VISHNU PURAN BOOK III. CHAP. I.

 

VISHNU PURAN BOOK III.

CHAP. I.

Account of the several Manus and Manwantaras. Swarochisha the second Manu: the divinities, the Indra, the seven Rishis of his period, and his sons. Similar details of Auttami, Tamasa, Raivata, Chakshusha, and Vaivaswata. The forms of Vishnu, as the preserver, in each Manwantara. The meaning of Vishnu.
 
MAITREYA.--The disposition of the earth and of the ocean, and the system of the sun and the planets, the creation of the gods and the rest, the origin of the Rishis, the generation of the four castes, the production of brute creatures, and the narratives of Dhruva and Prahlada, have been fully related by thee, my venerable preceptor. I am now desirous to hear from you the series of all the Manwantaras, as well as an account of those who preside over the respective periods, with S'akra, the king of the gods, at their head.
 
PARAS'ARA.--I will repeat to you, Maitreya, in their order, the different Manwantaras; those which are past, and those which are to come.
 
The first Manu was Swayambhuva, then came Swarochisha, then Auttami, then Tamasa, then Raivata, then Chakshusha: these six Manus have passed away. The Manu who presides over the seventh Manwantara, which is the present period, is Vaivaswata, the son of the sun.
 
The period of Swayambhuva Manu, in the beginning of the Kalpa, has already been described by me, together with the gods, Rishis, and other personages, who then flourished. I will now, therefore, enumerate the presiding gods, Rishis, and sons of the Manu, in the Manwantara of Swarochisha. The deities of this period (or the second Manwantara) were the classes called Paravatas and Tushitas; and the king of the gods was the mighty Vipas'chit. The seven Rishis were Urja, Stambha, Prana, Dattoli, Rishabha, Nis'chara, and Arvarivat; and Chaitra, Kimpurusha, and others, were the Manu's sons.
 
In the third period, or Manwantara of Auttami, Sus'anti was the Indra, the king of the gods; the orders of whom were the Sudhamas, Satyas, S'ivas, and Vasavertis; each of the five orders consisting of twelve divinities. The seven sons of Vas'ishtha were the seven Rishis; and Aja, Paras'u, Divya, and others, were the sons of the Manu.
 
The Surupas, Haris, Satyas, and S'udhis were the classes of gods, each comprising twenty-seven, in the period of Tamasa, the fourth Manu. S'ivi was the Indra, also designated by his performance of a hundred sacrifices (or named S'atakratu). The seven Rishis were Jyotirdhama, Prithu, Kavya, Chaitra, Agni, Vanaka, and Pivara. The sons of Tamasa were the mighty kings Nara, Khyati, S'antahaya, Janujangha, and others.
 
In the fifth interval the Manu was Raivata: the Indra was Vibhu: the classes of gods, consisting of fourteen each, were the Amitabhas, Abhutarajasas, Vaikunthas, and Sumedhasas: the seven Rishis were Hiranyaroma, Vedasri, Urddhabahu, Vedabahu, Sudhaman, Parjanya, and Mahamuni: the sons of Raivata were Balabandhu, Susambhavya, Satyaka, and other valiant kings.
 
These four Manus, Swarochisha, Auttami, Tamasa, and Raivata, were all descended from Priyavrata, who, in consequence of propitiating Vishnu by his devotions, obtained these rulers of the Manwantaras for his posterity.
 
Chakshusha was the Manu of the sixth period: in which the Indra was Manojava: the five classes of gods were the Adyas, Prastutas, Bhavyas, Prithugas, and the magnanimous Lekhas, eight of each: Sumedhas, Virajas, Havishmat, Uttama, Madhu, Abhinaman, and Sahishnu were the seven sages: the kings of the earth, the sons of Chakshusha, were the powerful Uru, Puru, S'atadyumna, and others.
 
The Manu of the present period is the wise lord of obsequies, the illustrious offspring of the sun: the deities are the Adityas, Vasus, and Rudras; their sovereign is Purandara: Vas'ishtha, Kas'yapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Gautama, Vis'wamitra, and Bharadwaja are the seven Rishis: and the nine pious sons of Vaivaswata Manu are the kings Ikshwaku, Nabhaga, Dhrishta, Sanyati, Narishyanta, Nabhanidishta, Karusha, Prishadhra, and the celebrated Vasumat.
 
The unequalled energy of Vishnu combining with the quality of goodness, and effecting the preservation of created things, presides over all the Manwantaras in the form of a divinity. Of a portion of that divinity Yajna was born in the Swayambhuva Manwantara, the will-begotten progeny of Akuti. When the Swarochisha Manwantara had arrived, that divine Yajna was born as Ajita, along with the Tushita gods, the sons of Tushita. In the third Manwantara, Tushita was again born of Satya, as Satya, along with the class of deities so denominated. In the next period, Satya became Hari, along with the Haris, the children of Hari. The excellent Hari was again born in the Raivata Manwantara, of Sambhuti, as Manasa, along with the gods called Abhutarajasas. In the next period, Vishnu was born of Vikunthi, as Vaikuntha, along with the deities called Vaikunthas. In the present Manwantara, Vishnu was again born as Vamana, the son of Kas'yapa by Aditi. With three paces he subdued the worlds, and gave them, freed from all embarrassment, to Purandara. These are the seven persons by whom, in the several Manwantaras, created beings have been protected. Because this whole world has been pervaded by the energy of the deity, he is entitled Vishnu, from the root Vis, 'to enter' or 'pervade;' for all the gods, the Manus, the seven Rishis, the sons of the Manus, the Indras the sovereigns of the gods, all are but the impersonated might of Vishnu.

VISHNU PURAN - BOOK II

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III.- CHAP. II.