Scientific name

Teleostei (sub-class): genera not  Known

Common name

Fish

Hindi

Machli

Sanskrit

Matsya

Distribution

Salt and fresh water

Religious association

Matsya Narayana

Matsya is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu in the form of a fish, preceding Kurma(Tortoise). There are only two temples to Matsya, one of which is the Shankhodara temple at Bet Dwarka in Gujarat.

One of the eight auspicious signs (ashtamangala) of Mahayana Buddhism is a pair of golden fish called suvarna matsya. The Mahayana goddess Varahi holds a Rohita fish in her right hand. This is probably influenced by Tantricism where the fish is one of the five essentials.

Tirthankara Aranatha

The emblem of the eighteenth Jain Tirthankara Aranatha is the fish.