Manu 114transmission of a mantra from GURUto
disciple, meant to be a personal inner
guide, and not to be divulged to anyone
else.Manu (1)
A celebrated personality representing
humankind, and ancestor of the human
race (a human being is a manu•ya, a
‘child of Manu’).Manu (2)
Name of each of the 14 progenitors and
rulers of humankind presiding over
one manvantara, a world age lasting
4,320,000 years. The first (who lived
over 30 million years ago) was called
Manu Sväyambhuva, ‘the self-existent’.
He is the father of the ten PRAJÄPATIS,
progenitors of different races. He also is
the reputed author of the Manusmøti as
well as a work on ritual. The present
Manu is the seventh, called Vaivasvata,
‘sun-born’, also called Satyavrata. He
was saved from the great flood by the
intervention of Vi•æu’s fish AVATÄRA.
(See also FLOOD.)Manu-smøti, alsoMänava
Dharma-ÿästra (‘Manu’s Law’)
The most influential of all Hindu codes,
ascribed to the first MANU (2)
Sväyambhuva. It gives an elevated posi-
tion to brahmins. Its twelve books deal
with creation (I), the sources of DHAR-
MAand the duties of a BRAHMACÄRI(II),
the duties of a householder (III and IV),
the duties of women and dietary regula-
tions (V), rules concerning vänaprastya
(seeVÄNAPRAÆfiHA) and SAMNYÄSA(VI),
the duties of kings (VII), civil and crim-
inal law (VIII), domestic laws (IX), the
origin, development and rules of castes
(X), general laws of morality, sins and
expiation of sins (XI), consequences of
good and bad actions, nature of the soul
and transmigration, the way to release
(XII).märga (‘road’, ‘path’)
This can be both an ordinary road and
a spiritual path. Traditionally Hinduism
is divided into the so-called trimärga
(threefold path): karmamärga(‘path of
works’, ritual activity); jñänamärga
(‘path of knowledge’, meditation); and
bhaktimärga (‘path of devotion’, wor-
ship of images).Märkaæõeya Puräna
(eighth century CE?)
One of the Mahäpuräæas, ascribed to
Märkaæõeya, son of Møkaæõa, who
was remarkable for his austerities and
his long life (he is also called Dïrghäyus,
‘long-lived’). Most of the stories are told
by birds knowledgeable in the Vedas.
The Devï-mähätmya is part of it.marriage (vivaha)
According to tradition, marriage did
not exist in the early times. It was intro-
duced by the sage ŸVETAKETU, after an
incident involving his mother. Since
then it has been of utmost importance
to Hindus. Only a married couple was
seen as a complete ‘unit’ for worship
and participation in socially relevant
acts. Vivaha was the most important
SAßSKÄRA(rite of passage), the only one
for women. Hindu law recognized eight
forms of marriage (including abduction
and purchase of the bride), though the
preferred mode was always the mar-
riage arranged by the parents of bride
and bridegroom. While traditional
Hindu law allowed Hindu men to
marry up to four wives, most Hindu
marriages today are monogamous. The
HINDUMARRIAGEACT(1955 with many
later amendments) provides a certain
uniformity of procedures and regula-
tions concerning marriage, divorce, chil-
dren, property etc. Hindu marriage
ceremonies are usually conducted by
brahmin priests and involve a rich and
ancient ritual. According to the ØgvedaEncyclo - Letter M 10/2/03 9:50 am Page 114