Different Manus

Chapter 1

From Canto Three to Canto Seven, the descriptions and discussions revolved around Svayambhuva Manu and his descendants. When Maharaja Pariksit enquired about other Manus, Sukadeva Goswami summarised the history and lineages of all fourteen Manus, who appear in one day of Brahma:

• Chapter 1 – (1) Svayambhuva, (2) Savarocisa, (3) Uttama and (4) Tamasa (then the Gajendra pastime, which was in Tamasa Manu, is narrated in Chapters 2-4).

• Chapter 5 – (5) Raivata, (6) Chaksusa (then the churning of the milk ocean pastime, which was in Chaksusa Manu, is narrated in Chapters 5-12).

• Chapter 13 – The remaining eight Manus are then briefly described – (7) Vaivasvata, (8) Savarni, (9) Daksa-savarni, (10) Brahma-savarni, (11) Dharma-savarni, (12) Rudra-savarni, (13) Deva-savarni, and (14) Indra-savarni (then the pastime of Vamanadeva and Bali, which was in Vaivasvata Manu is narrated in Chapters 15-24).

When Svayambhuva Manu, who had renounced his kingdom and taken up residence in the forest, was attacked by demons, the Lord incarnated as Yajnapati to save him. The Lord also appeared in Svarocisa Manu (as Vibhu), and in Uttama Manu (as Satyasena). In Tamasa’s line comes Hari, the incarnation of the Lord who saved the elephant Gajendra. When Maharaja Pariksit heard about this incident he desired to know more.