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Vishnu Purana

"Vishnu Puran" redirects here. For the television series, seeVishnu Puran (TV series).

TheViṣṇu Purāṇa(Sanskrit:विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteenMahapuranas,a genre of ancient and medieval texts ofHinduism.[1]It is an importantPancharatratext in theVaishnavismliterature corpus.[1][2]

Vishnu Purana
Information
ReligionHinduism
AuthorVyasa
LanguageSanskrit
Chapters126
Verses23,000

The manuscripts ofVishnu Puranahave survived into the modern era in many versions.[3][4][5]More than any other majorPurana,theVishnu Puranapresents its contents inPancalaksanaformat –Sarga(cosmogony),Pratisarga(cosmology),Vamśa(genealogyof the gods, sages and kings),Manvantara(cosmic cycles), andVamśānucaritam(legends during the times of various kings).[6][7][8]Some manuscripts of the text are notable for not including sections found in other major Puranas, such as those onMahatmyasand tour guides on pilgrimage,[9]but some versions include chapters on temples and travel guides to sacred pilgrimage sites.[1][10]The text is also notable as the earliest Purana to have been translated and published in 1840 CE byHH Wilson,based on manuscripts then available, setting the presumptions and premises about what Puranas may have been.[11][12]

TheVishnu Puranais among the shorterPuranatexts, with about 7,000 verses in extant versions.[13][14]It primarily centers around the Hindu godVishnuand hisavatarssuch asKrishna,but it praisesBrahmaandShivaand asserts that they are dependent on Vishnu.[14]The Purana, states Wilson, ispantheisticand the ideas in it, like other Puranas, are premised on theVedicbeliefs and ideas.[15]

Vishnu Purana,like all major Puranas, attributes its author to be sageVeda Vyasa.[16]The actual author(s) and date of its composition are unknown and contested. Estimates of its composition range from 400 CE to 900 CE.[9]The text 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.[17]ThePadma PuranacategorizesVishnu Puranaas aSattvaPurana, which represents goodness and purity.[18]

Date of composition

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Samudra Manthanamdepicted in above sculpture, is described in theVishnu Purana.Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

The composition date ofVishnu Puranais unknown and contested, with estimates widely disagreeing.[9]Some proposed dates for the earliest version[note 1]ofVishnu Puranaby various scholars include:

  • Vincent Smith(1908): 400–300 BCE,[9]
  • CV Vaidya(1925): ~9th-century,[9]
  • Moriz Winternitz(1932): possibly early 1st millennium, but states Rocher, he added, "it is no more possible to assign a definite date to theVishnu Puranathan it is for any other Purana ".[9]
  • Rajendra Chandra Hazra (1940): 275–325 CE[9]
  • Ramachandra Dikshitar(1951): 700–300 BCE,[9][21]
  • Roy (1968): after the 9th century.[9]
  • Horace Hayman Wilson(1864): acknowledged that the tradition believes it to be 1st millennium BCE text and the text has roots in the Vedic literature, but after his analysis suggested that the extant manuscripts may be from the 11th century.[9][22]
  • Wendy Doniger(1988):c.450 CE.[23]

Rocher states that the "date of theVishnu Puranais as contested as that of any other Purana ".[9]References toVishnuPuranain texts such asBrihadvishnuwhose dates are better established, states Rocher, suggest that a version ofVishnuPuranaexisted by about 1000 CE, but it is unclear to what extent the extant manuscripts reflect the revisions during the 2nd millennium.[9][5]VishnuPuranalike all Puranas has a complicated chronology. Dimmitt and van Buitenen state that each of the Puranas including theVishnuPuranais encyclopedic in style, and it is difficult to ascertain when, where, why and by whom these were written:[24]

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 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.

— Cornelia Dimmitt andJ.A.B. van Buitenen,Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas[24]

Many of the extant manuscripts were written onpalm leafor copied during the British India colonial era, some in the 19th century.[25][26]The scholarship onVishnu Purana,and other Puranas, has suffered from cases of forgeries, statesLudo Rocher,where liberties in 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.[25][26]

Structure

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The extant text comprises sixamsas(parts) and 126adhyayas(chapters).[27]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 the sixth parts are the longest and the shortest part of the text, comprising 38 and 8 chapters respectively.[28][29]

The textual tradition claims that the originalVishnuPuranahad 23,000 verses,[30]but the surviving manuscripts have just a third of these, about 7,000 verses.[13]The text is composed in metric verses orsloka,wherein each verse has exactly 32 syllables, of which 16 syllables in the verse may be free style per ancient literary standards.[31]

TheVishnuPurana is an exception in that it presents its contents in Vishnu worship-relatedPancalaksanaformat –Sarga(Cosmogony),Pratisarga(Cosmology),Vamsa(Mythicalgenealogyof the gods, sages, and kings),Manvantara(Cosmic Cycles), andVamsanucaritam(Legends During The Times Of Various Kings).[6][7][8]This is rare, state Dimmitt and van Buitenen, because just 2% of the known Puranic literature corpus is about these fivePancalaksanaitems, and about 98% is about diverse range of encyclopedic topics.[32]

Contents

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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[33][34]

Vishnu Purana opens as a conversation between sage Maitreya and hisGuru,Parashara,with the sage asking, "What Is The Nature Of This Universe And Everything That Is In It?"[27][35]

First Amsa: Cosmology

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The firstAmsha(part) ofVishnu Puranapresents cosmology, dealing with the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe.[36]The mythology, states Rocher, is woven with the evolutionary theories ofSamkhyaschool ofHindu philosophy.[36]

The Hindu god Vishnu is presented as the central element of this text's cosmology, unlike some other Puranas where Shiva or Brahma or goddessShaktiare offered prominence. The reverence and the worship of Vishnu is described in 22 chapters of the first part as the means for liberation, along with the profuse use of the synonymous names of Vishnu such asHari,Janardana,Madhava, Achyuta,Hrishikeshaand others.[36][37]The chapters 1.16 through 1.20 of theVishnu Puranapresents the legend of compassionate and Vishnu devoteePrahladaand his persecution by his demon king fatherHiranyakasipu,wherein Prahlada is ultimately saved by Vishnu when Vishnu's Narashima avatar kills Hiranyakashipu.[38][39]This story is also found in other Puranas.[40]

Vishnu is described in the first book ofVishnu Puranaas, translates Wilson, all elements, all matter in the world, the entire universe, all living beings, as well asAtman(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.[37][41]

Second Amsa: Earth

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The second part of the text describes its theory of earth, the seven continents and seven oceans.[33][42]It describes Mount Meru,Mount Mandaraand other major mountains, as well as Bharata Varsha (Literally, the country of Bharata) along with its numerous rivers and diverse people.[33][43]The seven continents are namedJambu,Plaksha,Salmala,Kusha,Krauncha,Saka,andPushkara,each surrounded by different types of liquids (salt water, fresh water, wine, sugarcane juice, clarified butter, liquid yoghurt, And milk).[33][42]

This part of theVishnuPurana describes spheres above the Earth, planets, the Sun And the Moon. Four Chapters (2.13 to 2.16)[44]of the second book of the text present the legends of King Bharat, who abdicates his throne to lead the life of aSannyasi,which is similar to the legends found in section 5.7 to 5.14 of theBhagavata Purana.[33]The geography of Mount Mandara as east of Mount Meru, presented in this book and other Puranas, states Stella Kramrisch, may be related to the wordMandir(Hindu Temple) and the reason of its Design, "Image, Aim And Destination".[45]

Third Amsa: Time

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The initial chapters of the third book of theVishnuPurana presents its theory ofManvantaras,or Manus-ages (each 306.72 Million Years Long[46]).[33][47]This is premised upon the Hindu belief that everything is Cyclic, And EvenYuga(Era, Ages) start, mature and then dissolve. Six manvantaras, states the text, have already passed, and the current age belong to the seventh.[47]In each age, asserts the text, the Vedas are arranged into four, it is challenged, and this has happened twenty eight times already.[48]Each time, a Veda Vyasa appears and he diligently organizes the eternal knowledge, with the aid of his students.[33][49]

The Vishnu Purana includes several chapters in book 3 on rites of passage from birth through death. Included are chapters on cremation rites (above).

After presenting the emergence of Vedic schools, the text presents the ethical duties of the fourVarnasin chapter 2.8, the fourAshrama(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, andShraddha(Ancestral rites) in chapters 2.13 through 2.16.[33][50]

TheVishnuPurana asserts that the Brahmin should study theShastras,worship gods and perform libations on behalf of others, theKshatriyashould maintain arms and protect the earth, theVaishyashould engage in commerce and farming, while theShudrashould subsist by profits of trade, service other varnas and through mechanical labor.[51][52]The text asserts the ethical duties of allVarnasis 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 or slay any human being or living being.[53][52]Be diligent in the service of the gods, sages andguru,asserts the Purana, and seek the welfare of all creatures, one's own children and of one's own soul.[53][54]Anyone, regardless of their varna or stage of life, who lives a life according to the above duties is the best worshipper of Vishnu, claims theVishnu Purana.[53][54]Similar statements on ethical duties of man are found in other parts of Vishnu Purana.[55]

The text describes in chapter 2.9, the four stages of life asBrahmacharya(Student),Grihastha(Householder),Vanaprastha(Retirement) andSannyasa(Renunciation, Mendicant).[56][57]The text repeats the ethical duties in this chapter, translates Wilson.[56][57]The chapters onShraddha(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.[58]

The third book closes with the Legend Of Vishnu, throughMayamoha,helping theDevaswin overAsuras,by teaching the Asuras heretical doctrines that deny the Vedas, who declare their contempt for the Vedas, which makes them easy to identify and thereby defeat.[33][59]

The longest part of theVishnuPurana is dedicated to the Legend OfKrishna(Above).

Fourth Amsa: Dynasties

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The fourth book of the text, in 24 long chapters, presents royal dynasties, starting with Brahma, followed by solar and lunar dynasties, then those on earth over theYugas(eras), withPariksitasserted as the "current king".[33][60][61]The text includes the legends of numerous characters such as Shaubhri, Mandhatri, Narmada, sage Kapila,Rama,Nimi, Janaka, Satyavati, Puru,Yadu,Krishna,Devaka, Pandu, Kuru, Bharata, Bhisma, and others.[62]

Fifth Amsa: Krishna

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The fifth book of theVishnuPurana is the longest, with 38 chapters.[63][64][65]It is dedicated to the legend of Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu.[66]The book begins with the story of Krishna's birth, his childhood pranks and plays, his exploits, his purpose of ending the tyranny of the demon-tyrant king ofMathura,namedKamsa.[63][67][65]

The Krishna story in theVishnu Puranais similar to his legend in theBhagavata Purana,in several other Puranas and the Harivamsa of theMahabharata.[63]Scholars have long debated whether theBhagavata Puranaexpanded the Krishna Legend in theVishnu Purana,or whether the latter abridged the version in former, or both depended on the Harivamsa estimated to have been composed sometime in the 1st millennium of the common era.[63][68][69]

Sixth Amsa: Liberation

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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 ofPrakriti,not of soul.

—Vishnu Purana,6.7[70]

The last book of theVishnu Puranais the shortest, with 8 chapters.[63][71]The first part of the sixth book asserts thatKali Yugais 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.[72]

The last chapters, from 6.6 to 6.7 of the text discussesYogaand meditation, as a means to Vishnu devotion.[63][73]Contemplative devotion, asserts the text, is the union with theBrahman(supreme soul, ultimate reality), which is only achievable with virtues such as compassion, truth, honesty, disinterestedness, self-restraint and holy studies.[74]The text mentions fiveYamas,fiveNiyamas,PranayamaandPratyahara.[75]The pure and perfect soul is called Vishnu, states the text, and absorption in Vishnu is liberation.[76]

The final chapter 6.8 of the text asserts itself to be an "imperishable Vaishnava Purana".[77]

Critical edition

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ACritical Editionof the Sanskrit text of theVisnu-puranawas published in two large volumes, 1997 and 1999. A critical edition is prepared by comparing a number of differentmanuscripts,recording their variant readings in notes, and choosing the best readings to constitute the text of the critical edition. This is a real[clarification needed],large-scale critical edition, in which 43 Sanskrit manuscripts were gathered and collated, and 27 were chosen from which to prepare the Sanskrit edition. It is:

The Critical Edition of the Visnupuranam,edited by M. M. Pathak, 2 vols.,Vadodara: Oriental Institute,1997, 1999.[78][79]

A translation of the critical edition was published in 2021 under the title,The Visnu Purana: Ancient Annals of the God with Lotus Eyes.[80]

Influences

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VishnuPurana is one of the 18 major Puranas, and these text share many legends, likely influenced each other.[63]The fifth chapter of theVishnuPurana was likely influenced by the Mahabharata.[68]Similarly, the verses on rites of passage and ashramas (stages) of life are likely drawn from theDharmasutraliterature. Rajendra Hazra, in 1940, assumed that Vishnu Purana is ancient and proposed that texts such asApasthamba Dharmasutraborrowed text from it.[81]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.[81]

Other chapters, particularly those in book 5 and 6 of theVishnuPurana haveAdvaita VedantaandYogainfluences.[82][83][84]The theistic Vedanta scholarRamanuja,according to Sucharita Adluri, incorporated ideas from theVishnuPurana to identify theBrahmanconcept in the Upanishads with Vishnu, thus providing a Vedic foundation to the Srivaishnava tradition.[85]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^This is not the version that has survived into the modern era. The estimates for earliest version are based on the analysis of the content, events described, literary style, references to other Indian texts within this Purana.[19][20]

References

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  1. ^abcDalal 2014,p. 460.
  2. ^Rocher 1986,pp. 245–249.
  3. ^Rocher 1986,pp. 18, 245–249.
  4. ^Wilson 1864,pp. xxxiv–xxxv.
  5. ^abGregory Bailey (2003). Arvind Sharma (ed.).The Study of Hinduism.University of South Carolina Press. pp. 141–142.ISBN978-1-57003-449-7.
  6. ^abRocher 1986,pp. 248–249.
  7. ^abRao 1993,pp. 85–100.
  8. ^abJohnson 2009,p. 248.
  9. ^abcdefghijklRocher 1986,p. 249.
  10. ^Ariel Glucklich 2008,p. 146,Quote:The earliest promotional works aimed at tourists from that era were calledmahatmyas.
  11. ^Wilson 1864,pp. i–xviii, for full context and comparison ofVishnu Puranawith other Puranas then known, see all of the Preface section..
  12. ^Gregory Bailey (2003). Arvind Sharma (ed.).The Study of Hinduism.University of South Carolina Press. pp. 148–149.ISBN978-1-57003-449-7.
  13. ^abWilson 1864,p. xxxv.
  14. ^abRocher 1986,p. 246, 248 with footnote 501.
  15. ^Wilson 1864,pp. xii–xiv.
  16. ^Rocher 1986,p. 48.
  17. ^Rocher 1986,pp. 41–48, 249.
  18. ^Wilson, H. H.(1840).The Vishnu Purana: A system of Hindu mythology and tradition.Oriental Translation Fund. p. 12.
  19. ^Dimmitt & van Buitenen 2012,p. 1-7.
  20. ^Rocher 1986,p. 38-49, 59–66.
  21. ^K P Gietz 1992,p. 986 with note 5739.
  22. ^Edward Balfour (1885).The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia.B. Quaritch. p.1025.
  23. ^Collins 1988,p. 36.
  24. ^abDimmitt & van Buitenen 2012,p. 5.
  25. ^abRocher 1986,pp. 49–53.
  26. ^abAvril Ann Powell (2010).Scottish Orientalists and India: The Muir Brothers, Religion, Education and Empire.Boydell & Brewer. pp. 130, 128–134, 87–90.ISBN978-1-84383-579-0.
  27. ^abRocher 1986,p. 246.
  28. ^Rocher 1986,pp. 246–248.
  29. ^Wilson 1864.
  30. ^Kireet Joshi (1991).The Veda and Indian Culture: An Introductory Essay.Motilal Banarsidass. p. 106.ISBN978-81-208-0889-8.
  31. ^Dimmitt & van Buitenen 2012,p. xiii.
  32. ^Dimmitt & van Buitenen 2012,p. 9.
  33. ^abcdefghijRocher 1986,p. 247.
  34. ^Wilson 1865,pp. 94–95.
  35. ^"A Brief History of India", by Alain Daniélou, publisher = Inner Traditions / Bear & Co., p. 25
  36. ^abcRocher 1986,pp. 246–247.
  37. ^abWilson 1865,pp. 93–96.
  38. ^Dutt 1896,pp. ii–iii.
  39. ^Wilson 1865,pp. 32–68.
  40. ^Wendy Doniger (2000), Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions, Merriam-Webster,ISBN978-0877790440,page 455
  41. ^Wilson 1864,pp. 170–172, 196–198.
  42. ^abWilson 1865,pp. 109–126.
  43. ^Wilson 1865,pp. 127–190.
  44. ^Wilson 1865,pp. 312–336.
  45. ^Kramrisch 1976,p. 161 with footnote 78.
  46. ^Doniger, Wendy;Hawley, John Stratton, eds. (1999)."Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions".Merriam-Webster.Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.p. 691 (Manu).ISBN0877790442.a day in the life of Brahma is divided into 14 periods called manvantaras ( "Manu intervals" ), each of which lasts for 306,720,000 years. In every second cycle [(new kalpa after pralaya)] the world is recreated, and a new Manu appears to become the father of the next human race. The present age is considered to be the seventh Manu cycle.
  47. ^abWilson 1866,pp. 1–19.
  48. ^Wilson 1866,pp. 33–51.
  49. ^Wilson 1866,pp. 40–42.
  50. ^Wilson 1866,pp. 80–199.
  51. ^Wilson 1866,pp. 85–87.
  52. ^abDutt 1896,pp. 191–192.
  53. ^abcWilson 1866,pp. 80–90.
  54. ^abDutt 1896,pp. 191–193.
  55. ^NK Devaraja (1976), What is living and what is dead in traditional Indian philosophy?, Philosophy East and West, Volume 26, Issue 4, pages 427–442, Quote: "Thus in the Visnu Purana, Prahlada, the great devotee of Visnu, is found making a number of statements of the following type: Knowing that god Visnu is present in all creatures – since neither the totality of living beings, nor myself, nor the food is other than Viṣṇu – I serve all creatures with food; may this food bring them satisfaction. Elsewhere, in the same text, we read: We offer obeisance to that unborn, imperishable Brahman which is present in our and others bodies and in everything else, there being nothing other than it anywhere. This teaching of the ethics of universal love and service..."
  56. ^abWilson 1866,pp. 92–96.
  57. ^abDutt 1896,pp. 194–196.
  58. ^Wilson 1866,pp. 1 48–170.
  59. ^Wilson 1866,pp. 207–227.
  60. ^Wilson 1866,pp. 229–336.
  61. ^Wilson 1868,pp. 1–242.
  62. ^Dutt 1896,pp. 237–306.
  63. ^abcdefgRocher 1986,p. 248.
  64. ^Wilson 1868,pp. 245–342.
  65. ^abWilson 1870,pp. 1–167.
  66. ^Dutt 1896,pp. 317–418.
  67. ^Wilson 1870,pp. 245–342.
  68. ^abWalter Ruben (1941),The Kṛṣṇacarita in the Harivaṃśa and Certain Purāṇas,Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 61, No. 3, pages 115–127
  69. ^Bryant 2007,pp. 9–10, 95–109 (Chapter by Ekkehard Lorenz).
  70. ^Wilson 1870,p. 225.
  71. ^Wilson 1870,pp. 168–255.
  72. ^Wilson 1870,pp. 177–185 with footnotes.
  73. ^Wilson 1870,pp. 216–255.
  74. ^Wilson 1870,pp. 227–229 with footnotes.
  75. ^Wilson 1870,pp. 230–232 with footnotes.
  76. ^Wilson 1870,pp. 242–243.
  77. ^Wilson 1870,p. 244.
  78. ^"Viṣṇupurāṇa (GRETIL)".gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de.Retrieved25 June2021.
  79. ^"Visnu-Purana, plain text version".gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de.Retrieved25 June2021.
  80. ^Taylor, McComas (2021).The Viṣṇu Purāṇa: Ancient Annals of the God with Lotus Eyes.Acton, ACT, Australia: ANU Press (open access).ISBN9781760464400.
  81. ^abAllan Dahlaquist (1996).Megasthenes and Indian Religion.Motilal Banarsidass. p. 92 with footnote 1.ISBN978-81-208-1323-6.
  82. ^NK Devaraja (1970), Contemporary Relevance of Advaita Vedānta, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 20, No. 2, pages 129–136
  83. ^KSR Datta (1978), The Visnu Purana and Advaita, Journal: Purana, Vol 20, pages 193–196
  84. ^R. Balasubramanian (2000). "Advaita in the Puranas".Advaita Vedānta.Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 51–78.ISBN978-8187586043.
  85. ^Sucharita Adluri (2015), Textual authority in Classical Indian Thought: Ramanuja and the Visnu Purana, Routledge,ISBN978-0415695756,pages 1–11, 18–26

Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Mani, Vettam.Puranic Encyclopedia.1st English ed. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975.
  • Shri Vishnupuran published by Gitapress Gorakhpur
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