Uttama Manu
Uttama was the third Manu of the present cycle. He was the grandson of Svāyambhuva Manu and the son of Uttānapāda, so he came from the oldest royal line. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa tells his account in Chapters 66 to 70.
Uttama loved his queen Bahulā, but in anger he sent her away into the forest. A series of events then brought her back to him. After that, he rose to be a Manu through his righteous conduct and his tapas (austerity).
Lineage
Uttama came from the line of Svāyambhuva Manu, the first Manu of the present kalpa (age of creation). His father was Uttānapāda, the son of Svāyambhuva Manu and the father of the great devotee Dhruva. Uttama belonged to a royal line known for its dharma.
Bahulā and the exile
Uttama loved his queen Bahulā with steady devotion. But Bahulā stayed cold toward him, whatever he did to show his affection.
The matter came to a head in front of the whole court. Uttama held out wine to her from his own hand, which was a mark of honour and closeness. She refused it in public.
Uttama felt hurt in front of his ministers and courtiers. In anger he sent Bahulā away into the forest. At that time he did not understand the hidden cause of her coldness.
The rākshasa who ate virtue
Later, Uttama was searching the forest for a brāhmaṇa whose wife had been carried off. There he met a fearsome rākshasa of an unusual kind. This being said that he did not eat flesh or blood. He fed on the dharma-guṇas, the virtuous qualities, of righteous people.
The rākshasa had been troubling a brāhmaṇa. The brāhmaṇa answered him each time with rakshoghna mantras, which drive away rākshasas. The rākshasa could not come near the brāhmaṇa, so he took the brāhmaṇa’s wife as revenge.
Through this meeting a wise ṛshi taught Uttama that a husband must never leave his wife. Uttama had broken this rule in his anger against Bahulā.
Rasātala, the world of the nāgas
Uttama learned that the nāga-king Kapotaka had taken Bahulā down to Rasātala, the underworld of the nāgas. The full account says more. Kapotaka’s own daughter Nandā had hidden Bahulā there, so that Bahulā would not become a co-wife to the one Nandā wished to marry.
When Kapotaka found out, he laid a śāpa (a curse) on his daughter Nandā, and she became mute. Bahulā stayed in Rasātala. She could not return by herself, and her heart was still far from her husband.
The brāhmaṇa now shared Uttama’s aim. He agreed to help bring Bahulā back.
The Mitravinda-yajña
The brāhmaṇa performed the Mitravinda-yajña (fire ritual) for Uttama. He performed it seven times in a row. With each repetition the yajña did its work. Bahulā’s hardness slowly softened, and the love that had been shut inside her began to stir.
At last she was brought up from Rasātala, and she came to Uttama with her love restored. The brāhmaṇa was greatly honoured and rewarded. Uttama and Bahulā then lived together in happiness in dharma, and the rift between them was healed.
The third Manu
Through his righteous rule, his suffering, his faithfulness even in exile, and his tapas, Uttama was raised to the rank of Manu. He became the third Manu of the present cycle. The age over which he presides is called the Uttama-manvantara. It has its own saptarshis (seven ṛshis), its own Indra and its own assemblies of devas.
Sources
- Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 66–70