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94-763: According to the Bhuvanakosha section of the Puranas , Bahlika was a Janapada located in the Udichya ( Uttarapatha ) division. Some hymns of the Atharvaveda invoke fever to go to the Gandharis , Mahavrsas (a tribe of Punjab), Mujavants, and, further off, to the Bahlikas. Mujavant is the name of a hill (and the people) located in the Hindukush / Pamir . Atharvaveda-Parisista juxtaposes

188-545: 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

282-668: A king named Bahlika Pratipeya, whom it calls Kauravya (= Kaurava ). It has been pointed out that this Kaurava king is identical with Bahlika Pratipeya of the Mahabharata. According to the Mahabharata, the king of Bahlika was present at Syamantapanchaka in Kurukshetra on the occasion of a solar eclipse. The name 'Bahlika Desa' originates from the middle son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura, Vahlika , who abandoned his paternal kingdom to live with his maternal uncle in Bahlika, eventually inheriting

376-670: A mansion in the Vindhyas. In Dashakumaracharita , the King Rajahamsa of Magadha and his ministers create a new colony in the Vindhya forest, after being forced out of their kingdom following a war defeat. The Vindhyas are one of the only two mountain ranges mentioned in the national anthem of India , the other being the Himalayas. Several tributaries of the Ganga-Yamuna system originate from

470-564: A mighty ( mahabali ) king. Along with his son Somadatta and grandson Bhurisravas, King Bahlika participated in the Mahabharata war with one Akshauhini (division) army of Bahlika soldiers and sided with the Kauravas against the Pandavas. Bahlika and his grandson Bhurisravas were among the eleven distinguished Generals or Senapatis of the Kaurava army appointed by Duryodhana . The Ramayana seems to localize

564-427: 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),

658-515: A part of the Vindhyas. Today, the definition of the Vindhyas is primarily restricted to the Central Indian escarpments, hills and highlands located to the north of the Narmada River . Some of these are actually distinct hill systems. The western end of the Vindhya range is located in the state of Gujarat , near the state's border with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh , at the eastern side of

752-692: 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

846-488: 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

940-582: 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

1034-462: 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

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1128-668: Is 300–650 metres (980–2,130 ft), with the range rarely going over 700 metres (2,300 ft) during its 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) extent. The highest point of the Vindhyas is the Sad-bhawna Shikhar ("Goodwill Peak"), which lies 752 metres (2,467 ft) above the sea level. Also known as the Kalumar peak or Kalumbe peak, it lies near Singrampur in the Damoh district , in the area known as Bhanrer or Panna hills. Historical texts include Amarkantak (1,000 m+ or 3,300 ft+) in

1222-460: 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

1316-401: Is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges , hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India . Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the geological sense. The exact extent of the Vindhyas is loosely defined, and historically, the term covered a number of distinct hill systems in central India , including the one that is now known as

1410-405: Is a plateau that lies to the north of the central part of the range. The Rewa - Panna plateaus are also collectively known as the Vindhya plateau. Different sources vary on the average elevation of the Vindhyas, depending on their definition of the range. M. C. Chaturvedi mentions the average elevation as 300 metres (980 ft). Pradeep Sharma states that the "general elevation" of the Vindhyas

1504-520: 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

1598-461: Is also known as "Vindhyachala" or "Vindhyachal"; the suffix achala (Sanskrit) or achal (Hindi) refers to a mountain. In the Mahabharata , the range is also referred to as Vindhyapadaparvata . The Greek geographer Ptolemy called the range Vindius or Ouindion, describing it as the source of Namados ( Narmada ) and Nanagouna ( Tapti ) rivers. The "Daksinaparvata" ("Southern Mountain") mentioned in

1692-523: Is also referred to as Bahliki (i.e., a princess of the Bahlika clan ). In the digvijay expedition of Pandava Arjuna , there is a reference to a group called the Bahlikas, whom Arjuna had to fight. They are stated to have been located on the southern side of Kashmir as neighbors to the Ursa and Sinhapura kingdoms. A passage in the Ramayana attests that on the way from Ayodhya to Kekaya , one had to pass through

1786-527: 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

1880-513: Is derived from the Sanskrit word vaindh (to obstruct) and is in reference to a mythological story. The Vindhya range is also known as "Vindhyachala" or "Vindhyachal"; the suffix achala (Sanskrit) or achal ( Hindi ) refers to a mountain. The Vindhyas have a great significance in Indian mythology and history . Several ancient texts mention the Vindhyas as the southern boundary of the Āryāvarta ,

1974-421: 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 is highly inconsistent across

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2068-571: Is identified with Bahlika or Bactria. This suggests that Bahlika or Bactria was the original home of the Kuru clans. Vatsyayana in his Kamasutra records a peculiar custom prevalent among the Bahlikas, where several young men marry a single woman in Bahlika country and in Strirajya. It is said in the Mahabharata that the Pandava brothers (i.e., Kurus ) were married to one woman, Draupadi . This suggests that

2162-556: 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

2256-474: 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

2350-473: 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

2444-572: The Indo-Aryans and that of the others. The most ancient Hindu texts consider it as the southern boundary of Aryavarta . The Mahabharata mentions that the Nishadas and other Mleccha tribes reside in the forests of the Vindhyas. Although the Indo-Aryan languages (such as Marathi and Konkani ) spread to the south of Vindhyas later, the Vindhyas continued to be seen as the traditional boundary between

2538-698: The Kathiawar peninsula. A series of hills connects the Vindhya extension to the Aravalli Range near Champaner . The Vindhya range rises in height east of Chhota Udaipur . The principal Vindhya range forms the southern escarpment of the Central Indian upland. It runs roughly parallel to the Naramada river in the east-west direction, forming the southern wall of the Malwa plateau in Madhya Pradesh. The eastern portion of

2632-496: The Kaushitaki Upanishad is also identified with the Vindhyas. The Vindhyas do not form a single range in the proper geological sense: the hills collectively known as the Vindhyas do not lie along an anticlinal or synclinal ridge. The Vindhya range is actually a group of discontinuous chain of mountain ridges , hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments . The term "Vindhyas" is defined by convention, and therefore,

2726-510: The Mount Meru , growing so high that it obstructed the sun. The sage Agastya then asked Vindhya to lower itself, in order to facilitate his passage across to the south. In reverence for Agastya, the Vindhya lowered its height and promised not to grow until Agastya returned to the north. Agastya settled in the south, and the Vindhya mountain, true to its word, never grew further. The Kishkindha Kanda of Valmiki's Ramayana mentions that Maya built

2820-738: 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,

2914-671: The Punjab , while others appear to have moved to southwestern India as neighbors to the Saurashtras and Abhiras of Sauviras . The people with the surname Behal, Bahal, or Bahl in Punjab are direct descendants of the Bahlikas. Salya, the king of Madra mentioned in the Mahabharata, has been called a Bahlika Pungava (i.e., foremost among the Bahlikas). Princess Madri from the Madra Royal Family

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3008-542: The Satpura Range . Today, the term principally refers to the escarpment and its hilly extensions that runs north of and roughly parallel to the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh . Depending on the definition, the range extends up to Gujarat in the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the north, and Chhattisgarh in the east. The average elevation of the Vindhyas is also dependent on different sources. The word Vindhya

3102-609: The Tantric culture of foreign countries like Bahlika, Kirata, Bhota, Cina, Mahacina, Parasika , Airaka (Iraq), Kamboja, Huna , Yavana, Gandhara, and Nepal . The Bahlikas have been equated to Mlechchas in later Sanskrit literature. There is a distinct prophetic statement in the Mahabharata that the mlechcha kings of the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, and Bahlikas, among others, will lead an adharmic rule in Kali Yuga . (3.188.34-36). Like Kamboja,

3196-775: 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

3290-670: The Uttarakurus in Bahlika country. According to the text, Ila, son of Prajapati Karddama, king of Bahli (Bahlika) country, gave up Bahli in favor of his son Sasabindu and founded the city of Pratisthana in Madhyadesa. The princes of the Aila dynasty (which is also the dynasty of the Kurus) were called Karddameya. The Karddameyas obtained their names from the river Kardama in Persia and therefore, their homeland

3384-690: The Vamsa Brahmana of the Sama Veda . This text refers to one Madragara Shaungayani as a teacher of Aupamanyava Kamboja . Dr. Zimmer and the authors of the Vedic Index postulate a possible connection between the Iranian Uttaramadras and the Kambojas. Both these groups were close neighbors in the northwestern part of ancient India. According to Jean Przylusky, Bahlika (Balkh) was an Iranian settlement of

3478-723: The Vindhyas . The Baraca of the Periplus is identified with the Bahlika of Sanskrit texts. The Puranas attest that a branch of the Bahlikas ruled near the Vindhyas . According to the Puranic traditions, Dhrshta was one of the nine sons of Manu . From him came a number of clans called Dharshtakas, who were considered Kshatriyas . According to the Shiva Purana , the Dharshtaka princes became rulers of Bahlika. The Satapatha Brahmana mentions

3572-408: The lotus , soft sheep -skins, sharp and long swords and scimitars, hatchets, fine-edged battle-axes, perfumes, and gems of various kinds (2.50). Darada, the king of Bahlika, was the incarnation of Asura Surya. At the time of his birth, the earth was cleaved because of his weight (1.67), (2.43). The King of Bahlika presented to Yudhishtra a golden chariot yoked with four white Kamboja studs at

3666-532: 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

3760-571: The 4th century BC, this Bahlika/Bactria came under Yavana/ Greek political control, and the land began to be referenced as Bahlika-Yavana in some ancient Sanskrit texts. Thus, the foregoing discussion suggests that the Uttarakurus, Uttaramadras, and Kambojas were all located beyond the Himalaya/Hindukush ranges. The Uttarakurus were likely in the northern parts of Bahlika, the Uttaramadras in

3854-721: The Atharvaveda-Parisista also associates the Vedic Bahlikas with the Sakas , Yavanas , and Tusharas ( Saka-Yavana-Tukhara-Vahlikaishcha ). The fact that Puranic evidence locates the Bahlikas in Uttarapatha and further associates the Bahlikas with the Kambojas, Tusharas, Sakas, and Yavanas in the Atharvaveda Parisista and other ancient sources suggests that the Bahlikas were located as close neighbors to these groups. Since

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3948-537: The Bahlika region was famous for its horses, which were used by kings in wars. The Brahmanda Purana refers to the horses from Bahlika. Similarly, the Valmiki Ramayana refers to the horses of Bahlika, Kamboja, and Vanayu countries as being of excellent breed. Upamitibhavaprapanchakatha singles out horses from Bahlika, Kamboja, and Turuksha as the best. The Abhidhanaratnamala also mentions examples of excellent horses from Bahlika, Persia, Kamboja, Vanayu, Sindhu, and

4042-668: The Bahlikas as living on the west side of the Indus River ( Sindhu ). After crossing the seven mouths of the Indus, King Chandragupta is stated to have defeated the Bahlikas. These references attest that the Bahlikas were originally located beyond the seven mouths of the Indus River in Bactria, where the land was watered by the Oxus River. However, later, a section of these people moved from Balkh to

4136-425: The Bahlikas is attested in western India as neighbors to the Saurashtras. The Ramayana refers to ( Saurashtrans.bahlikan.chandrachitranstathaivacha ). A similar expression is found in the Padma Purana : ( Surashtransa.bahlika.ssudrabhirastathaivacha ). These ancient references indicate that the Bahlikas lived as neighbors to the Saurashtras and the Abhiras . According to the Puranas , a branch of these people ruled in

4230-410: 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

4324-433: The Kambojas were located in Badakshan and Pamirs, the Tusharas to the north of Pamirs, and the Sakas on the river Jaxartes and beyond, the Bahlikas or Bahlams, as neighbors to these people, should be placed in Bactria . The Brahmanda Purana attests that the river Chaksu ( Oxus or Amu Darya ) flowed through the land of Bahlavas (Bahlikas). The Iron pillar of Delhi inscription by King Chandragupta II also mentions

4418-400: The Kurus were originally from Bahlika, which was identified with Uttarakuru (Dr. M. R. Singh). Since Uttarakuru of the Aitareya Brahmana is said to lie beyond Himalaya , Bahlika or Bactria is also beyond the Hindukush (i.e., Himalayan range). Besides the Kurus, the Madra ( IAST : Mādra ; IPA/Sanskrit : [maːdɽɐ] ) were also originally from around Bahlika, as suggested by

4512-439: The Madras, known as Bahlika-Uttaramadras. In the Aitareya Brahmana, the Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras are stated to live beyond the Himalayas ( paren himvantam ). This suggests that in remote antiquity (the Vedic age), the (Iranian settlement of) the Madras was located in parts of Bahlika (Bactria)—the western parts of the Oxus country. These Madras were, in fact, the Uttaramadras of the Aitareya Brahmana (VIII/14). However, in

4606-412: 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

4700-829: The Purana texts changed often over time and over distance, and the underlying presumption of them being religious texts is that those changes are "Hinduism expressed by a religious leader or philosopher", or the "expressiveness of Hindu mind", or "society at large", when the texts and passages are literary works and "individual geniuses of their authors". The Jaina Puranas are like Hindu Puranas encyclopedic epics in style, and are considered as anuyogas (expositions), but they are not considered Jain Agamas and do not have scripture or quasi-canonical status in Jainism tradition. They are best described, states John Cort, as post-scripture literary corpus based upon themes found in Jain scriptures. Vindhya The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal ) ( pronounced [ʋɪnd̪ʱjə] )

4794-425: 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

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4888-404: 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,

4982-551: 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

5076-427: 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

5170-419: The Uttarakurus, Uttaramadras, and Parama Kambojas were one people or closely allied and lived in or around Bahlika (Bactria). Amarakosha makes references to the Saffron of Bahlika and Kashmira countries. Similar references to Bahlika saffron are also found in the 4th-century AD Raghuvamsa play by poet Kalidasa . Raghuvamsa states that saffron adhered to Raghu's horses, which they shed off by rolling on

5264-401: The Uttarapatha division. The Buddhist play Mudrarakshas by Visakhadutta, as well as the Jain works Parishishtaparvan, refers to Chandragupta 's alliance with a Himalayan king named Parvatka . This alliance provided Chandragupta with a composite army made up of the Yavanas, Kambojas, Sakas, Kiratas, Parasikas, and Bahlikas, as stated in Mudrarakshas . The Sammoha Tantra speaks of

5358-412: The Vedic Bahlikas with the Kambojas (i.e., Kamboja-Bahlika ). Besides the Atharvaveda Parisista, several other ancient texts also associate the Bahlikas with the Kambojas: The Kashmir recension of the ancient Ramayana contains the following reading: Sanskrit Acharya Kshmendra of Kashmir rendered the above text into his Ramayana Manjri as follows: Aratta.Bahlika.Kamboja. Besides Kambojas,

5452-422: The Vindhya range as the residence of fierce form of Shakti (goddess Kali or Durga ), who has lived there since slaying the demons. She is described as Vindhyavasini ("Vindhya dweller"), and a temple dedicated to her is located in the Vindhyachal town of Uttar Pradesh . The Mahabharata mentions the Vindhyas as the "eternal abode" of Kali. According to one legend, the Vindhya mountain once competed with

5546-418: The Vindhyas comprises multiple chains, as the range divides into branches east of Malwa. A southern chain of Vindhyas runs between the upper reaches of the Son and Narmada rivers to meet the Satpura Range in the Maikal Hills near Amarkantak . A northern chain of the Vindhyas continues eastwards as Bhander Plateau and Kaimur Range , which runs north of the Son River . This extended range runs through what

5640-423: The Vindhyas once obstructed the path of the sun, resulting in this name. The Ramayana states that the great mountain Vindhya that was growing incessantly and obstructing the path of the Sun stopped growing any more in obedience to Agastya's words. According to another theory, the name "Vindhya" means "hunter" in Sanskrit , and may refer to the tribal hunter-gatherers inhabiting the region. The Vindhya range

5734-411: The Vindhyas, but today, it is considered a part of the Maikal Range , which is considered as an extension of the Satpuras. The Vindhyas are regarded as the traditional geographical boundary between northern and southern India, and have a distinguished status in both mythology and geography of India . In the ancient Indian texts, the Vindhyas are seen as the demarcating line between the territories of

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5828-479: The Vindhyas. These include Chambal , Betwa , Dhasan , Sunar , Ken , Tamsa , Kali Sindh and Parbati . The northern slopes of the Vindhyas are drained by these rivers. Narmada and Son rivers drain the southern slopes of the Vindhyas. Both these rivers rise in the Maikal hills , which are now defined as an extension of the Satpuras, although several older texts use the term Vindhyas to cover them (see Historical definitions above). The "Vindhyan Supergroup"

5922-463: The banks of the Oxus before Raghu undertook to attack the forces of the Hunas and the Kambojas located on either side of the Oxus. Brihat Samhita also references the Bahlikas and mentions them alongside Cinas , Gandharas, Sulikas, Paratas , Vaisyas, etc. Kavyamimamsa by Rajshekhar (10th century AD) lists the Bahlikas with the Sakas, Tusharas, Vokanas, Hunas, Kambojas, Pahlavas, Tangana, Turukshas, etc., and states that they were tribes located in

6016-698: 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

6110-433: The country of Bahlikas, located somewhere in Punjab. This suggests that ancient Bahlikas had moved to and planted a settlement in Punjab. This is also verified in the epic Mahabharata. This evidence suggests that there was another Bahlika country besides the one in Bactria. Dr. P. E. Pargiter points out that there was another Bahlika settlement in the plains of Punjab, alongside or south of Madradesa. A third settlement of

6204-421: 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

6298-414: The exact definition of the Vindhya range has varied at different times in history. Earlier, the term "Vindhyas" was used in a wider sense and included a number of hill ranges between the Indo-Gangetic plain and the Deccan Plateau . According to the various definitions mentioned in the older texts, the Vindhyas extend up to the Godavari in the south and the Ganges in the north. In certain Puranas ,

6392-448: 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

6486-564: 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 ,

6580-412: 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

6674-426: 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,

6768-493: The hills in Central India. In one passage, Valmiki 's Ramayana describes Vindhya as being situated to the south of Kishkindha (Ramayana IV-46. 17), which is identified with a part of the present-day Karnataka . It further implies that the sea was located just to the south of the Vindhyas, and Lanka was located across this sea. Many scholars have attempted to explain this anomaly in different ways. According to one theory,

6862-448: The kingdom. Thus, being older than King Shantanu , Bahlika was the paternal uncle of Bhishma and predated him. The people of Balhika presented to Yudhishthira as a tribute ten thousand asses (donkeys), numerous blankets of woolen texture, numerous skins of the Ranku deer, clothes made from jute and woven with threads spun by insects, and thousands of other clothes possessing the color of

6956-639: The land bordering on Sindhu. Purana 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 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

7050-715: 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

7144-660: 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

7238-513: 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

7332-465: 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

7426-536: The north and the south of India. Vindhyas appear prominently in the Indian mythological tales. Although the Vindhyas are not very high, historically, they were considered highly inaccessible and dangerous due to dense vegetation and the hostile tribes residing there. In the older Sanskrit texts, such as the Ramayana , they are described as the unknown territory infested with cannibals and demons . The later texts describe

7520-525: 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

7614-501: 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,

7708-702: 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 ,

7802-507: The seven Kula Parvatas ("clan mountains") of Bharatavarsha , that is, India. The exact identification of these three ranges is difficult due to contrasting descriptions in the various texts. For example, the Kurma , Matsya and Brahmanda Puranas mention Vindhya as the source of Tapti ; while Vishnu and Brahma Puranas mention the Rksa as its source. Some texts use the term Vindhyas to describe all

7896-471: 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)

7990-524: The southern parts, and the Kambojas (=Parama Kambojas) to the east of Bahlika, in the Transoxiana region. The ancient Bahlika appears to have spanned a large expanse of territory. The commentator of the Harsha-Carita of Bana Bhatta also defines the Kambojas as Kambojah-Bahlika-Desajah, meaning the Kambojas originated in or belonged to Bahlika. Thus, it seems likely that in remote antiquity, the ancestors of

8084-641: The term "Vindhyas" covered a number of mountains to the south of the Indo-Aryan territories at the time Ramayana was written. Others, such as Frederick Eden Pargiter , believe that there was another mountain in South India, with the same name. Madhav Vinayak Kibe placed the location of Lanka in Central India . The Barabar Cave inscription of the Maukhari ruler Anantavarman mentions the Nagarjuni hill of Bihar as

8178-537: 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

8272-815: The term Vindhya specifically covers the mountain range located between the Narmada and the Tapti rivers; that is, the one which is now known as the Satpura Range . The Varaha Purana uses the name "Vindhya-pada" ("foot of the Vindhyas") for the Satpura range. Several ancient Indian texts and inscriptions (e.g. the Nasik Prasasti of Gautamiputra Satakarni ) mention three mountain ranges in Central India: Vindhya (or "Vindhya proper"), Rksa (also Rksavat or Riksha) and Pariyatra (or Paripatra). The three ranges are included in

8366-405: 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

8460-524: The territory of the ancient Indo-Aryan peoples . Although today Indo-Aryan languages are spoken south of the Vindhyas, the range continues to be considered as the traditional boundary between north and south India . The former Vindhya Pradesh was named after the Vindhya Range. According to the author of a commentary on Amarakosha , the word Vindhya derives from the Sanskrit word vaindh (to obstruct). A mythological story (see below ) states that

8554-1033: The time of the Rajsuya ceremony (2.53.5). Karna fought with and vanquished the Bahlikas, along with the Kambojas of Rajpura, the Amvashthas, the Videhas, the Gandharvas, the fierce Kiratas of the fastness of Himavat, the Utpalas, the Mekalas, the Paundras, the Kalingas , the Andhras , the Nishadas, and the Trigartas (7.4.5-6). King Bahlika participated in the Kurukshetra War . The Mahabharata calls him

8648-658: 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

8742-565: Was once Vindhya Pradesh , reaching up to the Kaimur district of Bihar. The branch of the Vindhya range spanning across Bundelkhand is known as the Panna range. Another northern extension (known as the Vindhyachal hills) runs up to Uttar Pradesh , stopping before the shores of Ganga at multiple places, including Vindhyachal and Chunar ( Mirzapur District ), near Varanasi . The Vindhyan tableland

8836-406: 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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