सनातन धर्म के अनुसार मनु संसार के प्रथम योगीपुरुष थे। प्रथम मनु का नाम स्वयंभुव मनु था, जिनके संग प्रथम स्त्री थी शतरूपा। ये 'स्वयं भू' होने के कारण ही स्वयंभू कहलाये। इन्हीं प्रथम पुरुष और प्रथम स्त्री की सन्तानों से संसार के समस्त जनों की उत्पत्ति हुई। मनु की सन्तान होने के कारण वे मानव या मनुष्य कहलाए। स्वायंभुव मनु को आदि भी कहा जाता है। आदि का अर्थ होता है प्रारंभ। Om shanti

Manu is a term found with various meanings in Hinduism. In early texts, it refers to the archetypal man, or to the first man. The Sanskrit term for 'human', मनुष्य or मानव means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. In later texts, Manu is the title or name of fourteen rulers of earth, or alternatively as the head of dynasties that begin with each cyclic kalpa (aeon) when the universe is born anew. The title of the text Manusmriti uses this term as a prefix, but refers to the first Manu – Svayambhuva, the spiritual son of Brahma. In the Hindu cosmology, each kalpa consists of fourteen Manvantaras, and each Manvantara is headed by a different Manu. The current universe, is asserted to be ruled by the 7th Manu named Vaivasvata. Vaivasvata was the king of Dravida before the great flood. He was warned of the flood by the Matsya (fish) avatar of Vishnu, and built a boat that carried the Vedas, Manu's family and the seven sages to safety, helped by Matsya. The tale is repeated with variations in other texts, including the Mahabharata and a few other Puranas. It is similar to other floods such as those associated with Gilgamesh and Noah.