Preface

IntroductionDateOfThePuransFormOfThePuranasClassificationOfThePuranas

01. TheBrahmaPurana02. ThePadmaPurana03. TheVishnuPurana04. TheVayaviyaPurana05. TheBhagavatPurana06. TheNaradiyaPurana07. TheMarkandeyaPurana08. TheAgniPurana09. TheBhavishyaPurana10. TheBrahma-VaivarttaPurana11. TheLingaPurana12. TheVarahaPurana13. TheSkandaPurana14. TheVamanaPurana15. TheKurmaPurana16. TheMatsyaPurana17. TheGarudaPurana18. TheBrahmandaPurana

TheUpa-PuranasSynopsisOfTheVishnuPuranaBookOneBookTwoTheThirdBookTheFourthBookTheFifthBookTheSixthBookDateOfTheVishnupuranaConclusion

Introduction

THE literature of the Hindus has now been cultivated for many years withsingulardiligence,andinmanyofitsbrancheswitheminentsuccess.Therearesome departments, however, which are yet but partially and imperfectlyinvestigated;andwearefarfrombeinginpossessionofthatknowledgewhichthe authentic writings of the Hindus alone can give us of their religion,mythology,andhistoricaltraditions.

Fromthematerialstowhichwehavehithertohadaccess,itseemsprobablethatthere have been three principal forms inwhich the religion of theHindus hasexisted, at as many different periods. The duration of those periods, thecircumstancesof their succession, and theprecise stateof thenational faith ateach season, it is not possible to trace with any approach to accuracy. Thepremises have been too imperfectly determined to authorize other thanconclusionsofageneralandsomewhatvaguedescription,and thoseremain tobehereafterconfirmedorcorrectedbymoreextensiveandsatisfactoryresearch.

The earliest formunderwhich theHindu religion appears is that taught in theVedas.The style of the language, and the purport of the composition of thoseworks,asfarasweareacquaintedwiththem,indicateadatelonganteriortothatof any other class of Sanscrit writings. It is yet, however, scarcely safe toadvanceanopinionoftheprecisebelieforphilosophywhichtheyinculcate.Toenable us to judge of their tendency, we have only a general sketch of theirarrangementandcontents,withafewextracts,byMr.Colebrooke,intheAsiaticResearches a few incidental observations byMr.Ellis, in the samemiscellanyandatranslationofthefirstbookoftheSanhitá,orcollectionoftheprayersoftheRig-veda,byDr.RosenandsomeoftheUpanishads,orspeculativetreatises,attached to, rather thanpartof, theVedas,byRammohunRoy.Of the religiontaughtintheVedas,Mr.Colebrooke'sopinionwillprobablybereceivedasthatwhich is best entitled to deference, as certainly no Sanscrit scholar has beenequally conversant with the original works. "The real doctrine of the Indianscriptureis theunityof theDeity, inwhomtheuniverseiscomprehended;andtheseemingpolytheismwhichitexhibits,offerstheelementsandthestarsandplanets as gods. The three principal manifestations of the divinity, with other

personified attributes and energies, and most of the other gods of Hindumythology, are indeed mentioned, or at least indicated, in the Veda. But theworshipofdeifiedheroes is nopart of the system;nor are the incarnationsofdeitiessuggestedinanyportionof thetextwhichIhaveyetseen, thoughsucharesometimeshintedatbythecommentators ."Someof thesestatementsmayperhapsrequiremodification;forwithoutacarefulexaminationofalltheprayersof the Vedas, it would be hazardous to assert that they contain no indicationwhateverofhero-worship;andcertainlytheydoappeartoalludeoccasionallytothe Avatáras, or incarnations, of Vishńu. Still, however, it is true that theprevailingcharacterof theritualof theVedas is theworshipof thepersonifiedelements;ofAgni,orfire;Indra,thefirmament;Váyu,theair;Varuńa,thewater;of Aditya, the sun; Soma, the moon; and other elementary and planetarypersonages. It is also true that the worship of the Vedas is for the most partdomestic worship, consisting of prayers and oblations offered--in their ownhouses, not in temples--by individuals for individual good, and addressed tounrealpresences,not tovisible types. Inaword, thereligionof theVedaswasnotidolatry.

It is not possible to conjecture when this more simple and primitive form ofadoration was succeeded by the worship of images and types, representingBrahmá,Vishńu,Śiva,andother imaginarybeings,constitutingamythologicalpantheonofmostampleextent;orwhenRámaandKrishńa,whoappeartohavebeen originally real and historical characters, were elevated to the dignity ofdivinities.Image-worshipisalludedtobyManuinseveralpassages,butwithanintimation that those Brahmans who subsist by ministering in temples are aninferioranddegradedclass.ThestoryoftheRámáyańaandMahábhárataturnswhollyupon thedoctrineof incarnations,all thechiefdramatispersonæof thepoems being impersonations of gods and demigods and celestial spirits. Theritualappears tobe thatof theVedas,anditmaybedoubtedifanyallusiontoimage-worship occurs; but the doctrine of propitiation by penance and praiseprevails throughout,andVishńuandŚivaare theespecialobjectsofpanegyricandinvocation.Inthesetwoworks,then,wetraceunequivocalindicationsofadeparturefromtheelementalworshipoftheVedas,andtheoriginorelaborationof legends, which form the great body of the mythological religion of theHindus.How far they only improved upon the cosmogony and chronology oftheirpredecessors,orinwhatdegreethetraditionsoffamiliesanddynastiesmayoriginatewiththem,arequestionsthatcanonlybedeterminedwhentheVedas

andthetwoworksinquestionshallhavebeenmorethoroughlyexamined.

ThedifferentworksknownbythenameofPuráńasareevidentlyderivedfromthe same religious system as the Rámáyańa and Mahábhárata, or from themytho-heroicstageofHindubelief.Theypresent,however,peculiaritieswhichdesignate theirbelonging toa laterperiod,and toan importantmodification intheprogressofopinion.Theyrepeatthetheoreticalcosmogonyofthetwogreatpoems; they expand and systematize the chronological computations; and theygiveamoredefiniteandconnectedrepresentationof themythological fictions,andthehistoricaltraditions.Butbesidestheseandotherparticulars,whichmaybe derivable from an old, if not from a primitive era, they offer characteristicpeculiaritiesofamoremoderndescription,intheparamountimportancewhichthey assign to individual divinities, in the variety and purport of the rites andobservancesaddressedtothem,andintheinventionofnewlegendsillustrativeof the power and graciousness of those deities, and of the efficacy of implicitdevotiontothem.ŚivaandVishńu,underoneorotherform,arealmostthesoleobjectsthatclaimthehomageoftheHindusinthePuráńas;departingfromthedomesticandelementalritualoftheVedas,andexhibitingasectarialfervourandexclusivenessnot traceable in theRámáyańa, andonly to aqualifiedextent intheMahábhárata. They are no longer authorities forHindu belief as awhole:they are special guides for separate and sometimes conflicting branches of it,compiledfortheevidentpurposeofpromotingthepreferential,orinsomecasesthesole,worshipofVishńuorofŚiva.

That thePuráńas always bore the character here given of them,may admit ofreasonabledoubt;thatitcorrectlyappliestothemastheynowaremetwith,thefollowingpageswillirrefragablysubstantiate.Itispossible,however,thattheremayhavebeenanearlierclassofPuráńas,ofwhichthosewenowhavearebutthepartialandadulteratedrepresentatives.Theidentityofthelegendsinmanyofthem, and still more the identity of the words--for in several of them longpassagesare literally the same--is a sufficientproof that inall suchcases theymust be copied either from some other similar work, or from a common andpriororiginal.Itisnotunusualalsoforafacttobestatedupontheauthorityofan 'old stanza,'which is cited accordingly; shewing the existenceof an earliersource of information: and in verymany instances legends are alluded to, nottold;evincingacquaintancewiththeirpriornarrationsomewhereelse.Thenameitself,Puráńa,which implies 'old,' indicates theobjectof thecompilation tobe

thepreservationofancient traditions,apurpose in thepresentconditionof thePuráńas very imperfectly fulfilled.Whateverweightmay be attached to theseconsiderations,thereisnodisputingevidencetothelikeeffectaffordedbyotherand unquestionable authority. The description given byMr.Colebrooke of thecontentsofaPuráńaistakenfromSanscritwriters.TheLexiconofAmaraSinhagives as a synonyme of Puráńa, Pancha-lakshanam, 'that which has fivecharacteristictopics:'andthereisnodifferenceofopinionamongstthescholiastsastowhattheseare.Theyare,asMr.Colebrookementions,1.Primarycreation,or cosmogony; 2. Secondary creation, or the destruction and renovation ofworlds,includingchronology;3.Genealogyofgodsandpatriarchs;4.ReignsoftheManus,orperiodscalledManwantaras;and5.History,orsuchparticularsashave been preserved of the princes of the solar and lunar races, and of theirdescendants to modern times. Such, at any rate, were the constituent andcharacteristic portions of a Puráńa in the days ofAmaraSinha, fifty-six yearsbeforetheChristianera;andif thePuráńashadundergonenochangesincehistime, such we should expect to find them still. Do they conform to thisdescription? Not exactly in any one instance: to some of them it is utterlyinapplicable; to others it only partially applies. There is not one to which itbelongssoentirelyas to theVishńuPuráńa,and it isoneof thecircumstanceswhichgivestothisworkamoreauthenticcharacterthanmostofitsfellowscanpretendto.YeteveninthisinstancewehaveabookupontheinstitutesofsocietyandobsequialritesinterposedbetweentheManwantarasandthegenealogiesofprinces,andalifeofKrishńaseparatingthelatterfromanaccountoftheendoftheworld,besides the insertionofvarious legendsofamanifestlypopularandsectarialcharacter.NodoubtmanyofthePuráńas,astheynoware,correspondwith the view which Col. Vans Kennedy takes of their purport. "I cannotdiscover in them," he remarks, "any other object than that of religiousinstruction."The description of the earth and of the planetary system, and thelistsofroyalraceswhichoccurinthem,heassertstobe"evidentlyextraneous,and not essential circumstances, as they are entirely omitted in somePuráńas,andveryconciselyillustratedinothers;while,onthecontrary,inallthePuráńassome or other of the leading principles, rites, and observances of the Hindureligion are fully dwelt upon, and illustrated either by suitable legends or byprescribingtheceremoniestobepractised,andtheprayersandinvocationstobeemployed, in the worship of different deities," Now, however accurate thisdescriptionmaybeofthePuráńasastheyare,itisclearthatitdoesnotapplytowhattheywerewhentheyweresynonymouslydesignatedasPancha-lakshańas,

or 'treatises on five topics;' not one ofwhich five is ever specified by text orcommenttobe"religiousinstruction."IntheknowledgeofAmaraSinhathelistsof princes were not extraneous and unessential, and their being now soconsidered by awriter sowell acquaintedwith the contents of the Puráńas asCol.VansKennedyisadecisiveproof thatsince thedaysof the lexicographertheyhaveundergone somematerial alteration, and thatwehavenot atpresentthe same works in all respects that were current under the denomination ofPuráńasinthecenturypriortoChristianity.

The inference deduced from the discrepancy between the actual form and theolderdefinitionof aPuráńa, unfavourable to the antiquityof the extantworksgenerally,isconvertedintocertaintywhenwecometoexaminethemindetail;for although they have no dates attached to them, yet circumstances aresometimes mentioned or alluded to, or references to authorities are made, orlegends are narrated, or places are particularized, of which the comparativelyrecentdateisindisputable,andwhichenforceacorrespondingreductionoftheantiquityoftheworkinwhichtheyarediscovered.Atthesametimetheymaybe acquitted of subservience to any but sectarial imposture. They were piousfrauds for temporary purposes: they never emanated from any impossiblecombinationof theBrahmans to fabricate for theantiquityof theentireHindusystem any claims which it cannot fully support. A very great portion of thecontentsofmany, someportionof thecontentsof all, isgenuineandold.Thesectarialinterpolationorembellishmentisalwayssufficientlypalpabletobesetaside, without injury to the more authentic and primitive material; and thePuráńas, although theybelongespecially to that stageof theHindu religion inwhichfaithinsomeonedivinitywastheprevailingprinciple,arealsoavaluablerecordoftheformofHindubeliefwhichcamenextinordertothatoftheVedas;whichgraftedhero-worshipuponthesimplerritualofthelatter;andwhichhadbeen adopted, andwas extensively, perhaps universally established in India atthe time of the Greek invasion. The Hercules of the Greek writers wasindubitably the Balaráma of the Hindus; and their notices ofMathurá on theJumna,andofthekingdomoftheSuraseniandthePandæancountry,evidencethe prior currency of the traditions which constitute the argument of theMahábhárata,andwhichareconstantly repeated in thePuráńas, relating to thePańd́avaandYádavaraces,toKrishńaandhiscontemporaryheroes,andtothedynastiesofthesolarandlunarkings.

The theogony and cosmogony of the Puráńas may probably be traced to theVedas.Theyarenot,asfarasisyetknown,describedindetailinthoseworks,buttheyarefrequentlyalludedtoinastrainmoreorlessmysticalandobscure,which indicates acquaintance with their existence, and which seems to havesupplied the Puráńas with the groundwork of their systems. The scheme ofprimaryorelementarycreationtheyborrowfromtheSánkhyaphilosophy,whichisprobablyoneof theoldest formsofspeculationonmanandnatureamongstthe Hindus. Agreeably, however, to that part of the Pauráńik character whichthere is reason to suspect of later origin, their inculcation of theworship of afavouritedeity,theycombinetheinterpositionofacreatorwiththeindependentevolution ofmatter in a somewhat contradictory and unintelligible style. It isevidenttoothattheiraccountsofsecondarycreation,orthedevelopementoftheexisting formsof things, and the disposition of the universe, are derived fromseveral and different sources; and it appears very likely that they are to beaccusedof someof the incongruities andabsurditiesbywhich thenarrative isdisfigured,inconsequenceofhavingattemptedtoassignrealityandsignificancyto what was merely metaphor or mysticism. There is, however, amidst theunnecessarycomplexityofthedescription,ageneralagreementamongstthemasto the origin of things, and their final distribution; and in many of thecircumstancesthereisastrikingconcurrencewiththeideaswhichseemtohavepervadedthewholeoftheancientworld,andwhichwemaythereforebelievetobefaithfullyrepresentedinthePuráńas.

ThePantheismofthePuráńasisoneoftheirinvariablecharacteristics,althoughtheparticulardivinity,who isall things, fromwhomall thingsproceed,and towhomallthingsreturn,bediversifiedaccordingtotheirindividualsectarialbias.They seem to have derived the notion from the Vedas: but in them the oneuniversal Being is of a higher order than a personification of attributes orelements,and,howeverimperfectlyconceived,orunworthilydescribed,isGod.In thePuráńas the one onlySupremeBeing is supposed to bemanifest in thepersonofŚivaorVishńu, either in thewayof illusionor in sport; andoneorotherofthesedivinitiesisthereforealsothecauseofallthatis,ishimselfallthatexists.TheidentityofGodandnatureisnotanewnotion;itwasverygeneralinthe speculationsof antiquity,but it assumedanewvigour in the early agesofChristianity,andwascarried toanequalpitchofextravaganceby thePlatonicChristians as by the Śaiva or VaishńavaHindus. It seems not impossible thattherewassomecommunicationbetweenthem.Weknowthattherewasanactive

communicationbetweenIndiaandtheRedseaintheearlyagesoftheChristianera, and that doctrines, as well as articles of merchandise, were brought toAlexandria from the former. Epiphanius and Eusebius accuse Scythianus ofhavingimportedfromIndia,inthesecondcentury,booksonmagic,andhereticalnotions leading toManichæism;and itwasat the sameperiod thatAmmoniusinstituted the sectof thenewPlatonists atAlexandria.Thebasisofhisheresywas,thattruephilosophyderiveditsoriginfromtheeasternnations:hisdoctrineoftheidentityofGodandtheuniverseisthatoftheVedasandPuráńas;andthepracticesheenjoined,aswellas theirobject,werepreciselythosedescribedinseveral of the Puráńas under the name ofYoga.His discipleswere taught "toextenuate by mortification and contemplation the bodily restraints upon theimmortal spirit, so that in this life they might enjoy communion with theSupremeBeing,andascendafterdeathtotheuniversalParent."ThattheseareHindu tenets the following pages will testify; and by the admission of theirAlexandrian teacher, theyoriginated inIndia.The importationwasperhapsnotwhollyunrequited;theloanmaynothavebeenleftunpaid.Itisnotimpossiblethat the Hindu doctrines received fresh animation from their adoption by thesuccessors of Ammonius, and especially by the mystics, who may haveprompted, as well as employed, the expressions of the Puráńas. Anquetil duPerronhasgiven,intheintroductiontohistranslationofthe'Oupnekhat,'severalhymnsbySynesius, abishopof thebeginningof the fifthcentury,whichmayserveasparallelstomanyofthehymnsandprayersaddressedtoVishńuintheVishńuPuráńa.

ButtheascriptiontoindividualandpersonaldeitiesoftheattributesoftheoneuniversalandspiritualSupremeBeing, isan indicationofa laterdate than theVedascertainly,andapparentlyalsothantheRámáyańa,whereRáma,althoughan incarnation of Vishńu, commonly appears in his human character alone.There is something of the kind in the Mahábhárata in respect to Krishńa,especially in the philosophical episode known as theBhagavadGítá. In otherplaces the divine nature of Krishńa is less decidedly affirmed; in some it isdisputed or denied; and in most of the situations in which he is exhibited inaction, it is as a prince and warrior, not as a divinity. He exercises nosuperhumanfacultiesinthedefenceofhimselforhisfriends,orinthedefeatanddestruction of his foes. The Mahábhárata, however, is evidently a work ofvariousperiods,andrequirestobereadthroughoutcarefullyandcriticallybeforeitsweightasanauthoritycanbeaccuratelyappreciated.Asitisnowintype--

thanks to thepublic spiritof theAsiaticSocietyofBengal,and their secretaryMr.J.Prinsep--itwillnotbe longbefore theSanscrit scholarsof thecontinentwillaccuratelyappreciateitsvalue.

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Footnotes

01.Vol.VIII.

02.Vol.XIV.

03.PublishedbytheOrientalTranslationFundCommittee.

04.AtranslationoftheprincipalUpanishadswaspublishedunderthetitleofOupnekhat, or Theologia Indica, by Anquetil du Perron: but it was madethrough the medium of the Persian, and is very incorrect and obscure. Atranslation of a very different character has been some time in course ofpreparationbyM.Poley.

05.As.Res.vol.VIII.

06.B.III.152,164.B.IV.214.

07. Besides the three periods marked by the Vedas, Heroic Poems, andPuráńas, a fourthmaybe dated from the influence exercised by theTantrasuponHindupracticeandbelief;butweareyettoolittleacquaintedwiththoseworks,ortheirorigin,tospeculatesafelyupontheirconsequences.

08.As.Res.vol.VII.

09.ThefollowingdefinitionofaPuráńaisconstantlyquoted:itisfoundintheVishńu,Matsya,Váyu,andotherPuráńas:

Click to viewA variation of reading in the beginning of the second line isnoticedbyRámáśrama,thescholiastonAmara,

Click to view 'Destruction of the earth and the rest, or final dissolution:' inwhichcasethegenealogiesofheroesandprincesarecomprisedinthoseofthepatriarchs.

10.ResearchesintotheNatureandAffinityofAncientandHinduMythology,andnote.

11.Adv.Manichæos.

12.Hist.Evang.

13.Mosheim,vol.I.

14.Seeetseq.

15.TheologiaetPhilosophiaIndica,Dissert.

16.Threevolumeshavebeenprinted:thefourthandlastisunderstoodtobenearlycompleted.

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DateOfThePuranas

ThePuráńasarealsoworksofevidentlydifferentages,andhavebeencompiledunder different circumstances, the precise nature of which we can butimperfectly conjecture from internal evidence, and fromwhatweknowof thehistory of religious opinion in India. It is highly probable, that of the presentpopularformsoftheHindureligion,noneassumedtheiractualstateearlierthanthe time of ŚankaraÁchárya, the great Śaiva reformer, who flourished, in alllikelihood,intheeighthorninthcentury.OftheVaishńavateachers,Rámánujadatesinthetwelfthcentury,Madhwácháryainthethirteenth,andVallabhainthesixteenth and the Puráńas seem to have accompanied or followed theirinnovations,beingobviouslyintendedtoadvocatethedoctrinestheytaught.Thisistoassigntosomeofthemaverymoderndate,itistrue;butIcannotthinkthata higher canwith justice be ascribed to them.This, however, applies to someonlyoutofthenumber,asIshallpresentlyproceedtospecify.

Another evidence of a comparatively modern date must be admitted in thosechapters of the Puráńas which, assuming a prophetic tone, foretell whatdynastiesofkingswillreignintheKálíage.Thesechapters,itistrue,arefoundbutinfourofthePuráńas,buttheyareconclusiveinbringingdownthedateofthose four to a period considerably subsequent toChristianity. It is also to beremarked, that the Váyu, Vishńu, Bhágavata, and Matsya Puráńas, in whichtheseparticularsareforetold,haveinallotherrespectsthecharacterofasgreatantiquityasanyworksoftheirclass.

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Footnotes

17.As.Res.vols.XVI.andXVII.AccountofHinduSects.

18.On thehistoryof thecompositionof thePuráńas, as theynowappear, IhavehazardedsomespeculationsinmyAnalysisoftheVáyuPuráńa:Journ.AsiaticSocietyofBengal,December1832.

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FormOfThePuranas

TheinvariableformofthePuráńasisthatofadialogue,inwhichsomepersonrelates its contents in reply to the inquiries of another. This dialogue isinterwoven with others, which are repeated as having been held on otheroccasions between different individuals, in consequence of similar questionshavingbeenasked.Theimmediatenarratoriscommonly,thoughnotconstantly,Lomaharshańa or Romaharshańa, the disciple of Vyása, who is supposed tocommunicatewhatwasimpartedtohimbyhispreceptor,ashehadhearditfromsomeothersage.Vyása,aswillbeseeninthebodyoftheworkisagenerictitle,meaning an 'arranger' or 'compiler.' It is in this age applied to KrishńaDwaipáyana, the son of Paráśara, who is said to have taught the Vedas andPuráńastovariousdisciples,butwhoappearstohavebeentheheadofacollegeorschool,underwhomvariouslearnedmengavetothesacredliteratureoftheHindustheforminwhichitnowpresentsitself.Inthistaskthedisciples,astheyare termed, ofVyásawere rather his colleagues and coadjutors, for theywerealready conversant with what he is fabled to have taught them and amongstthem, Lomaharshańa represents the class of persons who were especiallychargedwiththerecordofpoliticalandtemporalevents.HeiscalledSúta,asifitwasapropername;butit ismorecorrectlyatitle;andLomaharshańawas 'aSúta,' that is, a bard or panegyrist,whowas created, according to our text, tocelebrate the exploits of princes; andwho, according to theVáyu and PadmaPuráńas,hasarightbybirthandprofessiontonarratethePuráńas,inpreferenceeventotheBrahmans.Itisnotunlikelythereforethatwearetounderstand,byhisbeing representedas thediscipleofVyása, the institutionof someattempt,madeunderthedirectionofthelatter,tocollectfromtheheraldsandannalistsofhisdaythescatteredtraditionswhichtheyhadimperfectlypreserved;andhencethe consequent appropriation of the Puráńas, in a great measure, to thegenealogies of regal dynasties, and descriptions of the universe.However thismaybe,themachineryhasbeenbutlooselyadheredto,andmanyofthePatinas,liketheVishńu,arereferredtoadifferentnarrator.

AnaccountisgiveninthefollowingworkofaseriesofPauráńikcompilations,ofwhichintheirpresentformnovestigeappears.Lomaharshańaissaidtohavehad six disciples, three of whom composed as many fundamental Sanhitás,

whilst he himself compiled a fourth. By a Sanhitá is generally understood a'collection'or'compilation.'TheSanhitásoftheVedasarecollectionsofhymnsand prayers belonging to them, arranged according to the judgment of someindividual sage,who is therefore lookedupon as theoriginator and teacher ofeach. The Sanhitás of the Puráńas, then, should be analogous compilations,attributed respectively to Mitrayu, Śánśapáyana, Akritavrańa, andRomaharshańa:nosuchPauráńikSanhitásarenowknown,ThesubstanceofthefourissaidtobecollectedintheVishńuPuráńa,whichisalso,inanotherplace,itselfcalledaSanhitá:butsuchcompilationshavenot,asfarasinquiryhasyetproceeded,beendiscovered.Thespecificationmaybeacceptedasanindicationof thePuráńashavingexisted insomeotherform, inwhich theyareno longermet with; although it does not appear that the arrangement was incompatiblewith their existence as separate works, for the Vishńu Puráńa, which is ourauthorityforthefourSanhitás,givesusalsotheusualenumerationoftheseveralPuráńas.

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Footnotes

20.See

21.Journ,RoyalAs.Soc.vol.V.

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ClassificationOfThePuranas

There isanotherclassificationof thePuráńasalluded to in theMatsyaPuráńa,and specified by the Padma Puráńa, but more fully. It is not undeserving ofnotice,asitexpressestheopinionwhichnativewritersentertainofthescopeofthe Puráńas, and of their recognising the subservience of these works to thedisseminationofsectarianprinciples..ThusitissaidintheUttaraKhańd́aofthePadma, that thePuráńas,aswellasotherworks,aredividedinto threeclasses,according to the qualities which prevail in them. Thus the Vishńu, Náradíya,Bhágavata,Gárud́a,Padma,andVáráhaPuráńas,areSátwika,orpure,fromthepredominanceinthemoftheSatwaquality,orthatofgoodnessandpurity.Theyare, in fact,VaishńavaPuráńas.TheMatsya,Kúrma,Linga,Śiva,Skanda,andAgniPuráńas, areTámasa,orPuráńasofdarkness, from theprevalenceof thequalityofTamas,'ignorance,''gloom.'TheyareindisputablyŚaivaPuráńas.Thethird series, comprising the Brahmáńd́a, Brahma-vaivartta, Márkańd́eya,Bhavishya,Vámana,andBrahmáPuráńas,aredesignatedasRájasa,'passionate,'fromRajas,thepropertyofpassion,whichtheyaresupposedtorepresent..TheMatsya does not specify which are the Puráńas that come under thesedesignations,but remarks that those inwhich theMáhátmyaofHariorVishńuprevailsareSátwika;thoseinwhichthelegendsofAgniorŚivapredominateareTámasa;andthosewhichdwellmostonthestoriesofBrahmáareRájasa.Ihaveelsewhere stated, that I considered the Rájasa Puráńas to lean to the Sáktadivision of the Hindus, the worshippers of Śakti, or the female principle;founding this opinion on the character of the legends which some of themcontain, such as the Durgá Máhátmya, or celebrated legend on which theworshipofDurgáorKálíisespeciallyfounded,whichisaprincipalepisodeoftheMárkańd́eya.TheBrahma-vaivartta also devotes the greatest portion of itschapters to thecelebrationofRádhá, themistressofKrishńa,andotherfemaledivinities.Col.VansKennedy, however, objects to the application of the termSáktatothislastdivisionofthePuráńas,theworshipofŚaktibeingtheespecialobject of adifferent classofworks, theTantras, andno such formofworshipbeing particularly inculcated in the Bráhma Puráńa. This last argument is ofweightinregardtotheparticularinstancespecified,andthedesignationofŚaktimaynotbecorrectlyapplicabletothewholeclass,althoughitistosomeoftheseries;forthereisnoincompatibilityintheadvocacyofaTántrikamodification

oftheHindureligionbyanyPuráńa,andithasunquestionablybeenpractisedinworksknownasUpa-puráńas.TheproperappropriationofthethirdclassofthePuráńas, according to the Padma Puráńa, appears to be to the worship ofKrishńa, not in the character in which he is represented in the Vishńu andBhágavataPuráńas,inwhichtheincidentsofhisboyhoodareonlyaportionofhisbiography,andinwhichthehumancharacterlargelyparticipates,atleastinhisriperyears,butastheinfantKrishńa,Govinda,BálaGopála,thesojournerinVrindávan,thecompanionofthecowherdsandmilkmaids, theloverofRádhá,orasthejuvenilemasteroftheuniverse,Jagannátha.ThetermRájasa,implyingtheanimationofpassion, andenjoymentof sensualdelights, is applicable,notonly to the character of the youthful divinity, but to those with whom hisadoration in these forms seems to have originated, theGosains of Gokul andBengal,thefollowersanddescendantsofVallabhaandChaitanya,thepriestsandproprietors of Jagannáth and Śrínáth-dwár, who lead a life of affluence andindulgence, and vindicate, both by precept and practice, the reasonableness oftheRájasaproperty,andthecongruityoftemporalenjoymentwiththedutiesofreligion.

ThePuráńasareuniformlystatedtobeeighteeninnumber.It issaidthattherearealsoeighteenUpa-puráńas,orminorPuráńas;butthenamesofonlyafewofthesearespecifiedintheleastexceptionableauthorities,andthegreaternumberof theworks isnotprocurable.With regard to theeighteenPuráńas, there is apeculiarity in their specification, which is proof of an interference with theintegrity of the text, in some of them at least; for each of them specifies thenamesofthewholeeighteen.Nowthelistcouldnothavebeencompletewhilsttheworkthatgivesitwasunfinished,andinoneonlytherefore, thelastoftheseries,havewearighttolookforit.Ashowevertherearemorelastwordsthanone,itisevidentthatthenamesmusthavebeeninsertedinallexceptoneafterthewholewerecompleted:whichoftheeighteenistheexception,andtrulythelast, there is no clue to discover, and the specification is probably aninterpolationinmost,ifnotinall.

The names that are specified are commonly the same, and are as follows: 1.Bráhma, 2. Pádma, 3. Vaishńava, 4. Śaiva, 5. Bhágavata, 6. Nárada, 7.Márkańd́a, 8. Ágneya, 9. Bhavishya, 10. Brahma-vaivartta, 11. Lainga, 12.Váráha, 13. Skánda, 14. Vámana, 15. Kaurma, 16. Mátsya, 17. Gárud́a, 18.Brahmáńd́a.ThisisfromthetwelfthbookoftheBhágavata,andisthesameas

occursintheVishńu.Inotherauthoritiesthereareafewvariations.ThelistoftheK.úrmaP.omitstheAgniPuráńa,andsubstitutestheVáyu.TheAgnileavesout the Śaiva, and inserts the Váyu. The Varáha omits the Gárud́a andBrahmáńd́a,and inserts theVáyuandNarasinha: in this last it is singular.TheMárkańd́eya agreeswith theVishńu andBhágavata in omitting theVáyu.TheMatsya,liketheAgni,leavesouttheŚaiva.

Some of the Puráńas, as the Agni, Matsya, Bhágavata, and Padma, alsoparticularizethenumberofstanzaswhicheachoftheeighteencontains.Inoneor two instances they disagree, but in general they concur. The aggregate isstated at 400,000 slokas, or 1,600,000 lines. These are fabled to be but anabridgment,thewholeamountbeingakrore,ortenmillionsofstanzas,orevenathousandmillions. If all the fragmentary portions claiming in various parts ofIndia tobelong to thePuráńaswereadmitted, theirextentwouldmuchexceedthe lesser, though it would not reach the larger enumeration. The former is,however, as I have elsewhere stated, a quantity that an individual Europeanscholarcould scarcelyexpect toperusewithduecareandattention,unlesshiswhole timewere devoted exclusively formany years to the task. Yetwithoutsomesuchlabourbeingachieved,itwasclear,fromthecrudityandinexactnessofall thathadbeenhithertopublishedon thesubject,withoneexception, thatsound views on the subject ofHindumythology and traditionwere not to beexpected. Circumstances, which I have already explained in the paper in theJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society referred to above, enabled me to availmyselfofcompetentassistance,bywhich ImadeaminuteabstractofmostofthePuráńas.IncourseoftimeIhopetoplaceatolerablycopiousandconnectedanalysisof thewholeeighteenbeforeOrientalscholars,and in themeanwhileofferabriefnoticeoftheirseveralcontents.

In general the enumeration of the Puráńas is a simple nomenclature,with theadditioninsomecasesofthenumberofverses;buttothesetheMatsyaPuráńajoinsthementionofoneortwocircumstancespeculiartoeach,which,althoughscanty,areofvalue,asofferingmeansof identifyingthecopiesof thePuráńasnowfoundwiththosetowhichtheMatsyarefers,orofdiscoveringadifferencebetweenthepresentandthepast.IshallthereforeprefixthepassagedescriptiveofeachPuráńafromtheMatsya.Itisnecessarytoremark,however,thatinthecomparison instituted between that description and the Puráńa as it exists, Inecessarily refer to the copy or copies which I employed for the purpose of

examinationandanalysis,andwhichwereprocuredwithsometroubleandcostinBenaresandCalcutta. Insomeinstancesmymanuscriptshavebeencollatedwith others from different parts of India, and the result has shewn, that, withregard at least to theBrahmá,Vishńu,Váyu,Matsya, Padma, Bhágavata, andKúrmaPuráńas, thesameworks, inallessential respects,aregenerallycurrentunderthesameappellations.Whetherthisisinvariablythecasemaybedoubted,andfartherinquirymaypossiblyshewthatIhavebeenobligedtocontentmyselfwithmutilatedorunauthenticworks.Itiswiththisreservation,therefore,thatImustbeunderstoodtospeakoftheconcurrenceordisagreementofanyPuráńawiththenoticeofitwhichtheMatsyaP.haspreserved.

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Footnotes

22.As.Res.vol.XVI.

23.AsiaticJournal,March1837.

24.As.Res.vol.XVI.

25. The names are put attributively, the noun substantive, Puráńa, beingunderstood.ThusVaishńavamPuráńammeansthePuráńaofVishńu;ŚaivamPuráńam, theP.ofŚiva;BráhmamPuráńam, theP.ofBrahmá. It is equallycorrect,andmorecommon,tousethetwosubstantivesp.xvinapposition,asVishńu Puráńa, Śiva Puráńa, &c. In the original Sanscrit the nouns arecompounded, as Vishńu-puráńam, &c.; but it has not been customary tocombinethemintheirEuropeanshape.

26.Journ.RoyalAs.Soc.vol.V.

27. I allude to the valuable work of Col. Vans Kennedy, on the AffinitybetweenAncientandHinduMythology.HowevermuchImaydifferfromthatlearnedandindustriouswriter'sconclusions,Imustdohimthejusticetoadmitthatheistheonlyauthorwhohasdiscussedthesubjectofthemythologyofthe Hindus on right principles, by drawing his materials from authentic

sources.

28.Uponexamining the translationsofdifferentpassages from thePuráńas,given by Col. Vans Kennedy in the workmentioned in a former note, andcomparingthemwiththetextofthemanuscriptsIhaveconsulted,Ifindsuchan agreement as to warrant the belief that there is no essential differencebetweenthecopiesinhispossessionandinmine.ThevarietieswhichoccurintheMSS.oftheEastIndiaCompany'sLibrarywillbenoticedinthetext.

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01.TheBrahmaPurana

"That, the whole of which was formerly repeated by Brahmá to Maríchi, iscalledtheBráhmaPuráńa,andcontainstenthousandstanzas."Inallthelistsofthe Puráńas, the Bráhma is placed at the head of the series, and is thencesometimes also entitled the Ádi or 'first' Puráńa. It is also designated as theSaura,asitisingreatpartappropriatedtotheworshipofSúrya,'thesun.'Thereare, however, works bearing these names which belong to the class of Upa-puráńas,andwhicharenottobeconfoundedwiththeBráhma.Itisusuallysaid,as above, to contain ten thousand slokas; but thenumber actuallyoccurring isbetween seven and eight thousand. There is a supplementary or concludingsectioncalledtheBrahmottaraPuráńa,andwhichisdifferentfromaportionoftheSkándacalledtheBrahmottaraKhańd́a,whichcontainsaboutthreethousandstanzasmore; but there is every reason to conclude that this is a distinct andunconnectedwork.

The immediate narrator of the Brahmá Puráńa is Lomaharshańa, whocommunicates it to theRishis or sages assembled atNaimishárańya, as itwasoriginally revealed by Brahmá, not toMaríchi, as theMatsya affirms, but toDaksha,anotherofthepatriarchs:henceitsdenominationoftheBrahmáPuráńa.

Theearlychaptersofthisworkgiveadescriptionofthecreation,anaccountoftheManwantaras,andthehistoryofthesolarandlunardynastiestothetimeofKrishńa,inasummarymanner,andinwordswhicharecommontoitandseveralother Puráńas: a brief description of the universe succeeds; and then come anumberofchaptersrelatingtotheholinessofOrissa,withitstemplesandsacredgrovesdedicatedtothesun,toŚiva,andJagannáth,thelatterespecially.Thesechapters are characteristic of this Puráńa, and shew its main object to be thepromotionoftheworshipofKrishńaasJagannáth.TotheseparticularssucceedsalifeofKrishńa,whichiswordforwordthesameasthatoftheVishńuPuráńa;and the compilation terminates with a particular detail of the mode in whichYoga, or contemplative devotion, the object of which is still Vishńu, is to beperformed. There is little in this which corresponds with the definition of aPancha-lakshańaPuráńa;and thementionof the templesofOrissa, thedateoftheoriginalconstructionofwhichisrecorded,shewsthatitcouldnothavebeen

compiledearlierthanthethirteenthorfourteenthcentury.

TheUttaraKhańd́aoftheBráhmaP.bearsstillmoreentirelythecharacterofaMáhátmya,orlocallegend,beingintendedtocelebratethesanctityoftheBalajáriver,conjecturedtobethesameastheBanásinMarwar.Thereisnocluetoitsdate, but it is clearly modern, grafting personages and fictions of its owninventiononafewhintsfromolderauthorities.

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Footnotes

29.

30. Col. Vans Kennedy objects to this character of the Bráhma P., andobserves that it contains only two short descriptions of pagodas, the one ofKonáditya, the other of Jagannáth. In that case, his copy must differconsiderably from those I have met with; for in them the description ofPurushottamaKshetra,theholylandofOrissa,runsthroughfortychapters,orone-thirdofthework.Thedescription,it istrue,isinterspersed,intheusualramblingstrainofthePuráńas,withavarietyoflegends,someancient,somemodern;but theyare intended to illustrate some localcircumstance,andarethereforenotincompatiblewiththemaindesign,thecelebrationofthegloriesof Purushottama Kshetra. The specification of the temple of Jagannáth,however,isofitselfsufficient,inmyopinion,todeterminethecharacteranderaofthecompilation.

31. SeeAccount of Orissa proper, or Cuttack, byA. Stirling, Esq.: AsiaticRes.vol.XV.

32.SeeAnalysisoftheBráhmaPuráńa:Journ.RoyalAs.Soc,vol.V.

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02.ThePadmaPurana

"That which contains an account of the period when the world was a goldenlotus (padma), and of all the occurrences of that time, is therefore called thePádmabythewise:itcontainsfifty-fivethousandstanzas."ThesecondPuráńain the usual lists is always the Pádma, a very voluminous work, containing,according to its own statement, as well as that of other authorities, fifty-fivethousand slokas; an amountnot far from the truth.These aredivided amongstfive books, or Khańd́as; 1. the Srisht́i Khańd́a, or section on creation; 2. theBhúmi Khańd́a, description of the earth; 3. the Swarga Khańd́a, chapter onheaven; 4. Pátála Khańd́a, chapter on the regions below the earth; and 5. theUttara Khańd́a, last or supplementary chapter. There is also current a sixthdivision,theKriyáYogaSára,atreatiseonthepracticeofdevotion.

Thedenominationsof thesedivisionsof thePadmaP.conveybutan imperfectand partial notion of their contents. In the first, or section which treats ofcreation, thenarrator isUgraśravas theSúta, thesonofLomaharshańa,who issent by his father to theRishis atNaimisháráńya to communicate to them thePuráńa,which, from its containing an account of the lotus (padma), inwhichBrahmáappearedatcreation, is termed thePádmaorPadmaPuráńa.TheSútarepeatswhatwasoriginallycommunicatedbyBrahmátoPulastya,andbyhimtoBhíshma.The early chapters narrate the cosmogony, and the genealogyof thepatriarchalfamilies,muchinthesamestyle,andofteninthesamewords,astheVishńu;andshortaccountsof theManwantarasand regaldynasties:but these,whicharelegitimatePauráńikmatters,soonmakewayfornewandunauthenticinventions,illustrativeofthevirtuesofthelakeofPushkara,orPokherinAjmir,asaplaceofpilgrimage.

TheBhúmiKhańd́a,orsectionof theearth,defersanydescriptionof theearthuntil near its close, filling up one hundred and twenty-seven chapters withlegendsofaverymixeddescription,someancientandcommontootherPuráńas,butthegreaterpartpeculiartoitself,illustrativeofTírthaseitherfigurativelysotermed--asawife,aparent,oraGuru,consideredasasacredobject--orplacestowhichactualpilgrimageshouldbeperformed.

TheSwargaKhańd́adescribes in the firstchapters the relativepositionsof theLokas or spheres above the earth, placing above all Vaikuńtha, the sphere ofVishńu; an addition which is not warranted by what appears to be the oldestcosmology.Miscellaneousnoticesof someof themost celebratedprinces thensucceed,conformablytotheusualnarratives;andthesearefollowedbyrulesofconductfortheseveralcastes,andatdifferentstagesoflife.Therestofthebookis occupied by legends of a diversified description, introduced without muchmethodorcontrivance;afewofwhich,asDaksha'ssacrifice,areofancientdate,butofwhichthemostareoriginalandmodern.

ThePátálaKhańd́adevotesabriefintroductiontothedescriptionofPátála,theregionsofthesnake-gods;butthenameofRámahavingbeenmentioned,Śesha,who has succeeded Pulastya as spokesman, proceeds to narrate the history ofRáma,hisdescentandhisposterity;inwhichthecompilerseemstohavetakenthepoemofKálidaśa,theRaghuVanśa,forhischiefauthority.Anoriginalityofadditionmaybesuspected,however,intheadventuresofthehorsedestinedbyRáma for an Aśwamedha, which form the subject of a great many chapters.Whenabouttobesacrificed,thehorseturnsouttobeaBrahman,condemnedbyan imprecationofDurvásas, a sage, toassume theequinenature, andwho,byhaving been sanctified by connexion with Ráma, is released from hismetamorphosis, and dispatched as a spirit of light to heaven. This piece ofVaishńava fiction is followed by praises of the Śrí Bhágavata, an account ofKrishńa'sjuvenilities,andthemeritsofworshippingVishńu.TheseaccountsarecommunicatedthroughamachineryborrowedfromtheTantras:theyaretoldbySadáśivatoPárvati,theordinaryinterlocutorsofTántrikacompositions.

The Uttara Khańd́a is a most voluminous aggregation of very heterogeneousmatters, but it is consistent in adopting a decidedly Vaishńava tone, andadmitting no compromisewith any other formof faith.The chief subjects arefirstdiscussedinadialoguebetweenkingDilípaandtheMuniVaśisht́ha;suchasthemeritsofbathinginthemonthofMágha,andthepotencyoftheMantraorprayer addressed to Lakshmí Náráyańa. But the nature of Bhakti, faith inVishńu--the use of Vaishńava marks on the body--the legends of Vishńu'sAvatáras,andespeciallyofRáma--andtheconstructionofimagesofVishńu--aretoo important to be left to mortal discretion: they are explained by Śiva toPárvati, and wound up by the adoration of Vishńu by those divinities. Thedialoguethenrevertstothekingandthesage;andthelatterstateswhyVishńuis

the only one of the triad entitled to respect; Śiva being licentious, Brahmáarrogant, and Vishńu alone pure. Vaśisht́ha then repeats, after Śiva, theMáhátmyaoftheBhagavadGítá;themeritofeachbookofwhichisillustratedbylegendsofthegoodconsequencestoindividualsfromperusingorhearingit.Other Vaishńava Máhátmyas occupy considerable portions of this Khańd́a,especiallytheKártíkaMáhátmya,orholinessofthemonthKartika,illustratedasusual by stories, a few of which are of an early origin, but the greater partmodern,andpeculiartothisPuráńa.

The Kriyá Yoga Sára is repeated by Súta to the Rishis, after Vyása'scommunication of it to Jaimini, in answer to an inquiry how religious meritmightbesecured in theKálíage, inwhichmenhavebecome incapableof thepenancesandabstractionbywhichfinalliberationwasformerlytobeattained.Theansweris,ofcourse,thatwhichisintimatedinthelasthookoftheVishńuPuráńa--personal devotion to Vishńu: thinking of him, repeating his names,wearinghismarks,worshippinginhistemples,areafullsubstituteforallotheractsofmoralordevotionalorcontemplativemerit.

The different portions of the Padma Puráńa are in all probability as manydifferent works, neither of which approaches to the original definition of aPuráńa.Theremaybesomeconnexionbetweenthethreefirstportions,atleastas to time; but there is no reason to consider them as of high antiquity. Theyspecify the Jains both by name and practices.; they talk of Mlechchhas,'barbarians,'flourishinginIndia;theycommendtheuseofthefrontalandotherVaishńava marks; and they notice other subjects which, like these, are of noremoteorigin.ThePátálaKhańd́adwellscopiouslyupontheBhágavata,andisconsequentlyposteriortoit.TheUttaraKhańd́aisintolerantlyVaishńava,andisthereforeunquestionablymodern.ItenjoinsthevenerationoftheSálágramstoneandTulasí plant, the use of the Tapta-mudra, or stampingwith a hot iron thename of Vishńu on the skin, and a variety of practices and observancesundoubtedlynopartoftheoriginalsystem.ItspeaksoftheshrinesofŚrí-rangamand Venkatádri in the Dekhin, temples that have no pretension to remoteantiquity; and itnamesHaripuron theTungabhadra,which is inall likelihoodthe city of Vijayanagar, founded in themiddle of the fourteenth century. TheKriyáYogaSáraisequallyamodern,andapparentlyaBengalicomposition.NoportionofthePadmaPuráńaisprobablyolderthanthetwelfthcentury,andthelastpartsmaybeasrecentasthefifteenthorsixteenth.

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Footnotes

33.

34.See.

35.Oneofthem,thestoryofJalandharaistranslatedbyCol.VansKennedy:AffinitiesofAncientandHinduMythology,AppendixD.

36. The grounds of these conclusions are more particularly detailed in myAnalysisofthePadmaP.:J.R.As.Soc.vol.V.

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03.TheVishnuPurana

"That in which Paráśara, beginning with the events of the Varáha Kalpa,expoundsallduties, iscalledtheVaishńava;andthelearnedknowitsextenttobetwenty-threethousandstanzas."ThethirdPuráńaofthelistsisthatwhichhasbeenselectedfortranslation,theVishńu.Itisunnecessarythereforetoofferanygeneralsummaryofitscontents,anditwillbeconvenienttoreserveanyremarksuponitscharacterandprobableantiquityforasubsequentpage.Itmayherebeobserved,however,thattheactualnumberofversescontainedinitfallsfarshortoftheenumerationoftheMatsya,withwhichtheBhágavataconcurs.Itsactualcontentsarenotseventhousandstanzas.Allthecopies,andinthisinstancetheyarenotfewerthanseveninnumber,procuredbothintheeastandinthewestofIndia, agree; and there isnoappearanceof anypartbeingwanting.There is abeginning,amiddle,andanend, inbothtextandcomment;andtheworkasitstandsisincontestablyentire.Howisthediscrepancytobeexplained?

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Footnotes

37.

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04.TheVayaviyaPurana

"ThePuráńainwhichVáyuhasdeclaredthelawsofduty,inconnexionwiththeSweta Kalpa, and which comprises theMáhátmya of Rudra, is the VáyavíyaPuráńa:itcontainstwenty-fourthousandverses."TheŚivaorŚaivaPuráńais,asabove remarked, omitted in someof the lists; and ingeneral,when that is thecase, it isreplacedbytheVáyuorVáyavíya.WhentheŚivaisspecified,as intheBhágavata,thentheVáyuisomitted;intimatingthepossibleidentityofthesetwo works. This indeed is confirmed by the Matsya, which describes theVáyavíya Puráńa as characterised by its account of the greatness of Rudra orSiva and Balambhat́t́a mentions that the Váyavíya is also called the Śaiva,though,according to some, the latter is thenameofanUpa-puráńa.Col.VansKennedyobserves,thatinthewestofIndiatheŚaivaiscommonlyconsideredtobeanUpaor'minor'Puráńa.

Anotherproof that thesamework is intendedbytheauthoritiesherefollowed,theBhágavataandMatsya,underdifferentappellations, is theirconcurrence intheextentofthework,eachspecifyingitsversestobetwenty-fourthousand.Acopy of the Śiva Puráńa, ofwhich an index and analysis have been prepared,doesnotcontainmorethanaboutseventhousand:itcannotthereforebetheŚivaPuráńaoftheBhágavata;andwemaysafelyconsiderthattobethesameastheVáyavíyaoftheMatsya.

TheVáyuPuráńaisnarratedbySúta to theRishisatNaimishárańya,as itwasformerly told at the same place to similar persons by Váyu; a repetition ofcircumstances not uncharacteristic of the inartificial style of this Puráńa. It isdividedintofourPádas,termedseverallyPrakriyá,Upodgháta,Anushanga,andUpasanhára; a classification peculiar to this work. These are preceded by anindex,orheadsofchapters, in themannerof theMahábhárataandRámáyańa;anotherpeculiarity.

ThePrakriyáportioncontainsbutafewchapters,andtreatschieflyofelementalcreation, and the first evolutionsofbeings, to the samepurport as theVishńu,butinamoreobscureandunmethodicalstyle.TheUpodghátathencontinuesthesubjectofcreation,anddescribesthevariousKalpasorperiodsduringwhichthe

worldhasexisted;agreaternumberofwhichisspecifiedbytheŚaivathanbytheVaishńavaPuráńas.Thirty-threeareheredescribed, thelastofwhichis theSwetaor'white'Kalpa,fromŚiva'sbeingborninitofawhitecomplexion.Thegenealogiesofthepatriarchs,thedescriptionoftheuniverse,andtheincidentsofthefirstsixManwantaras,arealltreatedofinthispartofthework;buttheyareintermixed with legends and praises of Śiva, as the sacrifice of Daksha, theMaheśwara Máhátmya, the Nilakántha Stotra, and others. The genealogies,althoughinthemainthesameasthoseintheVaishńavaPuráńas,presentsomevariations. A long account of the Pitris or progenitors is also peculiar to thisPuráńa;asarestoriesofsomeofthemostcelebratedRishis,whowereengagedinthedistributionoftheVedas.

The third division commences with an account of the seven Rishis and theirdescendants, anddescribes theoriginof thedifferent classesofcreatures fromthedaughtersofDaksha,withaprofusecopiousnessofnomenclature,notfoundin any other Puráńa. With exception of the greater minuteness of detail, theparticulars agree with those of the Vishńu P. A chapter then occurs on theworshipofthePitris;anotheronTírthas,orplacessacredtothem;andseveralontheperformanceofSráddhas,constitutingtheSráddhaKalpa.Afterthis,comesafull account of the solar and lunar dynasties, forming a parallel to that in thefollowingpages,withthisdifference,thatitisthroughoutinverse,whilstthatofour text, as noticed in its place, is chiefly in prose. It is extended also by theinsertionofdetailedaccountsofvariousincidents,brieflynoticedintheVishńu,thoughderivedapparentlyfromacommonoriginal.Thesectionterminateswithsimilar accounts of future kings, and the same chronological calculations, thatarefoundintheVishńu.

Thelastportion,theUpasanhára,describesbrieflythefutureManwantaras, themeasuresofspaceandtime,theendoftheworld,theefficacyofYoga,andthegloriesofŚiva-pura,orthedwellingofŚiva,withwhomtheYogiistobeunited.ThemanuscriptconcludeswithadifferenthistoryofthesuccessiveteachersoftheVáyuPuráńa,tracingthemfromBrahmátoVáyu,fromVáyutoVrihaspati,andfromhim,throughvariousdeitiesandsages,toDwaipáyańaandŚúta.

TheaccountgivenofthisPuráńaintheJournaloftheAsiaticSocietyofBengalwaslimitedtosomethinglessthanhalfthework,asIhadnotthenbeenabletoprocurealargerportion.Ihavenowamorecompleteoneofmyown,andthere

are several copies in theEast IndiaCompany's libraryof the like extent.One,presentedbyHisHighnesstheGuicowar,isdatedSamvat1540,orA.D.1483,andisevidentlyasoldasitprofessestobe.TheexaminationIhavemadeoftheworkconfirmstheviewIformerlytookofit;andfromtheinternalevidenceitaffords, it may perhaps be regarded as one of the oldest and most authenticspecimensextantofaprimitivePuráńa.

Itappears,however,thatwehavenotyetacopyoftheentireVáyuPuráńa.Theextent of it, asmentioned above, should be twenty-four thousand verses. TheGuicowarMS.hasbuttwelvethousand,andisdenominatedthePúrvárddha,orfirst portion.My copy is of the like extent.The index also spews that severalsubjectsremainuntold;as,subsequentlytothedescriptionofthesphereofŚiva,and the periodical dissolution of the world, the work is said to contain anaccountofasucceedingcreation,andofvariouseventsthatoccurredinit,asthebirthofseveralcelebratedRishis, including thatofVyása,andadescriptionofhis distribution of theVedas; an account of the enmity betweenVaśisht́ha andViswámitra; and a Naimishárańya Máhátmya. These topics are, however, ofminorimportance,andcanscarcelycarrythePuráńatothewholeextentoftheverseswhichitissaidtocontain.Ifthenumberisaccurate,theindexmuststillomitaconsiderableportionofthesubsequentcontents.

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Footnotes

38.

39.CommentaryontheMitákshará,VyavaháraKáńd́a.

40.As.Journ.,March1837,note.

41.AnalysisoftheVáyuPuráńa:Journ.As.Soc.ofBengal,December1832.

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05.TheBhagavatPurana

"That inwhichampledetailsofduty aredescribed, andwhichopenswith (anextractfrom)theGáyatri;thatinwhichthedeathoftheAsuraVritraistold,andinwhichthemortalsandimmortalsoftheSáraswataKalpa,withtheeventsthatthen happened to them in the world, are related; that, is celebrated as theBhágavata,andconsistsofeighteenthousandverses."TheBhágavataisaworkofgreat celebrity in India, andexercises amoredirect andpowerful influenceupon the opinions and feelings of the people than perhaps any other of thePuráńas.Itisplacedthefifthinallthelists;butthePadmaPuráńaranksitastheeighteenth, as the extracted substance of all the rest. According to the usualspecification, itconsistsofeighteen thousandślokas,distributedamongst threehundred and thirty-two chapters, divided into twelve Skandhas or books. It isnamedBhágavata from its being dedicated to the glorification ofBhagavat orVishńu.

The Bhágavata is communicated to the Rishis at Naimishárańya by Súta, asusual; but he only repeats what was narrated by Śuka, the son of Vyása, toParíkshit,thekingofHastinápura,thegrandsonofArjuna.Havingincurredtheimprecation of a hermit, by which he was sentenced to die of the bite of avenomoussnake,at theexpirationof sevendays; theking, inpreparation for .thisevent, repairs to thebanksof theGanges;whitheralsocomethegodsandsages, to witness his death. Amongst the latter is Śuka; and it is in reply toParíkshit'squestion,whatamanshoulddowhoisabouttodie,thathenarratestheBhágavata,ashehadhearditfromVyása;fornothingsecuresfinalhappinesssocertainly,astodiewhilstthethoughtsarewhollyengrossedbyVishńu.

Thecourseof thenarrationopenswitha cosmogony,which, although inmostrespectssimilartothatofotherPuráńas,ismorelargelyintermixedwithallegoryandmysticism, and derives its tonemore from theVedanta than the Sánkhyaphilosophy. The doctrine of active creation by the Supreme, as one withVásudeva, ismore distinctly asserted,with amore decided enunciation of theeffects being resolvable into Máyá, or illusion. There are also doctrinalpeculiarities,highlycharacteristicofthisPuráńa;amongstwhichistheassertionthat it was originally communicated by Brahmá to Nárada, that all men

whatsoever, Hindus of every caste, and even Mlechchhas, outcastes orbarbarians,mightlearntohavefaithinVásudeva.

In the third book the interlocutors are changed to Maitreya and Vidura; theformer ofwhom is the disciple in theVishńu Puráńa, the latterwas the half-brotheroftheKuruprinces.Maitreya,again,givesanaccountoftheSrisht́i-lílá,or sport of creation, in a strainpartly common to thePuráńas, partlypeculiar;although he declares he learned it from his teacher Paráśara, at the desire ofPulastya referring thus to the fabulous origin of the Vishńu Puráńa, andfurnishingevidenceofitspriority.Again,however,theauthorityischanged,andthenarrativeissaidtohavebeenthatwhichwascommunicatedbyŚeshatotheNágas.ThecreationofBrahmáis thendescribed,andthedivisionsoftimeareexplained.AverylongandpeculiaraccountisgivenoftheVaráhaincarnationofVishńu,whichisfollowedbythecreationofthePrajápatisandSwáyambhuva,whosedaughterDevahutíismarriedtoKarddamaRishi;anincidentpeculiartothiswork,asisthatwhichfollowsoftheAvatáraofVishńuasKapilathesonofKarddama and Devahutí, the author of the Sánkhya philosophy, which heexpounds,afteraVaishńavafashion, tohismother, in the lastninechaptersofthissection.

The Manwantara of Swáyambhuva, and the multiplication of the patriarchalfamilies,arenextdescribedwithsomepeculiaritiesofnomenclature,whicharepointed out in the notes to the parallel passages of the Vishńu Puráńa. ThetraditionsofDhruva,Veńa,Prithu,andotherprincesofthisperiod,aretheothersubjects of the fourth Skandha, and are continued in the fifth to that of theBharatawhoobtainedemancipation.Thedetailsgenerallyconform to thoseoftheVishńuPuráńa,andthesamewordsareoftenemployed,sothatitwouldhedifficult to determine which work had the best right to them, had not theBhágavata itself indicated its obligations to theVishńu. The remainder of thefifth book is occupied with the description of the universe, and the sameconformitywiththeVishńucontinues.

This isonlypartially thecasewith thesixthbook,whichcontainsavarietyoflegends of a miscellaneous description, intended to illustrate the merit ofworshipping Vishńu: some of them belong to the earlystock, but some areapparently novel. The seventh book is mostly occupied with the legend ofPrahláda. In the eighthwehave an account of the remainingManwantaras; in

which, as happening in the course of them, a variety of ancient legends arerepeated, as the battle between the king of the elephants and an alligator, thechurningoftheocean,andthedwarfandfishAvatáras.TheninthbooknarratesthedynastiesoftheVaivaswataManwantara,ortheprincesofthesolarandlunarraces to the time of Krishńa. The particulars conform generally with thoserecordedintheVishńu.

The tenth book is the characteristic part of this Puráńa, and the portion uponwhich its popularity is founded. It is appropriated entirely to the history ofKrishńa,whichitnarratesmuchinthesamemannerastheVishńu,butinmoredetail;holdingamiddleplace,however,betweenitandtheextravagantprolixitywithwhichtheHariVanśarepeatsthestory.Itisnotnecessarytoparticularizeitfarther. It has been translated into perhaps all the languages of India, and is afavouriteworkwithalldescriptionsofpeople.

The eleventh book describes the destruction of the Yádavas, and death ofKrishńa. Previous to the latter event, Krishńa instructs Uddhava in theperformanceof theYoga;asubjectconsignedby theVishńu to theconcludingpassages. The narrative ismuch the same, but somethingmore summary thanthatoftheVishńu.ThetwelfthbookcontinuesthelinesofthekingsoftheKálíagepropheticallytoasimilarperiodastheVishńu,andgivesalikeaccountofthedeteriorationofall things,and their finaldissolution.Consistentlywith thesubjectofthePuráńa, theserpentTakshakabitesParíkshit,andheexpires,andthe work should terminate; or the close might be extended to the subsequentsacrificeofJanamejayaforthedestructionofthewholeserpentrace.Thereisarather awkwardly introduced description, however, of the arrangement of theVedasandPuráńasbyVyása,andthelegendofMárkańd́eya'sinterviewwiththeinfantKrishńa,duringaperiodofworldlydissolution.WethencometotheendoftheBhágavata,inaseriesofencomiasticcommendationsofitsownsanctity,andefficacytosalvation.

Mr.Colebrookeobservesof theBhágavataPuráńa, "I am inclined to adopt anopinion supported by many learned Hindus, who consider the celebrated ŚríBhágavataastheworkofagrammarian(Vopadeva),supposedtohavelivedsixhundredyearsago."Col.VansKennedyconsidersthisanincautiousadmission,because "it is unquestionable that the number of the Puráńas has been alwaysheld to be eighteen; but inmost of thePuráńas the names of the eighteen are

enumerated, amongst which the Bhágavata is invariably included; andconsequentlyifitwerecomposedonlysixhundredyearsago,theothersmustbeof an equallymodern date." Some of them are no doubtmore recent; but, asalreadyremarked,noweightcanbeattachedtothespecificationoftheeighteennames,fortheyarealwayscomplete;eachPuráńaenumeratesall.Whichisthelast? which had the opportunity of naming its seventeen predecessors, andaddingitself?Theargumentprovestoomuch.Therecanbelittledoubtthatthelisthasbeeninsertedupontheauthorityoftradition,eitherbysomeimprovingtranscriber,orbythecompilerofaworkmorerecentthantheeighteengenuinePuráńas.Theobjection isalsorebuttedby theassertion, that therewasanotherPuráńa towhich thenameapplies, andwhich is still tobemetwith, theDevíBhágavata.

For,theauthenticityoftheBhágavataisoneofthefewquestionsaffectingtheirsacredliteraturewhichHinduwritershaveventuredtodiscuss.Theoccasionisfurnishedbythetextitself.InthefourthchapterofthefirstbookitissaidthatVyásaarrangedtheVedas,anddividedthemintofour;andthathethencompiledtheItihásaandPuráńas,asafifthVeda.TheVedashegavetoPailaandtherest;theItihásaandPuráńastoLomaharshańa,thefatherofSúta.Thenreflectingthatthese works may not be accessible to women, Śúdras, and mixed castes, hecomposed the Bhárata, for the purpose of placing religious knowledgewithintheirreach.Stillhefeltdissatisfied,andwanderedinmuchperplexityalongthebanksoftheSaraswatí,wherehishermitagewassituated,whenNáradapaidhima visit. Having confided to him his secret and seemingly causelessdissatisfaction,Nárada suggested that it arose fromhis not having sufficientlydwelt, in theworkshehad finished,upon themeritofworshippingVásudeva.Vyásaatonceadmitted its truth, and founda remedy forhisuneasiness in thecompositionoftheBhágavata,whichhetaughttoŚukahisson.HerethereforeisthemostpositiveassertionthattheBhágavatawascomposedsubsequentlytothePuráńas,andgiventoadifferentpupil,andwasnotthereforeoneoftheeighteenofwhichRomaharshańa theSetawas, according to all concurrent testimonies,thedepositary.StilltheBhágavataisnamedamongsttheeighteenPuráńasbytheinspiredauthorities;andhowcantheseincongruitiesbereconciled?

The principal point in dispute seems to have been started by an expression ofŚrídharaSwámin,acommentatorontheBhágavata,whosomewhatincautiouslymadetheremarkthattherewasnoreasontosuspectthatbythetermBhágavata

anyotherworkthanthesubjectofhislabourswasintended.Thiswasthereforeanadmissionthatsomesuspicionshadbeenentertainedofthecorrectnessofthenomenclature, and that anopinionhadbeen expressed that the termbelonged,nottotheŚríBhágavata,buttotheDevíBhágavata;toaŚaiva,notaVaishńava,composition. With whom doubts prevailed prior to Śrídhara Swámin, or bywhomtheywereurged,doesnotappear;for,asfarasweareaware,noworks,anterior to his date, in which they are advanced have been met with.Subsequently,varioustractshavebeenwrittenonthesubject.TherearethreeinthelibraryoftheEastIndiaCompany;theDurjanaMukhaChapet́iká,'Aslapofthe face for the vile,' byRámáśrama; theDurjanaMukhaMaháChapet́iká, 'Agreat slap of the face for the wicked,' by Káśináth Bhat́t́a; and the DurjanaMukhaPadmaPad́uká, 'A slipper' for the samepartof the samepersons,byanameless disputant. The first maintains the authenticity of the Bhágavata; thesecond asserts that the Deví Bhágavata is the genuine Puráńa; and the thirdreplies to the arguments of the first. There is also a work by Purushottama,entitled 'Thirteen arguments for dispelling all doubts of the character of theBhágavata' (Bhágavata swarúpa vihsaya śanká nirása trayodasa); whilstBálambhat́t́a, a commentator on theMitákshara, indulging in a dissertation onthemeaning of thewordPuráńa, adduces reasons for questioning the inspiredoriginofthisPuráńa.

ThechiefargumentsinfavouroftheauthenticityofthisPuráńaaretheabsenceofanyreasonwhyVopadeva, towhomit isattributed,shouldnothaveputhisown name to it; its being included in all lists of the Puráńas, sometimeswithcircumstances that belong to no other Puráńa; and its being admitted to be aPuráńa, and cited as authority, ormade the subject of comment, bywriters ofestablished reputation, of whom Śankara Áchárya is one, and he lived longbefore Vopadeva. The reply to the first argument is rather feeble, thecontroversialistsbeingunwillingperhapstoadmittherealobject,thepromotionofnewdoctrines.ItisthereforesaidthatVyásawasanincarnationofNáráyańa,and the purpose was to propitiate his favour. The insertion of a Bhágavataamongst the eighteenPuráńas is acknowledged; but this, it is said, can be theDevíBhágavataalone, for thecircumstancesapplymorecorrectly to it than totheVaishńavaBhágavata.ThusatextisquotedbyKáśináthfromaPuráńa--hedoes not state which--that says of the Bhágavata that it contains eighteenthousand verses, twelve books, and three hundred and thirty-two chapters.Káśináth asserts that the chapters of the Śrí Bhágavata are three hundred and

thirty-five,andthatthenumbersapplythroughoutonlytotheDevíBhágavata.Itisalsosaid that theBhágavatacontainsanaccountof theacquirementofholyknowledge by Hayagríva; the particulars of the Sáraswata Kalpa; a dialoguebetween Ambarísha and Śuka; and that it commences with the Gayatrí, or atleastacitationofit.TheseallapplytotheDevíBhágavataalone,exceptthelast;butitalsoismoretrueoftheŚaivathanoftheVaishńavawork,forthelatterhasonly one word of the Gayatrí, dhímahi, 'we meditate;' whilst the former todhímahi adds, Yá nah prachodayát, 'who may enlighten us.' To the thirdargument it is in the first placeobjected, that the citationof theBhágavatabymodernwritersisnotestofitsauthenticity;andwithregardtothemoreancientcommentaryofŚankaraÁchárya,itisasked,"Whereisit?"Thosewhoadvocatethe sanctity of the Bhágavata reply, "It was written in a difficult style, andbecame obsolete, and is lost." "A very unsatisfactory plea," retort theiropponents,"forwestillhavetheworksofŚankara,severalofwhicharequiteasdifficult as any in theSanscrit language."The existenceof this comment, too,restsupon theauthorityofMádhwaorMádhava,who ina commentaryofhisownassertsthathehasconsultedeightothers.NowamongsttheseisonebythemonkeyHanumán;andalthoughaHindudisputantmaybelieveintherealityofsuchacomposition,yetwemayreceiveitscitationasaproofthatMádhwawasnotveryscrupulousintheverificationofhisauthorities.

Thereareothertopicsurgedinthiscontroversyonbothsides,someofwhicharesimple enough, some are ingenious: but the statement of the text is of itselfsufficienttoshewthataccordingtothereceivedopinionofalltheauthoritiesofthepriorityof theeighteenPuráńas to theBhárata, it is impossible that theŚríBhágavata,whichissubsequenttotheBhárata,shouldbeofthenumber;andtheevidenceof style, the superiority ofwhich to that of thePuráńas in general isadmittedbythedisputants, isalsoproofthat it is theworkofadifferenthand.Whether theDevíBhágavatahaveabetter title tobeconsideredasanoriginalcompositionofVyása,isequallyquestionable;butitcannotbedoubtedthattheŚríBhágavataistheproductofuninspirederudition.TheredoesnotseemtobeanyothergroundthantraditionforascribingittoVopadevathegrammarian;butthere is no reason to call the tradition in question.Vopadeva flourished at thecourt of Hemádri, Rájá of Devagiri, Deogur or Dowlutabad, and mustconsequently have lived prior to the conquest of that principality by theMohammedans in the fourteenth century. The date of the twelfth century,commonly assigned to him, is probably correct, and is that of the Bhágavata

Puráńa.

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Footnotes

42.

43.See.

44. A translation of the ninth, by Capt. Fell, was published in Calcutta indifferentnumbersoftheMonthlyandQuarterlyMagazine,in1823and1824.The second volume of Maurice's Ancient History of Hindustan contains atranslation,byMr.Halhed,ofthetenthbook,madethroughthemediumofaPersianversion.

45.As.Res.vol.VII.

46.AncientandHinduMythology,note.

47.BookI.chap.iv.20-22.

48.BookI.7,8.

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06.TheNaradiyaPurana

"Where Nárada has described the duties which were observed in the VrihatKalpa,that,iscalledtheNáradíya,havingtwenty-fivethousandstanzas."Ifthenumber of verses be here correctly stated, the Puráńa has not fallen into myhands.The copy I have analysed containsnotmanymore than three thousandślokas.Thereisanotherwork,whichmightbeexpectedtobeofgreaterextent,the Vrihat Náradíya, or great Nárada Puráńa; but this, according to theconcurrence of three copies in my possession, and of five others in theCompany'slibrary,containsbutaboutthreethousandfivehundredverses.Itmaybedoubted,therefore,iftheNáradaPuráńaoftheMatsyaexists.

AccordingtotheMatsya,theNáradaPuráńaisrelatedbyNárada,andgivesanaccountoftheVrihatKalpa.TheNáradíyaPuráńaiscommunicatedbyNáradatotheRishisatNaimishárańya,ontheGomatiriver.TheVrihannáradíyaisrelatedto the same persons, at the same place, by Súta, as it was told by Nárada toSanatkumára. Possibly the term Vrihat may have been suggested by thespecificationwhichisgivenintheMatsya;butthereisnodescriptioninitofanyparticularKalpa,ordayofBrahmá.

FromacursoryexaminationofthesePuráńas,itisveryevidentthattheyhavenoconformitytothedefinitionofaPuráńa,andthatbotharesectarialandmoderncompilations,intendedtosupportthedoctrineofBhakti,orfaithinVishńu.Withthisviewtheyhavecollectedavarietyofprayersaddressedtooneorotherformof that divinity; a number of observances and holidays connected with hisadoration; and different legends, some perhaps of an early, others of a morerecentdate, illustrativeof theefficacyofdevotion toHari.Thus in theNáradawehave thestoriesofDhruvaandPrahláda; the latter told in thewordsof theVishńu:whilstthesecondportionofitisoccupiedwithalegendofMohiní,thewill-borndaughter of a king calledRukmángada: beguiledbywhom, thekingofferstoperformforherwhatevershemaydesire.Shecallsuponhimeithertoviolate the ruleof fastingon theeleventhdayof the fortnight,adaysacred toVishńu,or toputhisson todeath;andhekillshisson,as the lessersinof thetwo. This shews the spirit of thework. Its datemay also be inferred from itstenor, as such monstrous extravagancies in praise of Bhakti are certainly of

modernorigin.Onelimititfurnishesitself,foritreferstoŚukaandParíkshit,theinterlocutorsoftheBhágavata,andit isconsequentlysubsequenttothedateofthatPuráńa:it isprobablyconsiderablylater,foritaffordsevidencethatitwaswritten after India was in the hands of theMohammedans. In the concludingpassageitissaid,"LetnotthisPuráńaberepeatedinthepresenceofthe'killersof cows' and contemners of the gods." It is possibly a compilation of thesixteenthorseventeenthcentury.

TheVrihannáradíyaisaworkofthesametenorandtime.ItcontainslittleelsethanpanegyricalprayersaddressedtoVishńu,andinjunctionstoobservevariousrites, and keep holy certain seasons, in honour of him. The earlier legendsintroducedarethebirthofMárkańd́eya,thedestructionofSagara'ssons,andthedwarf Avatára; but they are subservient to the design of the whole, and arerendered occasions for praising Náráyańa: others, illustrating the efficacy ofcertain Vaishńava observances, are puerile inventions, wholly foreign to themoreancientsystemofPauráńikfiction.There isnoattemptatcosmogony,orpatriarchalorregalgenealogy.Itispossiblethatthesetopicsmaybetreatedofinthemissingstanzas;butitseemsmorelikelythattheNáradaPuráńaofthelistshaslittleincommonwiththeworkstowhichitsnameisappliedinBengalandHindustan.

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Footnotes

49.

50.ThedescriptionofVishńu, translatedbyCol.VansKennedy(AffinityofAncientandHinduMythology)fromtheNáradíyaPuráńa,occursinmycopyof the Vrihat Náradíya. There is no Nárada Puráńa in the East IndiaCompany's library, though, as noticed in the text, several of the VrihatNáradíya.ThereisacopyoftheRukmángadaCharitra,saidtobeapartoftheŚriNáradaPuráńa.

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07.TheMarkandeyaPurana

"That Puráńa in which, commencing with the story of the birds that wereacquaintedwithrightandwrong,everythingisnarratedfullybyMárkańd́eya,asitwasexplainedbyholysagesinreplytothequestionoftheMuni,iscalledtheMárkańd́eya,containingninethousandverses."Thisissocalledfromitsbeingin the first instancenarratedbyMárkańd́eyaMuni,and in thesecondplacebycertain fabulous birds; thus far agreeing with the account given of it in theMatsya.That,aswellasotherauthorities, specify itscontainingnine thousandstanzas; butmy copy closeswith a verse affirming that the number of versesrecitedbytheMuniwassixthousandninehundred;andacopyintheEastIndiaCompany's library has a similar specification. The termination is, however,somewhat abrupt, and there is no reason why the subject with which it endsshould not have been carried on farther. One copy in the Company's library,indeed,belonging to theGuicowar'scollection, statesat theclose that it is theend of the first Khańd́a, or section. If the Puráńa was ever completed, theremainingportionofitappearstobelost.

Jaimini,thepupilofVyása,appliestoMárkańd́eyatobemadeacquaintedwiththe nature of Vásudeva, and for an explanation of some of the incidentsdescribed in theMahábhárata;with theambrosiaofwhichdivinepoem,Vyásahe declares has watered the whole world: a reference which establishes thepriority of the Bhárata to theMárkańd́eya Puráńa, however incompatible thismay be with the tradition, that having finished the Puráńas, Vyása wrote thepoem.

Márkańd́eyaexcuseshimself, sayinghehasa religious rite toperform;andherefersJaiminitosomeverysapientbirds,whoresideintheVindhyamountains;birdsof a celestialorigin, found,when justborn,by theMuniŚamíka,on thefield of Kurukshetra, and brought up by him along with his scholars: inconsequence of which, and by virtue of their heavenly descent, they becameprofoundly versed in the Vedas, and a knowledge of spiritual truth. Thismachinery is borrowed from the Mahábhárata, with some embellishment.Jaimini accordinglyhas recourse to thebirds,Pingáksha andhis brethren, andputstothemthequestionshehadaskedoftheMuni."WhywasVásudevaborn

asamortal?HowwasitthatDraupadíwasthewifeofthefivePáńd́us?WhydidBaladevadopenanceforBrahmanicide?andwhywerethechildrenofDraupadídestroyed,whentheyhadKrishńaandArjunatodefendthem?"Theanswerstothese inquiriesoccupyanumberofchapters,and formasortofsupplement tothe Mahábhárata; supplying, partly by invention, perhaps, and partly byreferencetoequallyancientauthorities,theblanksleftinsomeofitsnarrations.

Legends ofVritrásura's death,Baladeva's penance,Hariśchandra's elevation toheaven, and the quarrel betweenVaśisht́ha andViswámitra, are followed by adiscussion respecting birth, death, and sin; which leads to a more extendeddescriptionofthedifferenthellsthanisfoundinotherPuráńas.Theaccountofcreation which is contained in this work is repeated by the birds afterMárkańd́eya's account of it to Krosht́uki, and is confined to the origin of theVedasandpatriarchal families,amongstwhomarenewcharacters,asDuhsahaandhiswifeMársht́i,andtheirdescendants;allegoricalpersonages,representingintolerable iniquity and its consequences. There is then a description of theworld, with, as usual to this Puráńa, several singularities, some of which arenoticed in the following pages. This being the state of the world in theSwáyambhuvaManwantara,anaccountof theotherManwantarassucceeds, inwhichthebirthsoftheManus,andanumberofotherparticulars,arepeculiartothiswork.Thepresent orVaivaswataManwantara is verybrieflypassedover;but the next, the first of the futureManwantaras, contains the long episodicalnarrativeoftheactionsofthegoddessDurgá,whichistheespecialboastofthisPuráńa, and is the text-book of theworshippers ofKáli,Chańd́í, orDurgá, inBengal.ItistheChańd́íPátha,orDurgáMáhátmya,inwhichthevictoriesofthegoddess over different evil beings, or Asuras, are detailed with considerablepowerandspirit.ItisreaddailyinthetemplesofDurgá,andfurnishesthepompand circumstance of the great festival of Bengal, the Durgá pujá, or publicworshipofthatgoddess.

After the account of theManwantaras is completed, there follows a series oflegends,somenew,someold,relatingtothesunandhisposterity;continuedtoVaivaswataManu and his sons, and their immediate descendants; terminatingwithDama, the son ofNarishyanta.Ofmost of the persons noticed, theworknarratesparticularsnotfoundelsewhere.

ThisPuráńahasacharacterdifferentfromthatofalltheothers.Ithasnothingof

asectarialspirit,littleofareligioustone,rarelyinsertingprayersandinvocationsto any deity, and such as are inserted are brief andmoderate. It deals little inprecepts,ceremonialormoral.Itsleadingfeatureisnarrative,anditpresentsanuninterrupted succession of legends, most of which, when ancient, areembellishedwithnewcircumstances;andwhennew,partakesofarofthespiritof the old, that they are disinterested creations of the imagination, having noparticular motive; being designed to recommend no special doctrine orobservance.Whethertheyarederivedfromanyothersource,orwhethertheyareoriginalinventions,itisnotpossibletoascertain.Theyaremostprobably,forthegreaterpartatleast,original;andthewholehasbeennarratedinthecompiler'sownmanner,amannersuperiortothatofthePuráńasingeneral,withexceptionoftheBhágavata.

It is not easy to conjecture a date for this Puráńa: it is subsequent to theMahábhárata, but how long subsequent is doubtful. It is unquestionablymoreancient thansuchworksas theBrahmá,Padma,andNáradíyaPuráńas;and itsfreedom from sectarial bias is a reason for supposing it anterior to theBhágavata.Atthesametime,itspartialconformitytothedefinitionofaPuráńa,and the tenor of the additions which it has made to received legends andtraditions,indicateanotveryremoteage;and,intheabsenceofanyguidetoamore positive conclusion, itmay conjecturally be placed in the ninth or tenthcentury.

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Footnotes

51.

52.AtranslationintoEnglishbyaMadrasPandit,KávaliVenkataRámaswámi,waspublishedatCalcuttain1823.

53.SeeVishńuP.,n.22.

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08.TheAgniPurana

"That Puráńa which describes the occurrences of the Íśána Kalpa, and wasrelatedbyAgnitoVaśisht́ha,iscalledtheÁgneya:itconsistsofsixteenthousandstanzas." TheAgni orAgneya Puráńa derives its name from its having beingcommunicatedoriginallybyAgni, thedeityof fire, to theMuniVaśisht́ha, forthepurposeofinstructinghiminthetwofoldknowledgeofBrahma.Byhimitwas taught toVyása,who imparted it to Súta; and the latter is represented asrepeatingit totheRisingatNaimishárańya.Itscontentsarevariouslyspecifiedas sixteen thousand, fifteen thousand, or fourteen thousand stanzas. The twocopieswhichwereemployedbymecontainaboutfifteenthousandślokas.TherearetwointheCompany'slibrary,whichdonotextendbeyondtwelvethousandverses;buttheyareinmanyotherrespectsdifferentfrommine:oneofthemwaswrittenatAgra,inthereignofAkbar,inA.D.1589.

TheAgni Puráńa, in the form inwhich it has been obtained inBengal and atBenares,presentsastrikingcontrasttotheMárkańd́eya.Itmaybedoubtedifasinglelineofitisoriginal.Averygreatproportionofitmaybetracedtoothersources;andamorecarefulcollation --if the taskwasworth the time itwouldrequire--wouldprobablydiscovertheremainder.

Theearlychaptersof thisPuráńadescribe theAvatáras; and in thoseofRámaandKrishńaavowedly follow theRámáyańaandMahábhárata.Aconsiderableportion is then appropriated to instructions for the performance of religiousceremonies; many of winch belong to the Tántrika ritual, and are apparentlytranscribed from the principal authorities of that system. Some belong tomysticalformsofŚaivaworship,littleknowninHindustan,thoughperhapsstillpractised in thesouth.Oneof these is theDíkshá,or initiationofanovice;bywhich, with numerous ceremonies and invocations, in which the mysteriousmonosyllablesoftheTantrasareconstantlyrepeated,thediscipleistransformedintoalivingpersonationofŚiva,andreceivesinthatcapacitythehomageofhisGuru. Interspersedwith these, are chapters descriptive of the earth and of theuniverse,whicharethesameasthoseoftheVishńuPuráńa;andMáhátmyasorlegendsofholyplaces,particularlyofGaya.Chaptersonthedutiesofkings,andontheartofwar,thenoccur,whichhavetheappearanceofbeingextractedfrom

some older work, as is undoubtedly the chapter on judicature, which followsthem,andwhichisthesameasthetextoftheMitákshara.Subsequenttothese,we have an account of the distribution and arrangement of the Vedas andPuráńas,whichislittleelsethananabridgmentoftheVishńu:andinachapterongiftswehaveadescriptionofthePuráńas,whichispreciselythesame,andinthesamesituation,asthesimilarsubjectintheMatsyaPuráńa.Thegenealogicalchapters are meagre lists, differing in a few respects from those commonlyreceived, as hereafter noticed, but unaccompanied by any particulars, such asthose recorded or invented in theMárkańd́eya. The next subject is medicine,compiledavowedly,butinjudiciously,fromtheSauśruta.Aseriesofchaptersonthe mystic worship of Śiva and Deví follows; and the work winds up withtreatiseson rhetoric,prosody,andgrammar,according to theSutrasofPingalaandPánini.

ThecyclopædicalcharacteroftheAgniPuráńa,asitisnowdescribed,excludesit from any legitimate claims to be regarded as a Puráńa, and proves that itsorigincannotbeveryremote.ItissubsequenttotheItihásas;tothechiefworkson grammar, rhetoric, and medicine; and to the introduction of the TántrikaworshipofDeví.Whenthislattertookplaceisyetfarfromdetermined,butthereis every probability that it dates long after the beginning of our era. Thematerials of the Agni, Puráńa are, however, no doubt of some antiquity. Themedicine of Suśruta is considerably older than the ninth century; and thegrammarofPániniprobablyprecedesChristianity.Thechaptersonarcheryandarms, andon regal administration, are also distinguishedby an entirelyHinducharacter, and must have been written long anterior to the Mohammedaninvasion.SofartheAgniPuráńaisvaluable,asembodyingandpreservingrelicsofantiquity,althoughcompiledatamore'recentdate.

Col.Wilfordhasmadegreatuseofalistofkingsderivedfromanappendixtothe Agni Puráńa, which professes to be the sixty-third or last section. As heobserves,itisseldomfoundannexedtothePuráńa.Ihavenevermetwithit,anddoubt its ever having formed any part of the original compilation. It wouldappear from Col. Wilford's remarks, that this list notices Mohammed as theinstitutor of an era; but his account of this is not very distinct. He mentionsexplicitly,however,thatthelistspeaksofSáliváhanaandVikramáditya;andthisisquite sufficient toestablish itscharacter.Thecompilersof thePuráńaswerenotsuchbunglersastobringwithintheirchronologysowellknownapersonage

asVikramáditya.ThereareinallpartsofIndiavariouscompilationsascribedtothe Puráńas, which never formed any portion of their contents, and which,althoughofferingsometimesusefullocalinformation,andvaluableaspreservingpopulartraditions,arenotinjusticetobeconfoundedwiththePuráńas,soastocausethemtobechargedwithevenmoreseriouserrorsandanachronismsthanthoseofwhichtheyareguilty.

ThetwocopiesofthisworkinthelibraryoftheEastIndiaCompanyappropriatethefirsthalf toadescriptionoftheordinaryandoccasionalobservancesoftheHindus,interspersedwithafewlegends:thelatterhalftreatsexclusivelyofthehistoryofMina.

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Footnotes

54.

55.See.

56. Analysis of theAgni Puráńa: Journal of theAsiatic Society of Bengal,March 1832. I have there stated incorrectly that the Agni is a VaishńavaPuráńa:itisoneoftheTámasaorŚaivaclass,asmentionedabove.

57.EssayonVikramádityaandSáliváhana:As.Res.vol.IX.

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09.TheBhavishyaPurana

"The Puráńa in which Brahmá, having described the greatness of the sun,explainedtoManutheexistenceof theworld,andthecharactersofallcreatedthings, in the course of the Aghora Kalpa; that, is called the Bhavishya, thestoriesbeingforthemostparttheeventsofafutureperiod.Itcontainsfourteenthousandfivehundredstanzas."ThisPuráńa,as thename implies,shouldbeabookofprophecies,foretellingwhatwillbe(bhavishyati),astheMatsyaPuráńaintimates.Whethersuchaworkexistsisdoubtful.Thecopies,whichappeartobeentire,andofwhichtherearethreeinthelibraryoftheEastIndiaCompany,agreeing in their contents with two in my possession, contain about seventhousandstanzas.Thereisanotherwork,entitledtheBhavishyottara,asifitwasa continuation or supplement of the former, containing also about seventhousandverses;butthesubjectsof.boththeseworksarebuttoaveryimperfectdegreeanalogoustothosetowhichtheMatsyaalludes.

TheBhavishyaPuráńa,asIhaveit,isaworkinahundredandtwenty-sixshortchapters, repeated by Sumantu to Śatáníka, a king of the Pańd́u family. Henotices, however, its having originated with Swayambhu or Brahmá; anddescribesitasconsistingoffiveparts;fourdedicated,itshouldseem,toasmanydeities,astheyaretermed,Brahmá,Vaishńava,Śaiva,andTwásht́ra;whilstthefifthisthePratisarga,orrepeatedcreation.Possiblythefirstpartonlymayhavecomeintomyhands,althoughitdoesnotsoappearbythemanuscript.

Whatever it may be, the work in question is not a Puráńa. The first portion,indeed,treatsofcreation;butitislittleelsethanatranscriptofthewordsofthefirst chapter of Manu. The rest is entirely a manual of religious rites andceremonies.ItexplainsthetenSanskáras,orinitiatoryrites;theperformanceofthe Sandhya; the reverence to be shewn to aGuru; the duties of the differentÁsramasandcastes;andenjoinsanumberofVratas,orobservancesoffastingandthelike,appropriatetodifferentlunardays.Afewlegendsenliventheseriesof precepts. That of the sage Chyavana is told at considerable length, takenchieflyfromtheMahábhárata.TheNágaPanchami,orfifth lunation,sacred tothe serpent-gods, gives rise to a description of different sorts of snakes.Afterthese, which occupy about one-third of the chapters, the remainder of them

conforminsubjecttooneofthetopicsreferredtobytheMatsya.Theychieflyrepresent conversations between Krishńa, his son Śámba, who had become aleperby thecurseofDurvásas,Vaśisht́ha,Nárada, andVyása,upon thepowerandgloryofthesun,andthemannerinwhichheistobeworshipped.Thereissome curious matter in the last chapters, relating to the Magas, silentworshippers of the sun, from Sákadwípa, as if the compiler had adopted thePersian termMagh, and connected the fire-worshippers of Iran with those ofIndia.Thisisasubject,however,thatrequiresfartherinvestigation.

TheBhavishyottarais,equallywiththepreceding,asortofmanualofreligiousoffices,thegreaterportionbeingappropriatedtoVratas,andtheremaindertotheforms and circumstances with which gifts are to be presented. Many of theceremoniesareobsolete,orareobservedinadifferentmanner,astheRath-yátrá,or car festival; and theMadanotsava,or festivalof spring.Thedescriptionsofthese throw some light upon the public condition of the Hindu religion at aperiodprobablyprior to theMohammedanconquest.Thedifferent ceremoniesare illustrated by legends, which are sometimes ancient, as, for instance, thedestruction of the god of love by Śiva, and his thence becomingAnanga, thedisembodied lord of hearts. The work is supposed to be communicated byKrishńatoYudhisht́hira,atagreatassemblageofholypersonsatthecoronationofthelatter,aftertheconclusionofthegreatwar.

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Footnotes

58.

59. Col. Vans Kennedy states that he had not been able to procure theBhavishyaP., nor evenever toobtain anyaccountof its contents:Anc. andHinduMythology,note.

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10.TheBrahma-VaivarttaPurana

"ThatPuráńawhichisrelatedbySávarńitoNárada,andcontainstheaccountofthegreatnessofKrishńa,with theoccurrencesof theRathantaraKalpa,wherealso the story of Brahma-varáha is repeatedly told, is called the Brahma-vaivartta,andcontainseighteenthousandstanzas."TheaccountheregivenoftheBrahma-vaivarttaPuráńaagreeswithitspresentstateastoitsextent.Thecopiesrather exceed than fall short of eighteen thousand stanzas. It also correctlyrepresents its comprising a Máhátmya or legend of Krishńa; but it is verydoubtful,nevertheless,ifthesameworkisintended.

TheBrahma-vaivartta,asitnowexists,isnarrated,notbySávarńi,buttheRishiNáráyańa to Nárada, by whom it is communicated to Vyása: he teaches it toSúta,and the latter repeats it to theRishisatNaimishárańya. It isdivided intofour Khańd́as, or books; the Bráhma, Prakriti, Ganeśa, and Krishńa JanmaKhańd́as;dedicatedseverallytodescribetheactsofBrahmá,Deví,Ganeśa,andKrishńa;thelatter,however,throughoutabsorbingtheinterestandimportanceofthework.InnoneoftheseisthereanyaccountoftheVaráhaAvatáraofVishńu,which seems to be intended by theMatsya; nor any reference to aRathantaraKalpa.Itmayalsobeobserved,that,indescribingthemeritofpresentingacopyofthisPuráńa, theMatsyaadds,"Whoevermakessuchgift, ishonouredintheBrahma-loka;" a sphere which is of very inferior dignity to that to which aworshipper ofKrishńa is taught to aspire by thisPuráńa.The character of thework is in truth so decidedly sectarial, and the sect to which it belongs sodistinctlymarked,thatoftheworshippersofthejuvenileKrishńaandRádhá,aformofbeliefofknownmodernorigin,thatitcanscarcelyhavefoundanoticeinaworktowhich,liketheMatsya,amuchmoreremotedateseemstobelong.AlthoughthereforetheMatsyamaybereceivedinproofoftherehavingbeenaBrahma-vaivarttaPuráńa at thedateof its compilation,dedicated especially tothehonourofKrishńa,yetwecannotcreditthepossibilityofitsbeingthesamewenowpossess.

Although someof the legendsbelieved tobeancient are scattered through thedifferent portions of this Puráńa, yet the great mass of it is taken up withtiresome descriptions of Vrindavan and Goloka, the dwellings of Krishńa on

earth and in heaven; with endles