According to Indian Mythology , Manu is the first man and the legendary author of an
important Sanskrit law code, the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu) .
In Hindu tradition, Manu is the progenitor of humanity, who appears in the world at the start of a new kalpa (aeon), after universal destruction.
Manu is the root-word for both the Sanskrit 'Manushya' and the English 'Man' that derives origin from the Germanic 'Mannus' which stems from the same root as Manu.
The current world is that of Vaivasvata, the
seventh Manu of the aeon of the white boar (sveta varaha kalpa). Vaivasvata,
also known as Sraddhadeva or Satyavrata, was the king of Dravida before
the great flood.
Manu has blood relation with the Indo-European “ man ” and also has an etymological connection with the Sanskrit verb man, “to think” .
Manu appears in the Vedas, the sacred literature of Hinduism, as the performer of the first sacrifice .
Manu is also known as the first king, and most rulers of medieval India traced their genealogy back to him, either through his son (solar line) or his daughter (lunar line).
Manu has blood relation with the Indo-European “ man ” and also has an etymological connection with the Sanskrit verb man, “to think” .
Manu appears in the Vedas, the sacred literature of Hinduism, as the performer of the first sacrifice .
Manu is also known as the first king, and most rulers of medieval India traced their genealogy back to him, either through his son (solar line) or his daughter (lunar line).
In the story of the great flood, Manu
combines the characteristics of the Hebrew Bible figures of Noah,
who preserved life from extinction in a great flood, and Adam, the first
man & the Gilgamesh flood myth
Matsya protecting Vaivasvata Manu and the seven
sages at the time of Deluge
Manu was warned of the flood by the Matsya avatar of Vishnu, and built a boat that carried his family and the seven sages to safety, helped by Matsya. When the flood move away , Manu, the sole human survivor, performed a sacrifice, pouring oblations of butter and sour milk into the waters.After a year there was born from the waters a woman who announced herself as “the daughter of Manu”.
These two then became the ancestors of a new human race to replenish the earth.
In the Mahabharata (“Great Epic of the
Bharata Dynasty”), the fish is identified with the god Brahma, while
in the Puranas (“Ancient Lore”) it is Matsya, the fish
incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
The earliest extant text that mentions this story is the Shatapatha Brahmana (dated variously from 700 BCE to 300 BCE)
In the cosmological speculations of later Hinduism, a day in the life of Brahma is divided into 14 periods called manvantara, each of which lasts for 306,720,000 years.
The lifespan of a Manu is called manvantara.
According to the Bhagavad Gita, the lifespan of one Manu is 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 years), and each Mahayuga is 4,320,000 years.
The present Manu has already lived for 28 Mahayugas, which is 120,960,000 years.
In every secondary cycle the world is re-created, and a new Manu appears to become the father of the next human race.
The present age is considered the seventh Manu cycle.
The earliest extant text that mentions this story is the Shatapatha Brahmana (dated variously from 700 BCE to 300 BCE)
In the cosmological speculations of later Hinduism, a day in the life of Brahma is divided into 14 periods called manvantara, each of which lasts for 306,720,000 years.
The lifespan of a Manu is called manvantara.
According to the Bhagavad Gita, the lifespan of one Manu is 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 years), and each Mahayuga is 4,320,000 years.
The present Manu has already lived for 28 Mahayugas, which is 120,960,000 years.
In every secondary cycle the world is re-created, and a new Manu appears to become the father of the next human race.
The present age is considered the seventh Manu cycle.
According to the Puranas, 14 Manus appear in each kalpa. The period of each Manu is called Manvantara. we currently live in the kalpa (aeon) of the white boar (sveta varaha kalpa), a part of the Kali Yuga.
The 14 Manus of the current aeon are :-
1. Svayambhuva
2. Svarocisa
3. Uttama
4. Tamasa
5. Raivata
6. Chakshusha (Cākṣuṣa)
7. Vaivasvata (the current Manu)
8. Savarni
9. Daksa Sarvani
10. Brahma Sarvani
11. Dharma Sarvani
12. Rudra Sarvani
13. Deva Sarvani
14. Indra Sarvani
Bibliography :- Manu ,
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