History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.206

v7.c90.206

*Brahmapurāṇa*—The one printed at the Ānandāśrama appears to be a late compilation. Vide H. on ‘Apocryphal Brahmapurāṇa’ in I C II. pp. 235–245 and PRHR pp. 145–157. H. states that numerous quotations from the Brahma occurring in the works of Jīmūtavāhana, Aparārka, Ballālasena, Devannabhaṭṭa and Haradatta are not found in the printed Brahma, that the current Brahma borrows chapters from the Mahābhārata, Viṣṇu, Vāyu and Mārkaṇḍeya and that the present Brahma was composed between 10th century and 12th century A. D. H. Otto Schrader states that chapters 236-244 of the present Brahma dealing with Sāṅkhya and Yoga are borrowed from the Mahābhārata (I C vol. II pp 592-93). The Dānasāgara refers to two Brahmapurānas one of which it did not utilize (p 7 verse 63) The Kalpataru quotes at least about 1500 verses from the Brahmapurāna (600 in *niyatahkāla* section, 66 on tīrtha, 60 on mokṣa, 78 on rājadharma, 21 on gṛhastha, 20 on vyavahāra, verses 15 on vrata, 15 on brahmacārin of which the editor has traced only 9 in the printed text) The Kalpataru on śrāddha quotes several hundred verses from the Brahma, the number of quotations being larger than the quotations from any other Purāṇa, the next being Vāyu and Matsya On p 388 of the śrāddha section the Kalpataru quotes from Brahma-purāna a few verses about showing honour to Buddha and Bauddha monks on a certain tithi The printed Brahma contains 245 chapters and 13783 verses Chapters 70-175 deal with various tīrthas in 4640 verses, chapters 28 to 69 dilate upon several tīrthas such as Konāditya, Ekāmra, Avanti, Puruṣottama-tīrtha. The whole purāna or at least a section seems to come to an end with chapter 175 and from chapter 176 it is Vāsudevamāhātmya that is set forth up to chap 213 and the narrator is Vyāsa and not Brahmā as in the chapters up to 175 Many of the verses from chapters 42 onwards are quoted by the Tīrthacintāmaṇi (e. g. chap. 43. 1-13 in T. C. p 58-59, chap 45. 52-89 in T. C. pp. 61-64, chap 49 in T. C pp 65-72) As Vācaspati flourished in the latter half of the 15th century A. D. (vide H of Dh. vol. I. p 405), the first part of the present Brahmapurāna cannot be placed later than the 13th century A. D The present Brahma has several verses in common with Brahmāṇḍa and Vāyu (vide H. of Dh. vol IV. p 388 n 870) It is not unlikely that the other Brahmapurāna which Ballālasena discarded is the present Brahmapurāna and that both Kalpataru and Ballālasena had an older work of the same name before them The present Brahma was probably compiled in some part through which the Godāvarī (Gautamī) flows in Daṇḍakāraṇya; chap 88 18 123 117 and 129. 55 state that Daṇḍakāraṇya is the holiest country and that the river Godāvarī flows through it (chap 129 62, 66); chap 88 22-24 derive Janasthāna on the Gautamī as the sacrificial ground of the kings of the Janaka race