SB 7.15.80

I have thus described the different dynasties arising from Dakṣa’s daughters, which generated devatās, demons and humans, and other moving and non-moving entities. The commentary Śārātha-darśinī on Fifteenth Chapter of the Seventh Canto has been completed to give pleasure to the hearts of the devotees in accordance with the views of the ācāryas. With fear and shame, I say what I know out of foolishness, because of the pleasure it produces in my mind. Intelligent people may become angry. But may the boy with the peacock feather, being favorable to me, appear before those who complain about me! By the mercy of the Lord I have finished the commentary on the Seventh Canto on the eleventh lunar day of the waning phase of Pauṣa month on the bank of Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Canto 8 Canto Eight Chapter One Payers Svāyambhuva Manu Eighth Canto Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto 8: "Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations" 1. The Manus, Administrators of the Universe • Translations 1-33 2. The Elephant Gajendra's Crisis • Translations 1-33 3. Gajendra's Prayers of Surrender • Translations 1-33 4. Gajendra Returns to the Spiritual World • Translations 1-26 5. The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection • Translations 1-50 6. The Demigods and Demons Declare a Truce • Translations 1-39 7. Lord Śiva Saves the Universe by Drinking Poison • Translations 1-46 8. The Churning of the Milk Ocean • Translations 1-45 9. The Lord Incarnates as Mohinī-mūrti • Translations 1-29 10. The Battle Between the Demigods and the Demons • Translations 1-57 11. King Indra Annihilates the Demons • Translations 1-48 12. The Mohinī-mūrti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Śiva • Translations 1-47 13. Description of Future Manus • Translations 1-36 14. The System of Universal Management • Translations 1-11 15. Bali Mahārāja Conquers the Heavenly Planets • Translations 1-36 16. Executing the Payo-vrata Process of Worship • Translations 1-62 17. The Supreme Lord Agrees to Become Aditi's Son • Translations 1-28 18. Lord Vāmanadeva, the Dwarf Incarnation • Translations 1-32 19. Lord Vāmanadeva Begs Charity from Bali Mahārāja • Translations 1-43 20. Bali Mahārāja Surrenders the Universe • Translations 1-34 21. Bali Mahārāja Arrested by the Lord • Translations 1-34 22. Bali Mahārāja Surrenders His Life • Translations 1-36 23. The Demigods Regain the Heavenly Planets • Translations 1-31 24. Matsya, the Lord's Fish Incarnation • Translations 1-61 8.1: The Manus, Administrators of the Universe 1. The Manus, Administrators of the Universe 8.1 Summary First of all, let me offer my humble, respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda. Sometime in the year 1935 when His Divine Grace was staying at Rādhā-kuṇḍa, I went to see him from Bombay. At that time, he gave me many important instructions in regard to constructing temples and publishing books. He personally told me that publishing books is more important than constructing temples. Of course, those same instructions remained within my mind for many years. In 1944 I began publishing my Back to Godhead, and when I retired from family life in 1958 I began publishing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Delhi. When three parts of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam had been published in India, I then started for the United States of America on the thirteenth of August, 1965. I am continuously trying to publish books, as suggested by my spiritual master. Now, in this year, 1976, I have completed the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and a summary of the Tenth Canto has already been published as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Still, the Eighth Canto, Ninth Canto, Tenth Canto, Eleventh Canto and Twelfth Canto are yet to be published. On this occasion, therefore, I am praying to my spiritual master to give me strength to finish this work. I am neither a great scholar nor a great devotee; I am simply a humble servant of my spiritual master, and to the best of my ability I am trying to please him by publishing these books, with the cooperation of my disciples in America. Fortunately, scholars all over the world are appreciating these publications. Let us cooperatively publish more and more volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam just to please His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. This First Chapter of the Eighth Canto may be summarized as a description of four Manus, namely Svāyambhuva, Svārociṣa, Uttama and Tāmasa. After hearing descriptions of the dynasty of Svāyambhuva Manu until the end of the Seventh Canto, Mahārāja Parīkṣit desired to know about other Manus. He desired to understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends—not only in the past but at the present and in the future—and how He acts in various pastimes as Manu. Since Parīkṣit Mahārāja was eager to know all this, Śukadeva Gosvāmī gradually described all the Manus, beginning with the six Manus who had appeared in the past. The first Manu was Svāyambhuva Manu. His two daughters, namely Ākūti and Devahūti, gave birth to two sons, named Yajṣa and Kapila respectively. Because Śukadeva Gosvāmī had already described the activities of Kapila in the Third Canto, he now described the activities of Yajṣa. The original Manu, along with his wife, Śatarūpā, went into the forest to practice austerities on the bank of the river Sunandā. They practiced austerities for a hundred years, and then Manu, in a trance, formed prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rākṣasas and asuras then attempted to devour him, but Yajṣa, accompanied by his sons the Yāmas and the demigods, killed them. Then Yajṣa personally took the post of Indra, the King of the heavenly planets. The second Manu, whose name was Svārociṣa, was the son of Agni, and His sons were headed by Dyumat, Suṣeṇa and Rociṣmat. In the age of this Manu, Rocana became Indra, the ruler of the heavenly planets, and there were many demigods, headed by Tuṣita. There were also many saintly persons, such as Ūrja and Stambha. Among them was Vedaśirā, whose wife, Tuṣitā, gave birth to Vibhu. Vibhu instructed eighty-eight thousand dṛḍha-vratas, or saintly persons, on self-control and austerity. Uttama, the son of Priyavrata, was the third Manu. Among his sons were Pavana, Sṛṣjaya and Yajṣahotra. During the reign of this Manu, the sons of Vasiṣṭha, headed by Pramada, became the seven saintly persons. The Satyas, Devaśrutas and Bhadras became the demigods, and Satyajit became Indra. From the womb of Sunṛtā, the wife of Dharma, the Lord appeared as Satyasena, and He killed all the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas who were fighting with Satyajit. Tāmasa, the brother of the third Manu, was the fourth Manu, and he had ten sons, including Pṛthu, Khyāti, Nara and Ketu. During his reign, the Satyakas, Haris, Vīras and others were demigods, the seven great saints were headed by Jyotirdhāma, and Triśikha became Indra. Harimedhā begot a son named Hari in the womb of his wife Hariṇī. This Hari, an incarnation of God, saved the devotee Gajendra. This incident is described as gajendra-mokṣaṇa. At the end of this chapter, Parīkṣit Mahārāja particularly asks about this incident.