In the beginning of creation, fourteen svaradhvani (swaradvani; vowel-sounds emanated from the four mouths of Brahmā (Brahma). From these fourteen svaradhvani, emerged Manu(s), rulers of fourteen Manvantaras. I or Ī-kāra (I-kara) is the fourth of them. Manu emanated from this Ī-kāra. In Vāyupurāṇa, the fourteen vowels have been imagined as gods embodied. The embodiment of Ī-kāra is conceptualised as a god of blood-red complexion.