Bhautya Manvantara

The Bhautya Manvantara is the fourteenth and final manvantara described by Maharṣi Mārkaṇḍeya. It is named after Bhautya Manu, the son of a muni named Bhūti. The account of this manvantara is unique in that it centers not on grand cosmic events but on the relationship between a guru and his devoted disciple, Śānti, whose selfless bhakti toward his teacher and his fervent praise of Agni-deva brought about boons that shaped the future of an entire cosmic age. Through the grace of Agni, Bhūti was blessed with a son destined to become the Manu of this manvantara, and the hymn composed by Śānti was declared eternally meritorious for all who hear or recite it.

The Muni Bhūti and His Fierce Nature

The great muni Aṅgirasa, one of the best among muni-s, had a disciple named Bhūti. This Bhūti was possessed of immense tejas but was also of a very angry nature. Even for a small offense, he would unleash a fierce curse, and he would speak harshly even to those who had done nothing wrong. So great was the fear of this muni that the very forces of nature bent to his will within his āśrama. The wind did not dare blow fiercely in his presence. Sūrya was afraid to show his heat excessively. Indra feared to rain too much lest it cause mud. Even the full moon restrained its rays so as not to bring excessive cold. There was neither unbearable cold nor unbearable heat in that place, all on account of the fear inspired by this muni. By his command, the seasons themselves abandoned their natural order and produced fruits and flowers at all times upon the trees growing in the āśrama. The waters near the āśrama, fearing the mahātmā Bhūti, would flow into his kamaṇḍalu the very moment he wished it.

Bhūti’s Unfulfilled Tapas

Despite his immense power, Bhūti had no sons, and this caused him great sorrow. That mahābhāga resolved to go into the forest and perform tapas to obtain a son. He decided that with a restrained mind, enduring cold, wind, and heat, he would devote himself entirely to tapas. However, during the time he performed tapas, the moon did not show excessive cold toward him, and the sun did not show excessive heat. The wind also did not blow fiercely against him. Because all the elements still feared him and tempered themselves in his presence, Bhūti could not truly endure the dualities of heat and cold that tapas demands. He was therefore unable to obtain the fruit he desired, and he eventually ceased his tapas without success.

The Departure of Bhūti and His Command to Śānti

Some time after this, Bhūti’s brother, a muni named Suvarcas, was performing a yajña and invited Bhūti to attend. Wishing to go, Bhūti called his wise disciple named Śānti. This Śānti was a man who truly lived up to his name. He was peaceful in nature, humble in all matters relating to his guru’s service, always industrious, of auspicious conduct, and noble in character. Bhūti instructed Śānti to perform the nityāgnihotra in the āśrama during his absence and to protect the sacred fire with great effort so that it would not go out. Śānti accepted the command, saying, “May it be so,” and Bhūti departed for his younger brother’s yajña.

The Extinguishing of the Sacred Fire

After the guru’s departure, Śānti went into the forest to gather sacrificial wood, puṣpa, and phala for the guru’s fire. While he was absorbed in these tasks, fully engaged in guru-bhakti, the fire that he had been tending went out. When Śānti saw that the fire was extinguished, he was overcome with grief and fear. He began to worry in many ways, thinking of what might happen when the guru returned. He thought to himself that if the guru came and found the fire extinguished in his house, he would without doubt plunge Śānti into terrible sorrow. If Śānti were to establish another fire in the place of the original one, the guru, who was an eyewitness to all things, would surely see through the deception and burn him with a curse. Śānti acknowledged that he had committed an offense against his guru and that the sorrow of this sin was now his to bear. He understood that upon seeing the fire extinguished, the guru would certainly curse him, or might even curse the fire itself, for such was the power of his guru. He reflected that even the deva-s feared Bhūti’s influence and remained under his command, and wondered how he could possibly escape humiliation.

Śānti Takes Refuge in Agni-deva

After thinking over his predicament in many ways, Śānti, who was always fearful of his guru yet was the best among the wise, took refuge in the Agni-deva known as Jātavedas. With restrained senses and a concentrated mind, he knelt upon the ground, joined his palms, and began to praise Agni, who is possessed of seven flames.

The Hymn of Śānti to Agni

Śānti addressed Agni as the one who is the achiever for all beings, the mahātmā who possesses one, two, and five forms, and who in the Rājasūya yajña assumes six forms. He offered salutations to the white-form one who bestows livelihood to all the deva-s, who is of excellent luster, and who provides stability to the entire world. He declared that Agni is the form of the mouth for all the deva-s, and that by partaking of ghee, Agni satisfies all the deva-s. Agni is the form of breath for all the deva-s, and the yajña materials consumed in Agni attain pure purification and thereafter transform into the form of water.

Śānti praised Agni as the charioteer of the wind, saying that from those waters all medicinal herbs are born, and through those herbs all living beings live happily. Whatever yajña-s the human groups perform through the herbs produced by Agni, the deva-s, daitya-s, and rākṣasa-gaṇa-s are satisfied through those yajña-s. Agni is the support of all those yajña-s and therefore the producer of all and all-pervading. The deva-s, dānava-s, yakṣa-s, daitya-s, gandharva-s, humans, cattle, trees, animals, birds, and reptiles are all satisfied and nourished by Agni. They originate from Agni and in the end they merge in Agni.

Śānti further praised that Agni produces water, and through Agni it becomes possessed of the power to digest and becomes the cause of nourishment for living beings. Agni shines as tejas among the deva-s, as luster among the siddha-s, as poison among the nāga-s, and as wind among the birds. Agni exists as anger in humans, as delusion in birds and animals, as stability in trees, as hardness in the earth, and as fluidity in water. Agni has established the ātmā as the form of speed in the wind and as the form of pervasiveness in the sky. Agni moves within all beings while protecting them. The groups of poets designate Agni as one and again call him three-fold.

The groups of poets, having imagined Agni in eight ways, have established the yajña-s with Agni as the carrier of the yajña. The groups of supreme ṛṣi-s say that this universe is born from Agni, and without Agni the entire universe would immediately perish. The Brāhmaṇa groups, worshipping Agni with havya and kavya and uttering “svadhā” and “svāhā,” attain the state prescribed by their own karma. Śānti addressed Agni as the one worshipped by the deva-s, the virile form who is the transformer of living beings, from whom all the flames of Agni emerge and burn the groups of beings. He called Jātavedas one of great splendor and declared this universe to be Agni’s creation. The vaidika-karma-s and the universe consisting of all beings are under Agni’s control.

Śānti saluted Agni as the first Agni, the viśva-pāvana who digests the substances eaten and drunk and who purifies all beings. Agni is the ripener of crops, the nourisher of the world, the clouds, the wind, and the seed-form which is the cause of producing crops. Agni is the form of the past, future, and present for the nourishment of all beings, and the form of light in all beings. Agni is the sun and the day. Agni is both the twilights. Agni is the one who produces gold with golden seeds. Agni is the Hiraṇyagarbha and possesses a luster equal to gold. Agni is the muhūrta-kāla, the truṭi-kāla, and the lava-parimāṇa. Agni is the entire form who is the transformer in the forms of kalā, kāṣṭhā, and nimeṣa.

Śānti then invoked the protection of Agni’s various tongues. He prayed that by the black tongue, which is the establisher of time, Agni would protect him from sins, fear, and great worldly fears. By the tongue named Karālī, which is the cause of mahā-pralaya, he prayed for protection from worldly fears and sins. By the tongue named Manojavā, endowed with the quality of laghimā, he prayed for protection. By the tongue Sulohitā, which accomplishes the desires of beings, he prayed for protection. By the tongue named Sudhūmravarṇā, which burns the diseases of beings, he prayed for protection. By the tongue named Sphuliṅginī, through which the ātmā and body are produced, he prayed for protection. And by the tongue named Viśvā, which bestows auspiciousness to beings, he prayed for protection.

Śānti described Agni’s eyes as piṅgala in color, his neck as lohita, and his own form as kṛṣṇa, and asked Agni to protect him from all defects and uplift him from this world. He addressed Agni by eight names: Saptārcis, Havyavāhana, Kṛśānu, Agni, Pāvaka, and Śukra, and begged Agni to be pleased with him. He declared that Agni was produced before all beings and praised him as Vibhāvasu, Havyavāhana, and Avyaya. He said that Agni has no exhaustion, that his form is inconceivable, that he is endowed with prosperity and is the refuge of all, and that though embodied, Agni is so powerful that he can destroy the entire world. Agni is the supreme tattva, the form of the heart-lotus of all beings, and the infinite form of Brahmā who is worshipped by all. By the form of Brahmā, Agni has pervaded this moving and non-moving world, and although one, Agni resides in many ways in this world. Agni is imperishable, of the form of the earth endowed with mountains and forests, of the form of the sky endowed with the sun and moon, and the form of all time such as day and night. Agni is the bāḍabāgni in the great ocean, and by his supreme glory he resides in all rays.

Śānti declared that the maharṣi-gaṇa-s, established in discipline, always worship Agni in the great yajña-s, and that Agni, receiving many types of hymns, drinks the soma-rasa with the vaṣaṭ-kāra for the welfare of the world. Agni is praised in all the vedāṅga-s, and for his sake the best of twice-born ones who are intent on sacrifice always study the vedāṅga-s. Agni is Brahmā intent on sacrifice, Viṣṇu, Mahādeva the lord of beings, Indra, Aryaman, Varuṇa the lord of waters, Sūrya, and the moon as well. Deva-s and dānava-s obtain fruits by satisfying Agni with oblations. All things defiled by great afflictions become pure by the touch of Agni’s flame. Among various baths, the bath with the application of ash is the most excellent, and for this reason the muni-gaṇa-s perform such a bath at the time of twilights, attaining svarga-loka and many pleasures through true bhakti. For this reason Agni is named Śuci.

Śānti concluded his hymn by asking Agni to be pleased with him by that very form of purity, by the form of pure and strong wind, and by the form known as vaidyutāgni. He beseeched Agni to protect him with his auspicious flames, just as a father protects his son.

The Appearance and Boon of Agni

As soon as Śānti completed his hymn, Bhagavān Agni, adorned with a garland of flames, appeared before him. Vibhāvasu, pleased by this hymn, spoke to the prostrate Śānti in grave, resonant words. Agni declared that he was satisfied by the hymn that Śānti had performed with bhakti and asked Śānti to state his desired wish.

Śānti replied that he had already become fulfilled by the very sight of Agni’s form, but with bhakti-filled humility he made his requests.

1. First, he asked that his guru, who had gone from the āśrama to his brother’s yajña, would upon returning find the fire-pit occupied by Agni as before. He acknowledged that Agni had abandoned the fire-pit due to his own offense and asked that the guru would see it restored.
2. Second, Śānti asked that his childless guru be blessed with a son endowed with qualities.
3. Third, he prayed that just as his guru would show friendship toward his son, may his mind also be possessed of friendship toward all beings.
4. And fourth, Śānti asked that whosoever in the future praises Agni with this same hymn, may Agni be a bestower of boons to that person as well.

Agni’s Response and the Prophecy of Bhautya Manu

Agni, worshipped through guru-bhakti and the hymn, heard the words of Śānti and was moved. He said that because Śānti had asked for boons for his guru without requesting anything for himself, he had become even more pleased. He declared that everything Śānti had prayed for on behalf of his guru would be accomplished. Bhūti would have friendship toward all beings and would also have a son. Agni proclaimed that to Bhūti, a son named Bhautya would be born, who would be very powerful, heroic, and the lord of a manvantara. Furthermore, whichever person praises Agni with a concentrated mind through this hymn, all his desires would be accomplished and he would become an accumulator of merit. Reciting this hymn for the sake of dharma during yajña-s, on festivals, in sacrifices at holy places, and during homa rituals would be the cause of nourishment. By hearing this hymn just once, all sins committed during the day and night would be destroyed. Agni also declared that if the time for homa had passed, or if homa rituals were performed by unqualified persons, whatever defects occurred would be pacified immediately upon hearing this hymn. If heard on full moon, new moon, or other festivals, it would be the destroyer of sins for humans.

The Vanishing of Agni and the Restoration of the Fire

Just as the light of a lamp is immediately extinguished, Agni-bhagavān vanished from Śānti’s proximity while speaking these very words. As soon as Agni-deva vanished, Śānti, with a satisfied mind, went to the guru’s āśrama. There he saw Agni-deva burning in the guru’s fire-pit exactly as before, and he attained supreme joy.

The Return of Bhūti and the Revelation

At that same time, Bhūti also returned to his āśrama. Śānti went before him and offered salutations at his feet. The guru accepted the seat and worship offered by his disciple. Then, to Śānti’s surprise, Bhūti spoke with a changed heart. He said that he felt affection toward Śānti and toward other beings as well, and that he did not know why this was happening. He asked Śānti to explain if he knew the cause.

Śānti then narrated all the events to the ācārya exactly as they had happened, beginning from the extinguishing of the fire, through his hymn to Agni, the appearance and boon of Agni, and the restoration of the sacred fire. Having heard the full account, the ācārya embraced his disciple with eyes filled with affection. He bestowed the entire Veda with its aṅga-s and upāṅga-s upon Śānti.

The Birth of Bhautya Manu and the Constitution of the Fourteenth Manvantara

Thereafter, the Manu named Bhautya was born as the son of Bhūti, fulfilling the boon of Agni. In the manvantara of Bhautya Manu, the five groups of deva-s are known as the Cākṣuṣa-s, the Kaniṣṭha-s, the Pavitra-s, the Bhrājira-s, and the Dhārāvṛka-s. The very powerful and heroic Śuci, endowed with all the qualities of Indra, shall be the Indra for the deva-s at that time.The Merits of Hearing the Manvantara-s

Maharṣi Mārkaṇḍeya declared that by hearing all these manvantara-s in order, human groups become capable of earning merit and their lineage shall never diminish. By hearing the first Svāyambhuva Manvantara, one attains dharma. By hearing the second Svārociṣa Manvantara, all desires are fulfilled. By hearing the third Auttama and the fourth Tāmasa Manvantara-s, one attains the gain of jñāna. By hearing the fifth Raivata Manvantara, one obtains intellect and a beautiful woman. By hearing the sixth Cākṣuṣa Manvantara, a person obtains health, and by hearing the seventh Vaivasvata Manvantara, strength. By hearing the eighth Sūrya Sāvarṇika Manvantara, one obtains virtuous sons and grandsons. By hearing the ninth Brahma Sāvarṇi Manvantara, one attains greatness. By hearing the tenth Dharma Sāvarṇika Manvantara, auspiciousness. By hearing the eleventh Rudra Sāvarṇika Manvantara, intellect and victory. By hearing the twelfth Dakṣa Sāvarṇika Manvantara, a person becomes best among kinsmen and endowed with qualities. By hearing the thirteenth Raucya Manvantara, one becomes capable of destroying the strength of enemies. By hearing the fourteenth Bhautya Manvantara, one attains the benefit of the deva-s’ grace and can obtain virtuous sons by the grace of Agni-hotra.

A human who hears the accounts of the deva-s, all the ṛṣi-s, Manu, the kings, the sons, and their lineages in those respective manvantara-s is liberated from all sins. The deva-s, ṛṣi-s, Indra, groups of kings, and those who were the lords of those manvantara-s become pleased. If they are pleased, they bestow intellect. Thereafter, by obtaining intellect and performing auspicious karma-s, humans shall possess an auspicious intellect as long as the fourteen Indra-s exist. By hearing the state of the manvantara-s in order, all seasons shall be the bringers of welfare, and all planets shall be gentle.