Universe: The many Manus, and not just one

In Sanskrit, the word for human is manava. It comes from manasa, the ability to imagine, that only humans have. From this word comes Manu, a mythological character. Most people assume that Manu is simply the stern lawgiver of the Manusmriti, son of Brahma, entrusted with the task of framing rules for humankind. But this Manu is only one among many, and a relatively late one at that — emerging around 200 AD. Long before him, the Vedas and Brahmanas had already woven different stories of Manu, each revealing new aspects of how humans imagined their origins, duties, and destiny.

The earliest Manu appears in the Rigveda around 1500 BC. Here, he is not a lawgiver but a ritualist. He commands the eagle to fly eastward and bring back the rare soma plant. After great struggle, the eagle returns with the sacred twig. Manu crushes it, extracts the juice, and offers it to Indra. Pleased, Indra rewards him with fertile pastures. This first image of Manu is of the sacrificer — the one who links gods and men through ritual, ensuring prosperity by nourishing the divine.

Later, in the Brahmanas, 800 BC, Manu takes on another role: the preserver of culture. In the famous flood myth, Manu rescues a small fish from larger predators, caring for it as it grows. The fish eventually warns him of an impending deluge and advises him to build a boat. With seeds of all life and the knowledge of the Vedas, Manu ties his craft to the fish’s horn and survives the flood, reaching the safety of a mountain peak. From there, he restores order and Vedic culture. Here Manu is both the last man of the old world and the first man of the new, bridging destruction and renewal.

Puranic lore (500 AD to 1500 AD) imagines many Manus, each marking the close of one age and the dawn of another. Each is linked with seven sages or Sapta Rishis. They embody continuity across cycles of change, always associated with dharma. Dharma, at its core, is human culture: not just eating, like animals do, but feeding the other. Manu insists that true humanity begins when we care for more than ourselves.

From this principle, he frames life into four ashramas: student, householder, retiree, and renunciate. This ensures the earth is not crushed by endless consumption. He also classifies society into groups: those who perform rituals, those who work the land, those who trade, and those who serve. Today, debates around the Manusmriti focus narrowly on caste, forgetting its deeper stress on restraint, renunciation, and responsibility.

Another Manu is remembered as the son of Surya, the Sun God, and his wife Saranya. Surya’s children represent the cycle of life and death: Manu, the first among the living, and Yama, the first among the dead. Through his son Ikshvaku, Manu becomes the ancestor of the solar dynasty of kings, leading to Rama of the Ramayana. Another son, Ila, transforms into a woman and unites with Budha, son of the Moon, giving rise to the lunar dynasty. Thus solar and lunar lines of kings — Surya-vamsha and Chandra-vamsha — both trace back to Manu.

Manu thus is not just one character of Hindu imagination but many. He is a ritualist, survivor, lawgiver, and ancestor. All the Manus remind us of different aspects of humanity.

— The writer is an acclaimed mythologist