nāvamupakalpyopāsāsai sa augha utthite nāvamāpadyāsai tatastvā pārayitāsmīti
—Satapatha Brahmnana, transliteration of Kanda I, Adhyaya VIII, Brahmana I ('The Ida'), Verses 1-4[14]
In the morning they brought to Manu water for washing, just as now also they (are wont to) bring (water) for washing the hands. When he was washing himself, a fish came into his hands.
It spake to him the word, 'Rear me, I will save thee!' 'Wherefrom wilt thou save me?' 'A flood will carry away all these creatures: from that I will save thee!' 'How am I to rear thee?'
It said, 'As long as we are small, there is great destruction for us: fish devours fish. Thou wilt first keep me in a jar. When I outgrow that, thou wilt dig a pit and keep me in it. When I outgrow that, thou wilt take me down to the sea, for then I shall be beyond destruction.'
It soon became a ghasha (a large fish); for that grows largest (of all fish). Thereupon it said, 'In such and such a year that flood will come. Thou shalt then attend to me (i.e. to my advice) by preparing a ship; and when the flood has risen thou shalt enter into the ship, and I will save thee from it.'
—Satapatha Brahmana, translation by Julius Eggeling (1900), Kanda I, Adhyaya VIII, Brahmana I ('The Ida'), Verses 1-4[47]Heinrich Julius Eggeling (1842–1918) was Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh from 1875 to 1914, second holder of its Regius Chair of Sanskrit, and Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, London.
Eggeling was translator and editor of the Satapatha Brahmana in 5 volumes of the monumental Sacred Books of the East series edited by Max Müller, author of the main article on Sanskrit in the Encyclopædia Britannica, and curator of the University Library from 1900 to 1913.
-- Julius Eggeling, by Wikipedia
Aiyangar explains that, in relation to the RigVeda, 'Sacrifice is metaphorically called [a] Ship and as Manu means man, the thinker, [so] the story seems to be a parable of the Ship of Sacrifice being the means for man's crossing the seas of his duritas, [meaning his] sins, and troubles'. SB 13.4.3.12 also mentions King Matsya Sammada, whose 'people are the water-dwellers... both fish and fishermen... it is these he instructs; - 'the Itihasa is the Veda'.'
-- Shatapatha Brahmana, by Wikipedia
The kala pani (lit. black water) represents the proscription of the over reaching seas in Hinduism. According to this prohibition, crossing the seas to foreign lands causes the loss of one's social respectability, as well as the putrefaction of one’s cultural character and posterity.
The offense of crossing the sea is also known as "Samudrolanghana" or "Sagarollanghana". The Dharma Sutra of Baudhayana (II.1.2.2) lists sea voyages as first of the offenses that cause the loss of varna. The Dharma Sutra suggests a person can wipe away this offense in three years by eating little at every fourth meal time; bathing at dawn, noon and dusk; standing during the day; and seated during the night.
The reasons behind the proscription include the inability to carry out the daily rituals of traditional Hindu life and the sin of contact with the characterless, uncivilized mleccha creatures of the foreign lands. An associated notion was that crossing the ocean entailed the end of the reincarnation cycle, as the traveler was cut off from the regenerating waters of the Ganges. Such voyages also meant breaking family and social ties. In another respect, the inhabitants of the land beyond the "black water" were houglis, bad-spirited and monstrous swines who could sometimes mask their true ugliness by presenting an illusion of physical beauty or superiority. The mleccha people were spawned by immoral reprobates and blasphemously held religious belief in nāstika, albeit in different forms. They are understood to have rejected the Vedas and have ceased to worship Bhagavan, the divine Vedic God, in favor of concocted false religions and irreligions with contemptible manners of reverence. Their societies are immoral and built on deceit, subjugation, and corruption. Therefore, it was thought that true Hindus should not come under their influence or embrace their beliefs, as they will be just as deserving of contempt as a mleccha.
During the Portuguese Age of exploration, Portuguese sailors noted that Hindus were reluctant to engage in maritime trade due to the kala pani proscription. In the eighteenth century, the banias of North India even considered the crossing of the Indus River at Attock to be prohibited, and underwent purification rituals upon their return.
-- Kala pani (taboo), by Wikipedia
Etymology
The deity Matsya derives his name from the word matsya (Sanskrit: मत्स्य), meaning "fish". Monier-Williams and R. Franco suggest that the words matsa and matsya, both meaning fish, derive from the root √mad, meaning "to rejoice, be glad, exult, delight or revel in". Thus, matsya meaning the "joyous one".[1][2][3] The Sanskrit grammarian and etymologist Yaska (circa 600 BCE) also refers to the same stating that fish are known as matsya as "they revel eating each other". Yaska also offers an alternate etymology of matsya as "floating in water" derived from the roots √syand (to float) and madhu (water).[4] The Sanskrit word matsya is cognate with Prakrit maccha ("fish").[5]
Legends and scriptural references
Vedic origins
Matsya, Central India, 9th - 10th century. British Museum.[6]
The section 1.8.1 of the Shatapatha Brahmana (Yajur veda) is the earliest extant text to mention Matsya and the flood myth in Hinduism. It does not associate the fish Matsya with any other deity in particular.[7] [Roy 2002, p. 79; Roy, J. (2002). Theory of Avatāra and Divinity of Chaitanya. Atlantic. ISBN 978-81-269-0169-2.] [8][9]
Chapter 3: The Avataras: Legends and Allegories
Excerpt from Theory of Avatara and Divinity of Chaitanya
by Janmajit Roy
© Janmajit Roy 2002
Chapter 3: The Avataras: Legends and Allegories
Allegorical elements [a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.] abound in the puranic accounts of the Avataras. In many cases, these elements are seen to have cropped up from the bottom to the surface, effecting thereby the original form, colour and meaning of the episodes and accounts relating to the Avataras. In the list of Visnu's ten major incarnations, that gradually became stereotyped in the midst of variations regarding the name and number of incarnations, the first five are conspicuously allegorical, while the other five appear to be mythohistorical. The first four zoomorphic Avataras betray distinct marks of allegory, while anthropomorphic Vamana, the fifth incarnation of this list, is an enlargement of the idea of Visnu's three strides, alluded to in the Rigveda. Even in the episodes of the mythohistorical Avataras, allegorical elements are sometimes very prominent and play a significant part in mystifying facts and events of nature and human existence. In the stories of many other incarnations, enumerated in the epico-puranic literature, allegories are markedly visible. Here, our principal purpose will be to follow the growth and development of the legends of the allegorical Avataras and to search for the allegorical elements in them and in so doing, we are mainly concerned with the nature and interpretation of these allegories.
An allegory is a description of a subject under the guise of another subject of suggestive resemblance.1 It is "a figurative representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal."2 The fable or parable is also treated as a short allegory with a definite moral.3 The Indian epics and puranas contain various kinds of allegories. In some of them, natural phenomena are allegorized, that is, represented under the guise of human episode or otherwise. In some cases, human heroes are allegorically portrayed as gods or demons with superhuman physical features, strength and mental power. There are also zoomorphic allegories, where natural objects or human beings are represented as animals. Then, there are astronomical allegories, in which some stars or astronomical phenomena are zoomorphically or anthropomorphically represented, forming an episode. Sometimes an abstract idea is translated in a language of word-pictures, which is also found in astronomical allegories. It is worthwhile to note that in India the inclination towards allegory is at least as old as the Rigveda. In a Rigvedic hymn, the rising of the moon in the sky is allegorically represented as a thousand-horned bull, rising from an ocean.4 The thousand horns probably stand for the countless stars, which are visible over the head of the moon. The ocean evidently symbolizes the sky.
Among the ten principal incarnations of Visnu, the Matsya or Fish incarnation happens to be first one. The earliest reference to the legend of the Fish occurs in the Satapatha Brahmana, though not as an incarnation of any particular deity. The legend, as contained in the Satapatha Brahmana, the Mahabharata, the Matsya and the Bhagavata Puranas, seems to have undergone certain changes in course of time. The original legend, believed to be of Babylonian origin by many scholars,5 seems to have been a secular legend, to which a religious meaning was subsequently accorded carefully to make it the vehicle of Bramanical thought and philosophy. It was only then that it began to acquire a new allegorical form. Wilkins points out that in the story of a wonderful fish, as told in the Satapatha Brahmana, the fish is not said to be an incarnation of any god.6 Holding the same view, Hopkins further remarks that in the story of the Satapatha Brahmana, "a grateful fish not alluded to as ancestor but explained as a fish that had once been saved from death by Manu, in turn saved Manu from death."7 It is evident that the original form of this legend is preserved in the Satapatha Brahmana, and has a secular character. The legend of the Fish incarnation is inseparably associated with the story of deluge or flood and, therefore, seems to have grown, in all probability, in a region where life was always threatened by flood. As a result of recurrence of flood, a fish-god as the only saviour during flood probably began to command respect of the common people, who used to take refuge in the deity. Flood was a common feature in ancient Egypt, the land of the Nile, and Babylon, the land of the Tigris and Euphrates. B.K. Kakati observes that the cult of fish-gods was widely diffused in the ancient civilizations of Babylon and Egypt.8 Hopkins rejects the view of Pischel that the fish-symbol is a relic of Hindu fish worship and further believes that it is likely to have come from Egypt.9 The Babylonian fish-god is Ea, who is said to have lived in the Persian gulf and to have come everyday ashore to instruct the people of the port of Eridu how to make canals and grow crops. The fish-god taught them the use of alphabet and mathematics and gave them their code of laws. The Babylonian civilization thus owes a great deal to the Ea worship.10 In ancient Egypt, fish was regarded as sacred and a phallic symbol.11 There can be no denying the close resemblance between the stories of deluge of Babylon and India, both being associated with fish-god. In the Babylonian story of flood, Ea, the fish-god, addressed his message to Pir-napishtim in a dream and warned him of the approaching flood. Ea instructed him how to save himself by building a ship wherein to take shelter. The tempest raged over the waters for six days and six nights. Then, on the seventh day, the waters receded and the storm ended. Pir-napishtim and his wife were saved.12 Another point of resemblance between the Babylonian and the Indian legends is the reference to ark or vessel. It inevitably leads to the supposition that the people, among whom the legend originated, were accustomed to navigation or sea voyage. The midland Aryans were not possibly sea-faring people, but the Yadus, an Aryan tribe, who are said to have lived in the coastal regions, probably were. It is said in the Rigveda that Indra brought Turvasa and Yadu over the sea.13 On the authority of the epico-puranic tradition, R.P. Chanda argues that the Yadavas were originally settled in Saurastra or the Kathiwar peninsula, wherefrom they spread to Mathura.14 The sea, which lies nearest to the land of the Yadavas, is the Arabian Sea. It is, therefore, a credible hypothesis that the Yadus and the Turvasas came across the Arabian Sea.15 They obviously represent a later group of immigrants and a separate religio-cultural community among the Vedic Aryans, who were not a homogeneous body. They seem to have lived in the midst of, and intermixed with, various language groups or races of Mesopotamia and other regions before or during the period of their settlement in the coastal area of south-western India. It is reasonable to assume that they could not but assimilate some foreign elements in their language and culture. As a result of this, they were not accorded a high position of esteem in the society of the orthodox Aryans of midland. This clearly accounts for the fact why Yadu and Turvasa are dubbed Dasas or barbarians and the Purus, another allied tribe, are called mrdhravaca or speakers of corrupt speech in the Rigveda.16 Citing the evidence of the Mahabharata, K. P. Chattopadhyaya remarks that "matrilineal descent and succession were prevalent among social groups, with whom the descendants of Puru and Yadu intermarried."17 He further points out that the mother of Puru was an Asura Princess and Puru has been called an Asura in the Satapatha Brahmana.18 It is evident that the tribes like Yadu and Turvasa were unorthodox and a mixed folk with Asura traits of culture. That the legend of the fish-god or deluge never occurs in a Rigveda may be treated as an evidence in favour of its un-Vedic or foreign origin. On the other hand, fish as an emblem is associated with the name of Kamadeva, who is called Makaradhvaja. Pradyumna, the Yadava hero, who is the incarnation of Kamadeva, is said to have had a second birth from the belly of a fish.19 It is also noteworthy that Pradyumna, the son of Krsna Vasudeva, has been emblematically represented as Makaradhvaja in the pillar capital discovered at Besnagar.20 Makara denotes a mythical crocodile or a horned fish. The discovery of cuneiform tablets from Boghaz-Kuei bears testimony to the existence of people of Aryan speech -- the Kings of Mitanni, worshipping the Vedic deities Mitra, Varuna, Indra and the Nasatyas in Mesopotamia in the 15th century B.C.21 It is not relevant here to know whether there was any westward movement of the Aryans from India to Mesopotamia or vice versa in the 15th century B.C. The Boghaz-Kuei tablets at least throw light on the possibility of intercourse between India and Mesopotamia in that remote antiquity.
Similar is the case with another reference to Vedic gods discovered by Hugo Winkler in Asia Minor in the beginning of the last century.
It is in the form of an inscription engraved in the 14th century BC in Asia Minor by way of consolidating a treaty between two kings belonging to Hittites and Mitannis. Suppiluliuma I of the Hittites entered into a treaty with the Mitannis. The Mittanis of the Amarna Tablets fame were linked to the significant power in the region -- Egypt. The Mittanis were the closely associated with the Egyptian Pharaohs by marriage and they were also Indo-Aryans.
What is special about this treaty is that Vedic Gods like Indra, Varuna and are referred to as In-da-ra, Mi-ta-ra, U-ru-van and Na-sa-ti-ya. The Ashwini twins were invoked to bless and witness the treaty. The names are obviously Vedic, with of course slight phonetic variations.
The problem is whether the gods were entered into the inscription by a pre-Vedic clan of the Aryans left in Asia Minor while the rest travelled over to Iran and India or they travelled along with their believers to the land of the inscription from India herself. Generally the scholars have gone in favour of the first alternative.
But strong points in favour of the second alternative are that the names entered into the inscription are exactly in the same order in which hymns relating to these deities are arranged in the Rigveda, particularly in its older part and that the form in which the names have been spelled in the inscription seem to be a phonetic corruption over the Vedic one.
Whatever the sequence of events, only further acquisition of evidence would decide. But what we cannot refuse to admit is that as early as in the 14th Century BC the gods have been invoked as superhuman beings capable of acting as mediators for ages to come between two warring princely families.
The Hittites who had become past masters at treaties did not invoke these Gods with any other kingdom -- except the Mitannis. Hittites and Mitannis were Indo-Aryan kingdoms -- in full presence, with their Vedic Gods and culture.
But besides being controversial as regards their sequence in relation to the Veda, neither the Harappan tablet nor the Boghaz Kol inscription is helpful in understanding the history of the gods. They are just solitary remains left by the stream of history coming down from a much earlier period for which, however, we have no other evidence in this regard except certain verbal affinities among the different branches of the Indo-European language.
A comparative study of these languages shows affinity between Dyaus and Zeus or Jupiter, Ushas and Eos, Surya and Hellos, Bhaga and Baga, Varuna and Uranus, Marut and Mars, etc. Just like the Boghaz Koi inscription, these affinities also may have a twofold implication. It is possible that they are due to a common Indo-European language spoken by the Aryans including the Indian branch before their separation.
But it may also possibly be due to the Aryans travelling abroad from India herself and taking along with them the entire culture including the language and the deities. While the second alternative partly implies the possibility of the Vedic gods travelling over to Iran, Greece and other European countries and assuming the form of these deities, both alternatives show a greater possibility of the presence of these gods and the pre-Vedic era.
This is also confirmed by certain of Rigvedic seers referring to their forefathers as worshippers of the same gods. But, whatever the chronological order, from this source also what we get regarding the gods is that they were worshipped as extraterrestrial superhuman beings leading a blessed life far away from man and having some inclination to do good to man if, of course, duly appeased. Very little, however, can be gathered from them regarding their origin and other related problems.
Hence, ultimately one has to come back to the Veda itself as the last resort to understand the phenomenology of gods and goddesses. To offer prayers to the divine by admitting him as a superhuman agency, is quite easy and can be found anywhere in the world, irrespective of the age. But to the dive deep into the mystery of his being is something else which has been the conclusive privilege of India.
The Vedas form the Inexhaustible fountainhead of the stream of this enquiry.
-- History of Gods and Goddesses of Ancient India: The Boghaz Koi Inscription, by sanskritmagazine.com
R.P. Chanda further points out that India had coastal trade links with the port of Eridu.22 We have already seen that Eridu is said to be protected by the Babylonian fish-god Ea. The deluge of the Babylonian legend was a historical reality. The excavations, carried out by Leonard Woolley, have revealed that there was a devastating flood which occurred as early as 3200 B.C. in the lower valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, affecting an area four hundred miles long and one hundred miles wide. Woolley identifies the flood to be the Flood of Sumerian history and legend, which is the basis of the story of Noah.23 In the remote antiquity, when there was no written literature, myths and legends could freely travel from one place to another like winged birds. It is easy to surmise that a section of the Vedic Aryans may have collected the legend of flood and the fish-god from Eridu or some other place of Mesopotamia during their intercourse with other races. The people of the Indus Valley are believed to have maintained trade contacts with Sumerian Ur, Kish and Egypt.24
The probability of the Harappan or Dravidian source of the legend may also be considered. In this regard, the view of N.K. Dutt is worthy of notice. He observes that the two words, mina or fish and nira or water, which are the two principal elements in the legend, are words of Dravidian origin.25 In the seals of the Indus Valley, fish as a sign has been repeatedly used with slight variations in forms.26 The view of Heras that most of the people of the Indus Valley belonged to the community of Meina, denoting fish, seems far-fetched.27 With the Indus Valley people, fish is believed to have been a common cereal and fishing, a regular occupation.28 Reference to Satyavrata Manu as the lord of Dravida in the Bhagavata and other puranas and mention of the river Nerbudda and the mountain Malaya in the extreme south point to the legend's Dravidian connection.29 It is, therefore, not improbable that the Vedic people borrowed some legends indirectly from the people of the Indus Valley through their supposed cultural successors, the Dravidians and later made them the vehicle of their own religious ideas. The Fish incarnation of the puranic legend is described as possessing a horn. The Boar incarnation is similarly described as one-horned. On account of this horn, the Fish and the Boar incarnations transcend the reality of actual animals and turn out to be mythical creatures as well as allegorical representations. In this regard, they bear close affinity with unicorn, the mythical animal of the Indus Valley.
The legend of the Matsya incarnation, as preserved in the Mahabharata and other puranas, has some variations. The legend of the Satapatha Brahmana, is, no doubt, the earliest version of this event. The most noteworthy aspect of it is that the fish is not represented here as an incarnatory form of Visnu. The legend seems to have been adopted by the Brahmanical hierarchy because it was found allegorically representing some of their own religious thoughts and ideas. One such idea represents water as the first principle of creation. This is found in the Rigvedic hymns. It is said in a hymn addressed to Visvakarman that the sky and waters contained the primordial germ of the universe, placed at the navel of the unborn creator.30 Another hymn says that Hiranyagarbha, the first-born monotheistic deity, arose out of great waters pervading the universe.31 The well-known Nasadiya hymn also narrates that in the beginning of creation, there existed all-pervading waters.32 As a probable source of the Vedic cosmogonic or creational myths, the case of the pre-Aryan Austric people of India has been suggested.33 But whatever be the source, the Vedic cosmogonic idea representing water as the first principle of creation persists even in the epics and puranas. Thus, the story of deluge and the fish-god, even though of foreign origin, finds a parallel in the Vedic and puranic cosmogonic myth, representing the universe emerging out of waters.In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
-- Genesis 1:1
The cosmogonic idea, as developed and stereotyped in the puranas states that creation and dissolution of the universe go in a cyclic order. According to the Visnu Purana, Narayana, in the person of Brahma, created all existent things.34 Krta, Treta, Dvapara and Kali are the four ages and they jointly constitute a great age. A thousand such great ages constitute a day of Brahma, also known as Kalpa, accommodating fourteen Manus within the period.35 At the end of a day of Brahma or Kalpa, which is said to be of 4,320,000,000 years,36 a dissolution of the universe takes place and then elapses a night of Brahma of equal duration, at the end of which he creates the universe anew.37 A Kalpa, thus, comprising fourteen Manvantaras or one thousand great ages is succeeded by a night of similar duration, during which Janardana sleeps upon the serpent Sesa in the midst of an ocean.38 It is noteworthy that in the Mahabharata as also the puranas, the legend of deluge and the fish-god has been transformed into a cosmogonic myth. In the Vedic cosmogonic myth, the great waters allegorize an abstract notion. In the epic and puranic versions of the legend of deluge, the great flood allegorizes dissolution of the world. The Fish incarnation is thus rightly enumerated as the first incarnation, allegorizing Brahma or Narayana, who creates the world anew after dissolution. Thus, it is reasonable to lend support to Hopkins' view that in the Hindu story of flood "religion has utilized an old historic myth."39 Association of Manu with the legend hints at the reign of a new Manu at the end of a Manvantara.
The account of the Matsya incarnation as given in the Mahabharata states that Brahma assumed the form of fish. But all the puranas agree in declaring the Fish to be an incarnation of Visnu, and not of Brahma. Wilson believes that the account of the Fish incarnation in the Matsya Purana is prior to that of the Mahabharata, though greater portions of the epic are much older than the extant puranas.40 In the legend of the Mahabharata, Manu Vaivasvata practised austerities at the Badarikasrama for ten thousand years. One day, a small fish, scared of the bigger fishes, appeared to him and asked for his protection, for which the fish promised return of favour. Manu placed the fish in an earthen jar. Soon, the fish became so big that the jar could not accommodate it. Manu put the fish in a lake, which also became unspacious for it very soon. Manu then, threw the fish in the river Ganga. After some time, the fish requested Manu to give it a more spacious asylum as it had grown vast in size. Manu dropped it in the sea. The fish then predicted to Manu of the impending deluge and destruction of the world and advised him to build a ship, wherein to take refuge with the seven Sages and various kinds of seeds. The flood occurred and Manu fastened his ship to the horn of the fish with a rope as directed. The fish propelled the vessel across the raging waters for many years and finally the ship arrived at the peak of the Himavan [Himalayan Mountains]. The Fish at last revealed his identity as Brahma.41
A comparison of the Mahabharata account with those of the Matsya and the Bhagavata Puranas brings to light certain points of disagreement. It also becomes clear that new elements were gradually brought into the legend and slight changes occasioned so as to allegorize the Brahmanical ideas. Both the Mahabharata and the Matsya Purana agree in ascribing a horn to the fish.42 The Bhagavata Purana also is in agreement with them.43 The horn, as a distinguishing auspicious mark, adds religious sacredness to the fish. In the Mahabharata, Manu fastened his vessel with a rope. But in the puranas, a serpent is mentioned as cord, wherewith to tie the ark to the horn of the fish.44 The Bhagavata Purana goes a step further in calling the serpent the great snake Vasuki.45 In the Mahabharata, it is simply said that Manu collected the seeds of existing things in the vessel. But in the Matsya Purana, Manu collected the seeds by the power of yoga.46 The puranic account is explicitly allegorical. Thus the Matsya account declares the ship of Manu to be the ship of the Vedas.47 Obviously, Manu's boat has been intended to allegorize the rites and ceremonies of the Vedas. The Bhagavata Purana introduced a new element by declaring that the Fish incarnation recovered the Vedas from the demon Hayagriva, who had stolen the Vedas from Brahma and had been finally killed by the Fish.48 The Rigveda refers to the celestial ship or daiva nava, which is described as a ship with a good rudder, worthy of offering safety.49 The hymn also mentions Manu, the son of Vivasvan.50 In the Vedic mythology, the celestial ship may be taken as an astronomical allegory. It has been suggested that the boat of Manu and the Fish in the epico-puranic legend allegorically represent the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor respectively. The legend is construed as pointing to a remote period of antiquity when Alpha Draconis was the Pole Star.51 The term simsumara, which occurs in the Rigveda in the sense of an aquatic creature like crocodile, may be an allegorical representation of the Ursa Minor.52
The legend of the Tortoise of Kurma incarnation, as told in the Mahabharata and the puranas, cannot conceal its allegorical character. The roots of the this legend can be traced to the later Vedic as well as the Brahmanical literature. But, by and large, it does not appear to be of Indo-Aryan origin. The Satapatha Brahmana contains the germs of this legend. There it is cryptically represented as a cosmogonic myth with Prajapati as the main character.53 The account represents Prajapati as desirous of generating the earth from waters. A similar idea has been already observed in the Rigvedic hymn revealing cosmogonic myths. The Satapatha Brahmana (vii. 5.1.5.) further states that Kurma, whose form is assumed by Prajapati, is the same as Kasyapa and hence all creatures are said to be descended from Kasyapa.54 At another place (vii .5.1.6), it declares that tortoise is the same as the Sun.55 Then, again, Kurma or tortoise is identified with breath, which makes all the creatures.56 Here, it is not difficult to discover a blend of certain ideas, indicative of both Aryan and non-Aryan sources. Prajapati is commonly declared as the god of creation or generation.57 What the text of the Satapatha Brahmana highlights is a careful blend of different creational myths, in which Prajapati, Kurma or tortoise and Kasyapa, denoting a mythical progenitor, the sun, and lastly, the breath are described as the primordial objects or causes, from which the origin of the world as well as the descent of all creatures is traced. It is again a curious fact that Kurma has been portrayed as allegorizing the sun. Solar allegory is a peculiar feature of the Indo-Aryan mind. Identification of Kurma with the sun may be taken as an attempt to synthesize a pre-Aryan cosmogonic idea with the Vedic solar allegory. The idea underlying such identification may be that the sky is an ocean and the sun is a tortoise of that ocean. Kurma as breath may be construed as indicating some yogic technique of holding the breath or pranayama, which is best symbolized by a tortoise. As a tortoise conceals periodically its head and feet within its shell, so does Prajapati, the creator, at the time of dissolution of the universe. Like a tortoise, revealing its head and feet from within its shell, Prajapati also manifests the universe from within his body. This cosmogonic idea may be at the root of Prajapati's zoomorphic representation as a tortoise. Deeds ascribed to Prajapati have been later transferred to Visnu, who replaced the former in course of time. Jacobi suggests that the reason of Prajapati's assuming the form of a tortoise or a boar "may have been that his primitive worship had been of a zoomorphic character at least with some classes of the people."58
Pargiter analyses the epico-puranic genealogy of Kasyapas and remarks that there are two genealogies of the Kasyapas, one of which is wholly mythical and the other deals with historical members of that family of priests.59 The mythical sage Kasyapa is said to be descended from Brahma's son Marici and is alleged to be the progenitor of all beings including the family of Kasyapas.60 On the evidence of the Vamsa Brahmana of the Samaveda and the Satapatha Brahmana, S.N. Pradhan, on the other hand, develops a chronological list of the Kasyapas.61 It is a curious fact that many of this list are connected with the legends of the Avataras growing in the Eastern India. Rsyasringa Kasyapa is said to have officiated at the putresti sacrifice instituted by Dasaratha and, as a result of this, Rama and his brothers were born.62 Rsyasringa also performed a sacrifice for Lomapada Anga to remove a long drought. He lived in the territory of Anga, an eastern kingdom and his father Vibhandaka had his hermitage on the river Kausiki or modern Kusi in Bihar.63 Both Narada and Sandilya, who figure prominently in the legends of the Avataras and are connected traditionally with the cult of bhakti or devotion, are also Kasyapas.64 Krsna Vasudeva's teacher Sandipani is also said to be a Kasyapa in the Bhagavata Purana.65 Both Uddalaka Aruni and Yajnavalkya, representing the fourteenth and the fifteenth steps in the chronological order of discipleship from Vibhandaka Kasyapa66 are connected with the eastern kingdom of Videha.67 It is said in the epic that Parasurama gave the earth as fee to Kasyapa, who was the officiating priest at a sacrifice of the former after his extermination of the Ksatriyas.68 Visnu is said to have incarnated himself as the son of Kasyapa and Aditi in the form of Vamana.69
We have, therefore, a good number of evidences in the recorded tradition to support this surmise that the legend of the Kurma incarnation, some cosmogonic ideas and some other legends and elements in the stories of the incarnations were current among the Kasyapas, who possibly borrowed and absorbed various indigenous pre-Aryan myths and legends of the people of Anga, Videha and other eastern kingdoms. Many of these indigenous myths and legends, as found in the epics and the puranas, seem to have been changed and Brahmanized to a greater or lesser extent. The view of S.K. Chatterji in this context merits serious attention. He observes, "In the domain of myth and legend, a number of Austric notions and tales appear to have survived in the myths of the Puranas and of the popular Hinduism. The legends of the creation of the world from an egg or eggs, of the Avataras or incarnations of Visnu, e.g. that of the tortoise incarnation, of the princess smelling of fish (matsya-gandha), of the Nagas as serpent spirits of the waters and the underworld, and many more, which do not form part of the Aryan or Indo-European inheritance in Hinduism, and do not seem to have come from the Dravidian world either, can reasonably be expected to have been derived from the Austric or Proto-Australoid world."70 It is also reasonable to infer that in some puranic myths and legends, there is an amalgamation of Austro-Dravidian materials.Austric languages, hypothetical language superfamily that includes the Austroasiatic and Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language families. The languages of these two families are spoken in an area extending from the island of Madagascar in the west to Easter Island in the east and as far northward as the Himalayas. This classification scheme, proposed in 1906 by the German priest and anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt, is not generally accepted.
-- Austric languages, by Britannica
The legend of the Kurma incarnation is associated with the story of the churning of ocean, which is manifestly an allegory in its present form. The legend may be summarised here.
In a war with the Danavas or demons, the gods being vanquished fled for refuge to Brahma, who advised the deities to repair for protection to the immortal and unconquerable Visnu. Visnu instructed the gods to churn the ocean of milk for ambrosia in collaboration with the Asuras. As advised, the Devas made an alliance with the Asuras and began to churn jointly the sea of milk by using the mountain Mandara as the churning stick and the great serpent Vasuki as the cord. The divinities took the tail of Vasuki and the demons took the head and neck of the serpent during the act of churning. As a consequence, the Asuras became scorched by the poisonous flames emitted from the mouth of Vasuki, and the Devas, on the other hand, were invigorated. In the midst of the ocean of milk, Visnu assumed the form of a tortoise and supported the mountain Mandara on his back. As the churning continued, fourteen precious articles appeared on the surface. But no sooner had Dhanvantari appeared with the bowl of nectar than the gods and the demons rushed towards him. The Asuras forcibly seized the cup of ambrosia. Then Visnu assumed the form of a beautiful damsel and deluded them. He recovered the bowl of ambrosia and delivered it to the gods. Rahu, a wicked demon, disguised himself as a god and got a share of the drink. But as soon as the drink entered his throat, the sun and the moon detected the fraud and disclosed it to Visnu, who cut the head of the demon. Brahma, however, transformed the demon into a planet. There ensued after this a severe fight between the Devas and the Asuras. The Devas, invigorated by the ambrosial draught, defeated their enemies, who were forced to plunge into the subterraneous sphere of Patala.
The above is but a general account of the narrative as given in the Mahabharata, the Visnu and the Bhagavata Puranas.71 There can be found many variations and novelties in the different versions of the narratives, to which Wilson draws our attention.72 The Visnu Purana mentions elaborately and the Bhagavata Purana refers but cursorily to the anger and curse of sage Durvasa, to whom is attributed the loss of property of the gods and their defeat at the hands of the demons. No mention of Durvasa's curse occurs in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa or the Matsya Purana. The epic and the puranas generally agree in ascribing the occurrence of the churning of ocean to the desire of the Devas and the Asuras for gaining immortality. There is also some variety as to the order and number of articles produced from the ocean. Dhanvantari, who is said to have appeared with his bowl of ambrosia during the churning, is called an incarnation in the Bhagavata Purana. More striking is the reference as incarnation to the form of a beautiful maiden, assumed by Visnu for alluring the demons during the churning of milky sea.73 It is further said of Visnu that not only did he enter the ocean and serve as a pivot for the mountain Mandara in the form of a tortoise, but sustained Vasuki, the serpent king and the mountain Mandara and infused vigour into the gods and the demons with his portions of energy.74 The Matsya Purana mentions Sesa, the serpent as a variant for Vasuki and regards both the tortoise and the serpent as born in the portions of Visnu.75 All these references prove that attempts were made to make an old indigenous legend conform to the new Brahmanical ideas, which were also not very steady. Due to this lack of fixation of the central idea, it is said that not only the tortoise, but Dhanvantari and the beautiful maiden were also Visnu's incarnatory forms and Vasuki, mountain Mandara and the Devas and the Asuras were pervaded by the portions of Visnu's energy. However, the idea of the Tortoise as the major incarnatory form of Visnu outlustered other contending ideas and became ultimately stereotyped in the enumeration of the ten principal incarnations.
It is curious to notice in the Mahabharata another legend in which tortoise is represented not as an incarnation but as fighting ceaselessly with an elephant. The great bird Garuda, the vehicle of Visnu and the Son of Kasyapa by Vinata is projected into the epic as the capturer of elephant and tortoise and saviour of the Balakhilyas, the pigmy sages.76 Influence of some indigenous myth on the legend may be assumed on account of its connection with bird, elephant and tortoise. In its present epic form, however, the elephant and the tortoise may be construed as typifying cloud and the earth respectively, thus bringing into focus some cosmogonic idea, rooted in the Rigveda. In another similar puranic legend, mention is made of a crocodile, in place of tortoise engaged in fighting with an elephant, alleged to have been in the previous birth the Pandya king Indradyumna, the best of the Davidas and a devotee of Visnu.77 The Matsya, the Agni and the Naradiya Puranas unanimously state that Janardana or Hari narrated the Kurma Purana in the form of Tortoise through the story of Indradymna.78 Tortoise is thus connected with Indradyumna, whom the Bhagavata Purana describes as a king of the Pandyas and as a Dravida. This obviously points to the Dravidian or Austro-Dravidian origin of such legends as refer to tortoise as a mythical or sacred animal.
Fanciful etymologization [The origin and historical development of a word; the derivation.] occurs very often in the epics and the puranas to account for the root of certain words and is employed as a tool for Sanskritization and propagation of Brahmanical ideas. The word kasyapa occurs in the Atharvaveda and the later Vedic and Brahmanical literature in the sense of tortoise.79 But still fanciful etymologization can be found in the puranas to explain the formation of this word.80 Similar is the case with the word kurma, formation of which is explained artificially in the Brahmanical text.81 The use of the word kurma-vibhaga by Varahamihira in his treatment of the topography of India is possibly due to the belief that "the shape of the globe corresponds to that of a tortoise lying outspread with his face towards the east."82 Kern, however, suggests that the word kurma is of Indo-European origin. He says, "The word kurma is the specific Sanskrit form of a word once common to all Indo-European tongues, viz., Kurma, Lat. culmus, Teuton. holm, etc. It does not originally denote the tortoise itself, but its back, for the proper meaning is 'mound, buckle, half-globe, holm.' Even in Sanskrit in such compounds as kurmonnata, the word signifies the form of the back of a tortoise."83 On the strength of Kern's line of interpretation, it may be conjectured that the idea behind Visnu's assuming the form of a tortoise at the bottom of the milky sea during churning was that the earth emerged out of waters like the back of a tortoise. A primitive geological concept and a cosmogonic myth seem to be blended in the legend.
Varaha is regarded as one of the principal incarnations of Visnu. The central idea, which the legend of this incarnation highlights, is similar in many respects to that of the legend of Kurma. In the Ramayana, for example, the Boar incarnation is mentioned in the backdrop of a cosmogonic myth. It is said that in the beginning everything was full of waters, out of which the earth was made. Then, along with the deities was born Brahma, who assumed the form of a boar and rescued the earth from waters.84 The puranas also express the same idea.85 But, at the same time, the legend is associated there with the story of the killing of a demon called Hiranyaksa. Hiranyaksa is a mythical demon, possibly incorporated into the legend to give expression to the Vedic solar allegory. The roots of the Varaha incarnation, however, can be traced to the Vedic and the Brahmanical literature.86
In a Rigvedic hymn, Rudra is called the boar of the sky or heaven.88 This is obviously an allegory, to which we may turn later. We have already said in our foregoing discussion in Chapter I that boar cannot be taken as a representative of the Rudra-Siva cult, because the animal finds mention in hymns, addressed to Indra.88 in the famous Vrsakapi hymn, it is said that the dog, eager to chase a boar, has bitten Vrsakapi at his ear.89 The nexus between Vrsakapi and boar in the hymn is prima facie not intelligible, but still the idea in an altered form persists in the puranic text, where Vrsakapi is said to have rescued the earth in the form of a boar.90 In a hymn, Trita, endowed with the spirit of Indra, is said to have slain the boar.91 In another hymn, Visnu is described as having pierced the boar.92 None of these references points in any way to the myth of Visnu's rescuing the earth from waters in the shape of a boar. The origin of the idea of rescuing or raising the earth from waters, attributed variously to Prajapati Brahma or Visnu, can be found for the first time in the Taittiriya Samhita.93
The Taittiriya Samhita states that the earth was formerly water or fluid and on it Prajapati moved in the form of wind. Seeing the earth submerged, Prajapati became a boar and raised it:apo va idamagre salilamasittasmin prajapatirvayurbhutva, carat sa imamapasyattam varaho bhuttva harattam..."94In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters...
And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky....
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
-- Genesis 1:1
This may be treated as the nucleus, around which the legend of Varatha began to grow in course of time. The Rigvedic passages, as referred to above, show no cardinal point in the nebulous myth of Varaha, that was just in the process of crystallization. In harmony with the Taittiriya Samhita, a stage of gradual development of the legend can be observed in the Taittriya Brahmana.95 The Satapatha Brahmana also contains a similar legend, where the boar is called Emusa.
The idea of assumption of the form of a boar by Prajapati or Brahma or Visnu with a view to upraising the earth turned out to be the central idea in the legend of the Boar incarnation in the puranas. It is nonetheless true that gradually new elements began to be piled up around the legend and certain variations were thus occasioned. The Visnu Purana describes the Boar incarnation as the lotus-eyed Great Boar or Mahavarsha, who rose from beneath the lowest region like the great Nila mountain and uplifted the earth on his tusk.96 The account of the Visnu Purana may be given here in a nutshell.
Being desirous of raising up the earth which lay within waters, Narayana took the figure of a boar as he had assumed the form of a fish or a tortoise in the previous Kalpas. Assuming a form composed of the sacrifices of the Vedas, for the preservation of the whole earth, Narayana plunged into the ocean. The earth bowed in devout adoration to the deity. Hymned and eulogized by the earth, the god raised it quickly and placed it on the summit of the ocean, where it floats like a mighty vessel. The eternal deity levelled the earth, divided it into seven great portions and accomplished the creation.97Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
-- Genesis 1:2
It is curious to notice that the Bhagavata Purana provides a more explicit allegorical description of the Varaha incarnation as emerging out of the nostrils of Brahma, as tiny in size as a thumb, but soon expanding like an elephant in the sky. Beholding the form of Varaha, Brahma, Marici, Sanaka, Manu and the rest began to argue in great amazement who the divine creature was and whether this was Visnu. When Brahma was thus engaged in argument with his sons, the divinity, the soul of sacrifice, with his mountainous body, burst out roaring. The fact that the roar of the illusory Boar was exactly like that of an actual boar robbed Brahma and the sages of their suspicion. The Boar was hymned by the sages.98
The account of the Harivamsa is also in most respects similar to those of the Visnu, the Matsya and the Bhagavata Puranas. The legend of the killing of Hiranyaksa is not, however, unknown to the other puranas. But [size=105][b]a detailed account is given only in the Bhagavata Purana,99 while the Vayu Purana contains but a cryptic and cursory reference, adducing proof for the legend's antiquity.100 The legend of Hiranyaksa appears to be a subsequent insertion and is put in a historical garb. Even if some allowance is given for a historical nucleus in the legend, the allegorical elements are so prominent in it that it can be best construed as typifying a fight between the cloud and the scorching heat of the summer.
cont'd. below