Verse 1.61 [Manvantara and the Seven Manus]

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

स्वायम्भुवस्यास्य मनोः षड्वंश्या मनवोऽपरे ।
सृष्टवन्तः प्रजाः स्वाः स्वा महात्मानो महौजसः ॥ ६१ ॥

svāyambhuvasyāsya manoḥ ṣaḍvaṃśyā manavo'pare |
sṛṣṭavantaḥ prajāḥ svāḥ svā mahātmāno mahaujasaḥ || 61 ||

There are Six other Manus, high-souled and mighty, who belong to the same race as this Svāyambhuva Manu, and have called into being, each his own offsprings.—(61)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

When the Teacher (Manu) was asked (in the beginning of this work) to explain Duties, he proceeded to describe the origination of the world and other cognate matters; hence when the pupil (Bhṛgu) has been directed to expound the Law, he also begins with the remaining parts of the same process of world-creation.

‘Of this’—the pronoun refers to the Manu before their eyes;—our teacher, who is known as ‘Svāyambhuva.’ There are six other Manus who belong to the same race as himself,—persons horn in the same family are said to ‘belong to the same race,’ and since all Manus are called into being directly by Brahmā himself, they are born in the same family, and are hence said to ‘belong to the same race.’ Or, persons engaged in the same work are also said ‘to belong to the same race’; as a matter of fact, living beings are often distributed among ‘races’ in accordance with the work done by them; e.g., we have such statements as—‘related to grammar there are two sages who belong to the same race.’

The text proceeds to point out one such work common to the Manus:—“They have called into being each his own offsprings”; in each Manvantara, created beings destroyed during the previous Manvantara are again created and protected by that particular Manu who holds sway over that Manvantara; hence the offsprings that each of them creates are called ‘his own.’—(61)