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(South and Central Asian mythology)

He is the Hindu Noah. One day, in the water which was brought to Manu for washing his hands, he discovered a tiny fish which begged him to spare its life. ‘Preserve me,’ said the fish, ‘and I will preserve you.’ When Manu asked how the fish could save him, he was told of an imminentflood, which would carry away all living things. So Manu put the fish in a pot, but it grew so rapidly that he was obliged to move it to a tank, a lake, and at last, the sea itself. Thereupon the fish predicted the flood and told Manu to prepare a ship against the danger, which he did. When the waters rose and Manu floated on their surface, the fish returned and towed the vessel by a cable fastened to its horn. Their journey was long and took them above the submerged peaks of the Himalayas. Lonely, Manu prayed for offspring and was granted a wife. From their union sprang the generations of Manu, progenitors of mankind.

In one myth the fish reveals its identity as Vishnu, in another as Brahma. There are, however, fourteen Manus in Hindu cosmology, since there are fourteen manvantaras or Manu-deluges, in every kalpa. The lawbook ascribed to Manu was compiled by one of them. The present era is the seventh of the kalpa and our particular deluge will be known in due course as that of ‘Manu, the Son of the Radiant Sun’.

 
 
Dictionary: Ma·nu  ('nū, mŭ'-) pronunciation
n. Hinduism.

The primordial father of the human race and sovereign of the earth who first instituted religious ceremonies and devised a code of laws.

[Sanskrit Manuḥ, from manuḥ, man.]


 

Each age (manvantara)—lasting 4, 320, 000 years—in the Hindu (see Hinduism entries) scheme of things has a demiurge called Manu, who is the progenitor of the human race (thus “human” = manava). The first Manu was Svāyaṃbhuva, who produced the “Laws of Manu” (see Laws of Manu). The Manu of our age is Satyavrata or Vāivasvata, son of the sun (Vivasvat), who is best known for the flood story (see Fish and the Flood). Satyavrata Manu was given the Vedas (see Vedas) so that he might teach the human race dharma (see Dharma).

 
(') , semilegendary Hindu lawgiver. Traditionally ascribed to him are the Laws of Manu, best known of the Sanskrit smriti texts (see Sanskrit literature). They were compiled, probably between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200, from diverse ancient sources and provide detailed rules, presumably directed to Brahman priests, governing ritual and daily life. In particular they seek to validate and preserve the high caste position of the Brahmans.

Bibliography

See The Laws of Manu, tr. by G. Bühler (1886, repr. 1967).

 

According to Theosophy, a grade in the theosophical hierarchy below the Planetary Logoi, or Rulers of the Seven Chains. The charge given to Manus is that of forming the different races of humanity and guiding humanity's evolution. Each race has its own Manu, who represents the racial type. This theosophical concept derives from Hindu mythology of Manu (man; thinker), a series of fourteen progenitors of the human race, each creation being destroyed in a Mahayuga (vast cycle of time) involving a deluge.

The Manu of the present creation is Manu Vaivasvata, who built an ark during a cosmic deluge and afterward renewed the human race. He is the reputed author of the Manava Dharma Shastra, or Laws of Manu, an ancient Hindu treatise that prescribes human religious and social duties.

Sources:

Das, Ghagavan. The Science of Social Organisation; or, The Laws of Manu in the Light of Atma-Vidya. 2 vols. Rev. ed. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932.

 
Wikipedia: Manu (Hinduism)

In Hinduism, Manu is a title accorded the progenitor of humankind, first king to rule this earth, who saves mankind from the universal flood. He is honest which is why he is 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 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."[1]

Each Manu rules during an eon called a Manvantara. 14 Manvantaras make up a Kalpa, a period corresponding to a day in the life of Brahma. 14 Manus are:

  1. Svayambhuva Manu
  2. Svaracisa Manu
  3. Uttama Manu
  4. Tamasa Manu
  5. Raivata Manu
  6. Caksusa Manu
  7. Sraddhadeva Manu (son of Vivasvata) [2]
  8. Savarni Manu
  9. Daksa Savarni Manu
  10. Brahma Savarni Manu
  11. Dharma Savarni Manu
  12. Rudra Savarni Manu
  13. Deva Savarni Manu
  14. Indra Savarni Manu

Currently we are 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[3]), while he washed his hands in a river. 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.

Manu is also the name of the author of the famous Manusmriti. It is considered by some Hindus to be the law laid down for Hindus. 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.

In modern literature

Notes

  1. ^ Mahabharata Book 1:Adi Parva:Sambhava Parva:Section LXXV
  2. ^ Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam) 8.13.1
  3. ^ Bhagavata Purana 8.24.12


See also


 
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Copyrights:

World Mythology Dictionary. A Dictionary of World Mythology. Copyright © Arthur Cotterell 1979, 1986, 2003. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Asian Mythology. A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by David Leeming. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Occultism & Parapsychology Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Copyright © 2001 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Manu (Hinduism)" Read more

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