I am unable to move about in the Ganga on account of my
great body; therefore, worshipful sir, do thou please take me quickly to
the sea!" O son of Pritha, Manu then taking it out of the Ganga, carried
it to the sea and consigned it there. And despite its great bulk, Manu
transported it easily and its touch and smell were also pleasant to him.
And when it was thrown into the sea by Manu, it said these words to him
with a smile, "O adorable being, thou hast protected me with special
care; do thou now listen to me as to what thou shouldst do in the
fulness of time! O fortunate and worshipful sir, the dissolution of all
this mobile and immobile world is nigh at hand. The time for the purging
of this world is now ripe. Therefore do I now explain what is good for
thee! The mobile and immobile divisions of the creation, those that have
the power of locomotion, and those that have it not, of all these the
terrible doom hath now approached. Thou shall build a strong massive ark
and have it furnished with a long rope. On that must thou ascend, O
great _Muni_, with the seven _Rishis_ and take with thee all the
different seeds which were enumerated by regenerate Brahmanas in days of
yore, and separately and carefully must thou preserve them therein. And
whilst there, O beloved of the _Munis_, thou shall wait for me, and I
shall appear to thee like a horned animal, and thus, O ascetic, shall
thou recognise me! And I shall now depart, and thou shall act according
to my instructions, for, without my assistance, thou canst not save
thyself from that fearful flood." Then Manu said unto the fish, "I do
not doubt all that thou hast said, O great one! Even so shall I act!"
And giving instructions to each other, they both went away. And Manu
then, O great and powerful king and conqueror of thy enemies, procured
all the different seeds as directed by the fish, and set sail in an
excellent vessel on the surging sea. And then, O lord of the earth, he
bethought himself of that fish. And the fish too, O conqueror of thy
enemies and foremost scion of Bharata's race, knowing his mind, appeared
there with horns on his head. And then, O tiger among men, beholding in
the ocean that horned fish emerging like a rock in the form of which he
had been before appraised, he lowered the ropy noose on its head. And
fastened by the noose, the fish, O king and conqueror of hostile cities,
towed the ark with great force through the salt waters. And it conveyed
th