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 ||
دیوتا، سَپت رِشی، اِندر سمیت دیوگن، منو اور اُس کے بیٹے یعنی راجے—یہ سب منو کے ساتھ ہی پیدا کیے جاتے ہیں اور پھر پہلے کی طرح واپس لَے ہو جاتے ہیں۔
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Manvantara is explicit; Sarga and Pratisarga are also explicit through ‘created’ and ‘withdrawn’ (sṛṣṭi/saṃhāra) recurring each cycle.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.