Manava Dharmashastra 1.61

1.61

upādhyāyo dharmānpṛṣṭo jagadutpattyādi varṇitavān | tathaiva śiṣyo'pi tanniyuktastaccheṣameva varṇayitumārabdhaḥ | asyeti sākṣātkāreṇa manuṃ pratyavamṛśati | asmadupādhyāyasya svāyambhuva iti khyātasya ṣaḍanye'pare manavo vaṃśyā ekasminvaṃśe kule jātāḥ sarve vaṃśyāḥ | sarve hi sākṣādbrahmaṇā sṛṣṭā ityekakulasambhavāddhaṃś‍yā ucyante | athavā ekasminkārye'dhikṛtā vaṃś‍yā ekakarmānvayena prāṇināṃ vaṃśavyavahāro bhavati | 'dvau munī vyākaraṇasya vaṃśyau' | teṣāṃ caikaṃ dharma darśayati sṛṣṭavantaḥ prajāḥ svāḥ svāḥ iti | manvantare manvantare yasya manoradhikāraḥ sa eva prajānāṃ pūrvamanvantaravinaṣṭānāṃ sraṣṭā pālayitā ca | ato yena yāḥ prajāḥ sṛjyante tāstasya svā bhavanti |

There are Six other Manus, high-souled and mighty, who belong to the same race as this Svāyambhuva Manu, and have called into being, each his own offsprings.—(61)

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
When the Teacher (Manu) was asked (in the beginning of this work) to explain Duties, he proceeded to describe the origination of the world and other cognate matters; hence when the pupil (Bhṛgu) has been directed to expound the Law, he also begins with the remaining parts of the same process of world-creation.

‘Of this’—the pronoun refers to the Manu before their eyes;—our teacher, who is known as ‘Svāyambhuva.’ There are six other Manus who belong to the same race as himself,—persons horn in the same family are said to ‘belong to the same race,’ and since all Manus are called into being directly by Brahmā himself, they are born in the same family, and are hence said to ‘belong to the same race.’ Or, persons engaged in the same work are also said ‘to belong to the same race’; as a matter of fact, living beings are often distributed among ‘races’ in accordance with the work done by them; e.g., we have such statements as—‘related to grammar there are two sages who belong to the same race.’

The text proceeds to point out one such work common to the Manus:—“They have called into being each his own offsprings”; in each Manvantara, created beings destroyed during the previous Manvantara are again created and protected by that particular Manu who holds sway over that Manvantara; hence the offsprings that each of them creates are called ‘his own.’—(61)