Vaivasvata Manu in the context of "Kishkindha"

Divine retribution (also known as divine punishment or divine abuse) is the supernatural punishment of a single person, a group of people, or everyone, by a deity in response to some action. Mythology and folklore about how a deity imposed punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing their doom, can be found in several cultures.

An example of divine retribution is the story found in many religions about a great flood destroying all of humanity, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Hindu Vedas, or the Christian Book of Genesis (6:9–8:22), but leaving one principal 'chosen' survivor. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the survivor is Utnapishtim. In the Hindu Vedas, it is Manu. In the Christian book of Genesis, it is Noah. References in the Old Testament and the Quran to a man named Nuh (Noah), who was commanded by God to build an ark, suggest that one man and his followers were saved in a great flood.

The Epic-Puranic chronology is a timeline of Hindu mythology based on the Itihasa (the Sanskrit Epics, that is, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana) and the Puranas. These texts have an authoritative status in Indian tradition, and narrate cosmogeny, royal genealogies, myths and legendary events. The central dates here are the Bharata War and the start of the Kali Yuga.

These texts often discuss very long lengths of time, such as the widespread statement that Vaivasvata Manu lived 28 yuga cycles before the writer's time, which, if the usual yuga cycle of 4,320,000 years is meant, is 120 million years.

Sanjna (Sanskrit: संज्ञा, IAST: Saṃjñā, also spelled as Samjna and Sangya), also known as Saranyu (Sanskrit: सरण्यू, IAST: Saraṇyū), is a Hindu goddess associated with clouds and the chief consort of Surya, the Sun god. She is mentioned in the Rigveda, the Harivamsa and the Puranas.

In Hindu mythology, Sanjna is the daughter of the craftsman god Tvashtr, often equated with Vishvakarma. Renowned for her beauty, virtue, and ascetic powers, Sanjna married Vivasvant (Surya); however, she could not endure his intense form and energy. To escape, she substituted herself with her shadow or maid, Chhaya, and ran away by transforming into a mare. Upon discovering her absence, Surya had his radiance diminished and brought her back. Sanjna is recognized as the mother of several notable deities, including Yama, the god of death; Yamuna, the river goddess; Vaivasvata Manu, the current patriarch of humans; the twin divine physicians known as the Ashvins; and the god Revanta.