Chakshush Manavantar

Chaakshush had manifested from the eye (Chakshu) of Lord Brahma in his previous birth. For this reason, he was known as Chaakshush. Chaakshush was born to Anmitra and Giribhadra. After taking birth, he was abducted by Jaathaarini and exchanged with the son of King Vikrant who was sleeping besides his mother. Being unaware of this event, Vikrant considered him as his own son and named him as Anand. When Anand grew up, once, his Guru instructed him to make salutations to his mother. Anand replied- "To whom should I make salutations? The one who has given birth to me or to the one who has brought me up and nurtured me? The Guru was surprised by his reply. He said- "O son! Haimini, the wife of Vikrant has given birth to you and so, she is your mother. But Anand replied back- "This woman is not my mother. I have taken birth from somebody else's womb. This woman is the mother of Chaitra. I am the son of Anmitra and Giribhadra. Jaathaarini had abducted me and brought me here. She had also carried Chaitra to Punarva's place and kept him over there. Jaathaarini had devoured the son of Punarva. Now tell me, who is my mother and to whom should I make salutations?" The Guru became confused, so were the king and the queen. Anand went to the forest and started doing penance. Prajapati became pleased by his tremendous penance and appeared before him. He said- "O son! What makes you undertake such a severe penance? Anand replied- "O lord! I am doing this penance with the purpose of becoming free from all the bondage of my Karma and to purify myself. Brahmaji said- "Only the mortal men are fit to become liberated because they are bound by their Karmas but you being a virtuous person are not bound by your Karmas. With my blessings, you would become the sixth Manu. There is no need for you to do penance. Lord Brahma named him as Chaakshush. Later on, he became famous as Chaakshush Manu. When Chaakshush Manu attained marriageable age, he married Vidarbha, the daughter of Ugra. Markandeya says- "Aapya was the most prominent Gana of Chaakshush Manavantar. He was the master of eight deities. The second Gana was called Prasoot. He too was the master of eight deities. Similarly, there were two more Ganas- Bhatyakhya and Uthaga. Each of them was the master of eight deities. The presiding deity of these deities was Indra by the name of Manojav. The Saptarishis present during this Manavantar were Sumedha, Viraja, Havishmaan, Unnat, Madhu, Ati and Sahishnu. Chaakshush had many mighty sons like Uru, Kuru, Shatadryumna etc. Now I am going to tell you about the seventh Manu who was called Vaivasvat."