12.26 Manvataras
You already know what a manvantara is. The titles of the seven great sages (saptarshi), the names of the gods and the title of Indra change from the manvantara to another.
In the present kalpa (cycle), six manvantaras have passed.
The first Manu was Svayambhuva.
The second Manu was Svarochisha. The gods then were the paravatas and tushitas and the title of Indra was held by Vipashchita. The seven great sages were Urjja, Stamba, prana, Dambholi, Vrishabha, Timira and Arvarivana.
Uttama was the third Manu. The gods of this manvantara were the sudhamas, stayas, shivas, pratardanas and vashavartis and the name of the Indra was Sushanti. Rajah, Gotra, Urddhavahu, Savana, Anagha, Sutapa and Shukra were the seven great sages.
The fourth Manu was Tamasa. The gods of this era were the suravas, haris, satyas and sudhas and the title of Indra was held by Shibi. The seven great sages were Jyotirdhama, Prithu, Kavya, Chaitra, Agni, Varuna and Pivara.
In the fifth manvantara, the Manu was Raivata and the title of Indra was held by Vibhu. The gods were the bhutis and the vaikunthas and the seven great sages were Hiranyaroma, Vedashri, Urddhavahu, Vedavahu, Suvahu and Suparjanya. (The name of the seventh great sage is missing.)
The Manus Svarochisha, Uttama, Tamasa and Raivata were all descended from Svayambhuva Manu.
The sixth Manu was Chakshusha and the Indra then was Manojava. The gods were known as the adyas, prasutas, bhavyas, prithukas and lekhas. Sumedha, Vrija, Havishmana, Uttama, Madhu, Abhimana and Sahishnu were the seven great sages.
The seventh manvantara is the one that is now current and the Indra now is Purundara. The Manu is Shraddhadeva, the gods are the adityas, the vasus, the rudras and the maruts. The names of the seven great sages are Vashishtha, Kashyapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Goutama, Vishvamitra and Bharadvaja.
In the present kalpa, there will be seven more manvantaras in the future. Thereafter, the world will be destroyed.
(It should be mentioned that the names given in this section do not necessarily tally with the names given in the other Puranas. Not only do the names of the gods, the sages and the Indras differ, the names of the future manvantaras also sometimes differ from Purana to Purana)
12.27 Vedavyasa
In every dvapara yuga, a Vedavyasa is born so as to divide the Vedas and disseminate their knowledge. In the present era, there have been twenty-eight dvapara yugas and there have therefore been twenty-eight individuals who have held the title of Vedavyasa. The Kurma Purana gives their names as follows.
(1) Svayambhuva Manu.
(2) Prajapati.
(3) Ushana.
(4) Brihaspati.
(5) Savita.
(6) Mrityu.
(7) Indra.
(8) Vashishtha.
(9) Sarasvata.
(10) Tridhama.
(11) Rishabha.
(12) Suteja.
(13) Dharma.
(14) Sachakshu.
(15) Trayaruni.
(16) Dhananjaya.
(17) Kritanjaya.
(18) Ritanjaya.
(19) Bharadvaja.
(20) Goutama.
(21) Vachashrava.
(22) Narayana.
(23) Trinavindu.
(24) Valmiki.
(25) Shaktri.
(26) Parashara.
(27) Jatukarna.
(28) Krishna Dvaipayana
Vedavyasa divided the Vedas into four parts and taught them to four of his disciples. He taught Paila the Rig Veda. Vaishampayana the Yajur Veda, Jaimini the Sama Veda and Sumantu the Atharva Veda. As for the Puranas, they were taught to Lomaharshana.
12.28 Shiva’s Incarnations
Most Puranas only mention Vishnu’s incarnations (avataras). The Kurma Purana is one of the rate ones which mentions Shiva’s incarnations.
In each kali yuga, Shiva has had an incarnation. The names of these incarnations are as follows.
(1) Shveta.
(2) Sutara.
(3) Madana.
(4) Suhotra.
(5) Kankana.
(6) Lokakshi.
(7) Jaigishavya.
(8) Dadhivaha.
(9) Rishabha.
(10) Bhrigu.
(11) Ugra.
(12) Atri.
(13) Vali.
(14) Goutama.
(15) Vedashirsha.
(16) Gokarna.
(17) Shikhandaka.
(18) Jatamali.
(19) Attahasa.
(20) Daruka.
(21) Langali.
(22) Mahavama.
(23) Muni.
(24) Shuli.
(25) Pindamunishvara.
(26) Sahishnu.
(27) Somasharma.
(28) Nakulishvara.
