Fishing festivals, about 9 Apr 2027
Matsya Jayanti
The Hindu day honouring Matsya, the fish form of Vishnu, kept on the third day of the bright half of Chaitra.
In Hindu tradition Matsya is the first of the ten avatars of Vishnu: a small fish that asks the sage Manu for protection, grows vast, and tows his boat to safety through a great flood. Matsya Jayanti is kept on Chaitra Shukla Tritiya, in March or April, with prayers at Vishnu temples. The story is one of many links between fish and faith in India, where temple ponds and river stretches beside shrines are often fish sanctuaries in which mahseer may not be caught. Almanacs give 8 or 9 April for 2027.
Fish tied to Matsya Jayanti
Still to be written: Tor khudree, Torinae.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Golden mahseer: Khalid Mahmood, CC BY-SA 4.0, source