Canto 8: Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations | Chapter 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
tatra — in that connection; rāja-ṛṣiḥ — a king equally qualified as a great saintly person; kaścit — someone; nāmnā — by the name; satyavrataḥ — Satyavrata; mahān — a great personality; nārāyaṇa-paraḥ — a great devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; atapat — performed austerities; tapaḥ — penances; saḥ — he; 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