Shri Matsya Jayanti 2160: Pomona, California

Shri Matsya Jayanti commemorates the appearance of Lord Vishnu's first avatar, Matsya (the divine fish), observed on Chaitra Shukla Tritiya.

According to the Puranic legend, at the end of an age, King Satyavrata (later known as Manu, the progenitor of humankind) was performing his ablutions in a river when a tiny fish swam into his hands and begged for protection from larger fish. Moved by compassion, Satyavrata sheltered the fish, which grew rapidly, first requiring a pot, then a pond, then a river, and finally the ocean itself to contain it. Recognising the fish as Lord Vishnu in disguise, Satyavrata asked why he had taken this form.

Vishnu revealed that a great deluge was approaching that would dissolve the world, and instructed Satyavrata to build a boat, gather the seven great sages, seeds of all vegetation, and pairs of every living creature. When the flood came, Vishnu, in his Matsya form, towed the boat to safety, guiding it to the peak of the Himalayas, and imparted the eternal knowledge of the Vedas to Satyavrata to preserve it for the next cycle of creation.