Bhagavatapurana 12.7: atha saptamo'dhyāyaḥ

12.7.1

/0 sūta uvāca
atharva-vit sumantuś ca śiṣyam adhyāpayat svakām /
saṃhitāṃ so 'pi pathyāya vedadarśāya coktavān //

Sūta said:
Sumantu, the knower of the Atharvaveda, taught his own
collection to his disciple; and he, in turn, told it to Pathya and Vedadarśa.

1. Suta said:—Sumantu versed in the Atharva Veda taught his collection to his disciple (called Kabandha) who in his turn divided it into two branches and taught them to Pathya and Veda-darsa.

12.7.2

śauklāyanir brahmabalir modoṣaḥ pippalāyaniḥ /
vedadarśasya śiṣyās te pathya-śiṣyān atho śṛṇu /
kumudaḥ śunako brahman jājaliś cāpy atharva-vit //

Śauklāyani, Brahmabali, Modoṣa, and Pippalāyani
were disciples of Vedadarśa; now hear the disciples of Pathya:
Kumuda, Śunaka, O brāhmaṇa, and Jājali, knower of the Atharvaveda.

2. Sauklayani, Brahmabali, Modoshah, Pippalayani are the disciples of Veda-darsa. Now know the disciples of Pathya. They are Kumuda, Sunaka, O holy one, Jajali possessed of special knowledge of Atharvan.

12.7.3

babhruḥ śiṣyo 'thāngirasaḥ saindhavāyana eva ca /
adhīyetāṃ saṃhite dve sāvarṇādyās tathāpare //

Babhru, a disciple of the son of Aṅgiras, and Saindhavāyana
studied two collections, as did Sāvarṇi and others.

3. The disciple of Sunaka of Angiras family was Babhru and Saindhavayana was another disciple; these two studied two collections; so also their disciples Savarnya and others learnt them in their turn.

12.7.4

nakṣatrakalpaḥ śāntiś ca kaśyapāṅgirasādayaḥ /
ete ātharvaṇācāryāḥ śṛṇu paurāṇikān mune //

Nakṣatrakalpa, Śānti, Kaśyapa, Āṅgirasa, and others—
these are the teachers of the Atharvaveda; hear now the masters of the Purāṇas, O sage.

4. Nakshatrakalpa, Santikalpa, Kasyapa, Angirasa and others were the teachers of the Atharva-veda. Next listen to the names of the authors of Puranas, O sage.

12.7.5

trayyāruṇiḥ kaśyapaś ca sāvarṇir akṛtavranaḥ /
vaiśampāyana-hārītau ṣaḍ vai paurāṇikā ime //

Trayyāruṇi, Kaśyapa, Sāvarṇi, Akṛtavraṇa,
Vaiśampāyana, and Hārīta: these six are the masters of the Purāṇas.

5. Trayyaruni, Kasyapa, Savarni, Akritavrana, Vaisampayana and Harita—these six indeed are Puranic teachers.

12.7.6

adhīyanta vyāsa-śiṣyāt saṃhitāṃ mat-pitur mukhāt /
ekaikām aham eteṣāṃ śiṣyaḥ sarvāḥ samadhyagām //

They studied from the disciple of Vyāsa, from the mouth of my father,
one collection each; I, as a disciple of these, studied all of them.

6. All these studied the whole collection under my father, Romaharshana, (lit. learned from the lips of my father) who is the disciple of Sri Vyasa; each learning but one collection. And as their disciple I learnt them all.

12.7.7

kaśyapo 'haṃ ca sāvarṇī rāma-śiṣyo 'kṛtavranaḥ /
adhīmahi vyāsa-śiṣyāc catvāro mūla-saṃhitāḥ //

Kaśyapa, myself, Sāvarṇi, and Akṛtavraṇa, the disciple of Rāma—
the four of us studied the primary collections from the disciple of Vyāsa.

7. Kasyapa, myself, Savarnin and Akritavrana, the disciple of Rama, learnt the four main collections from Sri Vyasa's disciple.

12.7.8

purāṇa-lakṣaṇaṃ brahman brahmarṣibhir nirūpitam /
śṛṇuṣva buddhim āśritya veda-śāstrānusārataḥ //

The characteristics of a Purāṇa, O brāhmaṇa, have been set forth by the seers of Brahman;
listen, applying your intellect in accordance with the Vedic treatises.

8. O Brahmin, listen with steady attention to the definition of

Puranas made out by the Brahmin sages in accordance with Vedas and Sastras.

12.7.9

sargo 'syātha visargaś ca vṛtti-rakṣāntarāṇi ca /
vaṃśo vaṃśānucarītaṃ saṃsthā hetur apāśrayaḥ //

Creation, secondary creation, maintenance, protection, and the intervals of Manus,
the royal lineages, the deeds of the lineages, cosmic dissolution, the cause, and the supreme refuge.

9. & 10. Of this Universe, the creation (of the main principles), the creation in detail, subsistence, protection, the periods of Manus, their races, the history of their descendants, destruction and the cause (motive power) and the main support—of these ten topics a Purana is composed, as the sages, who know the fact, state; some say, O Brahmin, that a Purana has five characteristics or five topics to deal with, making a distinction as great and small Puranas.

12.7.10

daśabhir lakṣaṇair yuktaṃ purāṇaṃ tad-vido viduḥ /
kecit pañca-vidhaṃ brahman mahad-alpa-vyavasthayā //

Endowed with ten characteristics, those who know it understand the Purāṇa;
some say it is fivefold, O brāhmaṇa, according to the distinction between great and small.

12.7.11

avyākṛta-guṇa-kṣobhān mahatas tri-vṛto 'hamaḥ /
bhūta-sūkṣmendriyārthānāṃ sambhavaḥ sarga ucyate //

From the agitation of the qualities of the unmanifest, through the great principle and the threefold ego,
the arising of the subtle elements, senses, and gross elements is called primary creation.

11. The creation of *principles* is said to consist in producing the subtle Bhutas, the sense organs and their objects and their presiding gods, out of the agitated gunas of Prakriti, the Mahattatva, and the three-fold Ahankara.

12.7.12

puruṣānugṛhītānām eteṣāṃ vāsanā-mayaḥ /
visargo 'yaṃ samāhāro bījād bījaṃ carācaram //

Assisted by the Puruṣa, this aggregate [of elements], conditioned by latent impressions,
[proceeding] from seed to seed as the mobile and immobile, is secondary creation.

12. The creation *in detail* consists in the production of the gross, mobile and immobile, nature, which is a collection of effected things evolved out of Mahat and other principles with the dominating characteristics formed by the force of previous Karma under the gracious guidance of the Perfect Person (the Supreme Being)—the evolution being like that of a seed from a seed.

12.7.13

vṛttir bhūtāni bhūtānāṃ carāṇām acarāṇi ca /
kṛtā svena nṛṇāṃ tatra kāmāc codanayāpi vā //

Maintenance is [one] being [subsisting upon] beings, the immobile for the mobile;
and among human beings, it is established by one's nature, whether by desire or by scriptural injunction.

13. Generally the immobile creatures contribute to the sustenance of the mobile, and there, in the case of mankind, the description of sustenance may be three-fold, according to nature, desire, or a rule laid down for it.

12.7.14

rakṣācyutāvatārehā viśvasyānu yuge yuge /
tiryaṅ-martyarṣi-deveṣu hanyante yais trayī-dviṣaḥ //

Protection is the activity of the incarnations of Acyuta for the universe in every age,
among beasts, mortals, sages, and gods, by which the enemies of the three Vedas are slain.

14. The protection of the Universe refers to the Avataras of Hari and His work from age to age appearing among animals, mortals, sages and the gods; for by His Avataras the haters of the Vedas are put an end to.

12.7.15

manvantaraṃ manur devā manu-putrāḥ sureśvarāḥ /
rṣayo 'ṃśāvatārāś ca hareḥ ṣaḍ-vidham ucyate //

A Manvantara is declared to be sixfold: the Manu, the gods,
the sons of Manu, the rulers of the gods, the sages, and the partial incarnations of Hari.

15. The period of a Manu is distinguished by six points, viz. the particular Manu acting as the ruler, the gods, Manu's sons, Indras, Sages, the particular Avatara of Hari (that guards the welfare of the world.)

12.7.16

rājñāṃ brahma-prasūtānāṃ vaṃśas trai-kāliko 'nvayaḥ /
vaṃśānucaritaṃ teṣām vṛttaṃ vaṃśa-dharās ca ye //

The unbroken lineage of kings descending from Brahmā throughout the three divisions of time is dynastic lineage;
the history of the lineage consists of their deeds and those of the sustainers of the dynasties.

16. The history of the race and their descendants is said to consist in a description of the pure kings born of Brahma, their line

continued through all the three divisions of time and of the members of their line.

12.7.17

naimittikaḥ prākṛtiko nitya ātyantiko layaḥ /
saṃstheti kavibhiḥ proktaś caturdhāsya svabhāvataḥ //

Dissolution is occasional, elemental, constant, and ultimate;
it is called 'saṃsthā' by the wise, being fourfold according to its nature.

17. The destruction of the Universe is described by the sages to be four-fold by nature (as brought about by Maya), viz. Occasional, Prakritic, Daily, and Absolute.

12.7.18

hetur jīvo 'sya sargāder avidyā-karma-kārakaḥ /
yaṃ cānuśāyinaṃ prāhur avyākṛtam utāpare //

The cause of this creation and the rest is the individual soul, the agent of ignorance and karma;
which some call the dormant self, while others call it the unmanifest.

18. The cause or motive power is the Jiva invested with Avidya, Karma and the organs, at whose instance the creation and other processes of the Universe come into play; some say that he lies underneath it and others think that he is the subtle matter.

12.7.19

vyatirekānvayo yasya jāgrat-svapna-suṣuptiṣu /
māyā-mayeṣu tad brahma jīva-vṛttiṣv apāśrayaḥ //

That Brahman whose presence and absence persist through waking, dreaming, and deep sleep,
which are made of māyā, is the supreme refuge of the operations of the individual soul.

19. *Apasraya* (the ground or the limiting circumstance) is (only) that Brahman which is related like a witness to the products of Maya that seem to be Jivas i.e., to Visva, Taijasa and Prajna, in the states of wakefulness, dreaming and sleeping, and quite distinct in the states of *Samadhi* (meditation) and the like.

12.7.20

padārtheṣu yathā dravyaṃ san-mātraṃ rūpa-nāmasu /
bījādi-pañcatāntāsu hy avasthāsu yutāyutam //

Just as the substance of material objects is pure being within names and forms,
both connected and disconnected through the states beginning with seed and ending with death.

20. Like matter such as clay in the case of effected things like a pot, like the real existence or substratum underlying name and form, what stands separate from, as well as in relation to, the states of the body, from the laying of the seed to its final collapse (or death), is called *Apasraya*.

12.7.21

virameta yadā cittaṃ hitvā vṛtti-trayaṃ svayam /
yogerla vā tadātmānaṃ vedehāyā nivartate //

When the mind desists, abandoning the three states by itself
or through yoga, then it realizes the Self and ceases from worldly activity.

21. Only then he realises Atman and desists from the course

of activity (ceases to be in Samsara) when, naturally being rid of its three-fold function, or by virtue of Yoga practices, the mind ceases to be active.

12.7.22

evaṃ lakṣaṇa-lakṣyāṇi purāṇāni purā-vidaḥ /
munayo 'ṣṭādaśa prāhuḥ kṣullakāni mahānti ca //

The sages who know the ancient lore have declared eighteen Purāṇas,
both small and great, defined by such characteristics.

22. The sages who truly know the past tell us of the eighteen Puranas, both great and small, as presenting the characteristics described above.

12.7.23

brāhmaṃ pādmaṃ vaiṣṇavaṃ ca śaivaṃ laiṅgaṃ sa-gāruḍaṃ /
nāradīyaṃ bhāgavatam āgneyaṃ skānda-saṃjñitam //

The Brahma, Padma, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Liṅga, along with the Gāruḍa,
Nāradīya, Bhāgavata, Āgneya, the one called Skanda,

23. & 24. The Puranas are:— 1. Brahma. 2. Padma. 3. Vishnu 4. Siva. 5. Linga. 6. Garuda. 7. Narada. 8. The Bhagavata. 9. Agni. 10. Skaanda. 11. The Bhavishya. 12. Brahmavaivarta. 13. Markandeya. 14. Vaamana. 15. Varaha. 16. Matsya. 17. Kurma. and 18. Brahmanda.

12.7.24

bhaviṣyaṃ brahma-vaivartaṃ mārkaṇḍeyaṃ sa-vāmanam /
vārāhaṃ mātsyaṃ kaurmaṃ ca brahmāṇḍākhyam iti tri-ṣaṭ //

the Bhaviṣya, Brahma-vaivarta, Mārkaṇḍeya, along with the Vāmana,
the Vārāha, Matsya, Kūrma, and the one called Brahmāṇḍa—these are the three times six.

12.7.25

brahmann idaṃ samākhyātaṃ śākhā-praṇayanaṃ muneḥ /
śiṣya-śiṣya-praśiṣyāṇāṃ brahma-tejo-vivardhanam //

O brāhmaṇa, this arrangement of branches by the sage,
increasing the spiritual energy of his disciples, disciples' disciples, and grand-disciples, has been narrated.

25. O venerable Brahmin, this account has been given of the sage's (Sri Vyasa's) arranging the Vedas and of His disciples and their lines and it promotes the glory of Brahman (in faithful listeners).