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I would like to know why Manyu Suktam is associated with Vishnu’s Avatara Lord Narasimha. From Wikipedia I read :

From Prajapati, when he had become enfeebled, the deities departed. Only one god, Manyu, did not leave him, but continued extended within him. He (Prajapati) wept. The tears which fell from him remained in that 'Manyu'. He became Rudra with a hundred heads, a hundred eyes, and a hundred quivers.

Then the other drops which fell from him in unnumbered thousands entered into these worlds. They were called Rudras because they sprang from him when he had wept. This Rudra with a thousand heads, eyes, and quivers, stood with his bow strung, and arrows on the string, causing terror, and demanding food.

The gods were afraid of him. They said to Prajapati,:'We are afraid of this being, lest he destroy us.' Prajapati said to them: 'Collect for him food, and with it appease him.' They collected for him this food, the Satarudriya."

Later, all gods,including Prajapati sang Satarudriya hymns and appeased Rudra. Satarudriyam begin with the words : "Namaste Rudra Manyava..... ( Salutations to thy anger O Rudra.... )

...so shouldn’t be Rudra or Shiva?

Satapatha Brahmana IX-1-1-6

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According to this website, it says that Manyu is another name for Lord Narasimha, and the "suktam" is about the anger of Lord Narayana in his form of Lord Narasimha. The fire, agni, is describing Narayana. You can check the website if you would like to. Here is another website.

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    Thank You for this, i found this paper connected chodayithri.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/manyusukta-ttd.pdf . So as stated here :
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 2:03
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    Thank You for this, i found this paper connected chodayithri.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/manyusukta-ttd.pdf . The connection to Lord Narashima started ,according to Sri Madhwacharia , in his Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya , That Manyu Sukta should be interpreted as for Lord Narashima “ After killing Dussasana , the mighty Bhimasena , remembered God Narashima and praised him reciting Manyu Suktam”. It is also true from the other side , that J.Muir,Trubner and Griffith both translated with Rudra. In the paper above is said that the “etymological” meaning of Manyu is “knowledge” .
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 2:17
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    As per this , the author above define the fact that Lord Narashima , is controlling the anger(rudra) with the power of knowledge. By the way this seems like a vaishnavite interpretation. Of course my scope is not argue about its real side if we consider that God is One and Manyu kills our internal enemies.Personally i can interprete it according the monism of Kasmirian Shiva Philosophy which then result as an embodiment aspect of Rudra or Paramasiva. An etymological meaning , as proposed above , remain in a dualism perspective of the vaishnavism transcendency
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 2:27
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    But at least now, i have a clearer idea of those two beautiful connections.
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 2:29
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    No problem. I'm glad to help.
    – TheMatrix
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 16:48
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The OP mentioned about Sri Madhvacharya's interpretation of Manyu Sukta in the Comment section, and thus I am not mentioning about it again.

So I will confine my answer to my observation only.

Sri Madhvacharya interpreted the Veda, suiting to his way of worshipping the Almighty God. Another such interpretation is on Balitha Sukta of Rig Veda.

Rig Veda X.83 and X.84 mention about Manyu Sukta.

We have to remember that the brAhmanAs and subsequent literature came into existence to interpret the Veda and as an extension of the Veda.

The Stories or Myths that were indicated in the Bṛhaddevatā, like fight of Vamadeva with Indra, Indra-Vaikuntha, etc, had been the products of subsequent literature only, which do not find place in Rig Veda.

We have to remember that Vishnu was mentioned as an epithet of the Almighty God in Rig Veda, as Indra, Agni, Vayu, etc, were mentioned.

We should also remember that the 3 steps of Vishnu mentioned in the Rig Veda does not indicate the Vamana avatara, but indicates the all pervasiveness of the Almighty God.

If we understand this background of the Rig Veda, then we can easily understand that Sri Madhwacharya wrongly interpreted the Manyu Sukta.

The Manyu Sukta is dedicated to Manyu.

Joel P. Brereton and Stephanie W. Jamison write in their translation to X.83, as follows.

This hymn begins with four verses praising Manyu for his might and victory-bringing qualities and entreating him to use these qualities against our enemies. The following three verses (5–7) strike a more personal note, with a 1st-person speaker, apparently deserted by Manyu for some undetermined reason. The speaker begs Manyu to return to his side, so that together they can smite the enemy.

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  • ...and that from the Vedic point of view. Curiously , from the historical one, Vaisnavas who left their mark in the domains of the major Sastras, belles-lettres, and literary theory are few during our centuries. The shift in the fortunes of Vaisavism is marked by the emergence of such influential religious leaders as Ramanuja (d. 1137), Madhva (probably 1238–1317). Before that happened, while it remained in the shadow of ´Saivism, it gave rise to a new literature of scriptural texts known collectively as the Pa˜ncar¯atra, that was probably composed in and around Kashmir.
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 15:32
  • A form of Vaisnavism bearing this name (Pancaratra )is already mentioned in the Mahabharata.(Mahabharata 12.322.24; 12. 326.100; 12.360.76;12.337.1; 12.370.59, 63, and 67.) these early Pancaratra texts show clear signs of having drawn on ´Saiva sources. Indeed in the Svayambhuvapancaratra, Sanderson examined a Nepalese palm-leaf manuscript bearing a date of transcription that falls in A . D. 1026. The principal Mantra of this text, which may well be the oldest of the seven, is the well-known Vaisnava Dvadasaksara OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VA SUDEVAYA NAMAH .
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 15:38
  • But the principal among its ancillary Mantras are five that it calls the Brahmas. These are manifestly adapted from the venerable Saiva Mantras of that name.
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 15:38
  • The instructor is Siva/Isvara. Exposure 3a1–2 (the beginning): OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VA SUDEVAYA . ∥ . . . pran . ipatya haram . deva<m . > . . . stutva namasahasren . a brahma vacanam abravıt; exposure 4a2–3: *brahman . o vacanam . (em. : brahm¯acanam . Cod.) ´srutva ısvara<h . > *pratyabh¯as . ata (em. : pratyubh¯as . yate Cod.) | ´sr . n . u brahma<n> prayatnena visno<h . > sthapanam uttamam | pancaratramahajnanam . sarva´s¯a cottamam.
    – Lucky Pashu
    Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 15:40
  • According to Taittiriya samhita 7.1.10 and others, apart from pancharatra, many other rites, covering many nights, were mentioned. Hence, performing 5 days austerities by sage Narayana might have been adopted from Taittiriya samhita @LuckyPashu
    – Srimannarayana K V
    Commented Jun 9, 2020 at 15:01

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