History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.239

v7.c90.239

*Varāhapurāṇa* (B. I. edition). It has 217 chapters and 9654 verses, besides a few chapters entirely in prose (such as 81-83, 86-87 and 74 on *bhuvanakośa*) and a few in mixed prose and verse (such as 80, 84, 85, 88, 89). It is a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa and begins with the well-known verse 'Nārāyaṇam namaskṛtya' and is supposed to have been narrated to the Earth by Viṣṇu in the Boar incarnation. It is remarkable that Vyāsa does not appear in the Purāṇa, though the Sūta figures at the beginning of several chapters (e. g chap. 1, 2, 39, 50, 127, 137-138, 148, 151, 181, 213). It deals with most of the general topics of Dharmaśāstra such as vrata, tīrtha, dāna, images and their worship, aśauca, śrāddha, karmavipāka, narakas, cosmology and geography, prāyaścitta &c. The Kalpataru quotes 150 verses from it on vrata (most of which are traced by the editor), 40 verses on srāddha (none of which is traced), 250 verses on tīrtha (many of which are traced), 17 on niyatakāla (half traced), five on dāna (all traced), 4 in gṛhasthakāṇḍa (not traced). One peculiarity is that it mentions some tīrthas like Lohārgala and Stutasvāmī which are not described in other Purāṇas Aparārka quotes about 55 verses from it on several topics.