Matsyendranath or Machchhindranath is one of the nine yogis (Navnath) of Nath Sampradaya. He was the chief of the nine yogis. He is credited for the foundation of Natha Sampradaya and for reviving hatha yoga. Matsyendranath was one of the 84 Mahasiddhas. He was an incarnation of Kavi Narayan (a form of Lord Vishnu). Matsyendranath wrote many Shabar Mantras that are beneficial for common people.

Meaning of the Word Matsyndranath:

The meaning of the word Matsyendranath is “Lord of the Fishes”.

Birth of Matsyendranath:

Once, when Uparichara Vasu was traveling in an airplane, he saw Apsara Urvashi and ejaculated because of the sexual thoughts that aroused in his mind. His semen fell at the shore of the Yamuna River and split into three parts. One of the parts fell into the water and was swallowed by a fish.

The fish got pregnant and delivered an egg to the shore. After some time, some herons gathered there, and broke the egg to eat it. As soon as the egg broke, they heard a loud cry of a child and fled away from the scene.

Childhood of Matsyendranath:

A fisher passing by saw the child and picked it up to protect it. At the same time, a celestial voice told him that that child was an incarnation of Kavi Narayan. It also instructed him to take the child to his house, protect him, and keep his name Matsyendranath.

The fisherman was childless. He took the child to his home and took good care of him. When Matsyendranath was five years old, the fisherman took him to the river to train him in fish catching. He caught many fish in the net, put the net in front of Matsyendranath, and returned to catching more fish.

Matsyendranath knew he was born from a fish, so he was unhappy with the fisherman killing fish. So, he started releasing all the fish one by one into the water. When the fisherman saw this, he got angry and beat him.

The dejected child decided to leave the home and went to Badrikashrama. There, he did a severe penance for 12 years.

Lord Dattatreya Becomes the Guru of Matsyendranath:

Once, when Lord Dattatreya and Lord Shiva were traveling through the jungle, they saw Matsyendranath doing harsh penance. Lord Dattatreya was very happy with his dedication. Therefore, he blessed him and gave him the Guru Mantra. Lord Shiva and Lord Dattatreya understood that he was the incarnation of Kavi Narayan. Lord Dattatreya initiated him into Natha Sampradaya and taught him many miraculous mantras. After that, Datta Maharaj and Lord Shiva left the place.

Eight Disciples of Machchhindranath:

Matsyndranath traveled to many places and gathered his eight main disciples. Collectively, they are called Navnath. These eight disciples also were very powerful. Their names are Gorakhnath, Jalandarnath, Kanifnath, Gahininath, Naganath, Charpatinath, Bhartarinath, and Revannath.

Chalo Machhindar, Gorakh Aaya:

Once, Princess Mainakini unintentionally insulted Uparichar Vasu, the father of Matsyendra Nath. Therefore, he cursed her that she would stay in the kingdom of women and would never see a man in her life. When she apologized, he told her that she would beget a child from Matsyendranath, but she had to propitiate Lord Hanuman.

Therefore, Mainakini worshipped and propitiated Lord Hanuman, who promised her that he would bring Matsyendranath to the kingdom of women. He fulfilled his promise by bringing Matsyendranath to Mainakini. She got pregnant from him and gave birth to Meenanath.

Matsyendranath was very happy and stayed in the kingdom of women with his son and wife for many years. Once, in deep meditation, Gorakshanath, the chief disciple of Matsyendranath, saw that his Guru was indulged in earthly matters and had forgotten the “true path”. Therefore, he decided to bring him back and went to the kingdom of women in the disguise of a beautiful woman.

Once, during a music program, he played mridangam (a musical instrument). He played it in such a way that the sentence “Chalo Machhindar, Gorakh Aaya” was coming out of it. When Matsyendranath heard the line, and he understood that the beautiful woman playing the instrument was Gorakhnath. He understood his mistake and decided to leave the kingdom of women.

Mainakini also heard the line and understood that Gorakhnath had arrived to take Matsyendranath away from her because she was warned by Lord Hanuman about it beforehand. She tried to convince Gorakhnath not to take away Matsyendranath, but he did not agree. Then, she sent many gorgeous women to lure him, but he did not budge.

Mainakini understood that she had to depart from her husband. She told Matsyendranath to take away Meenanath also because he would not survive in the kingdom of women without him. Therefore, Matsyendranath left her kingdom with his son and Gorakhnath.

Gorakhnath Turned a Hill into Gold:

When Matsyndranath was leaving the Stri Rajya with Meenanatha and Gorakhnath, Mainakini secretly kept a golden brick in his bag. Gorakhnath was not aware of this. While traveling toward Garbhagiri, there was a dense forest that they had to cross. Matsyendranath decided to test Gorakhnath and expressed fear of dacoits robbing them.

Gorakhnath was surprised by Machhindranath’s comment and suspected that he must be carrying something precious. A few moments later, Matsyendranath instructed Gorakhnath to go forward with Minanath, and he would join them afterward. He gave his bag to him.

When Gorakhnath picked up his bag, he felt the bag was heavy and found a golden brick inside. He threw it away and replaced it with a stone of the same weight. When Machhindranath returned, he found that there was a stone in his bag instead of the golden brick. So, he started crying loudly and running here and there as if he had lost something precious.

Then, Gorakhnath turned the hill of Garbhagiri into a golden hill and told Matsyendranath not to worry about brick as he had turned a whole hill into gold. Machhindranath was satisfied by the act of Gorakhnath and hugged him.

Matsyendranath and his disciples took Samadhi around 1710 (per Hindu calendar).

Temples of Machhindranath:

1. Pir Matsyendranath Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

2. Rato Machhindranath Temple in Patan, Nepal.

3. Prachin Shree Machchhindranath Temple Malanggarh in Maharashtra.

4. Seto Machchhindranath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.

5. Shri Kshetra Machchhindranath Samadhi Mandir in Pathardi, Maharashtra.

Matsyendranath Yatra:

Machhindranath worship is popular in Nepal also. Bungamati in Nepal is considered to be his birthplace per some stories. Rato Machhindranath Jatra is an annual chariot procession organized in Patan, Nepal every year to revere the deity. Celebrated just before the monsoon, people pray for a good rain to him.

Matsyendranath in Sikhism:

Guru Gobind Singh has narrated a discourse between Matsyendranath and Paras Nath in Dasam Granth. The book is popular among Nihang Sikhs.

Matsyendranath in Buddhism:

The believers of Vajrayana Buddhism and some other Buddhist traditions regard Matsyendranath as an incarnation of Avalokiteshwara.

Natha Sampradaya:

Natha Sampradaya is a Shaiva tradition within Hinduism. It is a mixture of ideas from Shaivism, Buddhism, and Yoga traditions.

It was originally started by Lord Dattatreya. Matsyendranath was the first sage who received initiation directly from Lord Dattatreya. He and his disciples then propagated it in many countries. Gorakhnath is credited for its popularity among the masses.

Movies:

Many films have been made on the life of Matsyendranath in different Indian languages. In 1932, Prabhat Films made a movie named “Maya Machhindra” in Hindi and Marathi languages.

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