| Vishnu Purana | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Author | Vyasa |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Chapters | 126 |
| Verses | 23,000 |
| Part ofa series on |
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TheVishnu Purana (Sanskrit:विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteenMahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts ofHinduism.[1] It is an importantPancharatra text in theVaishnavism literature corpus.[1][2]
The manuscripts ofVishnu Purana have survived into the modern era in many versions.[3][4][5] More than any other majorPurana, theVishnu Purana presents its contents inPancalaksana format –Sarga (cosmogony),Pratisarga (cosmology),Vamsa (genealogy of the gods and goddesses, sages, and kings and queens),Manvantara (cosmic cycles), andVamsanucarita[6] (legends during the times of various kings and queens).[7][8][9] Some manuscripts of the text are notable for not including sections found in other major Puranas, such as those onMahatmyas and tour guides on pilgrimage,[10] but some versions include chapters on temples and travel guides to sacred pilgrimage sites.[1][11] 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.[12][13]
TheVishnu Purana is among the shorterPurana texts, with about 7,000 verses in extant versions.[14][15] It primarily centers around the Hindu godVishnu and hisavataras such asRama andKrishna, but it praisesBrahma andShiva and says that they are dependent on Vishnu.[15] The Purana, states Wilson, ispantheistic and the ideas in it, like other Puranas, are premised on theVedic beliefs and ideas.[16]
Vishnu Purana, like all major Puranas, attributes its author to be sageVyasa.[17] The actual author(s) and date of its composition are unknown and contested. Estimates of its composition range from 400 BCE to 900 CE.[10] 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.[18] ThePadma Purana categorizesVishnu Purana as aSattva Purana (Purana that represents goodness and purity).[19]
The composition date ofVishnu Purana is unknown and contested, with estimates widely disagreeing.[10] Some proposed dates for the earliest version[note 1] ofVishnu Purana by various scholars include:
Rocher states that the "date of theVishnu Purana is as contested as that of any other Purana".[10] References toVishnuPurana in texts such asBrihadvishnu whose dates are better established, states Rocher, suggest that a version ofVishnuPurana existed by about 1000 CE, but it is unclear to what extent the extant manuscripts reflect the revisions during the 2nd millennium.[10][5]VishnuPurana like all Puranas has a complicated chronology. Dimmitt and van Buitenen state that each of the Puranas including theVishnuPurana is encyclopedic in style, and it is difficult to ascertain when, where, why and by whom these were written:[25]
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[25], Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas
Many of the extant manuscripts were written onpalm leaf or copied during the British India colonial era, some in the 19th century.[26][27] 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.[26][27]
The extant text comprises sixamsas (parts) and 126adhyayas (chapters).[28] 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.[29][30]
The textual tradition claims that the originalVishnuPurana had 23,000 verses,[31] but the surviving manuscripts have just a third of these, about 7,000 verses.[14] 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.[32]
TheVishnu Purana is an exception in that it presents its contents in Vishnu worship-relatedPancalaksana format –Sarga (Cosmogony),Pratisarga (Cosmology),Vamsa (Mythicalgenealogy of the gods, sages, and kings),Manvantara (Cosmic Cycles), andVamsanucaritam (Legends During The Times Of Various Kings and Queens).[7][8][9] This is rare, state Dimmitt and van Buitenen, because just 2% of the known Puranic literature corpus is about these fivePancalaksana items, and about 98% is about diverse range of encyclopedic topics.[33]
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 opens as a conversation between sageMaitreya and hisGuru,Parashara, with the sage asking, "What Is The Nature Of This Universe And Everything That Is In It?"[28][36]
The firstAmsha (part) ofVishnu Purana presents cosmology, dealing with the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe.[37] The mythology, states Rocher, is woven with the evolutionary theories ofSamkhya school ofHindu philosophy.[37]
The Hindu god Vishnu is presented as the central element of this text's cosmology, unlike some other Puranas where Shiva or Brahma or theTridevi are 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,Hrishikesha and others.[37][38] The chapters 1.16 through 1.20 of theVishnu Purana presents the legend of compassionate and Vishnu devoteePrahlada and his persecution by his demon king fatherHiranyakashipu, wherein Prahlada is ultimately saved by Vishnu when Vishnu asNarasimha disimbowels and kills Hiranyakashipu.[39][40] This story is also found in other Puranas.[41]
Vishnu is described in the first book ofVishnu Purana as, 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.[38][42]
The second part of the text describes the story ofearth, the sevencontinents and sevenoceans.[34][43] It describesMount Meru,Mount Mandara and other majormountains, as well asBharatavarsha (Literally, the country ofBharata) along with its numerousrivers and diversepeople.[34][44] The seven continents are namedJambu,Plaksha,Salmala,Kusha,Krauncha,Saka, andPushkara, each surrounded by different types of oceans (saltwater,freshwater,wine,sugarcane juice,ghrita,yogurt, andmilk).[34][43]
This part of theVishnuPurana describes spheres above theEarth, including theplanets, theSun and theMoon. There are four chapters (2.13 to 2.16) of the second book that narrate the story of KingBharata, who abdicates his throne to live as asannyasi.[45] This account is similarly found in sections 5.7 to 5.14 of theBhagavata Purana.[34] The geography of Mount Mandara is also discussed in this book, and other Puranas. According to Stella Kramrisch, the name may be related to the wordmandiram (Hindu Temple) and the reason behind its design, image, aim and destination.[46]
The initial chapters of the third book of theVishnu Purana presents its theory ofManvantaras, (each 306.72 Million Years Long[47]).[34][48] This is premised upon the Hindu belief that everything is Cyclic, and evenYugas (Eras) start, complete and then end. Six manvantaras, states the text, have already passed, and the current age belong to the seventh.[48] In each age, asserts the text, the Vedas are arranged into four, it is changed, and this has happened twenty eight times already.[49] Each time, aVyasa appears and he diligently organizes the eternal knowledge, with the aid of his students.[34][50]
After presenting the emergence of Vedic schools, the text presents the ethical duties of the fourVarnas in 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.[34][51]
TheVishnu Purana asserts that theBrahmana should study theShastras, worship deities and perform libations on behalf of others, theKshatriya should maintain arms and protect the earth, theVaishya should engage in commerce and farming, while theShudra should subsist by profits of trade, service other varnas and through mechanical labor.[52][53] The text asserts the ethical duties of allVarnas is to do good to others, never abuse anyone, never engage in calumny or untruth, never covet another person's wife, never steal another's property, never bear ill-will towards anyone, never beat and kill anyone wrongfully.[54][53] Be diligent in the service of the deities, sages andgurus, asserts the Purana, and seek the welfare of all creatures, one's own children and of one's own soul.[54][55] Anyone, regardless of their varna or stage of life, who lives a life according to the above duties is the best worshipper of Vishnu and Lakshmi, says theVishnu Purana.[54][55] Similar statements on ethical things of people are found in other parts of Vishnu Purana.[56]
The text describes in chapter 2.9, the four stages of life asBrahmacharya (Student),Grihastha (Householder),Vanaprastha (Retirement) andSannyasa (Renunciation, Mendicant).[57][58] The text repeats the ethical duties in this chapter, translates Wilson.[57][58] 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.[59]
The third book closes with the Legend Of Vishnu, throughMayamoha, helping theDevas andDevis win overAsuras andAsuris by teaching the Asuras and Asuris heretical doctrines that deny the Vedas, who declare their contempt for the Vedas, which makes them easy to identify and all are killed.[34][60]
The fourth book of the text, in 24 long chapters, presents royal dynasties, starting with Brahma and Sarasvati, followed bysolar andlunar,fire andsnake dynasties, then those on earth over theYugas (eras), withParikshita is a current king.[34][61][62] The text includes the legends of numerous characters such as Shaubhri,Mandhatri,Narmada,Kapila,Rama,Nimi,Janaka,Satyavati,Puru,Yadu,Krishna, Devaka,Pandu,Kuru,Bharata,Bhishma, and others.[63]
The fifth book of theVishnu Purana is the longest, with 38 chapters.[64][65][66] It is dedicated to the legend of Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu.[67] The book begins with the story of Krishna's birth, his childhood pranks and plays, his exploits, and killing the demon-tyrant king ofMathura, namedKamsa.[64][68][66]
The Krishna story in theVishnu Purana is similar to his legend in theBhagavata Purana, in several other Puranas and the Harivamsa of theMahabharata.[64] Scholars have long debated whether theBhagavata Purana expanded 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 CE.[64][69][70]
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.
The last book of theVishnu Purana is the shortest, with 8 chapters.[64][72] The first part of the sixth book asserts thatKali Yuga is vicious, cruel and filled with evilness that create suffering, yet "Kali Yuga is excellent" because one can refuse to join the evil, devote oneself to Vishnu and thus achieve salvation.[73]
The last chapters, from 6.6 to 6.7 of the text discussesYoga and meditation, as a means to Vishnu devotion.[64][74] 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.[75] The text mentions fiveYamas, fiveNiyamas,Pranayama andPratyahara.[76] The pure and perfect soul is called Vishnu, states the text, and absorption in Vishnu is liberation.[77]
The final chapter 6.8 of the text asserts itself to be an "imperishable Vaishnava Purana".[78]
The filmMahavatar Narsimha incorporates the Vishnu Purana, amongst other Hindu scriptures, and uses them as inspiration.[79]
ACritical Edition of the Sanskrit text of theVisnu-purana was 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.[80][81]
All scholars citing translations of Sanskrit texts are expected to refer to the Sanskrit original, because translations are inexact. From 1999 onward, anyone citing theVishnu Purana will be expected[by whom?] to refer to this Sanskrit critical edition.
A translation of the critical edition was published in 2021 under the titleThe Vishnu Purana: Ancient Annals of the God with Lotus Eyes and is available under aCreative Commons license.[82]
Vishnu Purana is one of the 18 major Puranas, and these text share many legends, likely influenced each other.[64] The fifth chapter of theVishnu Purana was likely influenced by the Mahabharata.[69] Similarly, the verses on rites of passage and ashramas (stages) of life are likely drawn from theDharmasutra literature. Rajendra Hazra, in 1940, assumed that Vishnu Purana is ancient and proposed that texts such asApasthamba Dharmasutra borrowed text from it.[83] 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.[83]
Other chapters, particularly those in book 5 and 6 of theVishnu Purana haveAdvaita Vedanta andYoga influences.[84][85][86] The theistic Vedanta scholarRamanuja, according to Sucharita Adluri, incorporated ideas from theVishnu Purana to identify theBrahman concept in the Upanishads with Vishnu, thus providing a Vedic foundation to theSri Vaishnava tradition.[87]
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.
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