Sudharma and the Manvantaras
Once, Indra went to Brishaspati, the teacher of the gods, and asked, “I have heard that the gods change from manvantara (era) to manvantara. Can you please tell me the names of the gods who have ruled earlier?”
“I am not that old,” replied Brihaspati. “I do not know the answer to your question. But there is a holy man named Sudharma. He knows everything and is bound to know the answer to your question. Let us go up to him and ask.”
Accompanied by the other gods, Indra and Brihaspati went to visit Sudharma. After they had worshipped the learned man, Indra asked, “Tell me, what is the secret of your knowledge? Have you donated a lot of alms or performing many yajnas? Or does the secret lie in visiting tirthas and peforming tapasya? Please also tell us about the various manvantaras.”
“I will first tell you about the manvantaras,” replied Sudharma.
There are fourteen such eras in one of Brahma’s days. Each such era is ruled over by a Manu. And the gods also change from one manvantara to another. In addition, the title of Indra changes hands.
The first Manu was Svayambhuva. The gods were then the yamas and the Indra was Shachipati.,
The second Manu was Svarochisha. The gods were the paravatas and tushitas and the Indra was Vipashchita.
The third Manu was Uttama. The gods were the sudhamas, satyas, shivas and pratardanas and the Indra was Sushanti.
The fourth Manu was Tamasa. The gods were the surupas, haris, suptas and sudhis and the Indra was Shibi.
The fifth Manu was Raivata. The gods were the amitabhas and the Indra was Ribhu
The sixth Manu was Chakshusha. The gods were the adyas and the Indra was Manojava.
The seventh manu was Vaivasvata. This is the manvantara that is now current. The gods are the adityas, vasus and rudras and the Indra is Purandara.
There will be seven more manvantaras before the destruction.
The eighth Manu will Suryasavarni. The gods will be the sutapas and the Indra will be Vali.
The ninth manu will be Dakshasavarni. The gods will be the paravatas and the Indra will be Adbhuta.
The tenth manu will be Brahmasavarni. The gods will be the vamanas and the Indra will be Shanti.
The eleventh Manu will be Dharmasavarni. The gods will be the vihangamas and the Indra will be Vrisha.
The twelfth manu will be Rudrasavarni. The gods will be the haritas and the Indra will be Ritadhama.
The thirteenth Manu will be Rouchya. The gods will be the sutramas and the Indra will be Divaspati.
The fourteenth Manu will be Bhoutya. The gods will be the chakshushas and the Indra will be Shuchi.
(All the Puranas agree that there are fourteen manvantaras. They also agree that the gods and the name of the person who holds the title of Indra change from one manvantara to another. But the names of the fourteen manvantaras often vary from one Purana to another. So do the names of the gods and the name of Indra. Thus the list from the Narada Purana given above will not necessarily tally with the list given in another Purana.)
“You also asked about the source of my punya,” continued Sudharma. “I used to be a vulture and lived on carrion. Once I was sitting on a wall that surrounded a temple of Vishnu. Suddenly a hunter arrived and shot me dead with his arrow. My dead body fell down on the ground and a dog picked it up in the mouth. Pursued by other dogs, the dog circled the temple. This act of piety freed me and the dog of all illusions and gave us a lot of punya. It is my secret.”
Indra wondered at this story and himself became a devotee of Vishnu.
The Yugas
“You have answered all our questions,” the sages told Suta. “We are much obliged. There remains one final question. Please tell us about the four yugas and their characteristics.”
Suta obliged.
There are four yugas (eras). They are known as satya yuga or krita yuga, treta yuga, dvapara yuga and kali yuga. Four such yugas constitute a mahayuga and a mahayuga lasts for twelve thousand years of the gods.
In satya yuga dharma reigns supreme and everyone is as righteous as the gods. Each varna pursues the duties that are prescribed for it and people are devoted to Vishnu and to tapasya. The law of the four ashramas is meticulously followed and the Vedas are studied. In treta yuga the miseries of people increase, although the dictates of dharma continue to be followed. In dvapara yuga the power of dharma diminishes and the Vedas have to be divided to disseminate the knowledge among humans. People start to lie and anger and hate start to become common. If yajnas are performed, they are always with some end in view, not because of selfless and altruistic reasons. Life expectancies start to diminsh.
Kali yuga is the worst of the four eras. It is extemely rare to find a righteous person. Yajnas also become rare. Jealousy, vanity and hatred are however very common. People do not live for very long. Even the brahmanas stop studying the Vedas. The kings who rule then are bad kings; they are obsessed with the idea of accumulating wealth. In fact, the word king conveys no meaning at all. Anyone who has many chariots, horses or elephants comes to be called a king. The brahmanas become the slaves of the shudras. The brahmans strive after evil pursuits and forever try to acquire the possessions of others. Sons hate their fathers, students their teachers, and wives their husbands.
People eat fish and meat. They even plough the banks of rivers to grow foodgrains. If cows are taken care of, that is only because they provide milk. No one likes a person who is devoted to Vishnu. Towards the end of kali yuga, no one even remembers the name of Vishnu.
But because evil reigns supreme in kali yuga, a minor good act in kali yuga gives a lot of punya. The punya that takes ten years to be acquire din satya yuga can be acquired in one year in treta yuga, one month in dvapara yuga and one day in kali yuga. The punya that required meditation and sacrifices in the other three eras can be acquired through just chanting the name of Vishnu in kali yuga. Vishnu is the salvation for everyone in kali yuga.
Epilogue
Suta told the sages, “I have now finished reciting to you the whole of the Narada Purana. This a sacred text. Someone who reads a single couplet from this Purana is forgiven all his sins. Someone who reads an entire chapter acquires the punya that can be otained from wonderful yajnas. If this text is kept inside a house, ghosts and demons avoid the house. Arson or theft are never heard of in the household. It is recommended that twenty shlokas from this Purana be read every morning.”
The Narada Purna ends rather abruptly. In the other Puranas, the sages generally thank Suta for his pains. There are no such couplets in this Puranan. The glories of the Purana are also described much more perfunctorily.
