(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’.

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).

(mŭ'nū) , 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.

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