Vaivasvata Manu (), also referred to as Shraddhadeva and Satyavrata, is the current Manu—the progenitor of the human race. He is the seventh of the 14 Manus of the current

kalpa (aeon) A ''kalpa'' is a long period of time (aeon) in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, generally between the creation and recreation of a world or universe. Etymology ''Kalpa'' () in this context, means "a long period of time (aeon) related to the lifeti ...

Hindu cosmology Hindu cosmology is the description of the universe and its states of matter, cycles within time, physical structure, and effects on living entities according to Hindu texts. Hindu cosmology is also intertwined with the idea of a creator who allo ...

. In the

Jain religion Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and ...

he is also known as Nabhiraja, the father of

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...

and the last Kulakara. He is the son of

Vivasvan Surya ( ; , ) is the SunDalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to ...

(also known as Surya), the Sun god, and his wife

Saranyu Sanjna (, , also spelled as Samjna and Sangya), also known as Saranyu (, ), is a Hindu goddess associated with clouds and the chief consort of Surya, the Sun god. She is mentioned in the ''Rigveda'', the '' Harivamsa'' and the '' Puranas''. I ...

. Forewarned about the divine flood by the

Matsya Matsya () is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's Dashavatara, ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu (Hinduism), Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be dep ...

avatara of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, Manu saved mankind by building a boat that carried his family and the

Saptarishi The Saptarshi ( ) are the seven seers of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature such as the Skanda Purana. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Br ...

to safety. He was one of the wielders of Asi the primordial sword.

Ancestry

According to the Puranas, the genealogy of Shraddhadeva is as follows: #

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

. #

Marichi Marichi () or Mareechi or Marishi is the mind-born son of Brahma, and one of the Saptarishi in Hindu mythology. He is also the father of Kashyapa, and the grandfather of the ''devas'' and the ''asuras''. In Jainism, he is referred to as o ...

, one of the 10

Prajapati Prajapati (, ) is a Vedas, Vedic deity of Hinduism. He is later identified with Brahma, the creator god. Prajapati is a form of the creator-god Brahma, but the name is also the name of many different gods, in many Hindu scriptures, ranging f ...

s created by Brahma. #

Kashyapa Kashyapa (, ) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, along with the other Sa ...

, son of Marichi and his thirteen wives, among which Kala is prominent. Kashyapa is regarded as one of the progenitors of humanity. #

Vivasvat Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means t ...

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

, son of

and

Aditi Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिति, lit. 'boundless' or 'limitless' or 'innocence') is an important Vedic goddess in Hinduism. She is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos. She is the goddess of motherhood, consciousne ...

. #

Vaivasvata Vaivasvata Manu (), also referred to as Shraddhadeva and Satyavrata, is the current Manu—the progenitor of the human race. He is the seventh of the 14 Manus of the current kalpa (aeon) of Hindu cosmology. In the Jain religion he is also kn ...

Manu, because he is the son of Vivasvan and

(Saṃjñā). He is also known as Satyavrata and Shraddhadeva.

Legend

Shraddhadeva is stated to be the king of the

Dravida kingdom Dravida is mentioned as one of the kingdoms in the southern part of present-day mainland India during the time of the Mahabharata. Dravida in the Mahabharata Dravida is listed among the ancient Indian (Bharata Varsha) kingdoms: "In the south ...

during the epoch of the ''

Matsya Purana The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...

''. According to the ''Matsya Purana'',

, the avatara of

, first appeared as a ''shaphari'' (a small

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

) to Shraddhadeva while he washed his hands in a river flowing down the

Malaya Mountains The Malaya Mountains were a range of mountains that were mentioned in the Hindu sacred texts like ''Matsya Purana'', the '' Kurma Purana'', the ''Vishnu Purana'', and the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'', which is present day Kera ...

. 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 the king first put it in a bigger pitcher, and then deposited it in a well. When the well also proved insufficient for the ever-growing fish, the king placed it in a tank (reservoir), that was two yojanas (16 miles) in height above the surface and on land, as much in length, and a yojana (8 miles) in breadth. As it grew further, the king 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 Vishnu, revealing himself, informed the king of an all-destructive deluge which would be coming very soon.''S'rîmad Bhâgavatam'' (''Bhâgavata Purâ''n
Canto 8 Chapter 24 Text 12
/ref> The king built a huge boat which housed his family, saptarishi, nine 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 Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents ( Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the ...

appeared as a rope, with which the king fastened the boat to the horn of the fish. The boat was perched after the deluge on the top of the highest peak of Himavat called Naubandhana.''The Matsya Purana''
After the deluge, Manu's family and the seven sages repopulated the earth. According to the Puranas, Manu's story occurs before the 28 chaturyugas in the present Manvantara which is the 7th Manvantara. This amounts to 120 million years ago. This narrative is similar to other

flood myths A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeva ...

like the

Gilgamesh flood myth The Gilgamesh flood myth is a partial narrative of the Gilgamesh Epic. It is one of three Mesopotamian Flood Myths alongside the one included in the Eridu Genesis, and an episode from the Atra-Hasis Epic. Many scholars believe that the Gilgam ...

and the

Genesis flood narrative The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is a Hebrew flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microcosm of Noah's ark. The B ...

Descendants

Shraddhadeva married Shraddha and had ten children including Ila and

Ikshvaku Ikshvaku (Sanskrit ; Pāli: ) is a legendary king in Indian religions, particularly Hindu and Jain scriptures Jain literature () refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initi ...

, the progenitors of the

Lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

and

Solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

dynasties, respectively. The ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' states:''Mahabharata'' Book 1:Adi Parva:Sambhava Parva:Section LXXV
p. 183.
, translated by George Bühler.

Theosophy

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

, the "Vaivasvata Manu" is one of the most important beings at the highest level of Initiation of the ancient Vedic sages, along with

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

, and the Maha Chohan. According to Theosophy, each root race has its own Manu who 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.

References

Citations

Sources

* {{manus Manus Kings in Indian mythology Legendary progenitors Mythological first humans Mythological swordfighters Flood myths Children of Surya