Introduction
Prachetas is the name given to a group of ten brothers, sons of King Prachinabarhis, who are Prajapatis in the Puranic account of creation. They are especially connected with the story of Daksha's later re-creation of living beings, since in some king-lists Daksha himself is described as being born again as their son.
The ten Prachetasas
According to the Vishnu Purana, the ten sons of Prachinabarhis performed long austerities in the ocean, and are collectively called the Prachetasas. They married Marisha, the daughter of the trees (in the Puranic story, the trees were themselves cursed sages, and Marisha the daughter born from their combined seed, preserved by the moon and by Soma).
Connection to Daksha
Their son, born to Marisha, was Daksha, understood in this Puranic strand as a second birth of Daksha, distinct from his first appearance as a direct mind-born son of Brahma; the two accounts of Daksha's origin coexist in different Puranas without full reconciliation.