Hindu Administrative Institutions c6.s1.23

c6.s1.23

distressing that people elected from among themselves the best, namely Vaivasvata Manu as their overlord by entering into a contract with him. In this way both the traditional accounts can be easily and satisfactorily reconciled. That Pṛthu was an earlier king than Vaivasvata Manu is evident from the fact that while there is reference to Pṛthu in the Vedic literature as the first of the consecrated monarches: (Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda Tait. Brāhmaṇa, i. 7. 7. 4.) there is no such reference to Vaivasvata Manu.