Laws of Mankind

““This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.” This parampara system extends from Manu to Iksvaku and from Iksvaku to his sons and grandsons. The rulers of the world in the line of hierarchy execute the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the parampara system. Anyone interested in peaceful life must participate in this parampara system and perform yajnas. As Gaudiya Vaisnavas in the parampara system of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we must perform sankirtana-yajna all over the world (yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32]).” (SB 8.14.6)

Vishnu, as we know, is the unborn, original cause of all causes, as declared by Brahma himself. In this sense He is known as the prapitamaha, the great-grandfather. From the navel of Garbhodakasayi Vishnu comes Brahma, who is known as the pitamaha, the grandfather. In the lineage of Brahma comes the catuh-sana (Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and Sanat-kumara), the saptarsis (Kasyapa, Atri, Vasistha, Visvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvaja) and the fourteen Manus. These 25 sages are known as the fathers of mankind, and all subsequent population comes from them.

Though Brahma is the demigod in charge of the universe, he does not manage all the intricacies. Just as a ship has a Captain, but also Officers of the Watch, Brahma is the head of this universe, and in each of his days (kalpa) there are fourteen Manu-avataras one after another. Each Manu reigns for 71 yuga cycles.

The Srimad-Bhagavatam takes us through the histories of those Manus in Cantos Three to Nine. In Cantos Three to Seven, Svayambhuva-manu and his descendants are elaborately described. In Canto Eight, Maharaja Pariksit asks about the thirteen other Manus. In Canto Nine we hear about the current Manu, Vaivasvata Manu, in whose reign Sri Krishna appears.

The first Manu is called Svayambhuva, and he is the son of Brahma. The second Manu, Svarocisa, is the son of the predominating deity of fire. The third Manu is Uttama, and he is the son of King Priyavrata. The fourth Manu, Tamasa, is the brother of Uttama. The fifth Manu, called Raivata, and the sixth Manu, Chaksusa, are both brothers of Tamasa, but Chaksusa is the son of Caksu. The seventh Manu is called Vaivasvata, and he is born of the sun-god. The eighth Manu is called Savarni, and he is also a son of the sun-god, born of a wife named Chaya. The ninth Manu, Daksa-savarni, is the son of Varuna. The tenth Manu, Brahma-savarni, is the son of Upasloka. The remaining four Manus are known as Rudra-savarni, Dharma-savarni, Deva-savarni and Indra-savarni.