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Manali's
`history' is really more myth than history. According to
Hindu mythology, Manali was the home of the lawgiver Manu.
Vaivasvata, the seventh incarnation of Manu, the first
creation according to Hindu mythology, found a tiny fish in
his bathing water. The fish told him to look after it with
devotion, for one day it would do him a great service. The
seventh Manu cared for the fish until it grew so huge that
he released it into the sea. Before departing, the fish
warned Manu of an impending deluge when the entire world
would be submerged and bade him to build a seaworthy ark.
Manu and the gods were towed to dry ground by a giant fish,
which was the seventh `avatar' of the god Vishnu. He is
supposed to have survived when the world was drowned in
Flood. Thus Manali derviced its name from Manu. |
