Manu (Hinduism)
Encyclopedia
In various Hindu
traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the progenitor of mankind
, and also the very first brahman 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). His wife is Shraddha(niharika).
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 Kshatriya
s. Besides these, Manu had fifty other sons on Earth. But we heard that they all perished, quarrelling with one another."
. The Puranas ascribe to each Manvantara one Indra
, one Vishnu
avatar
, etc. "During the hundred years of Brahmā
's life, there are 504,000 manvantara–avatar
s"(Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 20.322) 15 Manus of the present are
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:
Avatar
of Vishnu
is believed to have appeared initially as a Shaphari (a small carp) to King Manu (whose original name was Satyavrata), 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. 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.
According to the Matsya Purana
, his boat was perched after the deluge on the top of the Malaya Mountains This narrative is to an extent similar to other deluge stories, like those of Gilgamesh
from ancient Sumer
ian Mythology, and the story of Noah
's ark from Judeo-Christianity.
"The duration of one manvantara, the lifespan of one Manu, is seventy-one yugas, and each yuga is 4,320,000 years". The present Manu has already lived for 4,320,000 years multiplied by 28." (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.30.49).
textual tradition of Hinduism. 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.
, 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.
novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
, Claude Frollo is seen to be studying Manu's works in his study of alchemy
.
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the progenitor of mankind
First man or woman
First man or woman may refer to:* The spouse of an elected head of state, see First Lady, First Gentleman.* First Man, the biography of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon....
, and also the very first brahman 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). His wife is Shraddha(niharika).
Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
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
Vena
In Hindu mythology, Vena was a great king. However, he became evil and corrupt. The world became so gloomy and dark that the earth-goddess Bhumidevi decided that she would not provide crops to humans anymore. She took form as a cow and went into hiding. Meanwhile, a group of Rishis killed Vena out...
, Dhrishnu, Narishyan, Nabhaga, Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...
, Karusha, Saryati, the eighth, a daughter named Ila
Ila (Hinduism)
Ila is an androgyne in Hindu mythology, known for his/her sex changes. As a man, he is known as Ila or Sudyumna and as a woman, is called Ilā...
, Prishadhru the ninth, and Nabhagarishta, the tenth. They all betook themselves to the practices of Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s. Besides these, Manu had fifty other sons on Earth. But we heard that they all perished, quarrelling with one another."
15 Manus of
Each Manu rules during an eon called a ManvantaraManvantara
Manvantara or Manuvantara , or age of a Manu , the Hindu progenitor of mankind, is an astronomical period of time measurement. Manvantara is a Sanskrit sandhi, a combination of words manu and antara, manu-antara or manvantara, literally meaning the duration of a Manu, or his life span .Each...
. The Puranas ascribe to each Manvantara one Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
, one Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
, etc. "During the hundred years of Brahmā
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
's life, there are 504,000 manvantara–avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
s"(Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 20.322) 15 Manus of the present are
- Svayambhuva Manu
- Svarocisa Manu
- Auttami
- Tamasa Manu
- Raivata Manu
- Caksusa ManuChakshushaChakshusha is the Manu of the sixth Manwantara, son of Ripu by Vrihati. The Márkandeya has a legend of his birth as a son of Ksbatriya ; of his being exchanged at his birth for the son of Visranta Rája, and being brought up by the prince as his own ; of his revealing the business when a man, and...
- Sraddhadeva ManuSraddhadeva ManuIn Hindu mythology, Sraddhadeva Manu or Vaivasvata Manu is one of the 14 Manus, and the son of Vivasvat, hence his other name Vaivasvata Manu...
or Vaivasvata Manu - Savarni ManuSavarni ManuSarvabhauma comes as Savarni Manu, a son born to the sun-god Surya and wife named Chhaya. Savarni's sons are headed by Nirmoka, and among the demigods are the Sutapas. Bali, the son of Virochana, is Indra, and Galava and Parashurama are among the seven sages...
- Daksa Savarni Manu
- Brahma Savarni Manu
- Dharma Savarni Manu
- Rudra Savarni Manu
- Raucya
- Bhauta
- Vasile Manu
According to the Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
, currently we are in the 7th Manvantara headed by Sraddhadeva (Vaivasvata) Manu.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada,, was a preacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was born as Bimal Prasad Dutta in the seaside pilgrimage town of Jagannath Puri, Orissa, India...
, in his Anubhashya, gives a list of Manus and their fathers' names:
- Svayambhuva Manu, the son of Lord BrahmaBrahmaBrahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
; - Svarocisha, the son of Svarocis, or AgniAgniAgni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...
, 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 demigodDemigodThe term "demigod" , meaning "half-god", is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are human-god hybrids...
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 ChhayaChhayaChhaya is a city and a municipality in Porbandar district in the state of Gujarat, India.-Demographics: India census, Chhaya had a population of 38,525. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Chhaya has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%;...
; - Daksha-savarni, the son of the demigod VarunaVarunaIn Vedic religion, Varuna is a god of the sky, of water and of the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law and of the underworld...
; - Brahma-savarni, the son of Upasloka;
- Rudra-savarni, son of RudraRudra' is a Rigvedic God, associated with wind or storm, and the hunt. The name has been translated as "The Roarer", or "The Howler"....
- Dharma-savarni, son of RuciRuciRuçi is the 26th most common last name in Albania. There are many families all over the world of Albanian descent who have the last name Ruçi....
- 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:- BrahmaBrahmaBrahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
or Svayambhu - Svayambhuva Manu, son of Brahma and GayatriGayatriGayatri is the feminine form of , a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. Gayatri is a consort of Brahma and the goddess of learning. Brahma married her when there was a need for a companion during a yajna. Brahma had to start the yajna along with his wife...
(alternately, ShatarupaShatarupaIn Hindu mythology, when Brahma was creating the universe, he made a female deity known as Shatarupa . According to the Matsya Purana, Shatarupa was known by different names, including Satarupa, Sarasvati, Sandhya, or Brahmi.Hindu mythology uses her story to explain Brahma's four heads...
, BrahmaniBrahmaniIn Hinduism, Brahmani is a kind and benevolent aspect of Devi, the Divine mother. Brahmani is associated with the Hindu creator god, Brahma as His consort or Shakti . She is one of the seven Mother Goddesses called Matrikas.-As Kuldevi:Many Kshatriya clans consider Her to be their Kuldevi...
or SavitrSavitrSavitr IAST: savitrIn Vedic religion, Savitr , Savitā is a solar deity and one of the Adityas i.e. off-spring of Vedic deity Aditi. His name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes "impeller, rouser, vivifier"...
i) - Uttanapada and Priyavrata were two sons of Svayamhubha Manu and Ananti
- DhruvaDhruvaIn the Hindu mythology, Dhruva is a devotee of the god Vishnu, who blessed to attain the position of the polar star, also known as Dhruva in Sanskrit. Dhruva was the son of Uttānapāda...
, 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 AgniAgniAgni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...
- Cakṣu, son of Ripuñjaya and Virini
- CākṣusaChakshushaChakshusha is the Manu of the sixth Manwantara, son of Ripu by Vrihati. The Márkandeya has a legend of his birth as a son of Ksbatriya ; of his being exchanged at his birth for the son of Visranta Rája, and being brought up by the prince as his own ; of his revealing the business when a man, and...
Manu, son of Cakṣu
The genealogy of Vaivasvata Manu
According to the Puranas, the genealogy of the 7th Manu, Vaivasvata is as follows:- BrahmaBrahmaBrahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
- MarichiMarichiRishi Marichi or Mareechi or Marishi is the son of Brahma, the cosmic creator, and also one of the Saptarshi , in the First Manvantara, with others being Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and Vashishtha .Before the creation started, Lord Brahma needed a few people who can be held responsible...
, one of the 10 PrajapatiPrajapatiIn Hinduism, Prajapati "lord of creatures" is a Hindu deity presiding over procreation, and protector of life. He appears as a creator deity or supreme God Viswakarma Vedic deities in RV 10 and in Brahmana literature...
s created by Brahma. - Kashyapa, son of Marichi and KalaKalaKala may refer to:In Hinduism:*Kāla , a Sanskrit word for "time"*Kalā: 64 arts*Kala Bo, a Hindu consort goddess*Kirtimukha: a fierce guardian faceIn culture*Kala , a character in the Tarzan novels*Kala , a 2007 Indonesian film...
. Kashyapa is regarded as the father of humanity. - Vivasvan or SuryaSuryaSurya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
, son of Kashyapa and AditiAditiAditi in Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. In the Vedas Aditi is mother of the gods from whose cosmic matrix the heavenly bodies were born...
. - Vaivasvata Manu, originally Satyavrata, son of Vivasvan and Saṃjñā.
- IkshvakuIkshvakuIkshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...
, Nabhaga, Narishyanta, Karusha, Prishadhra, Dhrishta, Sharyati, Pramshu and Nabhanedishta were the nine sons and Ila was the only daughter of Vaivasvata Manu.
Vaivasvata Manu and the Matsya Avatara
The MatsyaMatsya
Matsya was the first Avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The great flood finds mention in Hindu mythology texts like the Satapatha Brahmana, where in the Matsya Avatar takes place to save the pious and the first man, Manu and advices him to build a giant boat.-The Legend:According to the Matsya...
Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
is believed to have appeared initially as a Shaphari (a small carp) to King Manu (whose original name was Satyavrata), 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
Malaya Mountains
The Malaya Mountains were a range of mountains that were mentioned in the Matsya Purana, the Kurma Purana, and the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
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. 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
Shesha
In Hindu tradition, Shesha or Sheshanaag is the king of all nagas, one of the primal beings of creation, and according to the Bhagavata Purana, an Avatar of the Supreme God known as Sankarshan. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the Universe on his hoods and to constantly...
appeared as a rope, with which Vaivasvata Manu fastened the boat to horn of the fish.
According to the Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
, his boat was perched after the deluge on the top of the Malaya Mountains This narrative is to an extent similar to other deluge stories, like those of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
from ancient Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian Mythology, and the story of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
's ark from Judeo-Christianity.
Duration of life of Manu
"The lifespan of one Manu, is 100 Mahayugas, and each Mahayuga is 306,720,000 years." (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.1.28)"The duration of one manvantara, the lifespan of one Manu, is seventy-one yugas, and each yuga is 4,320,000 years". 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 or rule's of Manu) 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 DharmaśāstraDharmasastra
Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning, pertaining to Hindu dharma, religious and legal duty. The voluminous textual corpus of Dharmaśāstra is primarily a product of the Brahmanical tradition in India and represents the elaborate scholastic...
textual tradition of Hinduism. At the same time it is a Smriti
Smriti
Smriti literally "that which is remembered," refers to a specific body of Hindu religious scripture, and is a codified component of Hindu customary law. Smṛti also denotes non-Śruti texts and is generally seen as secondary in authority to Śruti. The literature which comprises the Smrti was...
, so whenever there is a conflict between what is mentioned in it and that mentioned in sruti
Sruti
' , often spelled shruti or shruthi, is a term that describes the sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism and is one of the three main sources of dharma and therefore is also influential within Hindu Law...
(Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
and Upanishads) the latter is considered to be correct as it holds higher spiritual authority.
In Theosophy
In TheosophyTheosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, the "Vaivasvatu Manu" is one of the most important beings at the highest levels of Initiation
Initiation (Theosophy)
Initiation is a concept in Theosophy that there are nine levels of spiritual development that beings who live on Earth can progress upward through. Within these levels, there are four basic levels of spiritual development that human beings on Earth progress through as they reincarnate, although...
of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...
, along with Sanat Kumara
Sanat Kumara
According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy, i.e. the writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers,...
, Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, Maitreya
Maitreya (Theosophy)
Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is described in Theosophical literature of the late 19th-century and subsequent periods as an advanced spiritual entity and high-ranking member of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, the so-called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom...
, the Maha Chohan, and Djwal Khul
Djwal Khul
Djwal Khul , is believed by some Theosophists and others to be a Tibetan disciple in the tradition of ancient esoteric spirituality known as The Ageless Wisdom tradition...
. According to Theosophy, each root race
Root race
Root Races are stages in human evolution in the esoteric cosmology of theosophist Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, as described in her book The Secret Doctrine . These races were said to have existed on now-lost continents. Blavatsky's model was developed by later theosophists, most notably William...
has its own Manu which physically incarnates
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
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 HugoVictor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831. The French title refers to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on which the story is centered.-Background:...
, Claude Frollo is seen to be studying Manu's works in his study of alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
.
See also
- Metrics of time in Hinduism
- Manu SmritiManu Smriti' , also known as Mānava-Dharmaśāstra , is the most important and earliest metrical work of the Dharmaśāstra textual tradition of Hinduism...
(Laws of Manu) - MannusMannusMannus is a Germanic mythological figure attested by the 1st century AD Roman historian Tacitus in his work Germania. According to Tacitus, Mannus is the son of Tuisto and the progenitor of the three Germanic tribes Ingaevones, Herminones and Istvaeones.-Tacitus' account:Tacitus explicitly...
, the first human in Germanic mythologyGermanic mythologyGermanic mythology is a comprehensive term for myths associated with historical Germanic paganism, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, Continental Germanic mythology, and other versions of the mythologies of the Germanic peoples... - ManvantaraManvantaraManvantara or Manuvantara , or age of a Manu , the Hindu progenitor of mankind, is an astronomical period of time measurement. Manvantara is a Sanskrit sandhi, a combination of words manu and antara, manu-antara or manvantara, literally meaning the duration of a Manu, or his life span .Each...