Ancient text
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 2
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The forest book of the Mahabharata. The exiled heroes travel to holy places and hear tales from sages, including a story of a flood and a fish. This is the second part of it.
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Why we can share it: Project Gutenberg record: 'Copyright Status: Public domain in the USA.' Translation published 1883-1896 (text states [1883-1896]); Ganguli died 1908.
Read the story behind it
EventManu and Matsya (the fish)In the oldest Indian flood story, humanity's savior is a fish small enough to fit in a man's cupped hands. Manu raises it in a jar, then a trench, then the sea, and when the waters rise he ties his ship's rope to its horn; scholars debate whether the tale was borrowed from Mesopotamia. Where does the fish tow him?ObjectSaubha, the flying cityKing Salva's flying city in the Mahabharata is said to appear in the sky, on the ground and on the water, sometimes within the same battle, raining weapons on Krishna's city. Krishna's arrows seem to do nothing; scholars see an epic sky-fortress, not a memory of technology. What finally breaks it?EventKali YugaThe present age in Hindu tradition lasts 432,000 years, which matches exactly the 432,000 years the Babylonian priest Berossus gave to the kings before the Flood. By tradition it began in 3102 BCE, the year Krishna left the earth; historians suggest a shared base-60 number, not a link. What else could explain it?
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