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77-520: The most significant Lakshmi-Narayana myth that appears in various Puranas is the Samudra Manthana , where Vishnu assumes his Kurma avatar to assist the devas and the asuras in the churning the Ocean of Milk. Lakshmi emerges as one of the many treasures that are the product of the churning. The devas request Vishnu to marry her, and hence her auspiciousness is wed to his divinity, restoring

154-485: A "parable of evolution", one which does not endorse evolutionism, but hints at "transformative phases of spiritual progress". According to Nanda, the Dashavatara concept has led to some Hindus asserting that their religion is more open to scientific theories, and has not opposed or persecuted scientists midst them like the way Christianity and Islam has. But, adds Nanda, Hinduism has many cosmological theories and even

231-560: A Mahapurana, whereas the Padma Purana , Garuda Purana and Kurma Purana consider it an Upapurana. There are discussions on whether the Devi Bhagavata Purana is a Mahapurana. The difference between Upapuranas and Mahapuranas has been explained by Rajendra Hazra: "a Mahapurana is well known, and that what is less well known becomes an Upapurana". Rocher states that the distinction between Mahapurana and Upapurana

308-427: A myth where the names of the characters are loaded with symbolism and axiological significance. The myth is as follows, The progeny of Dharma by the daughters of Daksha were as follows: by Sraddhá (devotion) he had Kama (desire); by Lakshmí (wealth, prosperity), was born Darpa (pride); by Dhriti (courage), the progeny was Niyama (precept); by Tusht́i (inner comfort), Santosha (contentment); by Pusht́i (opulence),

385-643: A number of structural and substantial similarities. For example, states Indologist John Holt, the Theravada cosmogony and cosmology states the Buddha covered 6,800,000 yojanas in three strides, including earth to heaven and then placed his right foot over Yugandhara – a legend that parallels that of the Vamana avatar in Hinduism. Similarly, the Buddha is claimed in the Theravada mythology to have been born when dharma

462-703: A process called Upabrimhana . However, some of the 36 major and minor Puranas are more focused handbooks, such as the Skanda Purana, Padma Purana and Bhavishya Purana, which deal primarily with Tirtha Mahatmyas (pilgrimage travel guides). while Vayu Purana and Brahmanda Purana focus more on history, mythology and legends. The colonial-era scholars of Puranas studied them primarily as religious texts, with Vans Kennedy declaring in 1837 that any other use of these documents would be disappointing. John Zephaniah Holwell , who from 1732 onwards spent 30 years in India and

539-576: A regional deity such as Vithoba or Jagannath in penultimate position, replacing Krishna or Buddha. All avatars have appeared except one; Kalki , who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga . The order of the ancient concept of Dashavataras has also been interpreted to be reflective of modern Darwinian evolution , as a description of the evolution of consciousness. "Dashavatara" or " daśāvatāra " (दशावतार) means "ten avatars" or "ten incarnations": According to Swami Parmeshwaranand, although

616-493: A religious, bhakti (devotional) context. Here the Puranic literature follows a general pattern. It starts with an introduction, where a future devotee is described as ignorant about the deity, yet curious. The devotee learns about the deity, and this begins their spiritual realization. The text then describes instances of this deity's grace, which begins to persuade and convert the devotee. The devotee, then, shows devotion, which

693-601: A single deity. The Puranas have also been classified based on a specific deity, although the texts are mixed and revere all gods and goddesses: Two puranas have "Bhagavata" in their names, the Bhagavata Purana and Devi Bhagavata Purana , which Srivastava says both are called Mahapuranas in Sanskrit literature, where the Vayu Purana , Matsya Purana , and Aditya Upa Purana admit the Devi Bhagavata Purana as

770-467: A whole, states Ludo Rocher . He points out that even for the better established and more coherent Puranas such as Bhagavata and Vishnu, the dates proposed by scholars continue to vary widely and endlessly. The date of the production of the written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas. They existed in an oral form before being written down. In the 19th century, F. E. Pargiter believed

847-464: Is a Shaiva story that features Brahma , Vishnu , Shiva , the three major gods of Hinduism , who get together and debate about who is supreme amongst the three of them and after various incidents of the story, the glory of Shiva is established at the end by the apparition of the Linga which is a form of Shiva as Lingodbhava over Vishnu and Brahma, thus it shows that Vishnu and Brahma are secondary gods in

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924-524: Is ahistorical, since there is little corroborating evidence that either were more or less known, and that "the term Mahapurana occurs rarely in Purana literature, and is probably of late origin." The Upapuranas are eighteen in number, with disagreement as to which canonical titles belong in that list of eighteen. They include among – Only a few have been critically edited. The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha . The Skanda Purana

1001-969: Is also found in the Garuda Purana Saroddhara , a commentary or 'extracted essence' of the Garuda Purana (i.e. not the Purana itself, with which it seems to be confused): The Fish , the Tortoise , the Boar , the Man-Lion , the Dwarf , Parasurama , Rama , Krisna , Buddha , and also Kalki : These ten names should always be meditated upon by the wise. Those who recite them near the diseased are called relatives. Matsyah Kurmo Varahas-cha Narasimhas -cha Vamana Ramo Ramas-cha Ramas-cha Buddha Kalki -cha te dasa The Fish,

1078-533: Is called Shiva is but identical with Vishnu. The Skanda Purana has received renewed scholarly interest ever since the late 20th century discovery of a Nepalese Skanda Purana manuscript dated to be from the early 9th century CE. This discovery established that the Skanda Purana existed by the 9th century CE. However, a comparison shows that the 9th century CE document is entirely different from versions of Skanda Purana that have been circulating in South Asia since

1155-526: Is explored in the Ramayana , Mahabharata , Vishnu Purana , Bhagavata Purana , Brahma Vaivarta Purana , Skanda Purana , and in other scriptures. The Purushottama Mahatmya of Skanda Purana (13th century CE) and of Vishnurahasya (16th century CE) referred to the female wooden image between Jagannath and Balabhadra , Subhadra , as Lakshmi . In the South Indian tradition of Sri Vaishnavism ,

1232-531: Is hailed as Lakshmipati , the husband of Lakshmi, while Lakshmi is called Vishnupriya , the favourite of Vishnu, as well as Vaishnavi and Narayani , the greatest female devotee, and Shakti of Vishnu. In the Prapanna Parijata , Lakshmi declares that the duality of her consort and herself represents Brahman : God, Narayana, is the essence of existence; and I, the Supreme Lakshmi, am

1309-581: Is highly inconsistent across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves inconsistent. The Hindu Maha Puranas are traditionally attributed to Vyasa , but many scholars considered them likely the work of many authors over the centuries; in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated and their authors assigned. There are 18 Mukhya Puranas (Major Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), with over 400,000 verses. The first versions of various Puranas were likely to have been composed between 3rd and 10th century CE. While

1386-542: Is identified with Narayana in the text Shikshapatri , and is worshipped with his consort, Lakshmi . The deity is referred as Lakshmi Narayana. The founder of the sect, Swaminarayan , installed the murtis of Radha Krishna and Lakshmi Narayana at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal and Swaminarayan Mandir, Gadhada in Gujarat . Lakshmi Narayana worship is popular among Vaishnavas , who pray to

1463-525: Is in decline, so as to preserve and uphold the dharma . These similarities may have contributed to the assimilation of the Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu. The adoption of Buddha as an avatar in Bhagavatism was a catalyzing factor in Buddhism's assimilation into Vaishnavism's mythic hierarchy. By the 8th century CE, the Buddha was included as an avatar of Vishnu in several Puranas . This assimilation

1540-564: Is independent, has changed often over its history, and has little relation to the Vedic age or the Vedic literature. In contrast, Purana literature is evidently intended to serve as a complement to the Vedas, states Vans Kennedy. Some scholars such as Govinda Das suggest that the Puranas claim a link to the Vedas but in name only, not in substance. The link is purely a mechanical one. Scholars such as Viman Chandra Bhattacharya and PV Kane state that

1617-461: Is indicative of the Hindu ambivalence toward the Buddha and Buddhism, and there is also a tradition that there were two Buddhas. According to this tradition, the first was the ninth avatar of Vishnu, while the second was the historical Buddha. Conversely, Vishnu has also been assimilated into Sinhalese Buddhist culture, and Mahayana Buddhism is sometimes called Buddha-Bhagavatism . By this period,

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1694-478: Is rewarded by the deity. The reward is appreciated by the devotee, who, in return, performs further actions to express further devotion. The Puranas, states Flood, document the rise of the theistic traditions such as those based on Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Tridevi and include respective mythology, pilgrimage to holy places, rituals and genealogies. The bulk of these texts, in Flood's view, were established by 500 CE, in

1771-425: Is the largest Purana with 81,000 verses, named after the deity Skanda , the son of Shiva and Uma, and the brother of the deity Ganesha. The mythological part of the text weaves together the stories of Shiva and Vishnu, along with those featuring Parvati, Lakshmi, Rama, Krishna, Sita, Rukmini and other major gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. In Chapter 1.8, it declares, Vishnu is nobody but Shiva, and he who

1848-615: The Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra - an important Smriti Sastra or compilation of Indian astrology for prediction (i.e. fortune telling) - although all ten of the Dashavatara have corresponding astrological symbols, only four are considered as divine beings (i.e. Rama, Krishna, Narasimha and Varaha). The sun is the soul of all. The Moon is the mind. Mars is one's strength. Mercury is speech-giver while Jupiter confers knowledge and happiness. Venus governs semen (potency) while Saturn denotes grief. Of royal status are

1925-649: The Dashavatara , including Sita-Rama and Rukmini-Krishna. The Urdhva Pundra , the sacred mark they wear on their bodies, is conceived to be a combination of the white feet of Vishnu, and the red streak in between represents Lakshmi. In the Vaishnava tradition of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya , a flute-bearing Krishna is worshipped with his consort Radha , and together the deity is referred as Radha Krishna , while Krishna in his four-hands form

2002-503: The Legend of Tirumala , the sage Bhrigu is selected to choose the deity to whom a yajna shall be dedicated towards. After rejecting Brahma , Indra , and Shiva , he arrives at Vaikuntha , where he observes Lakshmi massaging the feet of Vishnu who is reclined on Shesha . Bhrigu is angered by this and kicks the chest of Vishnu with his foot. A calm Vishnu is concerned for the sage, and receives him with honour. Pleased, Bhrigu decides that

2079-756: The Mulasamhita , from which the later eighteen Puranas were derived. The term Purana appears in the Vedic texts. For example, Atharva Veda mentions Purana (in the singular) in XI.7.24 and XV.6.10-11: "The Rig and Sama verses, the Chandas, the Purana along with the Yajur formulae, all sprang from the remainder of the sacrificial food, (as also) the gods that resort to heaven. He changed his place and went over to great direction, and Itihasa and Purana, gathas, verses in praise of heroes followed in going over." Similarly,

2156-572: The Pañcaratra including the likes of Garuda . However, despite these lists, the commonly accepted number of ten avatars for Vishnu was fixed well before the 10th century CE. The term " Jyotisha " refers to Hindu or Vedic astrology , one of the six Vedangas or ancillary disciplines linked with the Vedas . The Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra mentions the Dashavatara as follows: From the Sun God

2233-780: The Trideva because he expanded and conquered the entire universe and them being secondary gods with lesser powers, so they cannot find his beginning and end at a single place in the universe. This story, state Bonnefoy and Doniger, appears in Vayu Purana 's chapter 1.55, Brahmanda Purana 's chapter 1.26, Shiva Purana 's Rudra Samhita's Sristi Khanda's chapter 15, Skanda Purana 's chapters 1.3, 1.16, 3.1, and other Puranas. The texts are in Sanskrit as well as regional languages, and almost entirely in narrative metric couplets. The texts use ideas, concepts and even names that are symbolic. The words can interpreted literally, and at an axiological level. The Vishnu Purana , for example, recites

2310-457: The "most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is [...] Krishna, Buddha." Most draw from the following set of figures, in this order: Matsya ; Kurma ; Varaha ; Narasimha ; Vamana ; Parashurama ; Rama ; Krishna or Balarama ; Buddha or Krishna ; and Kalki . In traditions that omit Krishna, he often replaces Vishnu as the source of all avatars. Some traditions include

2387-532: The "original Purana" may date to the time of the final redaction of the Vedas. Wendy Doniger , based on her study of indologists, assigns approximate dates to the various Puranas. She dates Markandeya Purana to c.  250 CE (with one portion dated to c. 550 CE), Matsya Purana to c. 250–500 CE, Vayu Purana to c. 350 CE, Harivamsa and Vishnu Purana to c. 450 CE, Brahmanda Purana to c. 350–950 CE, Vamana Purana to c. 450–900 CE, Kurma Purana to c. 550–850 CE, and Linga Purana to c. 600–1000 CE. Of

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2464-561: The Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu. One list in the Mahabharata gives Rama ( Bhargava ), Rama (Dasharathi), Satvata (Krishna or Balarama), the Tri-Rama. The Tantric Prapanchasara (attributed to Adi Shankara , but disputed, ) also omits the Buddha. Though no list can be uncontroversially presented as standard, the "most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is [...] Krishna, Buddha." The following table summarises

2541-570: The Gupta era, though amendments were made later. Along with inconsistencies, common ideas are found throughout the corpus, but it is not possible to trace the lines of influence of one Purana upon another, so the corpus is best viewed as a synchronous whole. An example of similar stories woven across the Puranas, but in different versions, include the Lingodbhava – the apparition of the Linga . The

2618-667: The Incarnation of Rama , from the Moon that of Krishna , from Mars that of Narasimha , from Mercury that of Buddha , from Jupiter that of Vamana , from Venus that of Parasurama , from Saturn that of Koorma (Tortoise), from Rahu that of Varaha [Boar] and from Ketu that of [ Matsya ] (fish) occurred. All other incarnations that these are through the Grahas . The beings with more Paramatmamsa [i.e. Rama, Krishna, Narasimha and Varaha] are called divine beings'. Notably, according to

2695-412: The Purana adds that it was abridged by sage Vyasa before being taught to Romaharshana. The Puranas, according to Flood, have traditionally been classified according to three qualities ( guna ) which are inherent in existence, namely the quality of light or purity ( sattva ), passion ( rajas ), and darkness or inertia ( tamas ), with each quality having six puranas focused, but not exclusively, upon

2772-976: The Purana texts changed often over time and over distance, and the underlying presumption of them being religious texts is that those changes are "Hinduism expressed by a religious leader or philosopher", or the "expressiveness of Hindu mind", or "society at large", when the texts and passages are literary works and "individual geniuses of their authors". The Jaina Puranas are like Hindu Puranas encyclopedic epics in style, and are considered as anuyogas (expositions), but they are not considered Jain Agamas and do not have scripture or quasi-canonical status in Jainism tradition. They are best described, states John Cort, as post-scripture literary corpus based upon themes found in Jain scriptures. Dashavatara The Dashavatara ( Sanskrit : दशावतार , IAST : daśāvatāra ) are

2849-425: The Puranas are a continuation and development of the Vedas. Sudhakar Malaviya and VG Rahurkar state the connection is closer in that the Puranas are companion texts to help understand and interpret the Vedas. K.S. Ramaswami Sastri and Manilal N. Dvivedi reflect the third view which states that Puranas enable us to know the "true import of the ethos, philosophy, and religion of the Vedas". Barbara Holdrege questions

2926-524: The Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture in Hinduism , but are considered as Smritis , they shaped Hinduism more than the Vedas, providing a "culture synthesis" in weaving and integrating the diverse beliefs of a great number of local traditions into the Vedic-Brahmanic fold. While all Puranas praise many gods and goddesses and "their sectarianism is far less clear cut" than assumed,

3003-549: The Shatapatha Brahmana (XI.5.6.8) mentions Itihasapuranam (as one compound word) and recommends that on the 9th day of Pariplava, the hotr priest should narrate some Purana because "the Purana is the Veda, this it is" (XIII.4.3.13). However, states P.V. Kane, it is not certain whether these texts suggested several works or a single work with the term Purana . The late Vedic text Taittiriya Aranyaka (II.10) uses

3080-657: The Sun and the Moon while Mars is the army chief. Prince-apparent in Mercury. The ministerial planets are Jupiter and Venus. Saturn is servant. Rahu and Ketu form the planetary army. Some modern interpreters interpret Vishnu's ten main avatars as an ascending order from simple life-forms to more complex life-forms, and see the Dashavataras as a reflection, or a foreshadowing, of the modern theory of evolution . Such an interpretation

3157-770: The Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-lion, the Dwarf, Parasurama, Dasarathi Rama, Balarama, Buddha and Kalki – thy ten. —Sanctum entrance, Adivaraha cave (7th century), Mahabalipuram ; earliest avatar -related epigraphy The Buddha was included as one of the avatars of Vishnu under Bhagavatism by the Gupta period between 330 and 550 CE. The mythologies of the Buddha in the Theravada tradition and of Vishnu in Hinduism share

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3234-582: The Vaishnava one with Dashavatara concept does not explicitly teach evolution of species, rather it states an endless cycles of creationism. The Dashavatara concept appealed to other scholars. Monier Monier-Williams wrote "Indeed, the Hindus were ... Darwinians centuries before the birth of Darwin, and evolutionists centuries before the doctrine of evolution had been accepted by the Huxleys of our time, and before any word like evolution existed in any language of

3311-464: The attribute (be-ness) of it. Hence what is known as Lakshmìnârâyana is the Brahman which is the eternal One. The dual representation of the deities Lakshmi-Narayana has many historic roots, and is sometimes interpreted differently by different traditions. The goddess Lakshmi incarnates on earth with her beloved consort, following Narayana 's wishes, and mode of incarnation. When Vishnu descended upon

3388-426: The avatars of Vishnu are countless in number and include hermits , Manus , sons of Manus, and other Devas ( Hindu Deity ), due to the curse of a Rishi called Bhrigu most are only partial (i.e. incomplete) incarnations. The Dashavatara is a list of the ten complete (i.e. full) incarnations. Various versions of the list of Vishnu's avatars exist, varying per region and tradition. Some lists mention Krishna as

3465-825: The colonial era. Several Puranas, such as the Matsya Purana, list "five characteristics" or "five signs" of a Purana. These are called the Pancha Lakshana ( pañcalakṣaṇa ), and are topics covered by a Purana: A few Puranas, such as the most popular Bhagavata Purana, add five more characteristics to expand this list to ten: These five or ten sections weave in biographies, myths, geography, medicine, astronomy, Hindu temples, pilgrimage to distant real places, rites of passage, charity, ethics, duties, rights, dharma, divine intervention in cosmic and human affairs, love stories, festivals, theosophy and philosophy. The Puranas link gods to men, both generally and in

3542-500: The concept of Dashavatara was fully developed. Jayadeva , in his Pralaya Payodhi Jale from the Gita Govinda , includes Balarama and Buddha where Krishna is equated with Vishnu and the source of all avatars. In traditions that emphasize the Bhagavata Purana , Krishna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead , from whom everything else emanates. Gaudiya Vaishnavas worship Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan , or source of

3619-442: The cosmic order. The Vishnu Purana describes this legend thus: The goddess Sri of vibrant beauty rose from this milk, standing in a blossoming lotus with a lotus in her hand ... Wearing celestial garlands and garments, bathed and adorned with ornaments, with all the gods looking on, she went to Hari's chest. While resting on Hari's chest, Lakshmi made the gods know immediate supreme bliss, O Maitreya, just by looking at them. In

3696-466: The deity Narayana is worshipped as the supreme deity, and his consort Lakshmi as the supreme goddess. Lakshmi is regarded to be the source of salvation, Narayana, and is hence revered by adherents in order to reach God. The origin of the tradition's name is sometimes associated with the goddess herself, who is also called Sri. The devotees of this tradition primarily worship Lakshmi-Narayana as the ultimate duality, though they also revere their incarnations in

3773-485: The devotees and their families. In Tamil tradition, Narayana is often represented with three aspects of Lakshmi: Sridevi , Bhudevi , and Niladevi . Puranas Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas Puranas (Ancients), are a vast genre of Hindu literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for

3850-489: The different manifestations or incarnations of the Deity in different epochs of the world history. Lo! The Hindu Avatar rises from the lowest scale of life through the fish, the tortoise, and the hog up to the perfection of humanity. Indian Avatarism is, indeed, a crude representation of the ascending scale of Divine creation. Such precisely is the modern theory of evolution. Similarly Aurobindo regarded "Avataric Evolutionism" as

3927-400: The divine couple at their homes and in temples. There are many sampradayas (sects), that regard Lakshmi Narayana as the ultimate divinity, and grand and exquisite temples have been erected for their veneration. It is believed that worshipping Lakshmi Narayana can get for the devotees the complete blessings of the divine couple and shall bestow welfare, success, prosperity and a fulfilled life for

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4004-421: The editing and expansion of the Puranas did not stop after the Gupta era, and the texts continued to "grow for another five hundred or a thousand years" and these were preserved by priests who maintained Hindu pilgrimage sites and temples. The core of Itihasa-Puranas, states Klaus Klostermaier, may possibly go back to the 7th century BCE or even earlier. It is not possible to set a specific date for any Purana as

4081-704: The eighth avatar and the Buddha as the ninth avatar, while others, such as the Paripāṭal (c. 3rd-4th CE), which is the fifth of the Eight Anthologies ( Ettuthokai ) in the Sangam literature , and the Yatindramatadipika , a 17th-century summary of Sri Vaishnava doctrine, give Balarama as the eighth avatar and Krishna as the ninth. The latter version is followed by some Vaishnavas who do not accept

4158-448: The fact that it would be irresponsible and highly misleading to speak of or pretend to describe the religion of the Puranas. The study of Puranas as religious texts remains a controversial subject. Some Indologists, in the colonial tradition of scholarship, treat the Puranic texts as scriptures, or as useful sources of religious contents. Other scholars, such as Ronald Inden, consider this approach "essentialist and antihistorical" because

4235-616: The faculty to procreate; they perpetually operate as causes of the destruction of this world. On the contrary, Daksha and the other Rishis, the elders of mankind, tend perpetually to influence its renovation: whilst the Manus and their sons, the heroes endowed with mighty power, and treading in the path of truth, as constantly contribute to its preservation. The relation of the Puranas with Vedas has been debated by scholars, some holding that there's no relationship, others contending that they are identical. The Puranic literature, stated Max Muller ,

4312-477: The fifth Veda status of Itihasas (the Hindu epics) and Puranas. The Puranas, states V.S. Agrawala, intend to "explicate, interpret, adapt" the metaphysical truths in the Vedas. In the general opinion, states Rocher, "the Puranas cannot be divorced from the Vedas" though scholars provide different interpretations of the link between the two. Scholars have given the Bhagavata Purana as an example of

4389-426: The fifth Veda". The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad also refers to purana as the "fifth Veda". According to Thomas Coburn, Puranas and early extra-puranic texts attest to two traditions regarding their origin, one proclaiming a divine origin as the breath of the great beings, the other as a human sage named Vyasa as the arranger of already existing material into eighteen Puranas. In the early references, states Coburn,

4466-569: The incarnations. The Vallabha Sampradaya and Nimbarka Sampradaya , (philosophical schools) go even further, worshiping Krishna not only as the source of other incarnations, but also Vishnu himself, related to descriptions in the Bhagavata Purana . The Mahanubhavas, also known as the Jai Kishani Panth, consider Krishna as the supreme God and do not consider the list of Dashavatara, but instead, they consider another list of Panchavatara (5 Avatars). Thirty-nine avatars are mentioned in

4543-725: The intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu gods such as Vishnu , Shiva , Brahma , and Tridevi . The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism . The Puranic literature is encyclopedic, and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony , cosmology , genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, queens, heroes, heroines, sages, other gods, other goddesses, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love stories, theology, philosophy, etc. The content

4620-726: The links and continuity of the Vedic content, such as its providing an interpretation of the Gayatri mantra. The Puranas, states Kees Bolle , are best seen as "vast, often encyclopedic" works from ancient and medieval India. Some of them, such as the Agni Purana and Matsya Purana, cover all sorts of subjects, dealing with – states Rocher – "anything and everything", from fiction to facts, from practical recipes to abstract philosophy, from geographic Mahatmyas (travel guides) to cosmetics, from festivals to astronomy. Like encyclopedias, they were updated to remain current with their times, by

4697-667: The many texts designated 'Puranas' the most important are the Mahāpurāṇa s or the major Puranas. These are said to be eighteen in number, divided into three groups of six, though they are not always counted in the same way. The list of Mahapuranas is mentioned in the Vishnu Purana , part 3, chapter 6, verses 21–24. The number of verses in each Mahapurana is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana , part 12, chapter 13, verses 4–9. The Shiva Purana asserts that it once consisted of 100,000 verses set out in twelve samhitas (books), however

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4774-522: The mention of the term Purana or Puranas in the Vedic texts, there is uncertainty about the contents of them until the composition of the oldest Dharmashastra Apastamba Dharmasutra and Gautama Dharmasutra , which mention Puranas that resemble the extant Puranas. Another early mention of the term 'Itihas-purana' is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.2), translated by Patrick Olivelle as "the corpus of histories and ancient tales as

4851-471: The narrator of the Mahabharata , is hagiographically credited as the compiler of the Puranas. The ancient tradition suggests that originally there was but one Purana. Vishnu Purana (3.6.15) mentions that Vyasa entrusted his Puranasamhita to his disciple Lomaharshana , who in turn imparted it to his disciples, three of whom compiled their own samhitas. These three, together with Lomaharshana's, comprise

4928-448: The position of avatars within the Dashavatara in many but not all traditions: The Agni , Padma , Garuda , Linga , Narada , Skanda and Varaha Puranas mention the common (Krishna, Buddha) Dashavatara list. The Garuda Purana has two lists, one longer list with Krishna and Buddha, and a list with Balarama and Buddha, which substitutes Vamana for Rama. The Shiva Purana has Balarama and Krishna. The list with Krishna and Buddha

5005-525: The progeny was Lobha (cupidity, greed); by Medhá (wisdom, experience), Sruta (sacred tradition); by Kriyá (hard work, labour), the progeny were Dańd́a, Naya, and Vinaya (justice, politics, and education); by Buddhi (intellect), Bodha (understanding); by Lajjá (shame, humility), Vinaya (good behaviour); by Vapu (body, strength), Vyavasaya (perseverance). Shanti (peace) gave birth to Kshama (forgiveness); Siddhi (excellence) to Sukha (enjoyment); and Kírtti (glorious speech) gave birth to Yasha (reputation). These were

5082-402: The reciters of the Vedas, and the bardic poetry recited by Sutas that was handed down in Kshatriya circles". The original Puranas comes from the priestly roots while the later genealogies have the warrior and epic roots. These texts were collected for the "second time between the fourth and sixth centuries CE under the rule of the Gupta kings and queens", a period of Hindu renaissance. However,

5159-600: The religious practices included in them are considered Vaidika (congruent with Vedic literature). The Puranic literature wove with the Bhakti movement in India, and both Dvaita and Advaita scholars have commented on the underlying Vedantic themes in the Maha Puranas . Douglas Harper states that the etymological origins of Puranas are from Sanskrit Puranah , literally "ancient, former," from pura "formerly, before," cognate with Greek paros "before," pro "before," Avestan paro "before," Old English fore, from Proto-Indo-European *pre- , from *per- ." Vyasa ,

5236-471: The sons of Dharma ; one of whom, Kama (love, emotional fulfillment) had baby Hersha (joy) by his wife Nandi (delight). The wife of Adharma (vice, wrong, evil) was Hinsá (violence), on whom he begot a son Anrita (falsehood), and a daughter Nikriti (immorality): they intermarried, and had two sons, Bhaya (fear) and Naraka (hell); and twins to them, two daughters, Máyá (deceit) and Vedaná (torture), who became their wives. The son of Bhaya (fear) and Máyá (deceit)

5313-485: The ten primary avatars of Vishnu , a principal Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word Dashavatara derives from daśa , meaning "ten", and avatāra , roughly equivalent to " incarnation ". The list of included avatars varies across sects and regions, particularly in respect to the inclusion of Balarama (brother of Krishna ) or Gautama Buddha . Though no list can be uncontroversially presented as standard,

5390-433: The term Purana occurs in singular unlike the later era which refers to a plural form presumably because they had assumed their "multifarious form". According to the Indologists J. A. B. van Buitenen and Cornelia Dimmitt, the Puranas that have survived into the modern era are ancient but represent "an amalgam of two somewhat different but never entirely different separate oral literatures: the Brahmin tradition stemming from

5467-405: The term in the plural. Therefore, states Kane, that in the later Vedic period at least, the Puranas referred to three or more texts, and that they were studied and recited. In numerous passages the Mahabharata mentions ' Purana ' in both singular and plural forms. Moreover, it is not unlikely that, where the singular ' Puranam ' was employed in the texts, a class of works was meant. Further, despite

5544-413: The world as Parashurama , the goddess incarnated herself as Dharani; when he was born as Rama , Lakshmi appeared as Sita ; and when he was Krishna , she appeared as Radha and Rukmini . In Vishnu's next incarnation as Kalki that will spell the end of the present Kali Yuga , he will wed Padmavati, who will also be an incarnation of Lakshmi. This dual manifestation of the supreme deities of Vaishnavism

5621-550: The world." J. B. S. Haldane (British-Indian scientist) suggested that Dashavatara gave a "rough idea" of vertebrate evolution: a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a man-lion, a dwarf and then four men (Kalki is not yet born). Nabinchandra Sen explains the Dashavatara with Darwin's evolution in his Raivatak . C. D. Deshmukh also remarked on the "striking" similarity between Darwin's theory and the Dashavatara. Some Vaishnava Hindus reject this "Avataric Evolutionism" concept. For example, Prakashanand states that this apologeticism degrades

5698-517: The yajna should be offered to Vishnu. But Lakshmi is greatly enraged, the chest being the region of Vishnu most associated with her, and because her consort had not risen to the insult. She descends upon the earth as Padmavati , the daughter of a Chola king, and her consort assumes the form of Srinivasa . Srinivasa finds Padmavati, marries her once more and is hailed as the primary deity of Tirumala . In literature, Lakshmi and Narayana are often offered epithets stemming from their relationship - Vishnu

5775-665: Was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1767, described the Puranas as "18 books of divine words". British officials and researchers such as Holwell, states Urs App, were orientalist scholars who introduced a distorted picture of Indian literature and Puranas as "sacred scriptures of India" in 1767. Holwell, states Urs App, "presented it as the opinion of knowledgeable Indians; But it is abundantly clear that no knowledgeable Indian would ever have said anything remotely similar". Modern scholarship doubts this 19th-century premise. Ludo Rocher, for example, states, I want to stress

5852-774: Was first propounded by the Gaudiya Vaishnava saint Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his 1873 book Datta-kaustubha and again in his 1880 book Kṛṣṇa-saṁhita. Theosophist Helena Blavatsky also reiterated this in her 1877 opus Isis Unveiled . Bhaktivinoda Thakura proposed the following ordering of the Dashavataras: Blavatsky believed that the avatara-related Hindu texts were an allegorical presentation of Darwinian evolution . Some Orientalists and reformist Hindus in India picked up this idea to rationalize Hinduism as being consistent with modern science. Keshub Chandra Sen stated in 1882, The Puranas speak of

5929-406: Was the destroyer of living creatures, or Mrityu (death); and Dukha (pain) was the offspring of Naraka (hell) and Vedaná (torture). The children of Mrityu were Vyádhi (disease), Jará (decay), Soka (sorrow), Trishńa (greediness), and Krodha (wrath). These are all called the inflictors of misery, and are characterised as the progeny of Vice (Adharma). They are all without wives, without posterity, without

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