pātālādutpatiṣṇormakaravasatayo yasya pucchābhighātā-The mention of Matsya jumping up (utpatisnu) from Patala in this opening verse of the Matsya Purana provides a great clue with regard to the identity of Matsya.
dūrdhvaṃ brahmāṇḍakhaṇḍavyatikaravihitavyatyayenāpatanti |
viṣṇormatsyāvatāre sakalavasumatīmaṇḍalaṃ vyaśnuvānā-
stasyāsyodīritānāṃ dhvanirapaharatādakṣriyaṃ vaḥ kṣrutīnām 1
The impression one gets from these opening verses of the Matsya Purana is
that Matsya, the primeval piscis, is the zoomorphic representation of the
respiratory diaphragm. It is easy to understand why the diaphragm would be
regarded as the very first descent of the Lord into the microcosm. Being the
primary muscle of inspiration, the diaphragm is without doubt one of the most
important entities of the cardio-respiratory framework. It supports the heart
and the lungs and it is the inferior-superior movement of the diaphragm that
provides the chief mechanism, from the point of view of respiratory mechanics, for
breathing—inspiration as well as expiration—of the jiva. The respiratory
diaphragm is thus, in this perspective, the very support of the jiva. It
is Ananta; the jiva is Visnu. Ananta resides below Patala, the
subterranean region; this is the region below the heart and the lungs.
