Adhyaya 74 — King Svarashtra, the Deer-Queen’s Curse, and the Rise of Tamasa Manu
ये देवा यत्पतिर्यश्च देवेन्द्रो ये तथर्षयः ।
ये पुत्राश्च मनोस्तस्य पृथिवीपरिपालकाः ॥
ye devā yatpatiryaśca devendro ye tatharṣayaḥ / ye putrāśca manostasya pṛthivīparipālakāḥ
के देवाः सन्ति, कश्च तेषां प्रभुः—कोऽिन्द्रः, के च ऋषयः; तस्य मनोः पुत्राः के पृथिवीपालका अभवन्—एतत् सर्वं वर्ण्यते।
Dharma in Purāṇas is institutional: each age has appointed cosmic functionaries (devas, Indra, ṛṣis, kings) who collectively sustain order.
Manvantara: it announces the standard Manvantara template—deva-gaṇas, Indra, Saptarṣis, and Manu’s sons (earthly rulers).
The ‘offices’ (Indra, sages, protectors) can be read as archetypal functions within consciousness: governance, illumination, and regulation operating cyclically.