24, 25. What similarities exist between the Biblical Deluge and the Hindu flood tradition?

²⁴ One Hindu version says it was the god Vishnu who warned and preserved Manu. Interestingly, the name Vishnu without the digamma is Ish-nuh, which in Chaldee means “the man Noah,” or “the man of rest.” Hindu tradition has Vishnu ‘resting’ or sleeping on a coiled snake called Shesha, floating on an ocean. Shesha means “remainder,” and according to careful researchers, Shesha represents the ‘residue’ of the universe after its destruction at the end of an age. Clearly, this myth alludes to the Bible’s historical record of the Deluge and the ark of preservation with its occupants.

[Picture on page 18]

Vishnu sleeps on Shesha—means of preservation in Hindu tradition