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Studies in the Epics and Puranas c7.s3: III. Purāṇas

Studies in the Epics and Purāṇas c7.s3

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Contents

III. Purāṇas

1. Introduction

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The Purāṇas occupy a unique position in the sacred and secular literature of the Hindus, being regarded as next in importance only to the Vedas. In fact, they are said to be, like the Mahābhārata, the fifth Veda, the Veda of the laity. They claim for themselves an equal antiquity and sanctity with the Vedas. They are closely akin to the Epics and the Smṛtis both in form and substance. The Purāṇas are of inestimable value for the history of philosophy and religion, and are a veritable store-house for getting insight into all aspects and phases of Hinduism. Not a single Purāṇa can be found to contain all these particulars; however, "taken collectively, they may be described as a popular encyclopaedia of ancient and medieval Hinduism, religious, philosophical, historical, personal, social and political".67

2. Purāṇa: meaning, definition and characteristics

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The term Purāṇa, according to its etymology as given in the Vāyu Purāṇa, means "that which lives from ancient times";68 the Matsya also describes the Purāṇas as "containing records of past events".⁶⁹ Originally, therefore, the term signified "ancient tale" or "old narrative" in the Brāhmaṇa literature, as compared with Itihāsa and Nārāśaṃsī, before it became associated with Purāṇa as a class of literature. Purāṇas in the form of legendary lore existed from times of antiquity, even prior to the revelation of the Vedas, and this was handed down to posterity. There was no Purāṇa literature as such in those days of yore.

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⁶⁹ Matsya, 53.63: पुरातनस्य कल्पस्य पुराणानि विदुर्बुधाः ॥

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Though references in the Atharvaveda imply that the Purāṇa had assumed some independent form of composition, it is not definite whether Purāṇas meant actual books at the time of the Atharvaveda.⁷⁰ The Chāndogya Upaniṣad shows that a definite work was

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⁷⁰ Atharvaveda, XI.7.24: ऋचः सामानि छन्दांसि पुराणं यजुषा सह । उच्छिष्टाज्जज्ञिरे सर्वे दिवि देवा दिविश्रितः ॥

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67. Pargiter, ERE, X, p. 448.

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68. Vāyu, I.203: यस्मात्पुरा ह्यनतीदं पुराणं तेन हि स्मृतम् । निरुक्तमस्य यो वेद सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥ intended by the term.⁷¹ It is in the Sūtras, however, that we find reference to the existence of real Purāṇas.

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⁷¹ *Chāndogya Up.*, VII.1.2: स होवाच ऋग्वेदं भगवोऽध्येमि यजुर्वेदं सामवेदमाथर्वणम् । चतुर्थमितिहासपुराणं पञ्चमं वेदानां वेदमिति ।

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Both *Itihāsa* and *Purāṇa* denoted history and both are mentioned together in Vedic literature, sometimes as separate words and sometimes as one compound word, but almost always associated with *Gāthās*, *Nārāśaṃsis*, *Vākovākyas*, etc., which were all subjects of study in ancient times. In the later Vedic Age, *Itihāsa* preponderated over *Purāṇa*, but gradually the latter asserted itself. The characteristics of the Purāṇas have been mentioned in the classical definition of the term by Amarasiṃha (fifth century A.D.), which is also found in some Purāṇas, as *Pañcalakṣaṇa*, i.e., having five characteristics, which are, *sarga* (creation), *pratisarga* (dissolution and re-creation), *vaṃśa* (divine genealogies), *manvantara* (ages of Manus) and *vaṃśyānucarita* (genealogies of kings).⁷² A variant reading has *bhūmyādeḥ saṃsthāna* (world geography) in place of *viṃśyānucarita*.

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⁷² सर्गश्च प्रतिसर्गश्च वंशो मन्वन्तराणि च । वंशानुचरितं चैव पुराणं पञ्चलक्षणम् ।।

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None of the existing Purāṇas is in complete agreement with this definition; some contain much more than these, while others scarcely touch these and deal with other topics. It is further found that *Pañcalakṣaṇa* occupies but an insignificant part (about 1/40) of the extant Purāṇas. Thus it appears that religious instruction was not one of their primary aims, nor were they originally composed for sectarian purposes. These and other later additions such as *dāna* (gifts), *vratas* (religious observances), *tīrthas* (sacred places), *śrāddha* (rites in honour of the manes), etc., which form the bulk of the contents of the extant Purāṇas and which are not covered by the definition, render the Pañcalakṣaṇa definition merely a theoretical thing, not an actual fact. In order to get over this difficulty the Purāṇas themselves stated that the Pañcalakṣaṇa definition was intended merely for the Upa-Purāṇa (minor Purāṇa) and the Mahā-Purāṇa (major Purāṇa) has to satisfy the Daśalakṣaṇa (having ten characteristics) definition, which includes these additional topics: vṛtti (means of livelihood), rakṣā (incarnations of gods), mukti (final emancipation), hetu (jīva, unmanifest), and apāśraya (Brahman).⁷³ These characteristics also leave out of account several of the features of the extant Purāṇas. Haraprasad Sastri has found in the Matsya, an advance over this definition, which may be said to be the nearest approach to the description of the Purāṇas. It says that besides the ten characteristics, the Purāṇas deal with the glorification of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Sūrya and Rudra, as also with the dissolution and preservation of the world, and with dharma (righteous conduct), artha (economics and polity), kāma (erotics) and mokṣa (emancipation).⁷⁴

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⁷³ Bhāgavata, XI. 7.9-10.

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⁷⁴ Matsya, 53. 66-7:

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सर्गोऽस्याथ विसर्गश्च वृत्ती रक्षान्तराणि च ।
वंशो वंशानुचरितं संस्था हेतुपाश्रयः ।।
दशभिलक्षणैर्युक्तं पुराणं तद्विदो विदुः ।
केचित्त्वल्पविधं ब्रह्मन् महदल्पव्यवस्थया ।।

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According to MM. H.P. Sastri, these ten characteristics are: creation, details of creation, duties of sentient beings, protection of devotees, ages of Manu, dynasties of kings and ṛṣis, career of individuals, dissolution of the world, cause of creation, and Brahmā. Des. Cat. of Skt. MSS A.S.B., V, Intr., p. cxxvii

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ब्रह्मविष्ण्वर्करुद्राणां माहात्म्यं भवनस्य च ।
संहारप्रदानां च पुराणे पञ्चवर्णके ।।
धर्मश्चार्थश्च कामश्च मोक्षश्चैवात्र कीर्त्यते ।
सर्वेष्वपि पुराणेषु तद्विरुद्धं च यत्फलम् ।।

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Even this comprehensive definition does not cover the entire ground traversed by the Purāṇas. The Purāṇa tradition, like that of the Mahābhārata, has all along been floating and dynamic, and the texts have been subjected to numerous revisions, additions, omissions and modifications. The only characteristic of a Purāṇa is that it should be old. "Anything old may be the subject of a Purāṇa", observes Haraprasad Sastri, "and it covers all the aspects of life".75

3. Purāṇas: their number and classification

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There are eighteen Mahā-Purāṇas and eighteen Upa-Purāṇas according to the traditional view. The list of the Mahā-Purāṇas is given in almost all Purāṇas, mostly in the same order, and it is uniform, except for a couple of changes. The list runs: Brahma, Padma, Viṣṇu, Vāyu, Bhāgavata, Nāradīya, Mārkaṇḍeya, Agni, Bhaviṣya, Brahmavaivarta, Varāha, Liṅga, Skanda, Vāmana, Kūrma, Matsya, Garuḍa and Brahmāṇḍa.76 Some Purāṇas read Śiva in place of Vāyu, and Devi-Bhāgavata instead of (Vaiṣṇava) Bhāgavata. Pusalker has shown that the Śiva is not a Mahā-Purāṇa.⁷⁷ However, in order to accommodate these conflicting views, Pargiter takes their number to be 19, by including both the Śiva and Vāyu,⁷⁸ and Farquhar further increases the number by including the Harivaṃśa in addition.⁷⁹ But there is absolutely no support for increasing the traditional number.

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⁷⁷ JUB, X, pp. 148-155; infra, pp. 31-41.

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⁷⁸ ERE, X, p. 448.

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⁷⁹ ORLI, p. 139.

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There is no uniformity in the enumeration of the Upa-Purāṇas, which, unfortunately, have been com-

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75. JBORS, XIV, p. 329.
76. cf. Devi-Bhāgavata, I.3, which enumerates the Purāṇas in a nutshell in the following couplet:

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मद्वयं भद्वयं चैव त्रत्रयं वचतुष्टयम् ।
नालिपाग्निपुराणानि कू स्कं गारुडमेव च ।।

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paratively neglected so far. The Upa-Purāṇas are more sectarian in character, are comparatively late and of composite nature. There is very little of historical value in the Upa-Purāṇas. From a collation of the lists at different places, the following appear to be the eighteen Upa-Purāṇas: Sanatkumāra, Narasimha, Nanda, Śivadharma, Durvāsa, Nāradīya, Kapila, Vāmana, Uśanas, Mānava, Varuṇa, Kali, Maheśvara, Sāmba, Saura, Parāśara, Marīca and Bhārgava. Hazra has collected the names of about a hundred Upa-Purāṇas,⁸⁰ of which hardly fifteen have appeared in print.

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⁸⁰ ABORI, XXI, p. 49n.

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The Purāṇas can also be classified into ancient and later, according as they conform strictly to the Pañcalakṣaṇa definition or not. The less the number of additions which are foreign to the nature of the Purāṇas as defined by the Amarakośa, the older the Purāṇa. Judging from this test, we may pronounce the Vāyu, Brahmāṇḍa, Matsya and Viṣṇu as the ancient Purāṇas.

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The Mahā-Purāṇas have further been sub-divided according to their preferential treatment to Viṣṇu, Śiva and other deities, and they are respectively styled Sāttvika, Tāmasa and Rājasa, evidently from the Vaiṣṇava standpoint. Thus, the Padma distribution is as under:⁸¹

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⁸¹ Padma, Uttarakhaṇḍa, 263, 81-84:

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(i) Sāttvika — Viṣṇu, Nāradīya, Bhāgavata, Garuda, Padma and Varāha;

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मात्स्यं कौर्मं तथा लैङ्गं शैवं स्कन्दं तथैव च ।।
आग्नेयं च षडेतानि तामसानि निबोध मे ।
वैष्णवं नारदीयं च तथा भागवतं शुभम् ।।
गारुडं च तथा पाद्यं वाराहं शुभदर्शने ।
सात्त्विकानि पुराणानि विज्ञेयानि शुभानि वै ।।
ब्रह्माण्डं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं मार्कण्डेयं तथैव च ।
भविष्यं वामनं ब्राह्मं राजसानि निबोध मे ।।

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(ii) Tāmasa — Matsya, Kūrma, Liṅga, Śiva, Agni, and Skanda;
(iii) Rājasa — Brahmāṇḍa, Brahmavaivarta, Mārkaṇḍeya, Brahma, Vāmana, and Bhaviṣya.

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The Skanda enumerates ten Purāṇas as describing the greatness of Śiva, four of Brahmā and two each of Devī and Hari.⁸² The Matsya regards the Purāṇa glorifying Agni as Rājasa, and those that glorify the Sarasvatī and Pitṛs (Manes) as Saṃkīrṇa.⁸³

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⁸² Skanda, Kedārakhaṇḍa, 1: अष्टादशपुराणेषु दशभिर्गीयते शिवः । चतुर्भिर्भगवान ब्रह्मा द्वाभ्यां देवी तथा हरिः ॥

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⁸³ Matsya, 53. 68-69: सात्त्विकेपु पुराणेषु माहात्म्यमधिकं हरेः । राजसेषु च माहात्म्यमधिकं ब्रह्मणो विदुः ॥ तद्वदग्नेश्च माहात्म्यं तामसेषु शिवस्य च । संकीर्णेषु सरस्वत्याः पितृणां च निगद्यते ॥

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Basing his division on later Tamil works, Dikshitar classifies the Purāṇas into five groups as under:⁸⁴

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⁸⁴ IHQ, VIII, p. 766.

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(i) Brahmā — Brahma and Padma;
(ii) Sūrya — Brahmavaivarta;
(iii) Agni — Agni;
(iv) Śiva — Śiva, Skanda, Liṅga, Kūrma, Vāmana, Varāha, Bhaviṣya, Matsya, Mārkaṇḍeya and Brahmāṇḍa; and
(v) Viṣṇu — Nārada, Bhāgavata, Garuḍa and Viṣṇu.

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The most satisfactory grouping, however, has been attempted by Haraprasad Sastri, on a thorough and critical examination of the contents of the Purāṇas. He divides them into six groups in accordance with their subject-matter.⁸⁵

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⁸⁵ JBORS, XIV, pp. 330-7.

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(i) The first group is the so-called encyclopaedias of literature, comprising the Garuḍa, Agni and Nārada. These contain the abstracts of all the great works in Arts and Sciences in Sanskrit Literature. These deal, in addition to the usual Purāṇic material, with medicine, grammar, dramaturgy, music, astrology, etc.

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(ii) The next group, which includes the Padma, Skanda and Bhaviṣya, mainly deals with tīrthas and vratas. The original matter in these Purāṇas has been lost out of recognition on account of various revisions of a drastic nature.

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(iii) The Purāṇas, that underwent two general revisions which are apparent, form the third group, and comprise the Brahma, Bhāgavata and Brahmavaivarta. In these Purāṇas, the original part is the kernel or the central portion, which has been added to twice — at both ends on each occasion.

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(iv) The fourth group, called historical, comprises the Brahmāṇḍa and the lost Vāyu. Haraprasad Sastri holds that excepting for a portion of the second part preserved in a manuscript, the genuine Vāyu is lost;⁸⁶ the present Vāyu may be merged in the Brahmāṇḍa.

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⁸⁶ Ibid, p. 336.

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(v) Sectarian works form the fifth group which consists of the Liṅga, Vāmana and Mārkaṇḍeya. The Liṅga deals with Liṅga Pūjā (worship of Liṅga as an emblem of Śiva), while the Vāmana is a handbook of Śaiva sects according to Haraprasad Sastri. The Mārkaṇḍeya deals with Devī.

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(vi) Finally, old Purāṇas revised out of existence is the sixth group, including the Varāha, Kūrma, and Matsya. One naturally expects these entire works to have been spoken by these various incarnations of Viṣṇu; but actually, Varāha speaks only about a half of the Varāha Purāṇa; Matsya, only a third of the Matsya; and Kūrma, only an eighth of the Kūrma.

4. Purāṇas: Origin and Development

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The Purāṇas contain different accounts of their origin. According to the Viṣṇu, after dividing the Veda and entrusting it to his four disciples, Vyāsa compiled a Purāṇa-Saṃhitā with tales, anecdotes, songs and ancient lore,⁸⁷ and taught it to his fifth disciple, Sūta Lomaharṣaṇa (or Ro-), who divided that Purāṇa into six versions and taught them to his disciples, three of whom each made a further collection. The six-fold Purāṇa of Sūta is known as Romaharṣaṇic collection, and the collections of his disciples are named after them, as Kāśyapika, Sāvarṇika, and Śāṃśapāyanika. These four were regarded as the "root-saṃhitās". None of these is in existence at present. Sūta had a son named Ugraśravas and he taught a saṃhitā to him also. The Viṣṇu thus accounts for four root-saṃhitās of the original Purāṇa.

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⁸⁷ Viṣṇu, III. 6.15: आख्यानैश्चाप्यपाख्यानैर्गाथाभिः कल्पशुद्धिभिः । पुराणसंहितां चक्रे पुराणार्थविशारदः ॥

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The Vāyu says that the Purāṇas were compiled by Brahmā before the Vedas were revealed to him,⁸⁸ and the task of their preservation was given to the Sūtas. The original Sūta was born mystically out of the first sacrifice and was entrusted with preserving the tradition. This Sūta is a holy and venerable Brāhmaṇa, quite distinct from the Sūta of the Dharma-śāstras, born of pratiloma wedlock between a Brāhmaṇa maiden and a Kṣatriya male, as also from the residents of Magadha who were Sūtas. Many a scholar has taken the Sūta of the Purāṇas to be a non-Brāhmaṇa, which is evidently a mistake.⁸⁹

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⁸⁸ Vāyu, I. 60-61: पुराणं सर्वशास्त्राणां प्रथमं ब्रह्मणः स्मृतम् ॥ अनन्तरं च वक्त्रेभ्यो वेदस्तस्य विनिर्गताः ।

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⁸⁹ Vāyu, 33.35; 62.147. Dikshitar IHQ, VIII, p. 759 f; contra Pargiter, AIHT, pp. 15-18; Rapson, CHI, I, p. 297; Winternitz, HIL, I, p. 528.

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Haraprasad Sastri says that in the only genuine portion of the Vāyu (referred to earlier) the number of the Purāṇas is given as ten, so that this represents, according to him, the next stage in the development of the Purāṇas, when their number was raised from four as given in the Viṣṇu, to ten. He states that the traditional number eighteen is the final stage.⁹⁰

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⁹⁰ Des. Cat. of Mss, ASB, V, Intr., pp. lxxxiv, lxxxix.

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B. C. Mazumdar holds that there was a separate Purāṇa for each Vedic school as there were separate Brāhmaṇas, Anukramaṇīs, Upaniṣads, etc.; and regards the Agni, Vāyu and Sūrya to be such original Purāṇas connected respectively with the Ṛg-, Yajus-, and Sāma-vedas.⁹¹

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⁹¹ ASJ Comm. Vol., Orientalia, 2, p. 13 f.

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On account of the use of the word Purāṇa in singular in the passages of the Atharvaveda, identity of language in the dynastic lists in the Purāṇas and the traditional account of there being a single Purāṇa at the beginning, Jackson and others believe that there was only one Purāṇa in the beginning.⁹² But the singular number has been used collectively to designate the group of Purāṇa-Saṃhitā. Again, different Purāṇas commence with different princes, and with different periods, and are the products of different places. Hence, there was no original single Purāṇa, in the same way as there is no original single Veda or single Brāhmaṇa.

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⁹² JBBRAS, Centenary Mem. No., pp. 67-77.

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Tracing the genesis and development of the legendary lore from the earliest times to the period when the Purāṇas attained the status of eighteen Mahā-Purāṇas, it appears that up to the period of the Atharvaveda, the Purāṇas signified only tales of old, and were allied with Itihāsa, Gāthās, Nārāśamsis, etc. It is doubtful whether the term then conveyed any class of Purāṇa literature. The Purāṇas in the Vedic Age were compiled by the Sūta from the Vedic Vamśa, Ākhyāna, etc. The Bhārata war was an important landmark in the development of the Purāṇas because their canon was fixed some four generations after the Bhārata war and the genealogical accounts subsequent to this period were designated as ‘future’ in the Purāṇas. The next stage may be found in the Upaniṣadic period when chapters on cosmogony, which incorporate the Sāmkhya and Upaniṣadic ideas, were added in the Purāṇas along with those on the Ages of the Manus. The self-contradictory title Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa employed by Āpastamba indicates that in the period of the Sūtras the term Purāṇa had become so specialised as to have lost its proper meaning and became merely a designation of a particular class of books. The Purāṇas of those days probably gave rise to the Pañcalakṣaṇa definition, and included sections on geography and bhakti (devotion). Matters on Hindu rites and customs, which are strictly the domain of the Smṛtis and Dharmaśāstras, such as varṇāśramadharma, śrāddha, dāna, dikṣā, vratas, tīrthas, etc., were incorporated into the Purāṇas, as shown by Hazra, not later than the middle of the fourth century A.D.⁹³ Liberties have all along been taken with the texts of the Purāṇas, and especially the ambition of the later compilers was to make the Purāṇas all-comprehensive and encyclopaedic like the Mahābhārata and every successive generation tried to make the Purāṇas up-to-date by various devices.

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⁹³ Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, p. 6.

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5. Contents of the Purāṇas:

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According to the classical definition, as already stated, the Purāṇas as a whole deal with the evolution of the universe, recreation of the universe from the constituent elements, genealogies of gods and seers, groups of great ages (kalpa), and the history of royal families. The first three of these subjects may be said to contain early religion, mythology and philosophy as also cosmography and ‘ages’. The last two topics deal with genealogies and supply us with traditional history. The Purāṇas also contain, besides, a good deal on supplementary topics of religious instruction, rituals, dāna, vratas, bhakti, yoga, various incarnations of Viṣṇu and Śiva, and also medicine, music, grammar, poetics, metrics, dramaturgy, astronomy and astrology, architecture, sculpture, iconography, polity, rājadharma, etc.

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Philosophy: Cosmogony: The Purāṇas contain various accounts as to the creation of the world.⁹⁴ Here we shall deal only with the accounts in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa as they are sufficient to give an idea of the cosmogony of the Purāṇas. According to one account, when the self-existent Brahman, who exists in three successively proceeding forms — Puruṣa, Pradhāna and Kāla, enters Puruṣa and Pradhāna, Mahat or Buddhi is produced from Pradhāna. Buddhi produces Ahaṃkāra and so are produced the five subtle elements (tan-mātras), the gross elements (bhūtas) and the eleven organs (jñānendriyas, karmendriyas, and manas). The highest deity, invested with the rajas (activity) guṇa, and known as Brahmā, creates all beings; the same deity with the sattva (purity) guṇa, and known as Viṣṇu, preserves the universe, and in the awful form Rudra with the tamas (darkness) guṇa destroys it.

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⁹⁴ For "Purāṇic Cosmogony", see infra, pp. 1-24.

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Another account narrates the nine creations, the first three, viz. the animal creation, the elemental creation and the organic creation, being known as the Prākṛta Sarga (creation from Prakṛti), the next five as the Vaikṛta Sarga, and the last as the Kaumāra Sarga. In all these creations three guṇas existed in different states of predominance.

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In yet another account it is stated that Brahmā assumed four different forms in succession, and from these were produced the demons (asuras), gods (devas), forefathers (pitṛs) and the mankind (manuṣyas). Afterwards he produced all other living beings, creatures and vegetation. Then were produced the nine mind-born sons known as Ṛṣis, and deities called Rudras, after whom were created the first Manu Svāyambhuva and a woman Śatarūpā. These had two sons, Priyavrata and Uttānapāda, and a daughter. Dakṣa married the daughter and had 24 daughters, of whom 13 were married to Dharma and bore Love and other personified feelings, ten were married to other mind-born sons and Agni and the fore-fathers, and one, known as Satī, was married to Śiva.

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This creation lasts for a day of Brahmā which is equal to 14 Manus or Manvantaras. At the close of each Manvantara, life of inferior creatures and lower worlds comes to an end, leaving the substance of the universe entire, and gods and sages unharmed. After the end of the fourteenth Manvantara or when Brahmā's day closes, occurs the great dissolution called Naimittika Pratisarga in which all things come to an end by fire and water, from which only the Prākṛta Creation escapes including the three qualities and Seven Ṛṣis, etc. At the end of Brahmā's night lasting for a Kalpa, he awakes and begins his creation again. All the Prākṛta Creation disappears only at the Prākṛta Pralaya, occurring at the end of the life of Brahmā, when not only all the gods and all other forms are annihilated, but the elements are again merged into primary substance, besides which only spiritual being exists.

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Kalpa, Manvantara, Yuga, Etc.: The explanation of these theories involves a consideration of the question of Yugas (ages), Manvantaras (periods of Manus), etc. A human year is a day and night of the gods. 12,000 divine years or 4,320,000 human years constitute Caturyuga (four ages) or Mahāyuga (great age) which is divided into four ages of progressive deterioration in the ratio of 4 : 3 : 2 : 1, respectively for Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. Each of these Yugas is preceded and followed by Sandhyās containing a tenth of the period of the Yuga. 1000 Caturyugas (i.e. 1000 x 4,320,000 human years) are equivalent to a day or night of Brahmā, which is called a kalpa (aeon). Each kalpa comprises the periods of 14 Manus (fathers of mankind), each of whom presides over 71 Caturyugas with a surplus.

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This chronological system of fitting in 71 four-age periods making a Manvantara in the cosmological scheme is purely hypothetical and a later elaboration. The idea of four ages seems to be an early one. Various theories have been put forth by scholars for explaining the Yugas and Manvantaras. Yuga appears to have meant any unit of time. Yuga has been variously taken to represent a quarter of a day, a month, a period less than a year, one year, four years, five years, ten years, one hundred years, one thousand years or ten thousand years on the strength of references in Sanskrit works.⁹⁵ Daftary has published a monograph dealing with the astronomical method and its application to the chronology of ancient India. According to him, Yuga (also called Manvantara) was a period of four years (equivalent to a kalpa); the Mahā-kalpa was a period of one thousand years, comprising Kṛta (four hundred), Tretā (three hundred), Dvāpara (two hundred) and Kali (one hundred); the first Kṛta began in 3102 B.C., and the Bhārata war took place in 1197 B.C.⁹⁶ Mankad has tried to show that all Yugas had at first an equal number of years, each having one thousand years at first and then twelve hundred years; the total of four Yugas being at first four thousand years and later four thousand eight hundred years; Manvantara was used for (a) a period from one Manu (generic dynastic title for a king) to another Manu, or (b) a period from a Manu (starter of a dynasty) to any king of his line; Catur-yuga in the usual Purāṇic formula "Caturyugānāṁ hi saṁkhyātā sādhikā hyekasaptatiḥ Manvantaram" was computed at forty years; the Manvantara Caturyuga method, employed for longer chronological computations, took a unit of forty years (termed as a Catur-yuga) and in a given dynasty kept as many kings as the units of forty years were required. Manu's date has been taken to be 5976 B.C. and the date of Bhārata war 3201 B.C.⁹⁷

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⁹⁵ cf. Mankad, PO, VI, pp. 211-2.

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⁹⁶ Astronomical Method (Nagpur, 1942), pp. 143-46, 148, 160, 148-53, 165-7, 44 ff.

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⁹⁷ PO, VI, pp. 206-216: ABORI, XXIII, pp. 271-290; IHQ, XVIII, pp. 208-30; PO, VIII, pp. 1-24; Puranic Chronology, Anand, 1951: also infra, pp. 211-2.

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No satisfactory explanation of the Manvantara Caturyuga theory has yet come forth. The division of time into four ages (Yugas), the Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, according to Pargiter, had a historical basis,⁹⁸ though later speculations have elaborated it into an amazing yet precise scheme of cosmogony, to which we have briefly referred. This theory of the four ages applies only to India and not to the whole world and thus the further elaboration of these ages in the 71 four-age periods making up a Manvantara is evidently a later development. As in later periods, great wars, conquests or political changes should be taken to have marked the end of one age and the coming in of another in the ancient period of traditional history. The Bhārata war has been taken as having occurred at the close of the Dvāpara age, and the Kali age began after the war. Earlier, Rāma Dāśarathi is said to have lived in the interval between the Tretā and Dvāpara age. The Kṛta age appears to have ended with the destruction of the Haihayas and the Tretā began with the reign of Sagara. Thus, in the scheme of genealogy before the Bhārata war from Manu Vaivasvata to the participants in the great war which comprises 95 generations (according to Pargiter), the Kṛta covers forty generations (Nos. 1-40), the Tretā extends to twenty-five generations (Nos. 41-65) and the Dvāpara to thirty generations (Nos. 66-95). These ages thus symbolize changes in the political conditions in India. Taking an average of 18 years for each generation, it may be stated that the Kṛta age covered (40 x 18) 720 years, Tretā (25 x 18) 450 years, and Dvāpara (30 x 18) 540 years, or that the historical period in India begins about 1800 years before the Bhārata war. In other words, the great Flood, immediately after which the dynastic lists in traditional history begin, occurred about 1800 years before the Bhārata war.

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⁹⁸ AIHT, pp. 175-9.

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*Cosmography*: The account of the first Manu includes a description of the universe over which he ruled. Like chronology, most of the description is imaginary. The world is said to consist of seven concentric continents separated by encircling seas of different substances such as butter, milk, etc. Fabulous and mythological descriptions have been given of the nether regions comprising hells, and of the sun, moon, planets, stars and celestial worlds, etc. The innermost of the seven continents separated from the next by salt water is Jambu-dvīpa which alone was subject to the law of Caturyugas. The most important region of Jambudvīpa is Bhāratavarṣa or India, so called because the descendants of the Bharatas reside therein. Bhāratavarṣa is defined as the country that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains. It is said to contain seven main chains of mountains named Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Śuktimat, Ṛkṣa, Vindhya and Pāripātra. The Kirātas are stated to dwell on the east of Bhārata; the Yādavas on the west, and the Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras in the centre.⁹⁹ Detailed lists have been given of the rivers flowing from the Himālayas and seven mountain chains as also of several tribes inhabiting the various regions. The Mahābhārata and other works also contain similar lists. The mention of Yavanas, Śakas and Pahlavas who came to India in the second and first centuries B.C. and of Hūṇas, who broke up the Gupta empire in the sixth century A.D., indicates that the geographical lists have been brought up-to-date, from time to time.

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⁹⁹ Wilson, Viṣṇu P. (trans), II, pp. 127-9.

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*Dynastic Lists:* The Purāṇas begin their genealogies with Manu, the saviour of humanity at the Flood. Vaivasvata Manu, the first king, had ten sons, among whom was divided the whole country. The eldest son had a dual personality as Ila or Iḷā, and was the progenitor respectively of the Saudyumnas and the Alias. Ikṣvāku got the Madhyadeśa with its capital at Ayodhyā, and his son Vikukṣi continued the main Ikṣvāku branch of the Solar dynasty, and from another son Nemi sprang the Videhas. From Nabhaga who ruled over the Yamunā descended the Rathītaras, known as “Kṣatriyan Brāhmaṇas”. Dhṛṣṭa originated Dhṛṣṭakas who ruled over the Punjab. Śaryāti, founder of the Śāryātas, ruled in Ānarta, modern Gujarāt, with its capital at Kuśasthali (Dvārakā). Nābhānediṣṭha ruled over modern Tirhut, and Viśāla in this line founded the Vaiśāla dynasty. From Karūṣa came the Kārūṣas, the determined fighters, who occupied Badhelkhand and Shahbad. Not much is known about Nariṣyanta and Prāmśu, and Pṛṣadhra was probably excluded from his share.

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From Purūravas Aila, born of Ilā, who ruled over Pratiṣṭhāna (modern Pihan) started the Aila or Lunar dynasty. His son Āyu succeeded him at Pratiṣṭhāna, and another son Amāvasu founded the Kānyakubja dynasty. Of his five sons, Nahuṣa succeeded Āyu, Kṣatravṛddha established himself at Kāśī, and Anenas gave rise to the Kṣatradharmans. Nahuṣa had five or six sons. Yati, the eldest, embraced asceticism, and Yayāti, the great sacrificer, succeeded Nahuṣa. Yayāti married Devayānī and Śarmiṣṭhā, and had as sons Yadu and Turvasu (from Devayānī), and Anu, Druhyu and Puru (from Śarmiṣṭhā), all founders of great dynasties. Puru continued the main line, and Pauravas, forerunners of the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, sprang from him. Yadu was the founder of the Yādavas, who included the Haihayas, Andhaka-Vṛṣṇis, Sātvatas, etc. From Anu descended the Ānavas who branched off into Yaudheyas, Sauviras, Kaikayas, etc. Druhyu's descendants spread out into the Mleccha country beyond India, and Turvasu's line later merged in the Pauravas.

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From Manu to the Bhārata war have been given about 95 generations. After the Bhārata war, the Purāṇas use the future tense for the subsequent dynasties, which are called dynasties of the Kali age, given only in seven Purāṇas. The account runs till about the period of the Guptas and Andhras.

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Theology: The theology preached is heterogeneous. In preference to the Vedic deities of whom only Indra and Agni retain their premier positions, popular deities are praised in the Purāṇas. The three chief gods are Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva. Varuna becomes the lord of the ocean, and his twin Mitra has disappeared. The Sun is highly extolled in some Purāṇas, but details of his worship are given in the Bhaviṣya. Yama, the god of the dead, punishes the sinners in his hells. Gandharvas and Apsarases are celestial musicians and nymphs. Under demons are classed the Asuras, Daityas, Dānavas and Rākṣasas.

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Of the trinity, Brahmā is the creator, Viṣṇu the preserver, and Śiva the destroyer. Sectarian Purāṇas preach the supremacy either of Viṣṇu or of Śiva, but generally, the older Purāṇas glorify also the rival deity. The high watermark is found in the monotheistic teaching enunciating the unity of all three, and worship of any one of them according to the preference of the worshipper.

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*Incarnations*: Ten incarnations of Viṣṇu appear in most of the Purāṇas, of whom five (Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasimha and Vāmana) are mythological, four (Paraśurāma, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa and Buddha) are historical, and one (Kalki) is still future. Three of these, viz. Varāha, Narasimha and Vāmana, of whom germs are found in Vedic literature, are said to be *divya* (divine) and the rest are *mānuṣa* (human).¹⁰⁰ The Daśāvatāra (ten incarnations) theory suggests the idea of evolutionary process of human development. The fish emerges out of the early Palaeozoic seas, followed by the tortoise and boar in the Mesozoic period. Next came the man-lion and dwarf in the period of cavemen and bushmen. Paraśurāma represents the nomadic or hunter stage and Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, the fully civilised stage of city life.

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¹⁰⁰ Vāyu, 98.88; Matsya, 47.241.

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In contrast to Viṣṇu, who appears on the celestial plane except when incarnated, Śiva is a terrestrial god, forming part of the Hindu pantheon since prehistoric times. He is associated with Pārvatī, the Mother Goddess, and they have Skanda and Gaṇeśa as sons. The Pāśupata cult, praised in the Śaiva Purāṇas, is reprobated in others. The Liṅga cult associated with Śiva appears only in the later Purāṇas, as also the Śākta cult associated with the female counter-part of Liṅga worship.

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There is also the worship of Pitṛs (Manes) who are said to comprise seven groups, sometimes ranked with gods. They come into existence with gods in each manvantara. These pitṛs are connected with Śrāddha, about which elaborate particulars are given in the Purāṇas.

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Heterodox systems: Among the heretical systems Jainism and Buddhism are condemned. Viṣṇu himself is represented as appearing as Māyāmoha, who misguides the demons with the philosophies of darkness and ignorance, viz. those of the Buddhists, Jainas and Cārvākas. The term Nagna (naked) has been applied to Avaidika, i.e., a heretic, and includes these three. Kāpālikas also figure as worst heretics.

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Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokṣa: These four aims of life form part of most of the Purāṇas. Under dharma is included religious teaching both Brahmanical and popular. The doctrine of sin and punishment is distinctly laid down, with penance for the expiation of sins, and punishments in hells, of which description is given. The popular teaching consists of descriptions of tīrthas and of pilgrimages to them, as also of vratas, dāna, etc. — the chief feature of all these being that they were available to all, including women and Śūdras to whom the Vedas were denied.

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Artha (acquisition of wealth, or polity) may be found in the Rājadharma section appended to various Purāṇas dealing with the duties of kings and methods of administration, conduct of war and peace, etc.

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Under Kāma, we may include rules about marriage, duties of wife and women, which are illustrated by stories. Sītā and Sāvitrī are cited as examples of perfect wifehood.

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Mokṣa (final emancipation) was the aim placed before every human being. Transmigration was an article of faith with every one. As means to the attainment of deliverance from the chain of successive rebirths were prescribed the paths of Yoga and Bhakti. Both Jñānayoga and Karmayoga have been taught. Bhakti is generally associated with Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa.

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Miscellaneous Matters: Medicine, veterinary science, architecture, scrutiny of gems, astrology, grammar, etc. are expounded in the Garuḍa and Agni. The latter further deals with archery, poetics, metrics, drama and music. The Matsya has a section on architecture.

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6. Purāṇas and the so-called Kṣatriya tradition:

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Pargiter and others hold that the Purāṇas represent the Kṣatriya tradtion, as distinct from the Vedic texts which, according to these scholars, represent the Brāhmaṇa tradition.¹⁰¹ The theory is mainly based on two assumptions: (i) that the heroes of the legends and stories in the Purāṇas are Kṣatriya kings who mostly do not figure in the Vedic literature, and (ii) that their transmission was entrusted to the Sūta of the Kṣatriya origin. There is absolutely no foundation for these beliefs.

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¹⁰¹ Pargiter, AIHT, pp. 58-77; Rapson, CHI, I, pp. 297, 302; Winternitz, HIL, I, pp. 315 f.

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The Sūta, as shown already, was not a non-Brāhmaṇa, but a venerable sage. As regards the so-called Kṣatriya tradition, there have never been in India two such water-tight compartments as the Brāhmaṇa tradition and Kṣatriya tradition. Even in the works distinctly assigned to Kṣatriya tradition by Pargiter we find glorification of the Brāhmaṇas, and the so-called Brahmanic literature abounds in Kṣatriya legends. The Purāṇas themselves assign a comparatively small portion to genealogical accounts, the genuine Kṣatriya tradition according to Pargiter; their main bulk deals with Vedic and Brahmanic lore. Moreover, the Purāṇas follow the Vedic religion and take pride in styling themselves as the 'fifth Veda'. The earliest reference to Purāṇa, as observed by Keith, is for a point of Brahmanical lore and not for a point of genealogy or history.¹⁰² Again, even according to Pargiter, the Purāṇas, as we have them now, are undeniably Brahmanic compilations;¹⁰³ so no part can be partitioned as Brahmanic and Kṣatriya tradition. These are not two distinct sets of traditions; both are Brahmanical traditions, but produced under different environments and with different aims and objects.

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¹⁰² JRAS, 1914, p. 1027.

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¹⁰³ JRAS, 1912, p. 889.

7. Comparative Value of Vedic Texts and Purāṇas

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There has been a difference of opinion among scholars as to the comparative value of the Vedic texts and the Purāṇas in regard to the historical data supplied by them. Keith is excessively sceptical about the historical value of the Purāṇas and is doubtful regarding the historicity of any event which is not explicitly mentioned in the Ṛgveda. Pargiter goes to the other extreme and gives more weight to the Purāṇic tradition than to the Vedic evidence which he styles as the Brāhmaṇa tradition. The so-called Kṣatriya tradition, however, is hardly an unpolluted source of history. Priority of date and comparative freedom from textual corruption are doubtless two strong points in favour of Vedic texts. The Purāṇas, however, cannot be ruled out absolutely because despite a good deal of what is untrustworthy in them it is absurd to suppose that fiction completely ousted the truth.

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As the Vedic texts and the Purāṇas were produced under different circumstances and with different aims and objects, there would naturally be some differences in the accounts recorded in them. It will be seen, however, that there is practically no contradiction or conflict between the Vedic texts and the Purāṇas. The Ṛgveda as we have it is a Kuru-pañcāla product and naturally kings belonging to that country play prominent roles in it and others find but incidental mention. Kings who are mentioned in the Vedic texts but are not found in the Purāṇic tradition were possibly princes and chieftains of smaller dynasties not preserved in the dynastic lists in the Purāṇas. There is also the possibility of the same person being referred to under different names in the two sets of traditional accounts. Some of the kings mentioned in the Ṛgveda can be fitted in the gaps in the Purāṇic lists. The Ṛgveda no doubt offers the proper corrective to the Purāṇic lists; but, when we find Purāṇic accounts to be corroborated by the Vedic evidence, it is legitimate to take their testimony as valid in matters on which the Ṛgveda is silent. The proper procedure for the writing of traditional history is to take into account the joint testimony of the Vedic and Purāṇic texts wherever available and to try to bring harmony into the conflicting texts. The evidence of the Purāṇas in these matters needs very careful consideration.

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8. Age of the Purāṇas:

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The age of the Purāṇas is a disputed question. At one time it was thought that the Purāṇas belong to the latest productions of Sanskrit literature and originated in the last thousand years. References to the Purāṇas prior to that period contradict this view. It is no doubt true that the Purāṇas, as they exist, cannot be assigned to any particular age; even the component parts of individual Purāṇas belong to different periods, as the processes of inflation, omission, emendation, contamination, etc. have been continuously going on.

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While dealing with the age of the Purāṇas, therefore, we should consider the date of the earliest portions and not the latest. The earlier versions of the Purāṇas, no doubt, existed at the period of the Bhārata war and that of Megasthenes. The extant Purāṇas, however, can be assigned to the early centuries of the Christian era on the testimony of epigraphy and literature. According to MM. H.P. Sastri, for deciding the age of the Purāṇas, we should consider the number and order of the incarnations of Viṣṇu and the enumeration of tribes and castes of India and of surrounding countries.¹⁰⁴

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¹⁰⁴ Des. Cat. of MSS. ASB, V. Intr., p. xci.

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9. Historical value of the Purāṇas and Purāṇas and modern scholarship:

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Twelve Purāṇas contain dynastic lists, seven of which continue it after the Bhārata war. Though reduced to writing at a comparatively late period, there is no doubt that the Purāṇas embody the earliest traditional history and that much of their material is old and valuable. Hence, there would be no justification for rejecting the evidence of the Purāṇas wholesale.

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Modern scholarship varied its attitude towards the Purāṇas at different times. At the beginning of the Indic studies in the last decades of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, the Purāṇas were regarded as of no historical value on account of the confused conglomeration of legendary and historical events in the Purāṇas as also their peculiar ideas of ‘ages’. The confirmation of the Purāṇic statement as to the source of the Nile by actual discovery by Capt. Speke in Nubia (Kuśadvīpa) turned the tide in favour of the Purāṇas for a while; but the study of inscriptions and coins, which was inaugurated in India at about the same time, tended to minimise the value of the Purāṇas and in some respects contradicted the tradition and proved it to be wrong. The Buddhist texts also ran counter to the accounts in the Purāṇas in some particulars. All this tended to raise suspicion and disbelief about the Purāṇas.

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In the early decades of the last century, Wilson made a systematic study of the Purāṇas and brought out an English translation of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa with an exhaustive introduction and critical and comparative notes which attracted the attention of European scholars to this important branch of Sanskrit literature. The Purāṇas were rescued from the unmerited oblivion and were considered as worthy of credence when corroborated by independent evidence. It was not however till the early decades of the present century that the patient and sustained researches of Pargiter placed before the world a critical survey of the historical material in the Purāṇas. These have made a strong case in favour of the historical statements in the Purāṇas. Smith has proved that the Matsya account of the Andhras is substantially correct. Scholars have found that the Viṣṇu version about the Mauryas and the Vāyu about the early Guptas merit credence and the Purāṇas are now regarded as worthy of more serious attention than they have received hitherto. The present view is to accept the Purāṇas as one of the important sources of the traditional history of ancient India. Nowadays, the Purāṇas are being critically studied in order to extract historical data therefrom. Modern historians and orientalists like Rapson, Smith, Jayaswal, D. R. Bhandarkar, Raychaudhuri, Pradhan, Rangacharya, Altekar and Jayachandra have used the Purāṇic material in their historical works, studies, monographs and articles.

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The importance of the Purāṇas for the comprehensive history of Indian culture and civilisation is immense as there are sections dealing with polity, sociology, administrative institutions, religion and philosophy, law and legal institutions, fine arts, architecture, etc. The function of a modern historian should be to disentangle legendary, fictitious, or mythological material from the purely historical and cultural data.

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