Who is Manu in Hinduism? The Survivor of the Great Flood

Late Satya Yuga (Early Treta Yuga)

Vaivasvata Manu, also called Śrāddhadeva, is the seventh Manu in Hinduism. He is the son of Vivasvān (Sūrya, the Sun God) and his wife Saṃjñā, daughter of Tvaṣṭṛ (the celestial craftsman). His name, Vaivasvata, literally means “son of Vivasvān.”

According to the Purāṇas, each cosmic age (Manvantara) is governed by a Manu, who oversees the creation and guidance of humankind. The present age is the Vaivasvata Manvantara — the age of Vaivasvata Manu — making him the cosmic ancestor, the progenitor of the current human race.

He ruled the ancient kingdom near the banks of the Sarayu and Drishadvati rivers, a land blessed by sages and dharma. Despite his mortal birth, Manu was deeply contemplative, known for his devotion, justice, and adherence to the cosmic order (ṛta).

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In Purāṇic cosmology, a Manu is both biological and superhuman: they have bodies, wives, children, and dynasties, yet their “biology” is not human biology. A Manu is a cosmic-grade being (like a demigod), or a mahā-puruṣa, whose form resembles a human but is sustained by deva-like vitality, allowing him to live for an entire Manvantara (≈306.72 million years).

This is why Manus can marry, beget human-like descendants, and rule earthly dynasties, while still surviving for cosmic spans far beyond human limits. Thus, the current Manu—Vaivasvata Manu—is considered “alive” not because he is biologically human, but because his existence follows divine-time, not mortal-time, making him a living cosmic administrator with a family but an inhuman longevity.

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Manu in Hinduism: The Fish and the Forewarning

One morning, while Manu performed his ablutions in a river, he cupped his hands to draw water. To his surprise, a tiny fish swam into his palms and spoke to him. The fish begged:

“O King, protect me! I am small and will be devoured by larger fish.”

Moved by compassion, Manu placed it in a jar of water. Overnight, the fish grew so large that it could no longer fit in the vessel. He transferred it to a larger tank, then to a lake, and finally to the ocean — but it continued to grow, shining with divine radiance.

The fish revealed its true nature:

“I am the Matsya, the form of Viṣṇu. Soon a great deluge will destroy all living beings. Build a great ship, gather the seeds of all life and the seven sages, and I shall guide you to safety.”

This account, found in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (1.8.1–6), is the earliest version of the flood myth in Hindu literature — centuries before it appears in the Purāṇas. Later versions (such as the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Matsya Purāṇa, and Mahābhārata) amplify this tale, describing the coming cataclysm as a divine reset — the cleansing of a world burdened by adharma.

The Great Deluge

Following the divine command, Manu built a massive ark using sacred wood and performed rites invoking Brahmā and Viṣṇu. He stored in it seeds of every plant, embryo of every animal, and scrolls of the Vedas to preserve knowledge.

When the appointed time came, dark clouds gathered and torrents fell without pause. The oceans rose and swallowed the continents. The sun dimmed. The mountains dissolved under the endless rain. The whole earth became one vast ocean, endless and dark.

Manu boarded the ark with the Saptarishis (Seven Sages) — among them were Vasiṣṭha, Atri, and Kaśyapa. He fastened the vessel to the horn of the gigantic golden fish with the Nāga-king Vāsuki as the rope. Guided by Matsya through the storm, they drifted over the cosmic waters for countless days.

The storm grew so violent thateven the sky seemed to crack. Lightning tore the horizon. Winds sounded like the howls of ancient beings. The ship shook like a leaf on a cosmic sea. Yet, tied to Matsya, it did not sink. Matsya pulled the ship across the endless waters, guiding it like a guardian of worlds.

The Battle Beneath the Flood

From the depths rose the gigantic demon Hayagrīva (in Matsya Purāṇa’s version), who had stolen the Vedas during the dissolution.

He roared through the floodwaters:

“Let darkness rule the new age!”

Matsya, towering like a mountain of radiant silver, clove the waters with His tail and charged into battle. The clash shook the sea. Matsya struck Hayagrīva down and retrieved the Vedas, preserving cosmic knowledge for the coming cycle.

During the deluge, Manu performed continuous meditation and tapasya. The Matsya spoke to him of cosmic truths — of dharma, of creation, of the cyclical nature of time. These teachings, preserved later in Purāṇic and Tantric traditions, form the mystical Manu Saṃvāda (Dialogue of Manu and Matsya).

The Rebirth of the World

When the waters receded, Matsya guided the ark to the summit of the Malaya Mountain (identified in some texts with the Western Ghats, and in others with the Himalayas). There, Manu descended and offered oblations to the gods and the waters.

From these sacred libations arose a woman — Idā (or Ilā) — radiant and divine. She became the mother of humankind, and through her, Manu sired the new generations. In some versions, Ilā is born from the earth (īḷā meaning "speech" or "earthly one"), and symbolizes fertility and regeneration.

Their children became the founders of all human lineages: the Ailas and Ikṣvākus, forebears of the solar and lunar dynasties that populate later epics like the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata.

The Present Manvantara Begins

With Manu’s establishment of his sons in noble lands, the world settled into its new shape.

The Devas of this Era: Ādityas, Rudras, Vasus, Aśvins, Maruts, and Viśvedevas

Indra of this Era: Purandara (Śakra), the Indra of all the Itihāsa and Purāṇa stories (Different from the Vedic entity).

Vishnu’s Avatāra in this Manvantara: All the major avatars—Vāmana, Rāma, Paraśurāma, Krishna (and others in the Dashavatara)—arise in this (our) manvantara.

Thus, Vaivasvata Manu presides over the most spiritually dense era of all. This is the age we are still living in.

Sources and Parallels:

• Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 1.8.1–6 (earliest version, flood and fish myth)

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva 187–191 (detailed narrative of Manu’s ark and Matsya Avatāra)

• Bhāgavata Purāṇa 8.24 (expanded Matsya Purāṇa narrative)

• Matsya Purāṇa, chs. 1–2

• Agni Purāṇa 15–16

• Valmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa 70 (genealogy of Vaivasvata Manu)

• Rigveda 10.63.7; 8.27.17 (earliest allusions to Manu as a progenitor)