Manu
Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 24 Jul 2011 13:57 and updated at 24 Jul 2011 13:57
VISHNU PURANA NOUN
vp.1.3 | Seven Rishis, certain (secondary) divinities, Indra, Manu, and the kings his sons, are created and perish at one period 5; and the interval, called a Manwantara, is equal to seventy one times the number of years contained in the four Yugas, with some additional years: this is the duration of the Manu, the (attendant) divinities, and the rest, which is equal to 852.000 divine years, or to 306.720.000 years of mortals, independent of the additional period 6. Fourteen times this period constitutes |
vp.1.7 | Creation continued. Production of the mind born sons of Brahma; of the Prajapatis; of Sanandana and others; of Rudra and the eleven Rudras; of the Manu Swayambhuva, and his wife satarupa; of their children. The daughters of Daksha, and their marriage to Dharma and others. The progeny of Disarms and Adharma. The perpetual succession of worlds, and different modes of mundane dissolution. |
vp.1.7 | Then Brahma 5 created himself the Manu Swayambhuva, born of, and identical with, his original self, for the protection of created beings; and the female portion of himself he constituted satarupa, whom austerity |
vp.1.7 | purified from the sin (of forbidden nuptials), and whom the divine Manu Swayambhuva took to wife. From these two were born two sons, Priyavrata |
vp.1.11 | Parasara continued. I mentioned to you, that the Manu Swayambhuva had two heroic and pious sons, Priyavrata and Uttanapada. Of these two, the latter had a son whom he dearly loved, Uttama, by his favourite wife Suruchi. By his queen, named Suniti, to whom he was less attached, he also had a son, called Dhruva 1. Observing his brother Uttama on the lap of his father, as he was seated upon his throne, Dhruva was desirous of ascending to the same place; but as Suruchi was present, the Raja did not gratify the desire of his son, respectfully wishing to be taken on his father s knee. Beholding the child of her rival thus anxious to be placed on his father s lap, and her own son already seated there, Suruchi thus addressed the boy: "Why, child, do you vainly indulge in such presumptuous hopes? You are born from a different mother, and are no son of mine, that you should aspire inconsiderately to a station fit for the excellent Uttama alone. It is true you are the son of the Raja, but I have not given you birth. This regal throne, the seat of the king of kings, is suited to my son only; why should you aspire to its occupation? why idly cherish such lofty ambition, as if you were my son? do you forget that you are but the offspring of Suniti." |
vp.1.11 | Dhruva replied to them; "You have told me, humbly bending before you, what deity is to be propitiated: now inform me what prayer is to he meditated by me, that will offer him gratification. May the great Rishis, looking upon me with favour, instruct me how I am to propitiate the god." The Rishis answered; Prince", thou deservest to hear how the adoration of Vishnu has been performed by those who have been devoted to his service. The mind must first be made to forsake all external impressions, and a man must then fix it steadily on that being in whom the world is. By him whose thoughts are thus concentrated on one only object, and wholly filled by it; whose spirit is firmly under control; the prayer that we shall repeat to thee is to be inaudibly recited: Om! glory to Vasudeva, whose essence is divine wisdom; whose form is inscrutable, or is manifest as Brahma, Vishnu, and siva 2. This prayer, which was formerly uttered by your grandsire, the Manu Swayambhuva, and propitiated by which, Vishnu conferred upon him the prosperity he desired, and which was unequalled in the three worlds, is to be recited by thee. Do thou constantly repeat this prayer, for the gratification of Govinda." |
vp.1.12 | manifold, Salutation to thee, soul of existent things, identical with the great elements. Thou, imperishable, art beheld in spiritual knowledge as perceptible objects, as nature, as spirit, as the world, as Brahma, as Manu, by internal contemplation. But thou art in all, the element of all; thou art all, assuming every form; all is from thee, and thou art from thyself. I salute thee, universal soul: glory be to thee. Thou art one with all things: oh lord of all, thou art present in all things. What can I say unto thee? thou knowest all that is in the heart, oh soul of all, sovereign lord of all creatures, origin of all things. Thou, who art all beings, knowest the desires of all creatures. The desire that I cherished has been gratified, lord, by thee: my devotions have been crowned with success, in that I have seen thee." |
vp.1.12 | princely birth in the illustrious mansion of Uttanapada. But that which would have been thought a great boon by others, birth in the race of Swayambhuva, you have not so considered, and therefore have propitiated me. The man who worships me obtains speedy liberation from life. What is heaven to one whose mind is fixed on me? A station shall be assigned to thee, Dhruva, above the three worlds 8; one in which thou shalt sustain the stars and the planets; a station above those of the sun, the moon, Mars, the son of Soma Mercury(), Venus, the son of Surya Saturn(), and all the other constellations; above the regions of the seven Rishis, and the divinities who traverse the atmosphere 9. Some celestial beings endure for four ages; some for the reign of a Manu: to thee shall be granted the duration of a Kalpa. Thy mother Suniti, in the orb of a bright star, shall abide near thee for a similar term; and all those who, with minds attentive, shall glorify thee at dawn or at eventide, shall acquire exceeding religious merit. |
vp.1.13 | Parasara. The sons of Dhruva, by his wife sambhu, were Bhavya and Slishti. Suchchaya, the wife of the latter, was the mother of five virtuous sons, Ripu, Ripunjaya, Vipra, Vrikala, and Vrikatejas. The son of Ripu, by Vrihati, was the illustrious Chakshusha, who begot the Manu Chakshusha on Pushkarini, of the family of Varuna, the daughter of the venerable patriarch Anaranya. The Manu had, by his wife Navala, the daughter of the patriarch Vairaja, ten noble sons, Uru, Pura, Satadyumna, Tapaswi, Satyavak, Kavi, Agnishtoma, Atiratra, Sudyumna, and Abhimanyu. The wife of Uru, agneyi, bore six excellent sons, Anga, Sumanas, Swati, Kratu, Angiras, and siva. Anga had, by his wife Sunitha, only one son, named Vena, whose right arm was rubbed by the Rishis, for the purpose of producing from it progeny. From the arm of Vena, thus rubbed, sprang a celebrated monarch, named Prithu, by whom, in olden time, the earth was milked for the advantage of mankind 1. |
vp.1.13 | Prithu accordingly uprooted the mountains, by hundreds and thousands, for myriads of leagues, and they were thenceforth piled upon one another. Before his time there were no defined boundaries of villages or towns, upon the irregular surface of the earth; there was no cultivation, no pasture, no agriculture, no highway for merchants: all these things (or all civilization) originated in the reign of Prithu. Where the ground was made level, the king induced his subjects to take up their abode. Before his time, also, the fruits and roots which constituted the food of the people were procured with great difficulty, all vegetables having been destroyed; and he therefore, having made Swayambhuva Manu the calf 8, milked the Earth, and received the milk into his own hand, for the benefit of mankind. Thence proceeded all kinds of corn and vegetables upon which people subsist now and perpetually. By granting life to the Earth, Prithu was as her father, and she thence derived the patronymic appellation Prithivi (the daughter of Prithu). Then the gods, the sages, the demons, the Rakshasas, the Gandharbhas, Yakshas, Pitris, serpents, mountains, and trees, took a milking vessel suited to their kind, and milked the earth of appropriate milk, and the milker and the calf were both peculiar to their own species 9. |
vp.1.15 | The daughters of Daksha who were married to Kasyapa were Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhavasa, Ida, Khasa, Kadru, and Muni 19; whose progeny I will describe to you. There were twelve celebrated deities in a former Manwantara, called Tushitas 20, who, upon the approach of the present period, or in the reign of the last Manu, Chakshusha, assembled, and said to one another, "Come, let us quickly enter into the womb of Aditi, that we may be born in the next Manwantara, for thereby we shall again enjoy the rank of gods:" and accordingly they were born the sons of Kasyapa, the son of Marichi, by Aditi, the daughter of Daksha; thence named the twelve adityas; whose appellations were respectively, Vishnu, sakra, aryaman, Dhuti, Twashtri, Pushan, Vivaswat, Savitri, Mitra, Varuna, Ansa, and Bhaga 21. These, who in the Chakshusha Manwantara were the gods called Tushitas, were called the twelve adityas in the Manwantara of Vaivaswata. |
vp.1.22 | All these monarchs, and whatever others may be invested with authority by the mighty Vishnu, as instruments for the preservation of the world; all the kings who have been, and all who shall be; are all, most worthy Brahman, but portions of the universal Vishnu. The rulers of the gods, the rulers of the Daityas, the rulers of the Danavas, and the rulers of all malignant spirits; the chief amongst beasts, amongst birds, amongst men, amongst serpents; the best of trees, of mountains, of planets; either those that now are, or that shall hereafter be, the most exalted of their kind; are but portions of the universal Vishnu. The power of protecting created things, the preservation of the world, resides with no other than Hari, the lord of all. He is the creator, who creates the world; he, the eternal, preserves it in its existence; and he, the destroyer, destroys it; invested severally with the attributes of foulness, goodness, and gloom. By a fourfold manifestation does Janarddana operate in creation, preservation, and destruction. In one portion, as Brahma, the invisible assumes a visible form; in another portion he, as Marichi and the rest, is the progenitor of all creatures; his third portion is time; his fourth is all beings: and thus he becomes quadruple in creation, invested with the quality of passion. In the preservation of the world he is, in one portion, Vishnu; in another portion he is Manu and the other patriarchs; he is time in a third; and all beings in a fourth |
vp.1.22 | Brahma, Daksha, time, and all creatures are the four energies of Hari, which are the causes of creation. Vishnu, Manu and the rest, time, and all creatures are the four energies of Vishnu, which are the causes of duration. Rudra, the destroying fire, time, and all creatures |
vp.1.22 | of sages, of saints, of truth: whose form is all worlds; first born before all the first born; the supporter of all beings, himself self sustained: who exists in manifold forms, as gods, men, and animals; and is thence the sovereign lord of all, eternal: whose shape is all visible things; who is without shape or form: who is celebrated in the Vedanta as the Rich, Yajush, Sama, and Atharva Vedas, inspired history, and sacred science. The Vedas, and their divisions; the institutes of Manu and other lawgivers; traditional scriptures, and religious manuals 10; poems, and all that is said or sung; are the body of the mighty Vishnu, assuming the form of sound. All kinds of substances, with or without shape, here or elsewhere, are the body of Vishnu. I am Hari. All that I behold is Janarddana; cause and effect are from none other than him. The man who knows these truths shall never again experience the afflictions of worldly existence. |
vp.2.1 | Descendants of Priyavrata, the eldest son of Swayambhuva Manu: his ten sons: three adopt a religious life; the others become kings of the seven Dwipas, or isles, of the earth. Agnidhra, king of Jambu dwipa, divides it into nine portions, which he distributes amongst his sons. Nabhi, king of the south, succeeded by Rishabha; and he by Bharata: India named after him Bharata: his descendants reign during the Swayambhuva Manwantara. |
vp.2.1 | Maitreya. You have related to me, venerable preceptor, most fully, all that I was curious to hear respecting the creation of the world; but there is a part of the subject which I am desirous again to have described. You stated that Priyavrata and Uttanapada were the sons of Swayambhuva Manu, and you repeated the story of Dhruva, the son of Uttanapada: you made no mention of the descendants of Priyavrata, and it is an account of his family that I beg you will kindly communicate to me. |
vp.2.1 | [paragraph continues] Pratihartta: his son was Bhava, who begot Udgitha, who begot Prastara; whose son was Prithu. The son of Prithu was Nakta: his son was Gaya: his son was Nara; whose son was Virat. The valiant son of Virat was Dhimat, who begot Mahanta; whose son was Manasyu; whose son was Twashtri: his son was Viraja: his son was Raja: his son was satajit, who had a hundred sons, of whom Viswagjyotish was the eldest 9. Under these princes, Bharata varsha (India) was divided into nine portions (to be hereafter particularized); and their descendants successively held possession of the country for seventy one periods of the aggregate of the four ages (or for the reign of a Manu). |
vp.2.1 | This was the creation of Swayambhuva Manu, by which the earth was peopled, when he presided over the first Manwantara, in the Kalpa of Varaha. |
vp.3.1 | Account of the several Manus and Manwantaras. Swarochisha the second Manu: the divinities, the Indra, the seven Rishis of his period, and his sons. Similar details of Auttami, Tamasa, Raivata, Chakshusha, and Vaivaswata. The forms of Vishnu, as the preserver, in each Manwantara. The meaning of Vishnu. |
vp.3.1 | The first Manu was Swayambhuva, then came Swarochisha, then Auttami, then Tamasa, then Raivata, then Chakshusha: these six Manus have passed away. The Manu who presides over the seventh Manwantara, which is the present period, is Vaivaswata, the son of the sun. |
vp.3.1 | The period of Swayambhuva Manu, in the beginning of the Kalpa, has already been described by me, together with the gods, Rishis, and other personages, who then flourished 1. I will now, therefore, enumerate |
vp.3.1 | the presiding gods, Rishis, and sons of the Manu, in the Manwantara of Swarochisha 2. The deities of this period (or the second Manwantara) were the classes called Paravatas and Tushitas 3; and the king of the gods was the mighty Vipaschit. The seven Rishis 4 were Urja, Stambha, |
vp.3.1 | [paragraph continues] Prana, Dattoli, Rishabha, Nischara, and Arvarivat; and Chaitra, Kimpurusha, and others, were the Manu s sons 5. |
vp.3.1 | In the third period, or Manwantara of Auttami 6, Susanti was the Indra, the king of the gods; the orders of whom were the Sudhamas, Satyas, sivas, Pradarsanas, and Vasavertis 7; each of the five orders consisting of twelve divinities. The seven sons of Vasishtha were the seven Rishis 8; and Aja, Parasu, Divya, and others, were the sons of the Manu 9. |
vp.3.1 | The Surupas, Haris, Satyas, and sudhis 10 were the classes of gods, each comprising twenty seven, in the period of Tamasa, the fourth Manu 11. sivi was the Indra, also designated by his performance of a hundred sacrifices (or named satakratu). The seven Rishis were Jyotirdhama, Prithu, Kavya, Chaitra, Agni, Vanaka, and Pivara 12. The sons of Tamasa were the mighty kings Nara, Khyati, santahaya, Janujangha, and others 13. |
vp.3.1 | In the fifth interval the Manu was Raivata 14: the Indra was Vibhu: the classes of gods, consisting of fourteen each, were the Amitabhas, Abhutarajasas, Vaikunthas, and Sumedhasas 15: the seven Rishis were |
vp.3.1 | Chakshusha was the Manu of the sixth period 17: in which the Indra was Manojava: the five classes of gods were the adyas, Prastutas, Bhavyas, Prithugas, and the magnanimous Lekhas, eight of each 18: Sumedhas, Virajas, Havishmat, Uttama, Madhu, Abhinaman, and Sahishnu were the seven sages 19: the kings of the earth, the sons of Chakshusha, were the powerful Uru, Puru, satadyumna, and others. |
vp.3.1 | The Manu of the present period is the wise lord of obsequies, the illustrious offspring of the sun: the deities are the adityas, Vasus, and Rudras; their sovereign is Purandara: Vasishtha, Kasyapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Gautama, Viswamitra, and Bharadwaja are the seven Rishis: and the nine pious sons of Vaivaswata Manu are the kings Ikshwaku, Nabhaga, Dhrishta, Sanyati, Narishyanta, Nabhanidishta, Karusha, Prishadhra, and the celebrated Vasumat 20. |
vp.3.2 | Of the seven future Manus and Manwantaras. Story of Sanjna and Chhaya, wives of the sun. Savarni, son of Chhaya, the eighth Manu. His successors, with the divinities, &c. of their respective periods. Appearance of Vishnu in each of the four Yugas. |
vp.3.2 | Parasara. Sanjna, the daughter of Viswakarman, was the wife of the sun, and bore him three children, the Manu Vaivaswata(), Yama, and the goddess Yami (or the Yamuna river). Unable to endure the fervours of her lord, Sanjna gave him Chhaya 1 as his handmaid, and repaired to the forests to practise devout exercises. The sun, supposing Chhaya to be his wife Sanjna, begot by her three other children, sanaischara Saturn(), another Manu Savarni(), and a daughter Tapati (the Tapti river). Chhaya, upon one occasion, being offended with Yama 2, the son of Sanjna, denounced an imprecation upon him, and thereby revealed to Yama and to the sun that she was not in truth Sanjna, the mother of the former. Being further informed by Chhaya that his wife had gone to the wilderness, the sun beheld her by the eye of meditation engaged in austerities, in the figure of a mare (in the region of Uttara Kuru). Metamorphosing himself into a horse, he rejoined his wife, and begot three other children, the two aswins and Revanta, and |
vp.3.2 | The son of Chhaya, who was called also a Manu, was denominated Savarni 6, from being of the same caste Savarna() as his elder brother, the Manu Vaivaswata. He presides over the ensuing or eighth Manwantara; the particulars of which, and the following, I will now relate. In the period in which Savarni shall be the Manu, the classes of the gods will be Sutapas, Amitabhas, and Mukhyas; twenty one of each. The seven Rishis will be Diptimat, Galava, Rama, Kripa, Drauni; my son Vyasa will be the sixth, and the seventh will be Rishyasringa 7. The Indra will be Bali, the sinless son of Virochana, who through the favour of Vishnu is actually sovereign of part of Patala. The royal progeny of Savarni will be Virajas, Arvarivas, Nirmoha, and others. |
vp.3.2 | The ninth Manu will be Daksha savarni 8. The Paras, Marichigarbhas, and Sudharmas will be the three classes of divinities, each consisting of twelve; their powerful chief will be the Indra Adbhuta. Savana, Dyutimat, Bhavya, Vasu, Medhatithi, Jyotishman, and Satya will be the seven Rishis. Dhritaketu, Driptiketu, Panchahasta, Mahamaya, Prithusrava, and others, will be the sons of the Manu. |
vp.3.2 | In the tenth Manwantara the Manu will be Brahma savarni: the gods will be the Sudhamas, Viruddhas, and satasankhyas: the Indra will be the mighty santi: the Rishis will be Havishman, Sukriti, Satya, Apammurtti, Nabhaga, Apratimaujas, and Satyaketu: and the ten sons of the Manu will be Sukshetra, Uttarnaujas, Harishena, and others. |
vp.3.2 | In the eleventh Manwantara the Manu will be Dharma savarni: the principal classes of gods will be the Vihangamas, Kamagamas, and Nirmanaratis, each thirty in number 9; of whom Vrisha will be the Indra: the Rishis will be Nischara, Agnitejas, Vapushman, Vishnu, aruni, Havishman, and Anagha: the kings of the earth, and sons of the Manu, will be Savarga, Sarvadharma, Devanika, and others. |
vp.3.2 | In the twelfth Manwantara the son of Rudra, Savarni, will be the Manu: Ritudhama will be the Indra: and the Haritas, Lohitas, Sumanasas, and Sukarmas will be the classes of gods, each comprising fifteen. |
vp.3.2 | [paragraph continues] Tapaswi, Sutapas, Tapomurtti, Taporati, Tapodhriti, Tapodyuti, and Tapodhana will be the Rishis: and Devavan, Upadeva, Devasreshta, and others, will be the Manu s sons, and mighty monarchs on the earth. |
vp.3.2 | In the thirteenth Manwantara the Manu will be Rauchya 10: the classes of gods, thirty three in each, will be the Sudhamans, Sudharmans, and Sukarmans; their Indra will be Divaspati: the Rishis will be Nirmoha, Tatwadersin, Nishprakampa, Nirutsuka, Dhritimat, Avyaya, and Sutapas: and Chitrasena, Vichitra, and others, will be the kings. |
vp.3.2 | In the fourteenth Manwantara, Bhautya will be the Manu 11; Suchi, the Indra: the five classes of gods will be the Chakshushas, the Pavitras, Kanishthas, Bhrajiras, and Vavriddhas: the seven Rishis will be Agnibahu, suchi, sukra, Magadha, Gridhra, Yukta, and Ajita: and the sons of the Manu will be Uru, Gabhira, Bradhna, and others, who will be kings, and will rule over the earth 12. |
vp.3.2 | At the end of every four ages there is a disappearance of the Vedas, and it is the province of the seven Rishis to come down upon earth from heaven to give them currency again. In every Krita age the Manu (of the period) is the legislator or author of the body of law, the Smriti: the |
vp.3.2 | deities of the different classes receive the sacrifices during the Manwantaras to which they severally belong: and the sons of the Manu them. selves, and their descendants, are the sovereigns of the earth for the whole of the same term. The Manu, the seven Rishis, the gods, the sons of the Manu, who are the kings, and Indra, are the beings who preside over the world during each Manwantara. |
vp.3.3 | Twenty eight times have the Vedas been arranged by the great Rishis in the Vaivaswata Manwantara in the Dwapara age, and consequently eight and twenty Vyasas have passed away; by whom, in their respective periods, the Veda has been divided into four. In the first Dwapara age the distribution was made by Swayambhu Brahma() himself; in the second, the arranger of the Veda Veda( vyasa) was Prajapati (or Manu); in the third, Usanas; in the fourth, Vrihaspati; in the fifth, Savitri; in the sixth, Mrityu Death(, or Yama); in the seventh, Indra; in the eighth, Vasishtha; in the ninth, Saraswata; in the tenth, Tridhaman; in |
vp.3.16 | is so little as not to satisfy a cow, or smells badly, or is covered with froth. The milk of animals with undivided hoofs, of a camel, a ewe, a deer, or a buffalo, is unfit for ancestral oblations. If an obsequial rite is looked at by a eunuch, a man ejected from society, an outcast, a heretic, a drunken man, or one diseased, by a cock, a naked ascetic 3, a monkey, a village hag, by a woman in her courses or pregnant, by an unclean person, or by a carrier of corpses, neither gods nor progenitors will partake of the food. The ceremony should therefore be performed in a spot carefully enclosed. Let the performer cast sesamum on the ground, and drive away malignant spirits. Let him not give food that is fetid, or vitiated by hairs or insects, or mixed with acid gruel, or stale. Whatever suitable food is presented with pure faith, and with the enunciation of name and race, to ancestors, at an obsequial oblation, becomes food to them (or gives them nourishment). In former times, O king of the earth! this song of the Pitris was heard by Ikshwaku, the son of Manu, in the groves of Kalapa (on the skirts of the Himalaya mountains): Those of our descendants shall follow a righteous path who shall reverently present us with cakes at Gaya. May he be born in our race who shall give us, on the thirteenth of Bhadrapada and Magha, milk, honey, and clarified butter; or when he marries a maiden, or liberates a black bull 4, or performs any domestic ceremony agreeable to rule, accompanied by |
vp.4.1 | Dynasties of kings. Origin of the solar dynasty from Brahma. Sons of the Manu Vaivaswata. Transformations of Ila or Sudyumna. Descendants of the sons of Vaivaswat; those of Nedishtha. Greatness of Marutta. Kings of Vaisali. Descendants of saryati. Legend of Raivata; his daughter Revati married to Balarama. |
vp.4.1 | Parasara. I will repeat to you, Maitreya, an account of the family of Manu, commencing with Brahma, and graced by a number of religious, magnanimous, and heroic princes. Of which it is said, "The lineage of him shall never be extinct, who daily calls to mind the race of |
vp.4.1 | [paragraph continues] Manu, originating with Brahma 2." Listen therefore, Maitreya, to the entire series of the princes of this family, by which all sin shall be effaced. |
vp.4.1 | Before the evolution of the mundane egg, existed Brahma, who was Hiranyagarbha, the form of that supreme Brahma which consists of Vishnu as identical with the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas; the primeval, uncreated cause of all worlds. From the right thumb of Brahma was born the patriarch Daksha 3; his daughter was Aditi, who was the mother of the sun. The Manu Vaivaswata was the son of the celestial luminary; and his sons were Ikshwaku, Nriga, Dhrishta, saryati, Narishyanta, Pransu, Nabhaga, Nedishta, Karusha, and Prishadhra 4. |
vp.4.1 | [paragraph continues] Before their birth, the Manu being desirous of sons, offered a sacrifice for that purpose to Mitra and Varuna; but the rite being deranged, through an irregularity of the ministering priest, a daughter, Ila, was produced 5. Through the favour of the two divinities, however, her sex |
vp.4.1 | Of the other sons of the Manu, Prishadhra, in consequence of the crime of killing a cow, was degraded to the condition of a sudra 8. From Karusha descended the mighty warriors termed Karushas (the sovereigns of the north 9). The son of Nedishtha, named Nabhaga, became |
vp.4.1 | saryati, the fourth son of the Manu, had a daughter named Sukanya, who was married to the holy sage Chyavana 29: he had also a righteous son, called anartta. The son of the latter was Revata 30, who ruled over |
vp.4.1 | the country called after his father anartta, and dwelt at the capital denominated Kusasthali 31. The son of this prince was Raivata or Kakudmin, the eldest of a hundred brethren. He had a very lovely daughter, and not finding any one worthy of her hand, he repaired with her to the region of Brahma to consult the god where a fit bridegroom was to be met with. When he arrived, the quiristers Haha, Huhu, and others, were singing before Brahma; and Raivata, waiting till they had finished, imagined the ages that elapsed during their performance to be but as a moment. At the end of their singing, Raivata prostrated himself before Brahma, and explained his errand. "Whom should you wish for a son in law?" demanded Brahma; and the king mentioned to him various persons with whom he could be well pleased. Nodding his head gently, and graciously smiling, Brahma said to him, "Of those whom you have named the third or fourth generation no longer survives, for many successions of ages have passed away whilst you were listening to our songsters: now upon earth the twenty eighth great age of the present Manu is nearly finished, and the Kali period is at hand. You must therefore bestow this virgin gem upon some other husband, for you are now alone, and your friends, your ministers, servants, wife, kinsmen, armies, and treasures, have long since been swept away by the hand of time." Overcome with astonishment and alarm, the Raja then said to Brahma, "Since I am thus circumstanced, do thou, |
vp.4.2 | From Dhrishta, the son of the Manu, sprang the Kshatriya race of Dharshtaka 2. |
vp.4.2 | Ikshwaku was born from the nostril of the Manu, as he happened to sneeze 7. He had a hundred sons, of whom the three most distinguished were Vikukshi, Nimi, and Danda. Fifty of the rest, under Sakuni, were the protectors of the northern countries. Forty eight were the princes of the south 8. |
vp.4.24 | Thus age after age Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and sudras, excellent Brahman, men of great souls, have passed away by thousands; whose names and tribes and families I have not enumerated to you, from their great number, and the repetition of appellations it would involve. Two persons, Devapi of the race of Puru, and Maru of the family of Ikshwaku, through the force of devotion continue alive throughout the whole four ages, residing at the village of Kalapa: they will return hither in the beginning of the Krita age, and, becoming members of the family of the Manu, give origin to the Kshatriya dynasties 84. In this manner the earth is possessed through every series of the three first ages, the Krita, Treta, and Dwapara, by the sons of the Manu; and some remain in the Kali age, to serve as the rudiments of renewed generations, in the same way as Devapi and Maru are still in existence. |
vp.4.24 | These were the verses, Maitreya, which Earth recited, and by listening to which ambition fades away like snow before the sun. I have now related to you the whole account of the descendants of the Manu; amongst whom have flourished kings endowed with a portion of Vishnu, engaged in the preservation of the earth. Whoever shall listen reverently and with faith to this narrative, proceeding from the posterity of Manu, shall be purified entirely from all his sins, and, with the perfect possession of his faculties, shall live in unequalled affluence, plenty, and prosperity. He who has heard of the races of the sun and moon, of Ikshwaku., Jahnu, Mandhatri, Sagara, and Raghu, who have all perished; of Yayati, Nahusha, and their posterity, who are no more; of kings of great might, resistless valour, and unbounded wealth, who have been overcome by still more powerful time, and are now only a tale; he will learn wisdom, and forbear to call either children, or wife, or house, or |
vp.6.5 | knowledge and works. Knowledge is of two kinds, that which is derived from scripture, and that which is derived from reflection. Brahma that is the word is composed of scripture; Brahma that is supreme is produced of reflection 5. Ignorance is utter darkness, in which knowledge, obtained through any sense (as that of hearing), shines like a lamp; but the knowledge that is derived from reflection breaks upon the obscurity like the sun. What has been said by Manu, when appealing to the meaning of the Vedas with respect to this subject, I will repeat to you. There are two (forms of) spirit (or god), the spirit which is the word, and the spirit which is supreme. He who is thoroughly imbued with the word of god obtains supreme spirit 6. The Atharva Veda also states that there are two kinds of knowledge; by the one, which is the supreme, god is attained; the other is that which consists of the Rich and other Vedas 7. That which is imperceptible, undecaying, inconceivable, unborn, inexhaustible, indescribable; which has neither form, nor hands, nor feet; which is almighty, omnipresent, eternal; the cause of all things, and without cause; permeating all, itself unpenetrated, and from which all things proceed; that is the object which the wise behold, that is Brahma, that is the supreme state, that is the subject of contemplation to those who desire liberation, that is the thing spoken of by the Vedas, the infinitely subtile, supreme condition of Vishnu. That essence of the |
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