Vivasvat

Vivasvat is a figure found in Vedic and post‑Vedic Hindu literature, used both as a theonym for a solar aspect and as a proper name for a legendary figure. The name is Sanskrit in origin and is commonly interpreted as “bright as the sun” or “radiant.”

In early Hindu texts, Vivasvat is sometimes treated as a solar deity or as a personified aspect of the sun. In later tradition he is also described as the father of Vaivasvata Manu, the seventh Manu and lawgiver of the current human race. According to several Puranas and related scriptures, Manu Vaivasvata is born of Vivasvat, linking the human lineage to the solar deity. Vaivasvata Manu is best known for surviving the great flood in Hindu cosmology and for establishing the subsequent cycle of manvantaras.

In the Vedic corpus, the name Vivasvat also appears as the name of sages or seers in certain hymns, and it can function as a lineage designation within solar‑associated rishi families. The exact role of Vivasvat varies by tradition, but the figure commonly serves as a solar ancestor or a divine embodiment of solar radiance.

Culturally, Vivasvat anchors key ideas in Hindu cosmology related to the sun, the origin of mankind, and the cyclical nature of time through the Manu lineage. The figure connects solar divinity with human succession and the administration of cosmic order.

See also: Surya, Vaivasvata Manu, Matsya Purana, Manu.