Purana

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Purana (Sanskrit 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, by Brahmins. 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.

Mahapuranas and Upapuranas

Structure and content

Mahā- (Sanskrit 'great', 'mighty') and Upa- (Sanskrit 'lower', 'additional') Puranas are written in Sanskrit by Brahmins. Traditionally[1] 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) [2]. 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.

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,[3] these are the Mahapuranas and their corresponding qualities:

  • Goodness (Sattva): Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Naradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana
  • Passion (Rajas): Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana
  • Ignorance (Tamas): Matsya Purana, Kurma purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana

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. [4] Most of these have not been critically edited yet, and are available mostly through devotional publications, in multiple versions and recensions.

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.

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 designating 'Editor'. [5] 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).

Chronology

The Itihasa-Purana is mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad.[6] 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.[7] There are probably also references to the Itihasa in the Nirukta.[8] The Itihasa-Purana was considered the "fifth Veda" according to the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad.[9] Scholars argue that some contents of the Puranas may date to an earlier period.[10]

Notable Puranas

  • 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. [11]
  • 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. [12]
  • 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. [13]
  • 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'.

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. [14]

Kula Puranas

These are mostly Caste 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. [15]

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. [16]

Other Puranas

There are many other narratives that go by the name of Purana. Most are written in vernaculars and usually are 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. [17]

Non Hindu Puranas

There are many Jain Puranas, dealing with Jain myths, history and legends. [18] Studies and translations of this particular genre are meagre. Arguably, some Buddhist Mahāyāna Sūtras seem to have some characteristics of Puranas.

References
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  1. ↑ Matsya Purana 53.65
  2. ↑ '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
  3. ↑ Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda, 236.18-21
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ <refname=Doniger> Purana Perennis - Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts - edited by Wendy Doniger. ISBN 0-7914-1381-0
  6. ↑ 3.4.1-2, 7.1.2-4, 7.2.1, 7.7.1 Moghe 1997
  7. ↑ Subhash Kak 1994, The astronomical of the Rgveda
  8. ↑ Nirukta 1.16, 12.10. See Moghe 1997:161
  9. ↑ Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 2.4.10, 4.1.2, 4.5.11. Satapatha Brahmana (SBE, Vol. 44, pp. 98, 369). Moghe 1997:160
  10. ↑ e.g. Bryant 2001:139
  11. ↑ Viraha-Bhakti - The Early History of Krsna Devotion in South India - Friedhelm Hardy. ISBN 0-19-564916-8
  12. ↑ The Triumph of the Goddess - The Canonical Models and Theological Visions of the DevI-BhAgavata PuraNa, Brwon Mackenzie. ISBN 0-7914-0363-7
  13. ↑ The Scrapbook of Undeserved Salvation: The Kedara Khanda of the Skanda Purana In Purana Perennis, edited by Wendy Doniger,p. 59-83
  14. ↑ Tamil Temple Myths - Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the South Indian Saiva Tradition - David Dean Shulman. ISBN 0-691-06415-6
  15. ↑ 'Kulapuranas' - Pulikonda Subbachary in Folklore in Modern India, edited by Jawaharlal Handoo, p. 125-142. ISBN 81-7342-055-6
  16. ↑ See for example Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vols I-V, Thurston Edgar. Cosmo Publication, Delhi.
  17. ↑ `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
  18. ↑ '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.
  • S.G. Moghe (ed.), Professor Kane's contribution to Dharmasastra literature, 1997, New Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-246-0075-9

External links

Texts
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Full text of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, with the original Sanskrit, word-for-word meanings, translation, and commentary.
  • The Vishnu Purana Full text of the H.H. Wilson translation at sacred-texts.com
Synopses
Other

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