Sūrya Sāvarṇi Manvantara

The Sūrya Sāvarṇi Manvantara is the eighth manvantara in the current kalpa, presided over by Sūrya Sāvarṇi Manu, the eldest son of Sūrya born from the womb of Chāyā. Equal in stature to his predecessor Vaivasvata Manu (the current Manu), Sūrya Sāvarṇi is destined to become Manu at the time when the Daitya king Bali assumes the position of Indra. The account of his origin is deeply intertwined with the story of his mother Chāyā, who was a shadow-form created by the original Saṃjñā Devī when she could no longer endure the tejas of her husband Sūrya. This narrative, as told by Maharṣi Mārkaṇḍeya in Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, traces the circumstances that led to the birth of Sāvarṇi and his siblings, the events in the household of Sūrya that brought the truth of Chāyā to light, the reduction of Sūrya’s tejas by Viśvakarmā, and the future devatās, saptarṣis, Indra, and kings who will belong to the Sūrya Sāvarṇi Manvantara.

The Birth of Sūrya Sāvarṇi

The Origin of Chāyā, Mother of Sūrya Sāvarṇi

Maharṣi Mārkaṇḍeya narrated that Saṃjñā, the daughter of Viśvakarmā, was the wife of the deity Sūrya. In her womb, by the seed of Bhāskara, a Manu was born, who came to be known as Vaivasvata Manu because he was the son of Vivasvān Sūrya. However, Saṃjñā Devī was unable to bear the brilliant tejas of her husband. Whenever Sūrya Deva looked at her, she would close both her eyes. Angered by this, Sūrya cursed her that a son named Yama, intent on the restraint of subjects, would be born to her. When she then looked at him with a trembling gaze out of fear, Ravi cursed her again, declaring that she would give birth to a daughter who would become a river of trembling nature. In this manner, Yama was born from her womb, and the great river Yamunā also came into being.

That passionate woman Saṃjñā Devī had endured the tejas of Ravi with grief for a long time, but because she could no longer bear it, she began to reflect on what she should do. After considering in many ways, that Mahābhāgā Saṃjñā Devī 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 companion for Ravi in her absence. This Chāyā would become the mother of Sāvarṇi Manu.

Saṃjñā 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. She told Chāyā to always declare that she was Saṃjñā herself. Chāyā-Saṃjñā 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 warned 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’s house.

Saṃjñā’s Departure to Uttara Kuru

At the house of Viśvakarmā, Saṃjñā was honored and respected with great regard. She stayed there for some time, until her father spoke to her with extreme affection. He told her that although many days had passed while he looked at her, they seemed equal to only half a muhūrta. But he explained that because of her prolonged stay, dharma perishes. Long residence in the houses of kinsmen does not bring fame for women, he said, and the desire of kinsmen is always for a woman to remain in her husband’s house. He reminded her that she was joined with Sūrya, the lord of the three worlds, and urged her to return.

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, feeling fear of Sūrya’s tejas and unwilling to endure his heat, she went to the land of Uttara Kuru and began to perform tapas there, assuming the form of a mare.

The Birth of Sāvarṇi and His Siblings from Chāyā

Meanwhile, at home, Sūrya, thinking Chāyā to be Saṃjñā Devī herself, produced two sons and one beautiful daughter through her. The eldest of these sons would come to be known as Sāvarṇika, or Sāvarṇi, and he was equal to the predecessor Vaivasvata Manu. Since he was the son of Sūrya and the Manus that followed him were also named Sāvarṇis, he is often called Sūrya Sāvarṇi. The second son was Śanaiścara. The daughter was a maiden named Tapatī.

But just as Chāyā was very affectionate towards her own offspring, she did not behave in the same affectionate way towards the sons and 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 (Vaivasvata) forgave her, but Yama did not forgive her uneven attitudes. Overcome by anger, Yama lifted his foot to kick her, though being patient, he did not actually drop it on her body. Even so, Chāyā became enraged and cursed him, declaring that since he had transgressed boundaries and threatened the wife of his father with his foot, that very foot of his would fall upon the earth that very day.

The Truth of Chāyā Comes to Light

Having heard the curse given by the mother, Yama became agitated by fear and went to his father Sūrya. He prostrated before him and said that a mother, having abandoned affection, gave a curse to the son, and called this very astonishing. He reported that Manu (Vaivasvata) had told him that the mother was not the same towards him as before, and added that even if sons possess bad qualities, a mother never becomes one of bad qualities towards them.

Having heard these words, Bhagavān Sūrya, the destroyer of darkness, summoned Chāyā and asked where Saṃjñā Devī had gone. Chāyā replied that she was the daughter of Viśvakarmā and Sūrya’s own Saṃjñā Devī, and that from her own womb these offspring were born. When she did not tell the truth despite Sūrya asking many times, 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. When asked about Saṃjñā, Viśvakarmā told him that she had indeed come to his house. 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 and the Praise of the Devatās

Sūrya 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 assembled together and began to praise Ravi, who is worshipful to the trailokya.

Sūrya Stuti

The devatās praised Sūrya in many exalted ways. They declared 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 prakāśātma-rūpa-svarūpa and the dinakara, the kāraṇa-svarūpa for the night and the creator of saṃdhyā and jyotsnā. They declared 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 the dharmas such as homa and dāna do not provide benefit until purity is attained through his rays. They called him ṛjmaya, yajurmaya, 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.

After the devatās and devarṣis praised him in this manner, Sūrya, the indestructible heap of tejas, diminished his tejas.

The Formation of the Worlds and Divine Weapons

By the ṛjmaya-tejas of Ravi, the pṛthvī was formed. By the yajurmaya-tejas, the sky was formed. By the sāmamaya-tejas, svarga was formed. The fifteen parts of Sūrya’s tejas which Tvaṣṭṛ Prajāpati separated from Sūrya were used by that mahātman to construct the śūla of Mahādeva, the cakra of Viṣṇu, 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.

Sūrya Reunites with Saṃjñā and the Birth of the Aśvinī-kumāra-s

Sūrya then 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. As soon as the nostrils of the two joined, from the mouth of the mare were born two sons named Nāsatya and Dasra, together known as Aśvinī-kumāra-s. 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. Sūrya then showed her his incomparable form, and Saṃjñā Devī, seeing his true svarūpa, became pleased and assumed her own form.

Sūrya, the attractor of waters, then took his beloved wife Saṃjñā to his abode.

The Appointments of the Children of Sūrya

Her eldest son became the Manu named Vaivasvata. The second son Yama, by reason of the curse, became one of dharmadṛṣṭi. The father himself provided the counter-remedy to the mother’s curse, so that the flesh from Yama’s 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 appointed him to the position of Yama. The maiden 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.

As for the children of Chāyā, the eldest son Sāvarṇi, who was equal to Vaivasvata Manu, obtained the name Sāvarṇika. At the time when Bali becomes Indra, he too will become Manu. Śanaiścara was appointed among the grahas by the father. The maiden Tapatī obtained a son named Kuru from the king named Saṃvaraṇa.

The Reign of Sūrya Sāvarṇi

The Devatās of the Sāvarṇi Manvantara

Sūrya Sāvarṇi, born from the womb of Chāyā and equal to the predecessor Vaivasvata Manu, will be the eighth Manu.

In the Sāvarṇi Manvantara, the sutapas, amitābhas, and mukhyas are the three kinds of devatās. For each of these three kinds, there are gaṇas of twenty devatās each, making a total of sixty devatās in the three gaṇas.

In the gaṇa of twenty belonging to Sutapas are Tapastapa, Śakra, Dyuti, Jyoti, Prabhākara, Prabhāsa, Dayita, Dharma, Teja, Raśmi, Vakratu, and others. In the gaṇa of twenty of the Amitābhas are Prabhu, Vibhu, Vibhāsa, and other devatās. In the third gaṇa of twenty, belonging to the one named Mukhya, are Dama, Dānta, Ṛta, Soma, Vinta, and other devatās. All these manvantara-lords are the offspring of Prajāpati Kaśyapa, the son of Marīci. They will be the devatās in the Sāvarṇika Manvantara.

Bali as Indra of the Sūrya Sāvarṇi Manvantara

Bali, the son of Virocana, will be the Indra for the devatās of this manvantara. That Daitya king even now resides in pātāla, bound by the bond of his promise. At the time when Bali assumes the position of Indra, Sāvarṇi will also assume the position of Manu.

The Saptarṣis and Kings of the Sūrya Sāvarṇi Manvantara

In this manvantara, Rāma, Vyāsa, Gālava, Dīptimān, Kṛpa, Ṛṣyaśṛṅga, and Drauṇi, that is Aśvatthāma, will be the seven saptarṣis.

Lineage of the Sūrya Sāvarṇi Manu

The sons of Sāvarṇi Manu named Viraja, Arvavīra, Nirmoha, Satyavāk, Kṛti, Viṣṇu, and others will be the kings at that time.