The Administration of a Manvantara
Skandha VIII. Chap. 14
Said Râjâ Parikshit: — Tell me, O Rishi, what are the respective duties of Manu and others in the Manvantaras.
Suka replied: — The Avatâra of each Manvantara guides the Manu, the sons of Manu, the Rishis, the Indra and the Devas of that Manvantara. (Each Manvantara has its own place in the history of the Kalpa, and the general evolution has to be worked out in the way best adapted to that Manvantara. The administration of each Manvantara is in the hands of a separate set of kings and ministers. Vishnu incarnates in each Manvantara, as the king of all who serve as administrative officers of that Manvantara and he is as such called the special Avatâra for that Manvantara. The divine kings, the Rishis, the Devas, all work under His direction. He gives the law that is to be administered. He shews the path, which evolution is to take in any particular Manvantara.)
Yajna and others are Avatâras of Purusha. Guided by them, Manu and others lead the course of the universe.
Rishis: — At the end of every four Yugas, the Srutis become devoured by time. (The human races have a life period timed to the four Yugas. They have their infancy, as it were, in Satya Yuga, and they have to be guided by wise sayings, which form the Srutis of those races. The Srutis become better understood with the growth of racial intelligence and other texts take the place of old ones. When the races do not require the help of the earlier texts, those texts become lost in time. When the races begin another life cycle, they require again the help of teachings, which become revealed to the Rishis. The Rishis then give those teachings to the races.) The Rishis find out the Srutis, by means of Tapas. The eternal Dharma proceeds from the Srutis. (People know their duties from the scriptures.)
Manus. — The Manus then take up the Dharma, and each in his own time devotedly promulgates it on the earth.
Manu’s sons. — The sons of Manu preserve the Dharma, generation after generation, till the end of the Manvantara.
Devas and Indra. — Indra, with the Devas that participate in sacrificial offerings, protects the three Lokas and gives rains.
(Besides this general administration, there are other ways also of managing the affairs of the universe and these are mentioned incidentally in the following slokas. Śridhara.)
Hari appears as the Siddhas (Sanaka and others) and expounds divine wisdom (Jnâna) in every Yuga. He appears as Rishis (Yâjnavalkya and others) and expounds Karma. As Lords of Yoga (Dattâtreya and others), He expounds Yoga.