The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840], at sacred-texts.com
The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840], at sacred-texts.com
Of the seven future Manus and Manwantaras. Story of Sanjná and Chháyá, wives of the sun. Sávarńi, son of Chháyá, the eighth Manu. His successors, with the divinities, &c. of their respective periods. Appearance of Vishńu in each of the four Yugas.
MAITREYA.--You have recapitulated to me, most excellent Brahman, the particulars of the past Manwantaras; now give me some account of those which are to come.
PARÁŚARA.--Sanjná, the daughter of Viśwakarman, was the wife of the sun, and bore him three children, the Manu (Vaivaswata), Yama, and the goddess Yamí (or the Yamuná river). Unable to endure the fervours of her lord, Sanjná gave him Chháyá 1 as his handmaid, and repaired to the forests to practise devout exercises. The sun, supposing Chháyá to be his wife Sanjná, begot by her three other children, Śanaiśchara (Saturn), another Manu (Sávarńi), and a daughter Tapatí (the Tapti river). Chháyá, upon one occasion, being offended with Yama 2, the son of Sanjná, denounced an imprecation upon him, and thereby revealed to Yama and to the sun that she was not in truth Sanjná, the mother of the former. Being further informed by Chháyá 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 Áswins and Revanta, and
then brought Sanjná back to his own dwelling. To diminish his intensity, Viśwakarman placed the luminary on his lathe, to grind off some of his effulgence; and in this manner reduced it an eighth, for more than that was inseparable 3. The parts of the divine Vaishńava splendour, residing in the sun, that were filed off by Viśwakarman, fell blazing down upon the earth, and the artist constructed of them the discus of Vishńu, the trident of Śiva, the weapon 4 of the god of wealth, the lance of Kártikeya, and the weapons of the other gods: all these Viśwakarman fabricated from the superfluous rays of the sun 5.
The son of Chháyá, who was called also a Manu, was denominated Sávarńi 6, from being of the same caste (Savarńa) 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 Sávarńi shall be the Manu, the classes of the gods will be Sutapas, Amitábhas, and Mukhyas; twenty-one of each. The seven Rishis will be Díptimat, Gálava, Ráma, Kripa, Drauńi; my son Vyása 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 Vishńu is actually sovereign of part of Pátála. The royal progeny of Sávarńi will be Virajas, Arvarívas, Nirmoha, and others.
The ninth Manu will be Daksha-sávarńi 8. The Páras, Maríchigarbhas, 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, Jyotishmán, and Satya will be the seven Rishis. Dhritaketu, Driptiketu, Panchahasta, Mahámáyá, Prithuśrava, and others, will be the sons of the Manu.
In the tenth Manwantara the Manu will be Brahmá-sávarńi: the gods will be the Sudhámas, Viruddhas, and Śatasankhyas: the Indra will be the mighty Śánti: the Rishis will be Havishmán, Sukriti, Satya, Apámmúrtti, Nábhága, Apratimaujas, and Satyaketu: and the ten sons of the Manu will be Sukshetra, Uttarnaujas, Harisheńa, and others.
In the eleventh Manwantara the Manu will be Dharma-sávarńi: the principal classes of gods will be the Vihangamas, Kámagamas, and Nirmánaratis, each thirty in number 9; of whom Vrisha will be the Indra: the Rishis will be Niśchara, Agnitejas, Vapushmán, Vishńu, Áruni, Havishmán, and Anagha: the kings of the earth, and sons of the Manu, will be Savarga, Sarvadharma, Deváníka, and others.
In the twelfth Manwantara the son of Rudra, Sávarńi, will be the Manu: Ritudhámá will be the Indra: and the Haritas, Lohitas, Sumanasas, and Sukarmas will be the classes of gods, each comprising fifteen.
[paragraph continues] Tapaswí, Sutapas, Tapomúrtti, Taporati, Tapodhriti, Tapodyuti, and Tapodhana will be the Rishis: and Devaván, Upadeva, Devaśresht́a, and others, will be the Manu's sons, and mighty monarchs on the earth.
In the thirteenth Manwantara the Manu will be Rauchya 10: the classes of gods, thirty-three in each, will be the Sudhámans, Sudharmans, and Sukarmans; their Indra will be Divaspati: the Rishis will be Nirmoha, Tatwadersín, Nishprakampa, Nirutsuka, Dhritimat, Avyaya, and Sutapas: and Chitrasena, Vichitra, and others, will be the kings.
In the fourteenth Manwantara, Bhautya will be the Manu 11; Suchi, the Indra: the five classes of gods will be the Chákshushas, the Pavitras, Kanisht́has, Bhrájiras, and Vávriddhas: the seven Rishis will be Agnibáhu, Śuchi, Śukra, Magadhá, Gridhra, Yukta, and Ajita: and the sons of the Manu will be Uru, Gabhíra, Bradhna, and others, who will be kings, and will rule over the earth 12.
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
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.
An entire Kalpa, oh Brahman, is said to comprise a thousand ages, or fourteen Manwantaras 13; and it is succeeded by a night of similar duration; during which, he who wears the form of Brahmá, Janárddana, the substance of all things, the lord of all, and creator of all, involved in his own illusions, and having swallowed up the three spheres, sleeps upon the serpent Śesha, amidst the ocean 14. Being after that awake, he, who is the universal soul, again creates all things as they were before, in combination with the property of foulness (or activity): and in a portion of his essence, associated with the property of goodness, he, as the Manus, the kings, the gods, and their Indras, as well as the seven Rishis, is the preserver of the world. In what manner Vishńu, who is characterised by the attribute of providence during the four ages, effected their preservation, I will next, Maitreya, explain.
In the Krita age, Vishńu, in the form of Kapila and other inspired teachers, assiduous for the benefit of all creatures, imparts to them true wisdom. In the Treta age he restrains the wicked, in the form of a universal monarch, and protects the three worlds 15. In the Dwápara age, in the person of Veda-vyása, he divides the one Veda into four, and
distributes it into innumerable branches: and at the end of the Kali or fourth age he appears as Kalki, and reestablishes the iniquitous in the paths of rectitude. In this manner the universal spirit preserves, creates, and at last destroys, all the world.
Thus, Brahman, I have described to you the true nature of that great being who is all things, and besides whom there is no other existent thing, nor has there been, nor will there be, either here or elsewhere. I have also enumerated to you the Manwantaras, and those who preside over them. What else do you wish to hear?
266:1 That is, her shadow or image. It also means 'shade.' The Bhágavata, however, makes both Sanjná and Chháyá daughters of Viśwakarman. According to the Matsya, Vivaswat, the son of Kaśyapa and Adití, had three wives, Rájní, the daughter of Raivata, by whom he had Revanta; Prabhá, by whom he had Prabhata; and by Sanjná, the daughter of Twasht́ri, the Manu and Yama and Yamuná. The story then proceeds much as in the text.
266:2 Yama, provoked at her partiality for her own children, abused Chháyá, and lifted up his foot to kick her. She cursed him to have his leg affected with sores and worms; but his father bestowed upon him a cock, to eat the worms, and remove the discharge; and Yama, afterwards propitiating Mahádeva, obtained the rank of Lokapála, and sovereign of Tartarus.
267:3 The Matsya says he trimmed the sun every where except in the feet, the extent of which he could not discern. Consequently in pictures or images the feet of the sun must never be delineated, under pain of leprosy, &c.
267:4 The term is Śiviká, which properly means 'a litter,' The commentator calls it Astra, 'a weapon.'
267:5 This legend is told, with some variations of no great importance, in the Matsya, Márkańd́eya, and Padma P. (Swarga Khańd́a), in the Bhágavata, and Hari Vanśa, &c.
267:6 The Márkańd́eya, whilst it admits Sávarńi to be the son of the sun, has a legend of his former birth, in the Swárochisha Manwantara, as Suratha Rájá, who became a Manu by having then propitiated Deví. It was to him that the Durgá Máhátmya or Chańd́í, the popular narrative of Durga's triumphs over various demons, was narrated.
267:7 The Váyu has Jámadagnya or Paraśuráma, of the Kuśika race; Gálava, of that of Bhrigu; Dwaipáyana (or Vyása), of the family of Vaśisht́ha; Kripa, the son of Śaradwat; Díptimat, descended from Atri; Rishyasringa, from Kaśyapa; and Aswattháman, the son of Drońa, of the Bháradwája family. The Matsya and Padma have Satánanda in place of Diptimat.
268:8 The four following Sávarńis are described in the Váyu as the mind-engendered sons of a daughter of Daksha, named either Suvratá (Váyu) or Priyá (Bráhma) by himself and the three gods, Brahmá, Dharma, and Rudra, to whom he presented her on mount Meru; whence they are called also Meru-sávarńis. They are termed Sávarńis from their being of one family or caste. According to the same authority, followed by the Hari Vanśa, it appears that this Manu is also called Rohita. Most of the details of this and the following Manwantaras are omitted in the Matsya, Brahmá, Padma, and Márkańd́eya Puráńas. The Bhágavata and Kúrma give the same as our text; and the Váyu, which agrees very nearly with it, is followed in most respects by the Hari Vanśa. The Matsya and Padma are peculiar in their series and nomenclature of the Manus themselves, calling the 9th Rauchya, 10th Bhautya, 11th Merusavárńi, son of Brahmá, 12th Ritu, 13th Ritadháman, and 14th Viswaksena. The Bhágavata calls the two last Manus, Deva-sávarńi and Indra-sávarńi.
268:9 Hence the Váyu identifies the first with days, the second with nights, and the third with hours.
269:10 The son of the Prajápati Ruchi (Váyu, &c.), by the nymph Mániní, the daughter of the Apsaras Pramlochá (Márkańd́eya).
269:11 Son of Ravi, by the goddess Bhútí, according to the Váyu; but the Márkańd́eya makes Bhútí the son of Angiras, whose pupil Śánti, having suffered the holy fire to go out in his master's absence, prayed to Agni, and so propitiated him, that he not only relighted the flame, but desired Śánti to demand a further boon. Śánti accordingly solicited a son for his Guru; which son was Bhúti, the father of the Manu Bhautya.
269:12 Although the Puráńas which give an account of the Manwantaras agree in some of the principal details, yet in the minor ones they offer many varieties, some of which have been noticed. These chiefly regard the first six and the eighth. Except in a few individual peculiarities, the authorities seem to arrange themselves in two classes; one comprehending the Vishńu, Váyu, Kúrma, Bhágavata, and Márkańd́eya; and the other the Matsya, Padma, Bráhma, and Hari Vanśa. The Márkańd́eya, although it agrees precisely with the Vishńu in its nomenclature, differs from it, and from all, in devoting a considerable number of its pages to legends of the origin of the Manus, all of which are evidently of comparatively recent invention, and several of which have been no doubt suggested by the etymology of the names of the Manus.
270:13 A thousand ages of the gods and fourteen Manwantaras are not precisely the same thing, as has been already explained. (See p. 24. n. 6.)
270:14 The order of the text would imply, that as Brahmá he sleeps upon Śesha; but if this be intended, it is at variance with the usual legend, that it is as Vishńu or Náráyańa that the deity sleeps in the intervals of dissolution. The commentator accordingly qualifies the phrase Brahmarúpadhara by the term Divá: 'Vishńu wears the form of Brahmá by day; by night he sleeps on Śesha, in the person of Náráyańa.' This however may be suspected to be an innovation upon an older system; for in speaking of the alternations of creation and dissolution, they are always considered as consentaneous with the day and night of Brahmá alone.
270:15 As a Chakravarttin.