Teachings of Lord Caitanya

by A.C. Bhaktivedanta

After describing the līlā- and guṇa-avatāras to Sanātana Gosvāmī, Lord Caitanya explained the manvantara-avatāras, incarnations associated with the Manus. He first stated that there is no possibility of counting the manvantara-avatāras. Fourteen Manus appear in one kalpa, or day of Brahmā, and for each Manu there is a manvantara-avatāra. It is calculated that each day of Brahmā lasts 4,320,000,000 earth years, and Brahmā lives for one hundred years on this scale. Thus if fourteen Manus appear in one day of Brahmā, there are 420 Manus during one month of Brahmā, and during one year of Brahmā there are 5,040 Manus. Since Brahmā lives for one hundred of his years, it is calculated that there are 504,000 Manus manifested during the lifetime of one Brahmā. Since there are innumerable universes, no one can imagine the totality of the manvantara incarnations. Countless universes are produced by the exhalation of Mahā-viṣṇu, and thus no one can begin to calculate how many Manus are existing at one time.