Everything about Manu Hinduism totally explained
» For other uses of Manu, see Manu
In
Hinduism,
Manu is a title accorded the
progenitor of mankind, first king to rule this earth, who saves mankind from the universal flood. He is honest which is why he's called "Satyavrata", or
oath of truth.
Mahabharata says: "And Manu was endued with great wisdom and devoted to virtue. And he became the progenitor of a line. And in Manu's race have been born all human beings, who have, therefore, been called Manavas. And it's of Manu that all men including Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, and others have been descended, and are, therefore, all called Manavas. Subsequently, O monarch, the Brahmanas became united with the Kshatriyas. And those sons of Manu that were Brahmanas devoted themselves to the study of the Vedas.
"The ten sons of Manu are known as Vena, Dhrishnu, Narishyan, Nabhaga, Ikshvaku, Karusha, Saryati, the eighth, a daughter named Ila, Prishadhru the ninth, and Nabhagarishta, the tenth. They all betook themselves to the practices of Kshatriyas. Besides these, Manu had fifty other sons on Earth. But we heard that they all perished, quarrelling with one another."
14 Manus of
Each Manu rules during an eon called a
Manvantara.
Puranas ascribe to each Manvantara one
Indra, one
Vishnu avatara, etc. 14 Manvantaras make up a
Kalpa, a period corresponding to a day in the life of
Brahma. 14 Manus of the present are:
- Svayambhuva Manu
- Svarocisa Manu
- Auttami or Uttama Manu
- Tamasa Manu
- Raivata Manu
- Caksusa Manu
- Sraddhadeva Manu (son of Vaivasvata)
- Savarni Manu
- Daksa Savarni Manu
- Brahma Savarni Manu
- Dharma Savarni Manu
- Rudra Savarni Manu
- Raucya or Deva Savarni Manu
- Bhauta or Indra Savarni Manu
Currently we're in the 7th Manvantara headed by Sraddhadeva (Vaivasvata) Manu.
The
Matsya avatara of
Vishnu is said to have appeared to King Manu (whose original name was
Satyavrata, the then King of
Dravida), while he washed his hands in a river. This land or kingdom of
Dravida that was ruled over by
Satyavrata or
Manu might have been an original, greater
Dravida, that might have stretched from
Madagascar and
East Africa to Southernmost India and further to
Southeast Asia and
Australia. The little fish asked the king to save it, and kept growing bigger and bigger. It also informed the King of a huge flood which would occur soon. The King builds a huge boat, which houses his family, 9 types of seeds, and animals to repopulate the earth.
This story is very similar to other
deluge stories in ancient
Sumerian mythology which preceded the story of
Noah's ark.
Works ascribed to Manu
According to tradition, Manava Grihyasutra, Manava Sulbasutra and Manava Dharmashastra (
Manusmriti) texts are ascribed to Manu (Sayambhuva).
Manusmriti is considered by some Hindus to be the law laid down for Hindus. At the same time it's a
smriti, so whenever there's a conflict between what is mentioned in it and that mentioned in
sruti (
Vedas and
Upanishads) the latter is considered to be correct.
In theosophy
In
Theosophy, the
Manu is regarded as the progenitor of the
Aryan root race, who are said to have originated in
Atlantis.
In modern literature
In the
Victor Hugo novel,
The Hunchback of Notre Dame,
Claude Frollo is seen to be studying Manu's works in his study of
alchemy.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Manu Hinduism'.
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