Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 46, Shloka 33
Adhyaya 46 — Cosmic Dissolution, the Emergence of Brahma, and the Measures of Time (Yugas, Manvantaras, and Brahma’s Day)
देवाः सप्तर्षयः सेन्द्रा मनुस्तत्सूनवो नृपाः ।
मनुना सह सृज्यन्ते संह्रियन्ते च पूर्ववत् ॥
devāḥ saptarṣayaḥ sendrā manus tat-sūnavo nṛpāḥ | manunā saha sṛjyante saṃhriyante ca pūrvavat ||
ਦੇਵਤੇ, ਸੱਤ ਰਿਸ਼ੀ, ਇੰਦਰ ਸਮੇਤ ਦੇਵਗਣ, ਮਨੂ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਪੁੱਤਰ-ਰੂਪ ਰਾਜੇ—ਇਹ ਸਭ ਮਨੂ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਹੀ ਰਚੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ ਅਤੇ ਫਿਰ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਵਾਂਗ ਹੀ ਲੀਨ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ।
FAQs
Even exalted offices (Indrahood, cosmic seerhood) are time-bound; the teaching encourages humility and commitment to dharma rather than attachment to status.
Manvantara is explicit; Sarga and Pratisarga are also explicit through ‘created’ and ‘withdrawn’ (sṛṣṭi/saṃhāra) recurring each cycle.
The repeating ‘Indra + Saptarṣi + Manu’ triad encodes cosmic governance: power (Indra), wisdom (ṛṣis), and law/order (Manu) cycling to maintain dharma in each epoch.