A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.35

c11.35

A most interesting legend which reappears in the *Mahābhārata*, that of the Deluge, is here told for the first time in Indian literature, though it seems to be alluded to in the *Atharva-veda*, while it is known even to the Avesta. This myth is generally regarded as derived from a Semitic source. It tells how Manu once came into possession of a small fish, which asked him to rear it, and promised to save him from the coming flood. Having built a ship in accordance with the fish's advice, he entered it when the deluge arose, and was finally guided to the Northern Mountain by the fish, to whose horn he had tied his ship. Manu subsequently became the progenitor of mankind through his daughter.