According to the Bengal School,âgavataPurâ the main planetary run takes 108 years for its completion, and according to another school, it takes 120 years.
The following is the order of planetary succession according to the second school, which prevails all over India, except in Bengal: --
Sun 6 years, Moon 10, Mars 7, Râhu 18, Brihaspati 16, Saturn 19, Mercury 17, Ketu 7 and Venus 20. Thus if a man lives for 120 years, all the planets will in turn have influenced his life in the above order, commencing from the planet of his birth. Again there will be corresponding sub-runs of all the planets during each planetary run. The races are also governed by such planetary influences.
The Solar Dynasty means that the particular type of humanity so denoted was born under the influence of the solar planet. When all the planets have in turn exercised their influence over this Dynasty, it disappears for a time and is re-born under the influence of the Sun.
Similarly there will be a revival of the Lunar dynasty -- that which commenced under the influence of the Moon.
The law of planetary influence over the human races is not as clearly known as that over individual men. Otherwise the future history of each race would not be the sealed book to us which it is.
The humanity of the present Manvantara was first born under the influence of the Solar Planet. Our Moon is the son of the Sun-God.
The races that first appeared were called Solar races.
Other races appeared under the influence of the Moon. In these races we find first the influence of Brihaspati or Jupiter, through his wife Târa, then of Budha or Mercury, and lastly of Sukra or Venus, through his daughter Devayâni.
This planetary succession may be only a Sub-run of the planets. We read, in the account of the previous Manvantaras, of the appearance of Sukra as the guide of the Daityas, and of Brihaspati as the guide of the Devas. We have also read of the appearance of Râhu in the sixth Manvantara. This shews that the main planetary round has to be found in the Kalpa itself.
Our knowledge on the whole subject is however so poor that it is unsafe to make any distinct suggestion.
Now we shall take the Solar Races, or the sons of Vaivasvat Manu, in order of their treatment in the text. _Prishadhta_ and _Kavi_ were the first spiritual races. They did not marry _i.e._ there was no sexual reproduction among them.