632 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 12

chain was broken by unscrupulous persons, and therefore it again had to
be taught to Arjunaon the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. So all the Vedic
literatures are current from the very beginning of creation of the material
world, and thus the Vedic literatures are known as apauruseya (not made
by man). The Vedic knowledge was spoken by the Lord and first heard by
Brahmi, the first created living being within the universe.

Maharaja Iksvaku: One of the sons of Vaivasvata Manu. He had one
hundred sons. He prohibited meat eating. His son Sasada became the next
king after his death.

Manu: The Manu mentioned in this verse as the father of Iksvaku is the
seventh Manu, of the name Vaivasvata Manu, the son of sun-god Vivasvan
to whom Lord Krsna instructed the teachings of Bhagavad-gita prior to
His teaching them to Arjuna. Mankind is the descendant of Manu. This
Vaivasvata Manu had ten sons, named Iksvaku, Nabhaga, Dhrsta, Saryati,
Narisyanta, Nabhaga, Dista, Kariisa, Prsadhra, and Vasuman. The Lord’s
incarnation Matsya (the gigantic fish) was advented during the beginning
of Vaivasvata Manu’s reign. He learned the principles of Bhagavad-gita
from his father Vivasvan, the sun-god, and he reinstructed the same to his
son Maharaja Iksvaku. In the beginning of the Treta-yuga the sun-god
instructed devotional service to Manu, and Manu in his turn instructed it to
Iksvaku for the welfare of the whole human society.

Lord Rama: The Supreme Personality of Godhead incarnated Himself as
Sri Rama, accepting the sonhood of His pure devotee Maharaja Dagaratha,
the King of Ayodhya. Lord Rama descended along with His plenary por-
tions, and all of them appeared as His younger brothers. In the month of
Caitra on the ninth day of the growing moon in the Treta-yuga, the Lord
appeared, as usual, to establish the principles of religion and to annihilate
the disturbing elements. When He was just a young boy, He helped the
great sage Visvamitra by killing Subahu and striking Marica, the she-demon,
who was disturbing the sages in their daily discharge of duties. The
brahmanas and ksatriyas are meant to cooperate for the welfare of the
mass of people. The brahmana sages endeavor to enlighten the people by
perfect knowledge, and the ksatriyas are meant for their protection. Lord
Ramacandra is the ideal king for maintaining and protecting the highest
culture of humanity known as brahmanya-dharma. The Lord is specifically
the protector of the cows and the brahmanas, and hence He enhances the
prosperity of the world. He rewarded the administrative demigods by
effective weapons to conquer the demons through the agency of Visvamitra.
He was present in the bow sacrifice of King Janaka, and by breaking the
invincible bow of Siva, He married Sitadevi, daughter of Maharaja Janaka.
