Vaivasvata Manvantara
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The Vaivasvata Manvantara is the seventh manvantara in the current kalpa. It is presided over by Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Vivasvān (Sūrya) and Saṃjñā Devī. Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa narrates the remarkable story of how Vaivasvata Manu came to be born, the troubles faced by his mother Saṃjñā Devī on account of the unbearable tejas of her husband Sūrya, the creation of Chāyā-Saṃjñā, the curses upon Yama and Yamunā, the reduction of Sūrya’s tejas by Viśvakarmā, and the birth of the Aśvinī-kumāras and Revanta. It further details the devatās, saptarṣis, Indra, and the sons of Manu who belong to this manvantara.
The Birth of Vaivasvata Manu
The Curses of Sūrya
Maharṣi Mārkaṇḍeya narrated that the daughter of Viśvakarmā, named Saṃjñā, was the wife of the deity Sūrya. In her womb, by the seed of Sūrya, a Manu was born. This Manu was of celebrated fame and an expert in various jñāna. Because he was the son of Vivasvān, he came to be known as Vaivasvata Manu.
However, there was a great difficulty in the household of Sūrya. Whenever Sūrya Deva looked at her, Saṃjñā Devī would close both her eyes, unable to bear his brilliant tejas. One day, Sūrya Deva became angry at this and spoke harsh words to her. He said that since she always closes her eyes upon seeing him, a son named Yama, who would be intent on the restraint of subjects, would be born to her.
From that time onward, Saṃjñā Devī became agitated with fear and began to look at Sūrya with a trembling gaze. Seeing her eyes shaking in this way, Ravi spoke again and declared that since she had looked at him with trembling eyes, she would give birth to a daughter who would become a river of trembling nature.
In this manner, after the husband uttered these curses, Yama was born from her womb, and also the celebrated great river named Yamunā came into being.
Saṃjñā Devī’s Departure and the Creation of Chāyā
Saṃjñā Devī had endured the tejas of Ravi with grief for a long time. But because she could no longer bear that tejas, she began to think deeply about what she should do, where she should go, and how she might find relief. After considering in many ways, that Saṃjñā Devī, the daughter of Viśvakarmā Prajāpati, decided that taking refuge with her father would be the better course.
Having resolved to go to her father’s house, she created from her own body a shadow-form called Chāyā, to serve as a beloved companion for Ravi in her absence. Saṃjñā then instructed Chāyā to remain in the house of Sūrya exactly as she herself had been, to behave towards the children and towards the husband Sūrya exactly as Saṃjñā would, and never to reveal her departure even if Bhānu were to ask. She told Chāyā to always say that she was Saṃjñā herself.
Chāyā agreed and said that until her hair was grasped or a curse was given, she would perform all actions according to Saṃjñā’s word. But she said that when the curse and the pulling of hair were to occur, she would tell the entire account.
After this agreement, Saṃjñā Devī departed for her father Viśvakarmā’s house. Viśvakarmā honored and respected her with great regard, and Saṃjñā Devī stayed in his house for some time.
Viśvakarmā Sends Saṃjñā Back
After some time had passed, her father Viśvakarmā spoke to his daughter with extreme affection and great honor. He said that although many days had passed while looking at her, they seemed to him equal to only half a muhūrta. But he explained that because of this prolonged stay, dharma perishes. He told her that long residence in the houses of kinsmen does not bring fame for women, and that the desire of kinsmen is always for a woman to remain in her husband’s house. He reminded her that she was joined with the husband Sūrya, the lord of the three worlds, and that she ought not to stay in her father’s house for a long time.
He then told her to go to her husband’s house, declaring himself satisfied and having honored her. He said she could come again for a visit and then go.
After her father spoke thus, Saṃjñā Devī said “let it be so,” worshiped her father well, and departed. But she did not return to Sūrya’s abode. Instead, Saṃjñā Devī, who felt fear of Sūrya’s tejas and was unwilling to endure his heat, went to the land of Uttara Kuru. There she began to perform tapas, assuming the form of a mare, a female horse.
Chāyā-Saṃjñā’s Partiality and Yama’s Curse
Meanwhile, at home, Sūrya, the lord of the day, thinking Chāyā to be Saṃjñā Devī herself, produced two sons and one beautiful daughter through her. But just as Chāyā-Saṃjñā was very affectionate towards her own offspring, she did not behave in the same affectionate way towards the two sons and the daughter of the original Saṃjñā.
Daily in the acts of fondling and enjoyment, she showed a different attitude towards the two sets of children. Manu, the elder son of Saṃjñā Devī indeed forgave her, but Yama did not forgive her uneven attitudes. Overcome by anger, Yama lifted his foot to kick her. But being patient, he did not actually drop it on her body. Even so, Chāyā Dévī became enraged and cursed him. She declared that since he, transgressing boundaries, had threatened the wife of his father with his foot, that very foot of his would fall upon the earth.
Having heard the curse given by the mother, Yama became agitated by fear and went to his father Sūrya. He prostrated before him and spoke. He said that a mother, having abandoned affection, gave a curse to the son, and called this very astonishing. He said that no one had ever seen such a thing. He also reported that Manu had told him that this mother was not the same towards him as before. He added that even if sons are possessed of bad qualities, a mother never becomes one of bad qualities towards them.
Sūrya Discovers the Truth
Having heard these words of Yama, Bhagavān Sūrya, the destroyer of darkness, summoned Chāyā and asked where Saṃjñā had gone. Chāyā replied that she was the daughter of Viśvakarmā and Sūrya’s own Saṃjñā, and that from her own womb these offspring were born. When she did not tell the truth despite Sūrya asking many times, Sūrya became enraged and prepared to curse her.
At that point, she told the entire account exactly as it had happened. Bhagavān Sūrya, having understood the matter, went to the house of Viśvakarmā, who is also known as Tvaṣṭṛ. Viśvakarmā worshiped the light-possessing Sūrya, who is worshiped by the three worlds, with supreme bhakti when he arrived at his house. When asked about Saṃjñā, Viśvakarmā told him that she had indeed come to his house, having been sent by Sūrya.
Then Sūrya, being in samādhi, saw Saṃjñā Devī performing tapas in the land of Uttara Kuru in the form of a mare. He also understood the purpose of her tapas, which was the wish that her husband become of beautiful form and gentle appearance.
The Reduction of Sūrya’s Tejas
Bhāskara then spoke to Viśvakarmā, the father of Saṃjñā Devī, requesting that a reduction of his tejas be performed. Thereafter, the devatās and the devarṣi groups, having assembled together, all began to praise Ravi, who is worshipful to the trailokya. After the devatās and devarṣis had praised him in this manner, Sūrya, the indestructible heap of tejas, diminished his tejas.
The Sūrya Stotra
The devatās praised Sūrya in many exalted ways. They praised him to be the ṛk-svarūpa, the sāma-svarūpa, and the yaju-svarūpa. They called him the sole basis for jñāna, the destroyer of tāmasa, and the śuddha-jyoti-svarūpa who is viśuddha and amala-ātman. They saluted him as the bearer of śaṅkha, cakra, gadā, and padma, and described him as the variṣṭha, vareṇya, para, and paramātman, the complete jagadvyāpi-svarūpa. They said he is the niṣṭhā-svarūpa for humans possessing jñāna-caitanya and the kāraṇa-svarūpa for all bhūtas. They praised him as the sūrya-svarūpa, the prakāśātma-rūpa-svarūpa, and the dinakara, as well as the kāraṇa-svarūpa for the night and the creator of saṃdhyā and jyotsnā. They said that because of him alone, the jagat is awakened and wanders, and the entire brahmāṇḍa including moving and non-moving beings is driven and revolves. All materials worthy of touch become pure only by the touch of his rays, and purity for water and other things is established only through his rays. Until purity is attained through his rays, the dharmas such as homa and dāna do not provide benefit. They declared that all the rays emerging from his limbs are the ṛk, yaju, and sāma. They called him ṛjmaya, yajurmaya, and sāma-rūpa, and therefore trayīmaya. They said he is the brahma-rūpa, the pradhāna and the apradhāna, the one who wears form and the one who is formless, existing in the sthūla and the sūkṣma, and in the form of nimeṣa and kāṣṭha, and in the form of kṣayātmaka-kāla. They asked him to be pleased and to diminish his form and tejas according to his wish.
Mārkaṇḍeya noted that this beautiful stotra should be heard with śraddhā by humans, and that the guru, being situated in samādhi, should give it to his śiṣyas.
The Creation of Divine Weapons from Sūrya’s Tejas
By the ṛjmaya-tejas of Ravi, the pṛthvī was formed. By the yajurmaya-tejas, the sky was formed. And by the sāmamaya-tejas, svarga was formed. The fifteen parts of Sūrya’s tejas which Tvaṣṭṛ Prajāpati separated from Sūrya were used to construct the Triśūla of Mahādeva, the cakra of Viṣṇu, and the terrible śaṅkhus for the vasu-gaṇas, and the terrible śakti of Pāvaka. Through that same tejas, Viśvakarmā constructed the palanquin of Kubera and whatever fierce astras existed for other deva-gaṇas and for yakṣas and vidyādharas. After all this, the all-pervading Bhagavān Sūrya bore only the sixteenth part of his tejas. Viśvakarmā also divided that remaining tejas fifteen times.
The Birth of the Aśvinī-kumāras and Revanta
Thereafter, Sūrya assumed the form of a horse and went to the Uttara-Kuru country where he saw Saṃjñā Devī in the form of a mare. Seeing him and suspecting him to be another man, she turned to face him, intent on protecting her rear. At that place, as soon as the nostrils of the two joined, from the mouth of the mare were born two sons named Nāsatya and Dasra, together widely known as Aśvinī-kumāras. From the remaining part of that seed was born a son named Revanta, who appeared mounted on a horse, bearing a shield, armor, and sword, and equipped with arrows and a quiver. Thereafter, Sūrya showed her his incomparable form. Then Saṃjñā Devī, who was in the form of a mare, seeing his true svarūpa, became pleased and assumed her own form.
The Appointments of the Children of Sūrya
Sūrya, the attractor of waters, then took his beloved wife Saṃjñā, who had assumed her own form, to his abode. Her eldest son became the Manu named Vaivasvata. The second son was Yama, who by reason of the curse became one of dharmadṛṣṭi. The father himself provided the counter-remedy to the mother’s curse upon Yama. The remedy was that the flesh from his foot would be taken by worms and fall upon the surface of the pṛthvī. Seeing that Yama possessed dharmadṛṣṭi and was equal towards both friend and enemy, Sūrya, the destroyer of darkness, appointed him to the position of Yama.
The maiden named Yamunā began to flow as a river through the middle of the Kalinda country. The two Aśvinī-kumāras were appointed as physicians in svarga. Revanta was appointed to the lordship of the guhyakas.
The Sons of Chāyā
Mārkaṇḍeya then described the appointment of the sons of Chāyā. The eldest son of Sūrya born from the womb of Chāyā, who was equal to the predecessor Vaivasvata Manu, obtained the name Sāvarṇika. At the time when Bali becomes Indra, he too will become Manu. Śanaiścara was also appointed among the grahas by the father. Among the children of Chāyā, there was a third, a maiden, whose name was Tapatī. She obtained a son named Kuru from the king named Saṃvaraṇa.
The Reign of Vaivasvata Manu
The Devatās of the Vaivasvata Manvantara
The ādityas, vasus, rudras, sādhyas, viśvedevas, maruts, bhṛgus, and aṅgirases are the eight groups of devatās in this manvantara. Among these, the āditya, vasu, and rudra gaṇas are the offspring of Kaśyapa. The sādhyas, viśvedevas, and marut gaṇas are the sons of Dharma. The bhṛgu-gaṇa devatās are the sons of Bhṛgu, and the aṅgiras-gaṇas are the sons of Aṅgiras. This sarga is known as the mārīca-sarga.
The Devatās, Indra, and Saptarṣis of the Vaivasvata Manvantara
In this manvantara, the mahātman named Ūrjasvī became Indra and the enjoyer of the fruits of yajña.
The seven munis who were the saptarṣis in this manvantara are
- Atri,
- Vasiṣṭha,
- Kaśyapa,
- Gautama,
- Bharadvāja,
- Viśvāmitra who is the son of Kuśika, and
- Jamadagni who is the son of the Bhagavān Ṛcīka.
Lineage of Vaivasvata Manu
The nine radiant and world-renowned sons of Vaivasvata Manu are Ikṣvāku, Nābhaga, Dhṛṣṭa, Śaryāti, Nariṣyanta, Nābhāga, Diṣṭa, Karūśa, and Pṛṣadhra. Mārkaṇḍeya declared that those who hear this account or read it are immediately released from all sins and experience great puṇya.