In Hinduism, the term Manu has various meanings. Manu means the progenitor of humanity or the first man, or the archetypal man. Manav in Sanskrit means ‘children of Manu’ or ‘of Manu’. Later texts indicate that Manu means when the universe was newly born, Manu was the head of mystical dynasties that started with each cyclic eon or Kalpa. In later texts, Manu also means name or title of 14 mythical Kshatriya rulers of the earth.
The term Manu has been used as in the Manusmriti text as a prefix, in which Brahma’s spiritual son – Svayambhuva is referred to as the first Manu. As per the Puranas, there are 14 Manvantaras in every Kalpa and a different Manu heads each Manvantara. It is believed that Vaivasvata the 7th Manu is currently ruling the universe. Vaivasvata is also known as Satyavrata or Sraddhadeva (the Dravida King before the great flood) in the Vishnu Purana. Vishnu’s avatar, called Matsya (fish) warned Vaivasvata about the flood and accordingly with the help of Matsya, he constructed a boat to carry the 7 sages, Manu’s family and the Vedas. Some other Puranas as well as the Mahabharata repeat this myth with variations in various other texts. Noah and Gilgamesh and other flood myths are very similar to this myth.
In Hindu mythology, Ila is an androgyne deity known a Sudyumna as a man and Ila as a woman. The main progenitor of the Lunar dynasty of Indian Kings is Ila and is described as the son or daughter of Vaivasvata Manu according to a number of versions.
