Manu

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Manu (devanāgarī: मनु) is the Sanskrit title given in Hinduism to the progenitor of mankind, who is said to have been the very first king to rule this earth. H. P. Blavatsky wrote:

Manu (Sk.). The great Indian legislator. The name comes from the Sanskrit root man “to think”—mankind really, but stands for Swâyambhuva, the first of the Manus, who started from Swâyambhu, “the self-existent” hence the Logos, and the progenitor of mankind. Manu is the first Legislator, almost a Divine Being.[1]

In every Kalpa appear 14 Manus, one after the other, who manifest and regulate this world. Each Manu’s life (Manvantara) consists of 71 Chaturyugas (quartets of Yugas or eras). Each Chaturyuga is composed of four eras or Yugas: Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali.

Notes

  1. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 206.

Further reading