IT was once the tradition that the first king of India was Manu Svayambhu (the Self-born Manu). Manu was born directly of the god Brahma, and was a hermaphrodite. From the female half of his body he bore two sons and three daughters, from whom descended a series of Manus. One of them, called Prithu, became the first consecrated king of the earth, and gave to the earth her name, Prithvi. He cleared the forests, cultivated the land, and introduced cattle-breeding, commerce, and other activities associated with a settled life. But the tenth Manu was the most famous of them all. It was when he
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