After Brahma completed the act of creation of the physical characteristics of the world, he turned his attention to the creation of people. He first created the divine sages using his mental powers. But he knew he had to create people who would reproduce in the normal way. So he created a wife for himself. This was Shatrupa, also known as Saraswati. They had a son, Manu. The Hindi word for human is "manav", which is derived from Manu. This Manu was known as Svayambhava Manu meaning self-created. A word of caution is essential here. There are many Manu's in Indian mythology and should not be mistaken for one another.
Manu married Ananti who was a manifestation of Shatrupa. Manu is said to have performed considerable penances before Shatrupa agreed to create a bride for him. Manu and Ananti had two sons, Priyavrata and Uttanapada and three daughters, Aahuti, Aarushi and Prasuti. Aahuti married the sage Ruchi and Aarushi married the sage Chyavana. Parshurama, one of the incarnations of Vishnu, was a descendent of Aarushi. Prasuti is said to have married a descendent of her brother Uttanapada, through whom the family was propagated. Uttanapada's son Prachinvarhi married Savarna, the daughter of the oceans. They produced ten offspring, all males, who were collectively known as the Prachetas. The Prachetas married Marisha. This was the first case of polyandry in Hindu mythology. The most famous case of polyandry is Draupadi marrying the five sons of Pandu. Daksha was the son of the Prachetas and Marisha. This is the same Daksha who was Sati's father and Shiva's father-in-law. He was ordered to live one life as a mortal for his unbecoming role which led to Sati's self immolation.
There is considerable confusion on Daksha's wife. Different sources have different stories to tell. Some say that he married Panchajani. Others say that his wife was Asukli, the daughter of Virana. Yet others say that he married Prasuti, the daughter of Manu and Shatrupa.
Daksha produced a thousand sons called Haryashvas and he asked them to populate the world. At this stage, the sage Narada intervened. He asked the Haryashvas to explore the world and search for places to settle in. The Haryashvas set out, never to return. Daksha then produced another thousand sons, called Shavalas. They met the same fate as their brothers.
Then a set of daughters was born to Daksha and Prasuti. Thirteen got married to the sage Kashyap. Their names were Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishta, Surasa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhavasha, Ira, Kadru, Vishva and Muni. Sage Kashyap had been created by sage Marichi using his mental powers. Sage Marichi had likewise been created by Brahma.
