Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c17.s1.4

v1.c17.s1.4

Deluge Legend.—The Genesis ¹ of India commences with an event described in the history of almost all nations, the deluge, which, though treated with the fancy peculiar to the orientals, is not the less entitled to attention. The essence of the extract from the Agni Purana is this : “ When ocean quitted his bounds and caused universal destruction by Brahma’s command, Vaivaswata ² Manu (Noah), who dwelt near the Himalaya ³ mountains was giving water to the gods in the Kritamala river, when a small fish fell into his hand. A voice commanded him to preserve it. The fish expanded to an enormous size. Manu, with his sons and their wives, and the sages, with the seed of every living thing, entered into a vessel which was fastened to a horn on the head of the fish, and thus they were preserved.”