Saturday, 5 March 2016

The Story of Manu

Vaivasvata Manu is the manasa putra of Brahman, the Lord of the Universe or the creator so as to say. He is the 7th & the current progenitor of the human race (i.e. out of the 14 epochs, this is the 7th). You can vaguely claim this - 'The word "man" is a diluted form of the word "Manu" (or his descendant as such). He has written a book on "Dharma Shastra", namely the Manu Smruti! There is this Mythological Manu that comes in the Mahabharata & there is a historical Manu of the Dharma Shastras. There is a bit of confusion as to the date & whether the same Manu has written the Dharma Shastra. I will take into account that both were the same. Apart from this, Manu is believed to have carried the Saptarshis (7 Sages) and one representative each from all the living species, on a boat/ship to save life on planet earth during the "Great Floods" of the ice age (the story of matsyAvatAra - vishNu guides the ship as a big fish & Manu is the Captain of the ship) . There is a similar story in the "Epic of Gilgamesh" of the Sumerians/Babylonians. Further, the story of "Noah's Ark" from the Genesis (Bible) has a strikingly similar narrative. 

Manu carrying the Saptarshis on the Boat/Ship.

There is so much of Sanctity attached to the life of Maharshi Manu. We all owe to him, our very existence. We all live today, due to the great feat accomplished by Manu. Till today, his words guide us, through his teachings on Dharma, even 1000s of years after his exit from planet earth. Lest those who speak lowly of this great man, their names won't be heard even for a few years after death!
Over 10,000 years must have gone after Manu left this planet earth. What great powerful personality must be he, who is remembered even today after 10,000 (be it as a praise or as a curse).

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