Manu (Hinduism)

In various Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the progenitor of mankind, and also the very first king to rule this earth, who saved mankind from the universal flood. He was absolutely honest which was why he was initially known as "Satyavrata" (One with the oath of truth).
Mahabharata says: "And Manu was imbued 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 is 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."Mahabharata Book 1:Adi Parva:Sambhava Parva:Section LXXV
==14 Manus of ==
Each Manu rules during an eon called a Manvantara. The Puranas ascribe to each Manvantara one Indra, one Vishnu avatara, etc.14 Manu-s of 14 Manu-antara-s "During the hundred years of Brahmā's life, there are 504,000 manvantara–avatāras"(Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 20.322) 14 Manus of the present are
# Svayambhuva Manu
# Svarocisa Manu
# Auttami
# Tamasa Manu
# Raivata Manu
# Caksusa Manu
# Sraddhadeva Manu or Vaivasvata Manu Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam) 8.13.1
# Savarni Manu
# Daksa Savarni Manu
# Brahma Savarni Manu
# Dharma Savarni Manu
# Rudra Savarni Manu
# Raucya
# Bhauta
According to the Puranas, currently we are in the 7th Manvantara headed by Sraddhadeva (Vaivasvata) Manu.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, in his Anubhashya, gives a list of Manus and their fathers' names:
# Svayambhuva Manu, the son of Lord Brahma;
# Svarocisha, the son of Svarocis, or Agni, the predominating deity of fire;
# Uttama, the son of King Priyavrata;
# Tamasa, the brother of Uttama;
# Raivata, the twin brother of Tamasa;
# Cakshusha, the son of the demigod Cakshus;
# Vaivasvata, the son of Vivasvan, the sun-god (whose name is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita [4.1]);
# Savarni, a son born to the sun-god and his wife Chaya;
# Daksha-savarni, the son of the demigod Varuna;
# Brahma-savarni, the son of Upasloka;
# Rudra-savarni, son of Rudra
# Dharma-savarni, son of Ruci
# Deva-savarni, son of Satyasaha
# Indra-savarni, son of Bhuti
==The genealogy of Svayambhuva Manu==
According to the Puranas, the genealogy of the 1st Manu, Svayambhuva is as follows:
# Brahma or Svayambhu
# Svayambhuva Manu, son of Brahma and GayatriMatsya Purana, Ch.IV, 24-42 (alternately, Shatarupa, Brahmani, Sarasvati or Savitri)
# Uttanapada and Priyavrata were two sons of Svayamhubha Manu and Ananti
# Dhruva, Apasyati, Apasyanta and Kiritimana were four sons of Uttanapada and Sunrita (or Suniti), daughter of Dharma
# Śiṣta, son of Dhruva and Dhanya
# Ripuñjaya, Kripa, Vrita, Vrika and Vrikatejasa were five sons of Shista and Succhaya, daughter of Agni
# Cakṣu, son of Ripuñjaya and Virini
# Cākṣusa Manu, son of Cakṣu
==The genealogy of Vaivasvata Manu==
According to the Puranas, the genealogy of the 7th Manu, Vaivasvata is as follows:
# Brahma
# Marichi, one of the 10 Prajapatis created by Brahma.
# Kashyapa, son of Marichi and Kala. Kashyapa is regarded as the father of humanity.
# Vivasvan or Surya, son of Kashyapa and Aditi.
# Vaivasvata Manu, originally Satyavrata, son of Vivasvan and Saṃjñā.
# Ikshvaku, Nabhaga, Narishyanta, Karusha, Prishadhra, Dhrishta, Sharyati, Pramshu and Nabhanedishta were the nine sons and Ila was the only daughter of Vaivasvata Manu.Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-413-8, p.48
==Vaivasvata Manu and the Matsya Avatara==
The Matsya Avatara of Vishnu is believed to have appeared initially as a Shaphari (a small carp) to King Manu (whose original name was SatyavrataBhagavata Purana 8.24.12), the then King of Dravidadesa, while he washed his hands in a river. This river was supposed to have been flowing down the Malaya Mountains in his land of Dravida. The little Fish asked the king to save Him, and out of compassion, he put it in a water jar. It kept growing bigger and bigger until King Manu first put Him in a bigger pitcher, and then deposited Him in a well. When the well also proved insufficient for the ever-growing Fish the King placed Him in a tank. As it grew further King Manu had to put the fish in a river, and when even the river proved insufficient he placed it in the ocean, after which it nearly filled the vast expanse of the great ocean. It was then that He (Lord Matsya) informed the King of a deluge which would be coming very soon.Matsya Purana, Ch.I, 10-33 The King built a huge boat which housed his family, 9 types of seeds, and animals to repopulate the earth, after the deluge would end and the oceans and seas would recede. At the time of deluge, Vishnu appeared as a horned fish and Shesha appeared as a rope, with which Vaivasvata Manu fastened the boat to horn of the fish.Matsya Purana, Ch.II, 1-19
According to the Matsya Purana, his boat was perched after the deluge on the top of the Malaya Mountainshttp://www.indiadivine.org/articles/442/1/The-Matsya-Purana/Page1.html This narrative is to an extent similar to other deluge stories, like those of Gilgamesh from ancient Sumerian Mythology, and the story of Noah's ark from Judeo-Christianity.
==Duration of life of Manu ==
"the lifespan of one Manu, is 71 Mahayugas, and each Mahayuga is 4,320,000 years." (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.1.28)
"Each Manu lives 4,320,000 years multiplied by 71. The present Manu has already lived for 4,320,000 years multiplied by 28." (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.30.49) 
==Works ascribed to Manu==
According to tradition, Manava Grihyasutra, Manava Sulbasutra and Manava Dharmashastra (Manusmriti) texts are ascribed to Sayambhuva Manu. Manusmriti is considered by some Hindus to be the law laid down for Hindus and is seen as the most important and earliest metrical work of the Dharmaśāstra textual tradition of Hinduism.See Flood 1996: 56 and Olivelle 2005. At the same time it is a Smriti, so whenever there is a conflict between what is mentioned in it and that mentioned in sruti (Vedas and Upanishads) the latter is considered to be correct as it holds higher spiritual authority.
==In Theosophy==
In Theosophy, the "Vaivasvatu Manu" is one of the most important beings at the highest levels of Initiation of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, along with Sanat Kumara, Gautama Buddha, Maitreya, the Maha Chohan, and Djwal Khul. According to Theosophy, each root race has its own Manu which physically incarnates in an advanced body of an individual of the old root race and physically progenerates with a suitable female partner the first individuals of the new root race.
==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.
==See also==
*Metrics of time in Hinduism
*Manu Smriti
*Mannus, the first human in Germanic mythology
*Noah
*Manvantara
== Notes ==
*
*Olivelle, Patrick. "Dharmasastra: A Literary History".
== References ==
Category:People in Hindu mythology
Category:Hindu law jurists
Category:Mythological kings
Category:Legendary progenitors