India: Lord Matsya, the first Avatar of Vishnu, Uttar Pradesh c. 1870

According to the Matsya Purana, the king of pre-ancient Dravida and a devotee of Vishnu, Satyavrata who later was known as Manu was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and pleaded with him to save its life.

He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew. He then moved it to a tank, a river and then finally the ocean but to no avail. The fish then revealed himself to be Vishnu and told him that a deluge would occur within seven days that would destroy all life. Therefore, Satyavrata was instructed to take 'all medicinal herbs, all the varieties of seeds, and accompanied by the seven saints' along with the serpent Vasuki and other animals. Lord Matsya is generally represented as a four-armed figure with the upper torso of a man and the lower of a fish.

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