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Puranas

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Purana (Sanskrit पुराण, purāṇa, meaning "ancient" or "old") is the name of a genre (or a group of related genres) of Indian written literature (as distinct from oral literature). Its general themes are history, tradition and religion. It is usually written in the form of stories related by one person to another.

There are many texts designated as 'Purana.' The most important are:

  • Mahāpurāṇas and Upapurāṇas - Written in Sanskrit. They usually adhere to the 'Panca-laksana' typology (see below). They tell of the creation of the universe and the human race, narrate the genealogies of kings and saints, and contain assorted narratives, stories, and philosophical and religious topics.

Included among the texts of distinctly lesser importance that also bear the name Puranas are

  • Sthala Purāṇas - Scriptures usually extolling the virtues of a certain Hindu temple. They narrate stories of the temple's creation and spiritual history.
  • Kula Purāṇas - Scriptures that deal with the origin and legends of a particular caste.

The designation 'Purana' implicitly confers on a text a kind of factual aura, somewhat similar to the designation 'History' in Western discourse.

Contents

[edit] Mahapuranas (महापुराण) and Upapuranas (उपपुराण)

[edit] Structure and content

Mahā- (Sanskrit 'great', 'mighty') and Upa- (Sanskrit 'lower', 'additional') Puranas are written in Sanskrit. Traditionally<ref> Matsya Purana 53.65</ref> they are said to narrate five subjects, called Panca-laksana (Sanskrit 'five distinguishing marks'), which are:

  1. Sarga - The creation of the universe.
  2. Pratisarga - Secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution.
  3. Vamśa - Genealogy of gods and sages.
  4. Manvañtara - The creation of the human race and the first human beings.
  5. Vamśānucaritam - Dynastic histories.

Most Mahapuranas and Upapuranas deal with these subject matters, although the bulk of their text consists of historical and religious narratives. Some scholars have suggested that these 'distinguishing marks' are shared by other traditional religious scriptures of the world (e.g. the Bible) <ref name=Rao>'Purana as Brahminic Ideology', Velcheru Narayana Rao in Purana Perennis - "Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts" - edited by Wendy Doniger,p. 85-100. ISBN 0-7914-1381-0 </ref>. A Purana usually gives prominence to a certain deity -- (Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna, Durga) -- and depicts the other gods as subservient. Most use an abundance of religious and philosophical concepts in their narration, from Bhakti to Samkhya.

[edit] Classification

Traditionally it is said that there are eighteen Mahapuranas and eighteen Upapuranas. Of the Mahapuranas it is said that six belong to the quality (guna) of goodness, six to passion, and six to ignorance.

According to the Padma Purana,<ref> Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda, 236.18-21</ref> these are the Mahapuranas and their corresponding qualities:

Some Upapuranas are: Sanat-kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa, and Hamsa. <ref>These have been studied by the Bengali scholar R. C. Hazra. See his Studies in the Upapuranas, vol. I, Calcutta, Sanskrit College, 1958. Studies in the Upapuranas, vol. II, Calcutta, Sanskrit College, 1979. Studies in Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, Delhi, Banarsidass, 1975. More recently they have been studied by Ludo Rocher in The Puranas - A History of Indian Literature. Vol. II, fasc. 3, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1986.</ref> Most of these have not been critically edited yet, and are available mostly through devotional publications, in multiple versions and recensions.

Special purana :Adhata purana

Apart from the system of classification above mentioned, the Puranas are enumerated and classified in multiple ways. The canonical lists of Puranas vary from place to place and from time to time.

[edit] Author and Disemmination

Traditionally, the Puranas are said to have been composed by the sage Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata epic. Vyasa in Sanskrit means 'Divider,' and some scholars therefore take this simply as a term meaning 'Editor'. <ref>Purana Perennis - Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts - edited by Wendy Doniger. ISBN 0-7914-1381-0 </ref> The texts, these scholars say, were probably written all over India and are being rewritten and reedited to the present day.

The Puranas, being in Sanskrit, are usually not directly accessible to the common man as read texts. They are, however, available in vernacular translations and are disseminated by Brahmin scholars, who read from them and tell their stories, usually in Katha sessions (in which a travelling brahmin settles for a few weeks in a temple and narrates parts of a Purana, usually with a Bhakti perspective).

[edit] Chronology

The Itihasa-Purana is mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad.<ref>3.4.1-2, 7.1.2-4, 7.2.1, 7.7.1 Moghe 1997</ref> There are also references to the Puranas in the Atharvaveda 11.7.24 and the Satapatha Brahmana 11.5.6.8. and 13.4.3.13.<ref>Subhash Kak 1994, The astronomical of the Rgveda, p. 50</ref> There are probably also references to the Itihasa in the Nirukta.<ref>Nirukta 1.16, 12.10. See Moghe 1997:161</ref> The Itihasa-Purana was considered to be almost as sacred and ancient as the Vedas, i.e. the "fifth Veda" according to the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad.<ref>Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 2.4.10, 4.1.2, 4.5.11. Satapatha Brahmana (SBE, Vol. 44, pp. 98, 369). Moghe 1997:160</ref> However, the ancient Itihasa-Purana was probably not exactly the same as the text of the Puranas that we know today. Scholars argue that some contents of the Puranas may date to an earlier period.<ref>e.g. Bryant 2001:139</ref> According to Pargiter, the original Purana may date to the time of the final redaction of the Vedas.<ref>Pargiter 1922, pp.30, 54</ref>

Pargiter has argued that in the Puranas, the Puranic Krta Yuga<ref>In Vayu Purana 32, the four Yugas are divided into 4800, 3600, 2400 and 1200 years.</ref> "ended with the destruction of the Haihayas [by Rama Jamadagnya]; the Treta began approximately with Sagara and ended with Rama Dasarathi's destruction of the Raksasas; and the Dvapara began with his reinstatement at Ayodhya and ended with the Bharata battle". <ref>Kak 1994:56, with reference to Pargiter 1922.</ref>

[edit] Vedic and Puranic genealogies

The Puranas also lay emphasis on keeping a record of genealogies, thus Vayu Purana says: "As seen by good people in the ancient times the suta's duty was to preserve the genealogies of gods, rsis and glorious kings and the traditions of great men." (Vayu P. 1. 31-2)<ref>Kak 1994:49</ref>

The Vedic and Puranic genealogies indicate a greater antiquity of the Vedic culture.<ref>see e.g. F.E. Pargiter [1922] 1979; P.L. Bhargava 1971, India in the Vedic Age, Lucknow: Upper India Publishing; Talageri 1993, 2000; Subhash Kak, 1994, The astronomical code of the Rgveda</ref> The Puranas themselves state that these lists are incomplete.<ref>Matsya Purana 49.72; Pargiter 1922; Kak 1994 The astronomical code of the Rgveda, p.51</ref> But the accuracy of these lists is disputed. In Arrian's Indica, Megasthenes is quoted as stating that the Indians counted from Shiva (Dionysos) to Chandragupta Maurya (Sandracottus) "a hundred and fifty-three kings over six thousand and forty-three years."<ref>Pliny: Naturalis Historia 6:59; Arrian: Indica 9:9</ref> The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (4.6.), ca. 8th century BCE, mentions 57 links in the Guru-Parampara ("succession of teachers"). This would mean that this Guru-Parampara would go back about 1400 years, although the accuracy of this list is disputed.<ref>(see Klaus Klostermaier 1989 and Arvind Sharma 1995)</ref> The list of kings in Kalhana's Rajatarangini goes back to the 19th century BCE.<ref>Elst 1999, with reference to Bernard Sergent</ref>

The Puranic genealogies indicate that Manu Vaivasvata lived 95 generations before the Bharata War.<ref>R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalker (editors): The history and culture of the Indian people. Volume I, The Vedic age. Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1951, p.273</ref>

[edit] Notable Puranas

Image:Bhagavatapurana.jpg
Image:Varahapurana.jpg
  • The Bhagavata Purana - It is concerned with Vishnu Bhakti, telling of the exploits and deeds of Vishnu's Avataras. Its tenth canto (its longest) narrates the deeds of Krishna and, probably for the first time in Sanskrit, tells of his exploits as a child, a theme later elaborated by many Bhakti movements. <ref> Viraha-Bhakti - The Early History of Krsna Devotion in South India - Friedhelm Hardy. ISBN 0-19-564916-8 </ref>
  • The Devi-bhagavata Purana - an Upapurana extolling the virtues of the goddess Durga as the supreme being. It has become (along with the Devi Mahatmya of the Mārkandeya Purana) a basic text for Devi worshipers. <ref> The Triumph of the Goddess - The Canonical Models and Theological Visions of the DevI-BhAgavata PuraNa, Brwon Mackenzie. ISBN 0-7914-0363-7 </ref>
  • The Skanda Purana - probably the longest of all. A vast storehouse of parables, legends and stories, with multiple versions and recensions. Many untraced quotes from a Purana are conveniently attributed to this Purana. <ref> The Scrapbook of Undeserved Salvation: The Kedara Khanda of the Skanda Purana In Purana Perennis, edited by Wendy Doniger,p. 59-83 </ref>
  • The Bhavishya Purana - Apart from its other content, it is said to contain references to the Judeo-Christian creation myth (Adam and Eve are referred to as Adama and Havyavati), the Judeo-Christian flood myth, Moses, Jesus (referred to as Iśa - 'God'), Mohammad (referred to as Mahāmada - 'great intoxication/lust'), Queen Victoria (as Queen Vicyavati), etc. It also contains references to a certain Demon language (apparently English) containing words such as 'February'.

[edit] Sthala Puranas

This corpus of texts narrates the virtues and stories connected with a certain temple or shrine (the word 'Sthala' means 'Place' in Sanskrit). There are numerous Sthala Puranas, most written in vernaculars, some with Sanskrit versions as well. Most claim to have a Sanskrit origin, and some of the Sanskrit versions also appear in a Mahapurana or an Upapurana. Some Tamil Sthala Puranas have been researched by David Dean Shulman. <ref> Tamil Temple Myths - Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the South Indian Saiva Tradition - David Dean Shulman. ISBN 0-691-06415-6 </ref>

[edit] Kula Puranas

These are mostly caste focused Puranas (the word 'Kula' means 'Family' or 'Tribe' in Sanskrit). They deal with a caste's origin myth, stories and legends. The caste purana is an important source for caste identity and is usually contested by other, rival, castes. This subgenre is usually in the vernacular and might at times be oral. <ref> 'Kulapuranas' - Pulikonda Subbachary in Folklore in Modern India, edited by Jawaharlal Handoo, p. 125-142. ISBN 81-7342-055-6 </ref>

This subgenre has been little researched. But it is rather well documented in the caste section of the British Census of India Report and the various Gazzeteers. <ref> See for example Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vols I-V, Thurston Edgar. Cosmo Publication, Delhi. </ref>

[edit] Other Puranas

There are many other narratives that go by the name of Purana. Most are written in vernaculars and are usually concerned with mythical and historical narrations. These texts, such as the Padma Purana of Bengal and Assam (narrating the story of the goddess Manasā), are vast in number and scattered all over the Indian subcontinent. <ref> `Verbal Narratives: Performance and Gender of the Padma Purana', by T.N. Sankaranarayana in Chanted Narratives - The Katha Vachana Tradition, Edited by Molly Kaushal, p. 225-234. ISBN 81-246-0182-8 </ref>

[edit] Non Hindu Puranas

There are many Jain Puranas, dealing with Jain myths, history and legends. <ref> 'Jaina Puranas: A Puranic Counter Tradition' - Padmanabh S. Jaini in Purana Perennis, p. 207-49. And 'An Overview of the Jaina Puranas' - John E. Cort in Purana Perennis, p.185-206. </ref> Studies and translations of this particular genre are meagre. Arguably, some Buddhist Mahāyāna Sūtras seem to have some characteristics of Puranas.

[edit] References

<references/>

  • S.G. Moghe (ed.), Professor Kane's contribution to Dharmasastra literature, 1997, New Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-246-0075-9

[edit] Further reading

  • Pargiter, F.E. 1922. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. London:Oxford University Press.
  • Bhargava, P.L. 1971. India in the Vedic Age. Lucknow: Upper India Publishing.
  • R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalker (editors): The history and culture of the Indian people. Volume I, The Vedic age. Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1951 (esp. ch. XIV - XV by A. D. Pusalker)

[edit] External links

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