In the beginning of creation, fourteen svaradhvani(s) (swaradhvani; vowel-sound) were created from the four-mouthed Brahmā (Brahma). Manu, ruler of the fourteen Manvantaras, was born of these fourteen vowels. Ṛ-kāra (Ri-kara) is the seventh among the voweḷ-sounds emanated from the mouth of Brahmā. From Ū-kāra, Vaivasvata(Vaivaswata) Manu was born. In Vāyupurāṇa (Vayupurana), these fourteen vowel-sounds are conceptualised as embodied gods. The embodied form of Ṛ-kāra is of black complexion.