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80-505: In the Vishnu Purana , it was mentioned that seven kings would rule over Mekala. The Pushpamitras produced thirteen kings who ruled over this tract in the 3rd century CE and the "Patumitras" succeeded them. However, H.H. Wilson in his translation of the Vishnu Purana , states that the number of Pushpamitra rulers is unknown while the Patumitras had thirteen kings. In the 5th century CE,

160-545: A Mahapurana, whereas the Padma Purana , Garuda Purana and Kurma Purana consider it an Upapurana. There are discussions on whether the Devi Bhagavata Purana is a Mahapurana. The difference between Upapuranas and Mahapuranas has been explained by Rajendra Hazra: "a Mahapurana is well known, and that what is less well known becomes an Upapurana". Rocher states that the distinction between Mahapurana and Upapurana

240-427: A myth where the names of the characters are loaded with symbolism and axiological significance. The myth is as follows, The progeny of Dharma by the daughters of Daksha were as follows: by Sraddhá (devotion) he had Kama (desire); by Lakshmí (wealth, prosperity), was born Darpa (pride); by Dhriti (courage), the progeny was Niyama (precept); by Tusht́i (inner comfort), Santosha (contentment); by Pusht́i (opulence),

320-692: A process called Upabrimhana . However, some of the 36 major and minor Puranas are more focused handbooks, such as the Skanda Purana, Padma Purana and Bhavishya Purana, which deal primarily with Tirtha Mahatmyas (pilgrimage travel guides). while Vayu Purana and Brahmanda Purana focus more on history, mythology and legends. The colonial-era scholars of Puranas studied them primarily as religious texts, with Vans Kennedy declaring in 1837 that any other use of these documents would be disappointing. John Zephaniah Holwell , who from 1732 onwards spent 30 years in India and

400-488: A religious, bhakti (devotional) context. Here the Puranic literature follows a general pattern. It starts with an introduction, where a future devotee is described as ignorant about the deity, yet curious. The devotee learns about the deity, and this begins their spiritual realization. The text then describes instances of this deity's grace, which begins to persuade and convert the devotee. The devotee, then, shows devotion, which

480-494: A single date of composition. It is as if they were libraries to which new volumes have been continuously added, not necessarily at the end of the shelf, but randomly. Many of the extant manuscripts were written on palm leaf or copied during the British India colonial era, some in the 19th century. The scholarship on Vishnu Purana , and other Puranas, has suffered from cases of forgeries, states Ludo Rocher , where liberties in

560-582: A single deity. The Puranas have also been classified based on a specific deity, although the texts are mixed and revere all gods and goddesses: Two puranas have "Bhagavata" in their names, the Bhagavata Purana and Devi Bhagavata Purana , which Srivastava says both are called Mahapuranas in Sanskrit literature, where the Vayu Purana , Matsya Purana , and Aditya Upa Purana admit the Devi Bhagavata Purana as

640-462: A whole, states Ludo Rocher . He points out that even for the better established and more coherent Puranas such as Bhagavata and Vishnu, the dates proposed by scholars continue to vary widely and endlessly. The date of the production of the written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas. They existed in an oral form before being written down. In the 19th century, F. E. Pargiter believed

720-460: Is a Shaiva story that features Brahma , Vishnu , Shiva , the three major gods of Hinduism , who get together and debate about who is supreme amongst the three of them and after various incidents of the story, the glory of Shiva is established at the end by the apparition of the Linga which is a form of Shiva as Lingodbhava over Vishnu and Brahma, thus it shows that Vishnu and Brahma are secondary gods in

800-561: Is about these five Pancalaksana items, and about 98% is about diverse range of encyclopedic topics. Who Is Vishnu? Out Of Vishnu This Universe Has Arisen, In Him Its Exists, He Is The One Who Governs Its Existence And Destruction, He Is The Universe. — Vishnu Purana , 1.14 Vishnu Purana opens as a conversation between sage Maitreya and his Guru , Parashara , with the sage asking, "What Is The Nature Of This Universe And Everything That Is In It?" The first Amsha (part) of Vishnu Purana presents cosmology, dealing with

880-520: Is ahistorical, since there is little corroborating evidence that either were more or less known, and that "the term Mahapurana occurs rarely in Purana literature, and is probably of late origin." The Upapuranas are eighteen in number, with disagreement as to which canonical titles belong in that list of eighteen. They include among – Only a few have been critically edited. The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha . The Skanda Purana

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960-409: Is also found in other Puranas. Vishnu is described in the first book of Vishnu Purana as, translates Wilson, all elements, all matter in the world, the entire universe, all living beings, as well as Atman (Inner Self, essence) within every living being, nature, intellect, ego, mind, senses, ignorance, wisdom, the four Vedas, all that is and all that is not. The second part of the text describes

1040-721: Is among the shorter Purana texts, with about 7,000 verses in extant versions. It primarily centers around the Hindu god Vishnu and his avataras such as Rama and Krishna , but it praises Brahma and Shiva and says that they are dependent on Vishnu. The Purana, states Wilson, is pantheistic and the ideas in it, like other Puranas, are premised on the Vedic beliefs and ideas. Vishnu Purana , like all major Puranas, attributes its author to be sage Vyasa . The actual author(s) and date of its composition are unknown and contested. Estimates of its composition range from 400 CE to 900 CE. The text

1120-473: Is an exception in that it presents its contents in Vishnu worship-related Pancalaksana format – Sarga ( Cosmogony ), Pratisarga ( Cosmology ), Vamsa (Mythical genealogy of the gods, sages, and kings), Manvantara (Cosmic Cycles), and Vamsanucaritam (Legends During The Times Of Various Kings and Queens). This is rare, state Dimmitt and van Buitenen, because just 2% of the known Puranic literature corpus

1200-527: Is called Shiva is but identical with Vishnu. The Skanda Purana has received renewed scholarly interest ever since the late 20th century discovery of a Nepalese Skanda Purana manuscript dated to be from the early 9th century CE. This discovery established that the Skanda Purana existed by the 9th century CE. However, a comparison shows that the 9th century CE document is entirely different from versions of Skanda Purana that have been circulating in South Asia since

1280-581: Is highly inconsistent across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves inconsistent. The Hindu Maha Puranas are traditionally attributed to Vyasa , but many scholars considered them likely the work of many authors over the centuries; in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated and their authors assigned. There are 18 Mukhya Puranas (Major Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), with over 400,000 verses. The first versions of various Puranas were likely to have been composed between 3rd and 10th century CE. While

1360-556: Is independent, has changed often over its history, and has little relation to the Vedic age or the Vedic literature. In contrast, Purana literature is evidently intended to serve as a complement to the Vedas, states Vans Kennedy. Some scholars such as Govinda Das suggest that the Puranas claim a link to the Vedas but in name only, not in substance. The link is purely a mechanical one. Scholars such as Viman Chandra Bhattacharya and PV Kane state that

1440-474: Is rewarded by the deity. The reward is appreciated by the devotee, who, in return, performs further actions to express further devotion. The Puranas, states Flood, document the rise of the theistic traditions such as those based on Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Tridevi and include respective mythology, pilgrimage to holy places, rituals and genealogies. The bulk of these texts, in Flood's view, were established by 500 CE, in

1520-425: Is the largest Purana with 81,000 verses, named after the deity Skanda , the son of Shiva and Uma, and the brother of the deity Ganesha. The mythological part of the text weaves together the stories of Shiva and Vishnu, along with those featuring Parvati, Lakshmi, Rama, Krishna, Sita, Rukmini and other major gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. In Chapter 1.8, it declares, Vishnu is nobody but Shiva, and he who

1600-432: Is the shortest, with 8 chapters. The first part of the sixth book asserts that Kali Yuga is vicious, cruel and filled with evilness that create suffering, yet "Kali Yuga is excellent" because one can refuse to join the evil, devote oneself to Vishnu and thus achieve salvation. The last chapters, from 6.6 to 6.7 of the text discusses Yoga and meditation, as a means to Vishnu devotion. Contemplative devotion, asserts

1680-665: The Dharmasutra literature. Rajendra Hazra, in 1940, assumed that Vishnu Purana is ancient and proposed that texts such as Apasthamba Dharmasutra borrowed text from it. Modern scholars such as Allan Dahlaquist disagree, however, and state that the borrowing may have been in the other direction, from Dharmasutras into the Purana. Other chapters, particularly those in book 5 and 6 of the Vishnu Purana have Advaita Vedanta and Yoga influences. The theistic Vedanta scholar Ramanuja , according to Sucharita Adluri, incorporated ideas from

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1760-738: The Mulasamhita , from which the later eighteen Puranas were derived. The term Purana appears in the Vedic texts. For example, Atharva Veda mentions Purana (in the singular) in XI.7.24 and XV.6.10-11: "The Rig and Sama verses, the Chandas, the Purana along with the Yajur formulae, all sprang from the remainder of the sacrificial food, (as also) the gods that resort to heaven. He changed his place and went over to great direction, and Itihasa and Purana, gathas, verses in praise of heroes followed in going over." Similarly,

1840-582: The Panduvamshis of Mekala rose in the region and ruled as feudatories of the Gupta Empire . The region came under the suzerainty of the Vakataka king Narendrasena and Harishena . The subsequent history of the region is not recorded, but the region probably came under the sway of the Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala , who were possibly related to the earlier Panduvamshis of Mekala . The Amarkantak portion of

1920-775: The Trideva because he expanded and conquered the entire universe and them being secondary gods with lesser powers, so they cannot find his beginning and end at a single place in the universe. This story, state Bonnefoy and Doniger, appears in Vayu Purana 's chapter 1.55, Brahmanda Purana 's chapter 1.26, Shiva Purana 's Rudra Samhita's Sristi Khanda's chapter 15, Skanda Purana 's chapters 1.3, 1.16, 3.1, and other Puranas. The texts are in Sanskrit as well as regional languages, and almost entirely in narrative metric couplets. The texts use ideas, concepts and even names that are symbolic. The words can interpreted literally, and at an axiological level. The Vishnu Purana , for example, recites

2000-618: The Vishnu Purana describes spheres above the Earth , Planets , the Sun and the Moon . Four Chapters (2.13 to 2.16) of the second book of the text present the legends of King Bharata , who abdicates his throne to lead the life of a Sannyasi , which is similar to the legends found in section 5.7 to 5.14 of the Bhagavata Purana . The geography of Mount Mandara is east of Mount Meru, presented in this book and other Puranas, states Stella Kramrisch, may be related to

2080-641: The Vishnu Purana to identify the Brahman concept in the Upanishads with Vishnu, thus providing a Vedic foundation to the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Puranas Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas Puranas (Ancients), are a vast genre of Hindu literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for

2160-504: The Yugas (eras), with Parikshita is a current king. The text includes the legends of numerous characters such as Shaubhri, Mandhatri , Narmada , Kapila , Rama , Nimi , Janaka , Satyavati , Puru , Yadu , Krishna , Devaka, Pandu , Kuru , Bharata , Bhishma , and others. The fifth book of the Vishnu Purana is the longest, with 38 chapters. It is dedicated to the legend of Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. The book begins with

2240-532: The "original Purana" may date to the time of the final redaction of the Vedas. Wendy Doniger , based on her study of indologists, assigns approximate dates to the various Puranas. She dates Markandeya Purana to c.  250 CE (with one portion dated to c. 550 CE), Matsya Purana to c. 250–500 CE, Vayu Purana to c. 350 CE, Harivamsa and Vishnu Purana to c. 450 CE, Brahmanda Purana to c. 350–950 CE, Vamana Purana to c. 450–900 CE, Kurma Purana to c. 550–850 CE, and Linga Purana to c. 600–1000 CE. Of

2320-556: The Gupta era, though amendments were made later. Along with inconsistencies, common ideas are found throughout the corpus, but it is not possible to trace the lines of influence of one Purana upon another, so the corpus is best viewed as a synchronous whole. An example of similar stories woven across the Puranas, but in different versions, include the Lingodbhava – the apparition of the Linga . The

2400-634: The Legend Of Vishnu, through Mayamoha , helping the Devas and Devis win over Asuras and Asuris by teaching the Asuras and Asuris heretical doctrines that deny the Vedas, who declare their contempt for the Vedas, which makes them easy to identify and all are killed. The fourth book of the text, in 24 long chapters, presents royal dynasties, starting with Brahma and Sarasvati, followed by solar and lunar , fire and snake dynasties, then those on earth over

2480-412: The Purana adds that it was abridged by sage Vyasa before being taught to Romaharshana. The Puranas, according to Flood, have traditionally been classified according to three qualities ( guna ) which are inherent in existence, namely the quality of light or purity ( sattva ), passion ( rajas ), and darkness or inertia ( tamas ), with each quality having six puranas focused, but not exclusively, upon

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2560-425: The Puranas are a continuation and development of the Vedas. Sudhakar Malaviya and VG Rahurkar state the connection is closer in that the Puranas are companion texts to help understand and interpret the Vedas. K.S. Ramaswami Sastri and Manilal N. Dvivedi reflect the third view which states that Puranas enable us to know the "true import of the ethos, philosophy, and religion of the Vedas". Barbara Holdrege questions

2640-512: The Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture in Hinduism , but are considered as Smritis , they shaped Hinduism more than the Vedas, providing a "culture synthesis" in weaving and integrating the diverse beliefs of a great number of local traditions into the Vedic-Brahmanic fold. While all Puranas praise many gods and goddesses and "their sectarianism is far less clear cut" than assumed,

2720-477: The Sanskrit edition. It is: The Critical Edition of the Visnupuranam , edited by M. M. Pathak, 2 vols., Vadodara: Oriental Institute , 1997, 1999. All scholars citing translations of Sanskrit texts are expected to refer to the Sanskrit original, because translations are inexact. From 1999 onward, anyone citing the Vishnu Purana will be expected to refer to this Sanskrit critical edition. A translation of

2800-584: The Shatapatha Brahmana (XI.5.6.8) mentions Itihasapuranam (as one compound word) and recommends that on the 9th day of Pariplava, the hotr priest should narrate some Purana because "the Purana is the Veda, this it is" (XIII.4.3.13). However, states P.V. Kane, it is not certain whether these texts suggested several works or a single work with the term Purana . The late Vedic text Taittiriya Aranyaka (II.10) uses

2880-743: The area to the East India Company in 1818 after the Third Anglo-Maratha War . The area comprising Mekala later formed a part of the Central Provinces under British rule in India . The Mekala region is located in Central India and is mostly forested. The region corresponds to the Maikal Hills , the meeting point of the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges. Its core territory comprises

2960-487: The armies of kings. Vishnu Purana Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Vishnu Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas , a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism . It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manuscripts of Vishnu Purana have survived into

3040-811: The colonial era. Several Puranas, such as the Matsya Purana, list "five characteristics" or "five signs" of a Purana. These are called the Pancha Lakshana ( pañcalakṣaṇa ), and are topics covered by a Purana: A few Puranas, such as the most popular Bhagavata Purana, add five more characteristics to expand this list to ten: These five or ten sections weave in biographies, myths, geography, medicine, astronomy, Hindu temples, pilgrimage to distant real places, rites of passage, charity, ethics, duties, rights, dharma, divine intervention in cosmic and human affairs, love stories, festivals, theosophy and philosophy. The Puranas link gods to men, both generally and in

3120-467: The creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe. The mythology, states Rocher, is woven with the evolutionary theories of Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy . The Hindu god Vishnu is presented as the central element of this text's cosmology, unlike some other Puranas where Shiva or Brahma or the Tridevi are offered prominence. The reverence and the worship of Vishnu is described in 22 chapters of

3200-518: The critical edition was published in 2021 under the title, The Vishnu Purana: Ancient Annals of the God with Lotus Eyes. Vishnu Purana is one of the 18 major Puranas, and these text share many legends, likely influenced each other. The fifth chapter of the Vishnu Purana was likely influenced by the Mahabharata. Similarly, the verses on rites of passage and ashramas (stages) of life are likely drawn from

3280-407: The current age belong to the seventh. In each age, asserts the text, the Vedas are arranged into four, it is changed, and this has happened twenty eight times already. Each time, a Vyasa appears and he diligently organizes the eternal knowledge, with the aid of his students. After presenting the emergence of Vedic schools, the text presents the ethical duties of the four Varnas in chapter 2.8,

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3360-421: The earliest version of Vishnu Purana by various scholars include: Rocher states that the "date of the Vishnu Purana is as contested as that of any other Purana". References to Vishnu Purana in texts such as Brihadvishnu whose dates are better established, states Rocher, suggest that a version of Vishnu Purana existed by about 1000 CE, but it is unclear to what extent the extant manuscripts reflect

3440-560: The earth, the Vaishya should engage in commerce and farming, while the Shudra should subsist by profits of trade, service other varnas and through mechanical labor. The text asserts the ethical duties of all Varnas is to do good to others, never abuse anyone, never engage in calumny or untruth, never covet another person's wife, never steal another's property, never bear ill-will towards anyone, never beat and kill anyone wrongfully. Be diligent in

3520-421: The editing and expansion of the Puranas did not stop after the Gupta era, and the texts continued to "grow for another five hundred or a thousand years" and these were preserved by priests who maintained Hindu pilgrimage sites and temples. The core of Itihasa-Puranas, states Klaus Klostermaier, may possibly go back to the 7th century BCE or even earlier. It is not possible to set a specific date for any Purana as

3600-448: The fact that it would be irresponsible and highly misleading to speak of or pretend to describe the religion of the Puranas. The study of Puranas as religious texts remains a controversial subject. Some Indologists, in the colonial tradition of scholarship, treat the Puranic texts as scriptures, or as useful sources of religious contents. Other scholars, such as Ronald Inden, consider this approach "essentialist and antihistorical" because

3680-612: The faculty to procreate; they perpetually operate as causes of the destruction of this world. On the contrary, Daksha and the other Rishis, the elders of mankind, tend perpetually to influence its renovation: whilst the Manus and their sons, the heroes endowed with mighty power, and treading in the path of truth, as constantly contribute to its preservation. The relation of the Puranas with Vedas has been debated by scholars, some holding that there's no relationship, others contending that they are identical. The Puranic literature, stated Max Muller ,

3760-469: The fifth Veda status of Itihasas (the Hindu epics) and Puranas. The Puranas, states V.S. Agrawala, intend to "explicate, interpret, adapt" the metaphysical truths in the Vedas. In the general opinion, states Rocher, "the Puranas cannot be divorced from the Vedas" though scholars provide different interpretations of the link between the two. Scholars have given the Bhagavata Purana as an example of

3840-426: The fifth Veda". The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad also refers to purana as the "fifth Veda". According to Thomas Coburn, Puranas and early extra-puranic texts attest to two traditions regarding their origin, one proclaiming a divine origin as the breath of the great beings, the other as a human sage named Vyasa as the arranger of already existing material into eighteen Puranas. In the early references, states Coburn,

3920-539: The first part as the means for liberation, along with the profuse use of the synonymous names of Vishnu such as Hari , Janardana , Madhava, Achyuta, Hrishikesha and others. The chapters 1.16 through 1.20 of the Vishnu Purana presents the legend of compassionate and Vishnu devotee Prahlada and his persecution by his demon king father Hiranyakashipu , wherein Prahlada is ultimately saved by Vishnu when Vishnu as Narasimha disimbowels and kills Hiranyakashipu. This story

4000-557: The four Ashrama (Stages) of the life of each human being in chapter 2.9, the rites of passage including wedding rituals in chapters 2.10 through 2.12, and Shraddha (Ancestral rites) in chapters 2.13 through 2.16. The Vishnu Purana asserts that the Brahmana should study the Shastras , worship deities and perform libations on behalf of others, the Kshatriya should maintain arms and protect

4080-442: The four stages of life as Brahmacharya (Student), Grihastha (Householder), Vanaprastha (Retirement) and Sannyasa (Renunciation, Mendicant). The text repeats the ethical duties in this chapter, translates Wilson. The chapters on Shraddha (Rites For Ancestors) describe the rites associated with a death in family, the preparation of the dead body, its cremation and the rituals after the cremation. The third book closes with

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4160-720: The intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu gods such as Vishnu , Shiva , Brahma , and Tridevi . The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism . The Puranic literature is encyclopedic, and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony , cosmology , genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, queens, heroes, heroines, sages, other gods, other goddesses, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love stories, theology, philosophy, etc. The content

4240-453: The latter abridged the version in former, or both depended on the Harivamsa estimated to have been composed sometime in the 1st millennium CE. Soul and Prakriti This soul is of its own nature, pure, composed of happiness and wisdom. The properties of pain, ignorance and impurity, are those of Prakriti , not of soul. — Vishnu Purana , 6.7 The last book of the Vishnu Purana

4320-715: The links and continuity of the Vedic content, such as its providing an interpretation of the Gayatri mantra. The Puranas, states Kees Bolle , are best seen as "vast, often encyclopedic" works from ancient and medieval India. Some of them, such as the Agni Purana and Matsya Purana, cover all sorts of subjects, dealing with – states Rocher – "anything and everything", from fiction to facts, from practical recipes to abstract philosophy, from geographic Mahatmyas (travel guides) to cosmetics, from festivals to astronomy. Like encyclopedias, they were updated to remain current with their times, by

4400-605: The many texts designated 'Puranas' the most important are the Mahāpurāṇa s or the major Puranas. These are said to be eighteen in number, divided into three groups of six, though they are not always counted in the same way. The list of Mahapuranas is mentioned in the Vishnu Purana , part 3, chapter 6, verses 21–24. The number of verses in each Mahapurana is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana , part 12, chapter 13, verses 4–9. The Shiva Purana asserts that it once consisted of 100,000 verses set out in twelve samhitas (books), however

4480-513: The mention of the term Purana or Puranas in the Vedic texts, there is uncertainty about the contents of them until the composition of the oldest Dharmashastra Apastamba Dharmasutra and Gautama Dharmasutra , which mention Puranas that resemble the extant Puranas. Another early mention of the term 'Itihas-purana' is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.2), translated by Patrick Olivelle as "the corpus of histories and ancient tales as

4560-453: The modern era in many versions. More than any other major Purana , the Vishnu Purana presents its contents in Pancalaksana format – Sarga ( cosmogony ), Pratisarga ( cosmology ), Vamsa ( genealogy of the gods and goddesses, sages and kings and queens), Manvantara (cosmic cycles), and Vamsanucarita (legends during the times of various kings and queens). Some manuscripts of

4640-465: The narrator of the Mahabharata , is hagiographically credited as the compiler of the Puranas. The ancient tradition suggests that originally there was but one Purana. Vishnu Purana (3.6.15) mentions that Vyasa entrusted his Puranasamhita to his disciple Lomaharshana , who in turn imparted it to his disciples, three of whom compiled their own samhitas. These three, together with Lomaharshana's, comprise

4720-474: The present-day Kawardha District of Chhattisgarh state and Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh . According to Verrier Elwin and Shamrao Hivale, the region extended from Amarkantak to Balaghat district . Several streams and major rivers like the Narmada and Son originate from Amarkantak located in the Maikal Hills . In the medieval period , this region was an important forest which provided elephants to

4800-525: The progeny was Lobha (cupidity, greed); by Medhá (wisdom, experience), Sruta (sacred tradition); by Kriyá (hard work, labour), the progeny were Dańd́a, Naya, and Vinaya (justice, politics, and education); by Buddhi (intellect), Bodha (understanding); by Lajjá (shame, humility), Vinaya (good behaviour); by Vapu (body, strength), Vyavasaya (perseverance). Shanti (peace) gave birth to Kshama (forgiveness); Siddhi (excellence) to Sukha (enjoyment); and Kírtti (glorious speech) gave birth to Yasha (reputation). These were

4880-402: The reciters of the Vedas, and the bardic poetry recited by Sutas that was handed down in Kshatriya circles". The original Puranas comes from the priestly roots while the later genealogies have the warrior and epic roots. These texts were collected for the "second time between the fourth and sixth centuries CE under the rule of the Gupta kings and queens", a period of Hindu renaissance. However,

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4960-742: The region passed into the hands of the Kalachuris of Tripuri . The Kalachuri king Karna commissioned the beautiful temples in Amarkantak . When the Kalachuris of Tripuri had declined, a cadet branch of their dynasty called the Haihaiyas of Ratanpur took control of the whole region. They are said to have built the actual town of Amarkantak . In the 16th century, the portion of the Mekala located in Madhya Pradesh

5040-702: The religious practices included in them are considered Vaidika (congruent with Vedic literature). The Puranic literature wove with the Bhakti movement in India, and both Dvaita and Advaita scholars have commented on the underlying Vedantic themes in the Maha Puranas . Douglas Harper states that the etymological origins of Puranas are from Sanskrit Puranah , literally "ancient, former," from pura "formerly, before," cognate with Greek paros "before," pro "before," Avestan paro "before," Old English fore, from Proto-Indo-European *pre- , from *per- ." Vyasa ,

5120-550: The revisions during the 2nd millennium. Vishnu Purana like all Puranas has a complicated chronology. Dimmitt and van Buitenen state that each of the Puranas including the Vishnu Purana is encyclopedic in style, and it is difficult to ascertain when, where, why and by whom these were written: As they exist today, the Puranas are a stratified literature. Each titled work consists of material that has grown by numerous accretions in successive historical eras. Thus, no Purana has

5200-450: The service of the deities, sages and gurus , asserts the Purana, and seek the welfare of all creatures, one's own children and of one's own soul. Anyone, regardless of their varna or stage of life, who lives a life according to the above duties is the best worshipper of Vishnu and Lakshmi, says the Vishnu Purana . Similar statements on ethical things of people are found in other parts of Vishnu Purana. The text describes in chapter 2.9,

5280-480: The sixth parts are the longest and the shortest part of the text, comprising 38 and 8 chapters respectively. The textual tradition claims that the original Vishnu Purana had 23,000 verses, but the surviving manuscripts have just a third of these, about 7,000 verses. The text is composed in metric verses or sloka , wherein each verse has exactly 32 syllables, of which 16 syllables in the verse may be free style per ancient literary standards. The Vishnu Purana

5360-471: The sons of Dharma ; one of whom, Kama (love, emotional fulfillment) had baby Hersha (joy) by his wife Nandi (delight). The wife of Adharma (vice, wrong, evil) was Hinsá (violence), on whom he begot a son Anrita (falsehood), and a daughter Nikriti (immorality): they intermarried, and had two sons, Bhaya (fear) and Naraka (hell); and twins to them, two daughters, Máyá (deceit) and Vedaná (torture), who became their wives. The son of Bhaya (fear) and Máyá (deceit)

5440-517: The story of earth , the seven continents and seven oceans . It describes Mount Meru , Mount Mandara and other major mountains , as well as Bharatavarsha (Literally, the country of Bharata ) along with its numerous rivers and diverse people . The seven continents are named Jambu , Plaksha , Salmala , Kusha , Krauncha , Saka, and Pushkara , each surrounded by different types of oceans ( saltwater , freshwater , wine , sugarcane juice , ghrita , yogurt , and milk ). This part of

5520-533: The story of Krishna's birth, his childhood pranks and plays, his exploits, and killing the demon-tyrant king of Mathura , named Kamsa . The Krishna story in the Vishnu Purana is similar to his legend in the Bhagavata Purana , in several other Puranas and the Harivamsa of the Mahabharata . Scholars have long debated whether the Bhagavata Purana expanded the Krishna Legend in the Vishnu Purana , or whether

5600-537: The term Purana occurs in singular unlike the later era which refers to a plural form presumably because they had assumed their "multifarious form". According to the Indologists J. A. B. van Buitenen and Cornelia Dimmitt, the Puranas that have survived into the modern era are ancient but represent "an amalgam of two somewhat different but never entirely different separate oral literatures: the Brahmin tradition stemming from

5680-405: The term in the plural. Therefore, states Kane, that in the later Vedic period at least, the Puranas referred to three or more texts, and that they were studied and recited. In numerous passages the Mahabharata mentions ' Purana ' in both singular and plural forms. Moreover, it is not unlikely that, where the singular ' Puranam ' was employed in the texts, a class of works was meant. Further, despite

5760-477: The text are notable for not including sections found in other major Puranas, such as those on Mahatmyas and tour guides on pilgrimage, but some versions include chapters on temples and travel guides to sacred pilgrimage sites. The text is also notable as the earliest Purana to have been translated and published in 1840 CE by HH Wilson , based on manuscripts then available, setting the presumptions and premises about what Puranas may have been. The Vishnu Purana

5840-589: The text asserts itself to be an "imperishable Vaishnava Purana". A Critical Edition of the Sanskrit text of the Visnu-purana was published in two large volumes, 1997 and 1999. A critical edition is prepared by comparing a number of different manuscripts , recording their variant readings in notes, and choosing the best readings to constitute the text of the critical edition. This is a real , large-scale critical edition, in which 43 Sanskrit manuscripts were gathered and collated, and 27 were chosen from which to prepare

5920-410: The text, is the union with the Brahman (supreme soul, ultimate reality), which is only achievable with virtues such as compassion, truth, honesty, disinterestedness, self-restraint and holy studies. The text mentions five Yamas , five Niyamas , Pranayama and Pratyahara . The pure and perfect soul is called Vishnu, states the text, and absorption in Vishnu is liberation. The final chapter 6.8 of

6000-430: The transmission of Puranas were normal and those who copied older manuscripts replaced words or added new content to fit the theory that the colonial scholars were keen on publishing. The extant text comprises six amsas (parts) and 126 adhyayas (chapters). The first part has 22 chapters, the second part consists 16 chapters, the third part comprises 18 chapters and the fourth part has 24 chapters. The fifth and

6080-417: The word Mandiram ( Hindu Temple ) and the reason of its Design, Image, Aim and Destination. The initial chapters of the third book of the Vishnu Purana presents its theory of Manvantaras , (each 306.72 Million Years Long ). This is premised upon the Hindu belief that everything is Cyclic, and even Yugas (Eras) start, complete and then end. Six manvantaras, states the text, have already passed, and

6160-570: Was conquered by the Rajgond dynasty of Garha-Mandla . Two of Garha-Mandla 's capitals- Ramnagar and Mandla , were located in the Mekala region. Eventually, the Haihaiyas of Ratanpur and Garha-Mandla were invaded and annexed by the Nagpur Kingdom within the Maratha Empire . It is probably at this point that Mekala lost its identity as a separate region. The Nagpur Kingdom was forced to cede

6240-658: Was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1767, described the Puranas as "18 books of divine words". British officials and researchers such as Holwell, states Urs App, were orientalist scholars who introduced a distorted picture of Indian literature and Puranas as "sacred scriptures of India" in 1767. Holwell, states Urs App, "presented it as the opinion of knowledgeable Indians; But it is abundantly clear that no knowledgeable Indian would ever have said anything remotely similar". Modern scholarship doubts this 19th-century premise. Ludo Rocher, for example, states, I want to stress

6320-412: Was likely composed and rewritten in layers over a period of time, with roots possibly in ancient 1st-millennium BCE texts that have not survived into the modern era. The Padma Purana categorizes Vishnu Purana as a Sattva Purana (Purana that represents goodness and purity). The composition date of Vishnu Purana is unknown and contested, with estimates widely disagreeing. Some proposed dates for

6400-406: Was the destroyer of living creatures, or Mrityu (death); and Dukha (pain) was the offspring of Naraka (hell) and Vedaná (torture). The children of Mrityu were Vyádhi (disease), Jará (decay), Soka (sorrow), Trishńa (greediness), and Krodha (wrath). These are all called the inflictors of misery, and are characterised as the progeny of Vice (Adharma). They are all without wives, without posterity, without

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