Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t12.17

v2.c10.s3.t12.17

6. **Narada Purana** has about 25,000 verses and is a handbook about the Vishnu sect. It consists of two parts. The first part describes the origin of the world. Narayana (ie Vishnu) is the origin and from his right Brahma was born. From the middle Rudra and from the left Vishnu were born. He created the world in the form of Brahma, protects it in the form of Vishnu and destroys it in the form of Shiva. It then goes to explain karma, Vishnu worship, ethics and rites, knowledge and religious cultivation, and is interwoven with many legends and myths. The second part begins with rites, taboos, education, mathematics, grammar, astronomy, phonology and ends with how to worship Vishnu and his incarnations.