Is Vedic Manu the Same as Manu of Manusmriti?

We have all heard of Manu from the Manusmriti.

- Devdutt Pattanaik

He was directed by Brahma, the creator of the Hindu world, to create a code of conduct (dharma) that befits people based on their people based on status in society (varna) and their stage of life (ashrama).

This story comes from the Manusmriti itself.

Manusmriti is one of the many Dharma-shastras, which started being composed around and after the Mauryan period (300 BC).

The early Dharma-shastras have no such story. Manusmriti is a later text, dated roughly to the Gupta period (300 AD). With this story, Manusmriti positioned itself as divinely ordained.

But this is not the only Manu we know.

The first time we come across Manu is in the Rig Veda, in the fourth Mandala in the 26th verse. Vamadeva speaks of how a falcon flies high to the heavens, steals the Soma plant from a highly fortified settlement and risks the arrows of archers. After losing just one feather, the falcon manages to bring it down to earth to Manu. Then Manu presses it and offers it to Indra. The same verse describes Indra as the one who leads and offers the Aryans the land they need to graze their cattle.