Canto 8: Withdrawal of the Cosmic CreationsChapter 24: Matsya, the Lord's Fish Incarnation

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.24.10

tatra rāja-ṛṣiḥ kaścin

nāmnā satyavrato mahān

nārāyaṇa-paro 'tapat

tapaḥ sa salilāśanaḥ

SYNONYMS

tatrain that connection; rāja-ṛṣiḥa king equally qualified as a great saintly person; kaścit — someone; nāmnā — by the name; satyavrataḥ — Satyavrata; mahāna great personality; nārāyaṇa-paraḥa great devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atapat — performed austerities; tapaḥ — penances; saḥhe; salila-āśanaḥ — only drinking water.

TRANSLATION

During the Cākṣuṣa-manvantara there was a great king named Satyavrata who was a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Satyavrata performed austerities by subsisting only on water.

PURPORT

The Lord assumed one fish incarnation to save the Vedas at the beginning of the Svāyambhuva-manvantara, and at the end of the Cākṣuṣa-manvantara the Lord again assumed the form of a fish just to favor the great king named Satyavrata. As there were two incarnations of Varāha, there were also two incarnations of fish. The Lord appeared as one fish incarnation to save the Vedas by killing Hayagrīva, and He assumed the other fish incarnation to show favor to King Satyavrata.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness