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Studies in the Upapuranas v2.c22: Chapter II. The Non-Sectarian Upapurāṇas

Studies in the Upapurāṇas v2.c22

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Chapter II. The Non-Sectarian Upapurāṇas

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Hinduism is certainly to be extolled for its exceptional catholicity and spirit of religious syncretism, but sectarian rivalry has, from early times, formed a dark blot on its reputation. We sometimes read of the different sectaries reviling each other and belittling each other's deity and even hear of kings who were guilty of perpetrating religious persecution on the people. Thus, the Māgha-māhātmya¹, as preserved in the Bengal Mss,² records a story of Citrasena,³ a Kṣatriya king of ‘Drāviḍa viṣaya’, according to which Citrasena ruled over a tract of land lying on the coast of the southern ocean and attained great fame by his performance of Vedic rites and munificence to Brahmins. Once he met some extra-Vedic (veda-bāhya) pāṣaṇḍa Śaivas who had matted hair and besmeared their bodies with ashes. These Śaivas, who were undoubtedly Āgamic, denounced the Vedas and the caste system, excited anti-Vaiṣṇava feelings in Citrasena, and initiated him to their own faith. At the instigation of these Śaivas Citrasena prohibited the worship of Viṣṇu in his realm, ordered his officers to persecute the Vaiṣṇavas, and had the images of Viṣṇu thrown into the ocean. As a result of such tyranny some of his subjects turned Śaivas and others left the country bag and baggage. Equally violent attitude is shown by the Liṅga-p. (I. 107. 41-42) when it declares:

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¹ It claims to be a part of the Uttara-khaṇḍa of the Padma-p.

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2-3 See Dacca University Mss No. 931 (fols. 44ff., chaps. 10ff.), No. 2332 (fols. 22b ff., chaps. 10 ff.), and No. 2675 (fols. 32b ff., chaps. 21ff.). In some places of these Mss the name of Citrasena has been given as ‘Citra’ or ‘Mitrasena.’ In the AnSS ed. of the Padma-p. (Uttara-khaṇḍa, chap. 250, verses 1ff.) the story of Citrasena (who is named there simply as ‘Citra’) is given in a concise form. The Cola king Kulottuṅga I started persecution against the Vaiṣṇavas in 1098 A.D.; and Kulottuṅga II, who reigned about 1140 A.D., is said to have uprooted the image of the god Govindarāja (of the Viṣṇu temple at Cidambaram) and thrown it into the sea.

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“śrutvā nindāṃ bhavasyātha tatkṣaṇād eva saṃtyajet / sva-dehaṃ taṃ nihatyāśu śiva-lokaṃ sa gacchati // yo vā cotpāṭayec jihvāṃ śiva-nindā-ratasya tu / triḥ-sapta-kulam uddhṛtya śiva-lokaṃ sa gacchati //”

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“That [man], who, after hearing the dispraise of Bhava, at once forsakes his own body after murdering the censurer, passes to the region of Śiva.

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“Or, one, who tears out the tongue of a habituated censurer of Śiva, goes to the region of Śiva after delivering twentyone generations.”

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It is hardly necessary to say that these excesses were due, on the one hand, to the growing importance of personalised deities or deified persons and their exclusive devotional worship as the best means of attaining final release, and, on the other, to the hazy conception of the principles of Sāṃkhya and Vedānta as related to the origin and nature of these deities and a lack of capacity for bringing about a perfect compromise between these principles and the mental discipline required for the practice of unswerving devotion (aikāntiki or avyabhicāriṇī bhakti) for the realisation of the Self. Fortunately, references to such sectarian excesses are not of frequent occurrence in the Purāṇic literature, but it can hardly be denied that in spite of high idealism inspired by the Upaniṣads there were many cases of regrettable outburst of practical narrowness in religious outlook, so much so that these concerned many of our best thinkers and prompted them to devise means for the eradication of these social evils. It was most probably for some such reason that the daily worship of the group of the five deities Gaṇeśa, Sūrya, Viṣṇu, Śiva and Durgā, which is popularly known as ‘pañcāyatana-pūjā’, was started at a fairly early date, firmly established on a Vedāntic basis, and popularised with great zeal. Tradition adds the credit of inventing this new system of worship very often to Śaṃkarācārya and sometimes to Kumārila-bhaṭṭa,⁴ but a study of the Purāṇic works shows that even earlier than the introduction of the pañcāyatana-pūjā the worship of a particular deity had to be attended with that of other prominent deities also. For instance, Kūrma-p. II. 18, which is to be dated about the beginning of the eighth century A.D., says that after bath a Brahmin is to worship Brahmā, Śaṃkara, Sūrya, Madhusūdana (Viṣṇu) and other favourite deities with the citation of their respective Mantras and the offer of flowers, leaves and water.⁵ In Matsya-p., chaps. 266, 52 and 58, which must be dated earlier than 650 A.D., we are told that in erecting an image of any of the deities such as Nandi-mahākāla, Bhṛṅgiriṭi, Guha, Devī, Vināyaka, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Rudra, Śakra, Jayanta, Lokapālas, Apsarases, Gandharvas, Guhyakas, etc., the erector is to think of the rest as surrounding the principal deity,⁶ that in worshipping Śiva with the offer of cows, land, gold, clothes, scents, garlands etc. one is to look upon this deity as identical with Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Arka (the Sun), the Rudras and the Vasus,⁷ that Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Mārtaṇḍa (the Sun), Vṛṣa-vāhana (Śiva), the eight Vasus, the eleven Gaṇādhipas, the Lokapālas, the Pitṛs, the Mātṛs, and others are to be regarded as the manifestations (vibhūtayaḥ) of Vāsudeva,⁸ that the four principal deities, viz., Brahmā, Sūrya, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are to be worshipped without making any distinction between them,⁹ and that in consecrating a pool one is to place Brahmā, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Vināyaka, Kamalā and Ambikā on the alter.¹⁰ From these and similar other statements made in the Purāṇas it is evident that the attempt to create a sense of unity and the spirit of religious toleration among the sects worshipping different deities had begun much earlier than Śaṃkarācārya and Kumārila-bhaṭṭa. That in early times the difference between the various Purāṇic gods was much less than in later days, is shown by the names of the four Saṃhitās of the Kūrma-p., which are given in Kūrma-p. I. 1. 21-23 as Brāhmi, Bhāgavati, Saurī and Vaiṣṇavī and are thus connected with the four deities Brahmā, Bhagavatī, Sūrya and Viṣṇu respectively.¹¹ That a similar naming of parts was also made in the earlier form of the present Bhaviṣya-p. is shown not only by this Purāṇa itself which claims to have consisted of five Parvans named Brāhma, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Tvāṣṭra and Pratisarga¹² but also by the Nāradīya-p. (I.

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⁴ Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra, II, pp. 716-7. Farquhar, Outline of the Religious Literature of India, pp. 179-180.

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⁵ niṣīdya snāna-vastraṃ tu samācamya ca vāg-yataḥ / svair mantrair arcayed devān puṣpaiḥ patrair athāmbubhiḥ // brahmāṇaṃ śaṃkaraṃ sūryaṃ tathaiva madhusūdanam / anyāṃś cābhimatān devān bhaktyā cākrodhano naraḥ // Kūr. II. 18. 90-91.

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⁶ sthāpayed yaṃ tu deveśaṃ taṃ pradhānaṃ prakalpayet / tasya pārśva-sthitān anyān saṃsmaret parivāritāḥ // gaṇam nandi-mahākālaṃ vṛṣaṃ bhṛṅgiriṭiṃ guham / devīṃ vināyakaṃ ca viṣṇum brahmāṇam eva ca // rudraṃ śakraṃ jayantaṃ ca lokapālāṃ samantataḥ / tathaiv-āpsarasaḥ sarvā gandharva-gaṇa-guhyakān // yo yatra sthāpyate devas tasya tān paritaḥ smaret // Mat. 266. 41-44a.

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⁷ go-bhū-hiraṇya-vāsobhir gandha-māly-odakena ca / pūjayed brahma-viṣṇv-arka-rudra-vasv-ātmakam śivam // Mat. 52. 19.

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⁸ vāsudevo jagan-mūrtis tasya sambhūtayo hy amī // brahmā viṣṇuś ca bhagavān mārtaṇḍo vṛṣa-vāhanaḥ / aṣṭau ca vasavas tadvad ekādaśa gaṇādhipāḥ / lokapālādhipāś caiva pitaro mātaras tathā //

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¹² See Bhav. I. 2. 2-3.

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imā vibhūtayaḥ proktāś carācara-samanvitāḥ /
brahmādyāś caturo mūlam avyakt-ādhipatiḥ smṛtaḥ //
Mat. 52. 20c-22.
* brahmaṇā cātha sūryeṇa viṣṇun-ātha śivena vā /
abhedāt pūjitena syāt pūjitam sa-carācaram //
Mat. 52. 23.
¹⁰ vedyāś copari . . . . . /
. . . . .
brahmāṇaṃ ca śivaṃ viṣṇum tatraiva sthāpayed budhaḥ //
vināyakaṃ ca vinyasya kamalām ambikāṃ tathā /
śānty-arthaṃ sarva-lokānāṃ bhūta-grāmam nyaset tataḥ //
Mat. 58. 23-27.

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¹¹ The contents of these four Saṃhitās, as given in Nāradīya-p. I. 106. 1-22, show that the Brāhmi Saṃhitā, as known to this Purāṇa, consisted of 6000 verses and was exactly the same as the extant Kūrma-p., that the Bhāgavatī Saṃhitā, which was termed 'Pañca-padī' for its five Pādas or parts, contained 4000 verses and dealt, separately in these five parts, with the means of livelihood of the Brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, Śūdras, and the mixed castes, that the Saurī Saṃhitā had an extent of 2000 verses and consisted of six parts dealing with the 'six acts' (ṣaṭ-karma), viz., vaśīkaraṇa, māraṇa, uccāṭana, etc., and that the Vaiṣṇavī Saṃhitā consisted of 5000 verses and four Pādas dealing with mokṣa-dharma for the twice-born people.

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The above contents of the four Saṃhitās point definitely to a late age and do not appear to represent the Kūrma-p. in its original form.

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100), which differs from the Bhaviṣya only in that it names the ‘Tvāṣṭra’ Parvan as ‘Saura’. According to Nāradīya-p. I. 105 the Vāmana-p. consisted of two parts, of which the second was divided into four Saṃhitās, of which the first was associated with Kṛṣṇa and his worshippers, the second with Devī and her incarnations, the third with the Sun-god, and the fourth with Gaṇeśa. From the nature of these and similar other Purāṇas it is evident that a broad and liberal outlook characterised a number of the early Purāṇas which did not attach themselves to any particular sect but inculcated with equal zeal the worship of the different deities of the Hindu pantheon. These works aimed chiefly at creating harmony among the rival sects and organising them mainly against the heresies by infusing their ideas, rites and practices with Brahmanical elements. The tradition of catholicity, set up by these mostly lost Purāṇas, has found appreciative expression in many places, but of the extant Purāṇic works it is only the Bhaviṣyottara and the Bṛhaddharma-p. which are found to carry this tradition into practice. In order to acquaint ourselves with the nature of these works we shall examine and analyse them below.

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1. The Bhaviṣyottara.

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Though the Mss¹⁸ of the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’, which have been discovered up to the present time, are all found to exist independently and are not attached as parts to the Mss

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¹⁸ For Mss of the Bhaviṣyottara see—
(1) Aufrecht, Bod. Cat., pp. 33-36. [No. 76.—This is a Devanāgarī Ms beginning from Bhav. IV (Uttara-parvan). 1.4 and containing, among others, the following chapters which are not found in the Uttara-parvan of the printed Bhaviṣya: Chaps. 166 (on guḍa-dhenu-dāna), 167 (on kṣīra-dhenu-dāna), 168 (on dadhi-dhenu-dāna), 169 (on madhu-dhenu-dāna), 170 (on śarkarā-dhenu-dāna), 171 (on phala-dhenu-dāna), 172 (on kārpāsa-dhenu-dāna), 173 (on navanīta-dhenu-dāna), 174 (on rasa-dhenu-dāna), and 175 (on gaṇeśa-durgā-viṣṇu-gaṅgā-stuti-varṇana). On the other hand, the following chapters of the printed Uttara-parvan do not occur in this Ms: Chaps. 24 (on Rambhā-vrata to be observed in a different way), 50 (on Kamalā-saptamī-vrata), 51 (on Śubha-saptamī-vrata), 52 (on Snapana-saptamī-vrata), 64 (on Āśā-daśamī-vrata), 75 (on Śravaṇa-dvādaśī-vrata), 144-150 (on Gaṇanātha-śānti, nakṣatra-homa, Aparādha-śata-vrata, Kāñcanapurī-vrata, kanyā-pradāna, Brāhmaṇa-śuśrūṣā, and iṣṭa-dāna), 206 (on Rohiṇī-candra-śayana-

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vrata), 207 (on Kṛṣṇa's start for Dvārakā), and 208 (list of contents, and conclusion).

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It is to be noted that chaps. 166, 170, 172 and 175 of this Ms occur neither in the printed Uttara-parvan nor in the Ms noticed by R. L. Mitra.]

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(2) Mitra, Notices, VIII, pp. 36-39.

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[No. 2582.—This is a Nāgara Ms dated Sm. 1620. It begins from verse 5 of Bhav. IV. 1; and its colophon runs as follows: iti bhaviṣyottare dāna-dharme sarvva-śāstroddhṛte sarvva-dānāni samāptāḥ (? sarva-dāna-niyamāḥ samāptāḥ).

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The following chapters of this Ms are not found in the printed Uttara-parvan:

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Chaps. 38 (on Śāṇḍilya-vrata), 49 (on Somāṣṭamī-vrata), 117 (on kṣīra-dhenu-dāna=chap. 167 of Aufrecht's Ms), 118 (on dadhi-dhenu-dāna=chap. 168 of Aufrecht's Ms), 119 (on madhu-dhenu-dāna=chap. 169 of Aufrecht's Ms), 121 (on phala-dhenu-dāna=chap. 171 of Aufrecht's Ms), 122 (on navanīta-dhenu-dāna=chap. 173 of Aufrecht's Ms), 123 (on rasa-dhenu-dāna=chap. 174 of Aufrecht's Ms), 126 (on kṛṣṇa-go-dāna), 130 (on aśva-dāna), 131 (on kartavya-nirṇaya), 132 (on pretatva-parihāraka-dāna-vidhi), 133 (on śrāddha-tattva-nirṇaya), 134 (on śrāddha-vidhi), 135 (on Brāhma-vivāhādi-lakṣaṇa), 173 (on the names of vratas), 174 (on Matsya-purāṇokta-tila-pātra-dāna), 175-177 (on Ṛṣi-pañcamī-vrata).

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On the other hand, the following chapters of the printed Uttara-parvan do not occur in this Ms:

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Chaps. 9 (on Aśoka-vrata), 11-12 (on Kokilā-vrata and Bṛhat-tapo-vrata), 14 (on Yama-dvitīyā-vrata), 16-18 (on Madhūka-tṛtīyā-vrata, Meghapālī-tṛtīyā-vrata, and Rambhā-tṛtīyā-vrata), 56 (on Dūrvāṣṭamī-vrata), 60 (on Bilva-navamī-vrata), 65 (on Tāraka-dvādaśī-vrata), 70 (on Govinda-śayanotthāpana-dvādaśī-vrata), 73 (on Malla-dvādaśī-vrata), 76 (on Vijaya-śravaṇa-dvādaśī-vrata), 79 (on Akhaṇḍa-dvādaśī-vrata), 87-88 (on Abādhaka-vrata and Mandāra-nimb-ārka-karavīra-vrata), 95-97 (on Śravaṇikā-vrata, naktopavāsa-vidhāna, and Śiva-caturdaśī-vrata), 101 (on Yugādi-tithi-vrata), 109 (on Śiva-nakṣatra-puruṣa-vrata), 112 (on Vṛntāka-vrata), 114-115 (on Śanaiścara-vrata and Āditya-dina-nakta-vidhi), 119 (on Abhinava-candrārghya-vrata), 125 (on candr-āditya-grahaṇa-snāna), 128-129 (on urkṣodīpana and Deva-pūjā-phala-vrata), 133 (on āndolaka-vidhi), 137 (on śrāvaṇa-pūrṇimā-rakṣā-bandhana-vidhi), 139-140 (on Mahendra-dhvaja-mahotsava and Dīpālikotsava), 144-150 (on Gaṇanātha-śānti, nakṣatra-homa, Aparādha-śata-vrata, Kāñcanapurī-vrata, kanyā-pradāna, Brāhmaṇa-śuśrūṣā and iṣṭa-dāna), 153-154 (on jala-dhenu-dāna and ghṛta-dhenu-dāna), 158 (on ubhaya-mukhi-go-dāna), 161 (on kapilā-dāna), 162-163 (on mahiṣī-dāna and avi-dāna), 167 (on āpāka-dāna), 182 (on sapta-sāgara-dāna), 186 (on hiraṇyāśva-dāna), 194 (on varāha-dāna), 202 (on ratnācala-dāna), 206 (on Rohiṇī-candra-śayana-vrata), 207 (on Kṛṣṇa's start for Dvārakā), 208 (on the list of contents, and conclusion).

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It should be mentioned here that chaps. 38, 49, 126, 130-135 and 173-177 of this Ms occur neither in the printed Uttara-parvan nor in Aufrecht's Ms described above.]

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(3) Eggeling, Ind. Off. Cat., VI, pp. 1255-56.

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[Nos. 3450-51 (Mss Nos. 2562 and 1328 respectively).—The former of these two Mss is written in Devanāgarī characters and ends with chap. 207 of the printed Uttara-parvan. It contains chap. 206 (on Rohiṇī-candra-śayana-vrata) of the Uttara-parvan.]

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(4) Weber, Berlin Cat. of 1853, pp. 134-7, No. 468.

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[In this Ms the work styles itself 'Bhaviṣyottara-purāṇa' and consists of 199 of the Bhaviṣya-p., the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ has not yet been printed separately with its real title but is found to form the fourth part, named Uttara-parvan, of the Veṅkaṭeśvara Press edition of the Bhaviṣya-p. That this Uttara-parvan

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chapters, of which chaps. 11 (on Nara-vrata), 38 (Mahātapaḥ-saptamī-vrata), 50 (Umā-saptamī-vrata), and 158-162 (on Ardhodaya-vrata, Gurvaṣṭamī-vrata, etc.) do not occur in the printed Uttara-parvan. On the other hand, chaps. 9-10, 13-17, 112, and 159-160 of the printed Uttara-parvan are not found in this Ms.]

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(5) Adyar Library Cat., Part I, p. 151.
(6) Stein, Jammu Cat., p. 207.
(7) Benares Sans. College Cat., p. 304.
(8) Burnell, Classified Index, p. 190.
(9) P. P. S. Sastri, Tanjore Cat., XV, pp. 6897-6899, Nos. 10037-38.

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The Ms of the Bhaviṣyottara—Pūrvabhāga, as described by H. P. Shastri in his ASB Cat., V, pp. 443-446 (No. 3752), shows that it contains a work which is of late origin and quite different from the Bhaviṣyottara preserved in the Mss mentioned above.

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For the short texts (on stotra, dāna, māhātmya, vrata, vrata-kathā, pūjā, etc.), claiming to be parts of the Bhaviṣyottara, see

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(i) Eggeling, Ind. Off. Cat., VI, pp. 1256-58, Nos. 3452-56.
(a) No. 3452—Sūrya-sahasra-nāma-stotra.
(b) Nos. 3453-55—Āditya-hṛdaya-stotra.
(c) No. 3456—Ṣoḍaśa-cola-caritra.

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(ii) H. P. Shastri, ASB Cat., V, pp. 446-487, Nos. 3753-3815 (Matsyadeśāntargata-tīrtha-māhātmya, Svapnādhyāya, Tulasī-vivāha, Ananta-vrata, Ananta-vrata-kathā, Haritālikā-vrata-kathā, Ṛṣi-pañcamī-vrata-kathā, Budhāṣṭamī-vrata, Yama-dvitīyā, Maṅgalā-gaurī-vratodyāpana, Maṅgalā-vrata, Viṣṇu-pañcaka-vrata, Amuktābharaṇa-vrata, Daśaphala-vrata, Śivāmuṣṭi-vrata, Somavatī-amāvāsyā-vrata, Vattīśī-pūrṇimā, Daśaratha-lalitā-vrata, Gaja-gaurī-vrata and kathā, Vāmana-jayantī-vratodyāpana, Go-trirātri-vrata and kathā, Janmāṣṭamī-vrata and kathā, Vara-lakṣmī-vrata-kathā, Mahālakṣmī-vrata-kathā, Annapūrṇā-vrata-kathā, Holikā-vrata-kathā, Vaṭa-sāvitrī-vrata-kathā, Indrākṣī-stotra, Āditya-hṛdaya-stotra, Gaṇeśa-stotra, Sūrya-sahasra-nāma-stotra).

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(iii) Keith, Ind. Off. Cat., II. ii, pp. 948-954, Nos. 6689-6705 (Ananta-vrata, Aśvattha-vivāha, Āditya-hṛdaya-stotra, Ṛṣi-pañcamī-vrata-kathā, Kamalācala-māhātmya, Ghṛta-snāneśvara-māhātmya, Cola-vamśāvalī, Daśaphala-vrata-kalpa, Bhāgavata-māhātmya, Vara-lakṣmī-vrata-kalpa, Kedāra-vrata-kalpa, Ananta-padmanābha-vrata, Śāligrāma-stotra, Sarasvatī-pūjā, Siddhi-vināyaka-vrata-kalpa, Haritālaka-vrata-kathā).

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(iv) Adyar Library Cat., Part I, p. 146 (Mukuṭeśvara-māhātmya) and p. 148 (Saṅgameśvara-māhātmya).

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(v) Chakravarti, Vaṅgīya Sāhitya Pariṣat Cat., pp. 81-82 (Āditya-hṛdaya).

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(vi) Stein, Jammu Cat., pp. 207-8 (Acalā-saptamī-vrata, Ananta-vrata, Ṛṣi-pañcamī-vrata, Gaṇeśa-caturthī-vrata, Candana-ṣaṣṭhī-vrata, Janmāṣṭamī-vrata, Dhāraṇa-pāraṇa-vrata, Bhāvi-rāja-nirūpaṇa, Bhīmasena-kathā, Mala-māsa-vrata, Mahālakṣmī-vrata, Vaṭa-sāvitrī-vrata, Haritālikā-vrata).

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(vii) P. P. S. Sastri, Tanjore Cat., XV, pp. 6899-6922, Nos. 10039-59 (Agniśvara-māhātmya, Alakāpurī-māhātmya, Jñānāṅkurapura-māhātmya, Paṭṭīśvara-māhātmya, Parāśara-kṣetra-māhātmya, Puṣpavana-māhātmya, Bṛhadīśvara-māhātmya, Brahma-pura-māhātmya, Bhūmīśvara-māhātmya, Veṅkaṭagiri-māhātmya, Veṅkaṭeśvara-rahasya, Śaktivana-māhātmya, Śiva-bhakta-māhātmya, Śiva-bhakti-māhātmya—Pūrvabhāga, and Śiva-bhakti-māhātmya—Uttara-bhāga).

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is the same as the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ known to and drawn upon by the Smṛti-writers of different climes and ages, is shown definitely by the facts that this ‘Uttara-parvan’ calls itself ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ in more places than one,¹⁴ that it agrees very closely with the extant Mss of the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’,¹⁵ that the large majority of the verses ascribed by the Smṛti-writers to the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ occurs in the present Uttara-parvan,¹⁶ and that in none of the Mss of the Bhaviṣya-p. there is even a single mention of any ‘Uttara-parvan’ as forming a part of the Bhaviṣya-p., which, in its Brāhma-parvan, is said to have consisted of five Parvans, viz., Brāhma, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Tvāṣṭra and Pratisarga.¹⁷ So, we have often referred to the Uttara-parvan (of the Bhaviṣya-p.) under the title ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ and have used it in these pages for our analysis of the Bhaviṣyottara-p.

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¹⁴ Bhav. IV. 2. 7 (bhaviṣyottaram etat te kathayāmi yudhiṣṭhira); 207. 4 (bhaviṣyottaram etat te kathitam pāṇḍu-nandana); 207. 10 (khyātaṃ bhaviṣyottara-nāmadheyam mayā purāṇam tava sauhṛdena).

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¹⁵ See footnote 13 above.

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¹⁶ A complete list of these verses will be given at the end of the final Volume of this work.

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¹⁷ Bhav. I. 2. 1-3. See also Nāradīya-p. I. 100. 5-11.

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By way of explaining why he did not utilise the contents

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Some of these texts once did occur in the Bhaviṣyottara. For instance, in his Catur-varga-cintāmaṇi, II. ii, pp. 303-8 Hemādri quotes from the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ a whole chapter on Go-trirātri-vrata, but at present this chapter does not occur in the Bhaviṣyottara but exists in separate Mss (for which see Shastri, ASB Cat., V, pp. 471-2, Nos. 3792-93).

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For the title ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ see also the colophons of the Mss of the Bhaviṣyottara described by Eggeling (Ind. Off. Cat., VI, p. 1255), R. L. Mitra (Notices, VIII, p. 37), Weber (Berlin Cat. of 1853, No. 468, p. 137), P. P. S. Sastri (Tanjore Cat., XV, pp. 6897-99), Stein (Jammu Cat., p. 207), and others.

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It is only in the chapter-colophons of the so-called Uttara-parvan of the Veṅkat. ed. of the Bhaviṣya-p. that there is no mention of the title ‘Bhaviṣyottara’. These colophons run thus: iti śrībhaviṣye mahāpurāṇe uttara-parvaṇi......adhyāyaḥ.

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For Mss of the Bhaviṣya-p. see H. P. Shastri, ASB Cat., V, pp. 424-430 (No. 3738, which consists of five Parvans—Brāhma, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Tvāṣṭra and Pratisarga; No. 3739; and No. 3740, which is divided into two parts—Pūrva and Upari, the former part consisting of the Brāhma and Vaiṣṇava Parvans and the latter containing the Madhyama-tantra), and Notices of Sanskrit Mss, Second Series, Vol. II, No. 151 (same as ASB Cat., V, No. 3740); Eggeling, Ind. Off. Cat., VI, p. 1254 (No. 3447); Aufrecht, Bod. Cat., pp. 30-33 (No. 75); Shastri and Gui, Calcutta Sans. College Cat., IV, pp. 94-96 (No. 176, which speaks of three parts—Vaiṣṇava, Śiva and Śakti, gives the lives of Jīva Gosvāmin and other followers of Caitanya, and thus resembles the Pratisarga-parvan of our printed Bhaviṣya-p.).

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of some of the Purāṇic works in his Dānasāgara, Vallālasena says regarding the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’:

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bhaviṣyottaram ācāra-prasiddham avirodhi ca /
prāmāṇya-jñāpak-ādṛṣṭer granthād asmāt pṛthak
kṛtam //¹⁸

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¹⁸ Dānasāgara, p. 7 (verse No. 61).

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“Though the Bhaviṣyottara is famous for its customary laws (or, is popularly followed) and is not contradictory [to good customs], it is avoided in this work *for want of [sufficient] evidence to prove its authority*.”

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As a matter of fact, the name of the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ is not included in any of the lists of eighteen Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas known to us. But this exclusion has not stood in the way of its recognition as an authoritative work. Although, like Vallālasena, Lakṣmīdhara also does not utilise its contents in his Kṛtya-kalpataru, evidently for the same reason, most of the remaining Smṛti-writers of prominence (such as Jīmūtavāhana, Aparārka, Devaṇabhaṭṭa, Hemādri, Mādhavācārya, Madanapāla, Śūlapāṇi, Govindānanda, Raghunandana, Anantabhaṭṭa, Gadādhara and others) are found to draw profusely upon this work without the least shade of doubt as regards its authenticity and authority.

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In spite of its exclusion from the lists of eighteen Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas the Bhaviṣyottara (which, as we have already said, has been printed as the Uttara-parvan of the Veṅkaṭ. edition of the Bhaviṣya-p.) calls itself a distinct ‘Purāṇa named Bhaviṣyottara’.¹⁹ The Smṛti-writers also regard it as a Purāṇic work. For instance, Hemādri, Mādhavācārya, Anantabhaṭṭa and Mitra-miśra call it a ‘Purāṇa’,²⁰ and according to Narasimha Vājapeyin it is an Upapurāṇa and a part of the Bhaviṣya-p.²¹ In most of the short texts on vrata, pūjā, māhātmya etc., which attach themselves to the Bhaviṣyottara for authority, this work is called a ‘Purāṇa’,²² and in some of these texts it is even called a ‘Mahāpurāṇa’²³ and an ‘Ādi Mahāpurāṇa’.²⁴

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¹⁹ Bhav. IV. 207.10—khyātaṃ bhaviṣyottara-nāmadheyaṃ mayā purāṇam tava sauhṛdena.

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²⁰ Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi, II. i, p. 604; Kāla-nirṇaya, p. 137— bhaviṣyottara-purā-ṇokte ratha-saptamī-vrate......; Vidhāna-pārijāta, I, p. 514— atra iti-kartavyatā-viśeṣo bhaviṣottara-purāṇe......; Vīramitrodaya, Āhnika-prakāśa, p. 432— ata eva bhaviṣyottara-purāṇe—aharahah kriyate yat tu tan nityam iti kīrtyate /......//

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²¹ Nityācāra-pradīpa, p. 19.

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²² For these texts see footnote 13 above.

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²³ P. P. S. Sastri, Tanjore Cat., XV, pp. 6905, 6909, 6910, 6916. Keith, Ind. Off. Cat., II. ii, p. 951.

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²⁴ Eggeling, Ind. Off. Cat., VI, p. 1258.

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Though from the title of the Bhaviṣyottara-p. we are tempted to suppose that it is a continuation of the Bhaviṣya-p. and though Narasimha Vājapeyin expressly calls it a part of the latter,²⁵ the present Bhaviṣyottara does not attach itself to the Bhaviṣya-p. for authority.²⁶ Its distinct character is further established by the facts that most of the Nibandha-writers draw as profusely upon the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ by naming it independently as upon the ‘Bhaviṣya-p.’ and that none of the verses, ascribed to the ‘Bhaviṣya-p.’ or ‘Bhaviṣya’ by the comparatively early commentators and Nibandha-writers except Hemādri and the author of the Saṃvatsara-pradīpa, is found in the Uttara-parvan, although it is full of various Smṛti materials. The few cases, in which the verses ascribed to the ‘Bhaviṣya-p.’ in the Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi and the Saṃvatsara-pradīpa are found in the Bhaviṣyottara or vice versa, must be due to the confusion, made either by the authors of these works or by the scribes, between the titles of the ‘Bhaviṣya’ and the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ (of which the latter work was probably taken by them to be a part of the former). For instance, in Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi, I, pp. 432-4 and 1031-33 and II. i, pp. 537-543 and Saṃvatsara-pradīpa, fols. 13a-14a, 15b-16b and 17a-18b long extracts (which really belong to the Bhaviṣyottara, in which Kṛṣṇa speaks to Yudhiṣṭhira) have been ascribed to the ‘Bhaviṣya-p.’; on the other hand, in Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi, II. i, pp. 604-5, 669-671 and 705-717 and II. ii, pp. 526-7, verses, which really belong to the Bhaviṣya-p., have been ascribed to the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’.²⁷ In the Saṃvatsara-pradīpa, a metrical line has been ascribed to the ‘Bhaviṣya-p.’ in one place (viz., fol. 2b) and to the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ in another (viz., fol. 56a).

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²⁵ Nityācāra-pradīpa, p. 19—bhaviṣyottaraṃ bhaviṣyapurāṇasy-aikadeśaḥ.

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²⁶ The chapter-colophons (viz., iti śribhaviṣye mahāpurāṇe uttara-parvaṇi...... adhyāyaḥ) of the Uttara-parvan of the Veṅkaṭ. ed. of the Bhaviṣya-p., in which the Bhaviṣyottara has been called the ‘Uttara-parvan’ of the ‘Bhaviṣya Mahāpurāṇa’, cannot be supported by any of the Mss of the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’.

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²⁷ In Mādhavācārya's com. on the Parāśara-smṛti, I. i, p. 189 and II. ii, p. 210 and Hemādri's Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi, II. i, pp. 381-2 and 604-5 some verses have been ascribed to the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’, but these verses are found not in the Uttara-parvan but in the Brāhma-parvan of the printed Bhaviṣya-p. On the other hand, the verses, which have been ascribed to the ‘Bhaviṣya-p.’ in Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi, I, pp. 663, 671 and 673, are found not in the Brāhma-parvan but in the Uttara-parvan. We may explain these cases by saying that either these Smṛti-writers made mistakes in naming the sources of the verses mentioned above, or the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’, known to these Smṛti-writers, had these verses borrowed from the Bhaviṣya-p. (We shall see hereinafter that the present Bhaviṣyottara has incorporated a good number of chapters of the Bhaviṣya-p.).

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The present Bhaviṣyottara begins with salutations to Gaṇapati, Vāgadhidevatā (goddess of speech), Vāsudeva, Śiva, Parameṣṭhin (Brahmā) and Bhānu (the Sun) and says that once Vyāsa, Mārkaṇḍeya, Māṇḍavya and other sages came to see Yudhiṣṭhira after he had ascended the throne. Yudhiṣṭhira, with Kṛṣṇa and Dhaumya as well as his own brothers in his train, received the sages with due respect. When the sages took their seats, Yudhiṣṭhira, who deemed himself guilty of causing the death of his own kinsmen, asked Vyāsa to narrate to him, in a general way (aviśeṣataḥ), the essence of the entire Dharma (-śāstra),²⁸ so that he might expiate the sin he had committed. He also added that none but Vyāsa and Kṛṣṇa was able to give him proper instructions in this respect. Vyāsa referred him to Kṛṣṇa and departed for his own hermitage. (-Chap. 1). Yudhiṣṭhira then requested Kṛṣṇa to speak on the origin of the universe, the geography of the earth, the final destruction of the world, the causes of worldly prosperity, and so on. In answer to these questions Kṛṣṇa spoke out the ‘Bhaviṣyottara’ (-purāṇa), the contents of which, Kṛṣṇa said, had already been narrated by ‘the lord of Luminaries’ (i.e. the Sun) to the sage Yājñavalkya, when the latter asked the former about futurity.

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²⁸ Bhav. IV. 1. 20b—mamādya dhar a-sarvasvam prajñā-dīpena darśaya.

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Consequently, the contents of the Bhaviṣyottara are as follows.

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Chap. 2 (verses 7ff.)—Unity of the three gods—Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, who are distinguished from one another only due to their different names and functions.²⁸ The four Pādas (viz., Prakriyā, Anuṣaṅga, Upodghāta and Upasaṃhāra) and the five characteristics (viz., sarga, pratisarga, etc.) of the Purāṇas. Description of the origin of the world mostly according to the principles of Sāṃkhya philosophy, and Āditya's appearance in it as Prajāpati, Viṣṇu and Rudra under the influence of the three guṇas; the nine Brahmās (Marici, Atri, Aṅgiras and others) as well as of Dakṣa and Prasūti from Prajāpati; Dakṣa's sons and sixty daughters. The temples of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva on the three peaks of the mountain Meru; the kula-parvatas of Jambu-dvīpa; the names of the seven dvīpas and the seven oceans surrounding them; the names of the fourteen lokas (worlds) and the residents of these lokas. The names of different Manus. The gods in the Vaivasvata Manvantara. The four kinds of dissolution (laya).

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²⁸ brahmā viṣṇur vṛṣāṅkaś ca trayo devāḥ satāṃ matāḥ / nāma-bhedaiḥ kriyā-bhedair bhidyante nātmanā svayam // Bhav. IV. 2, 9b-10a.

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Chap. 3.—Description of the nature of Viṣṇu-māyā which deludes the world, and Kṛṣṇa's narration, in this connection, of the story of Viṣṇu's assumption of the form of a Brahmin named Yajñaśarmā, his coming down, with Nārada, to the city of Vaidiśa on the Vetravati, where he blessed a resourceful Vaiśya farmer named Sirabhadra with a long and prosperous life and a large number of sons, grandsons and great-grandsons, his meeting, in the village Veṇikā on the Bhāgirathī, with a poor but highly hospitable Brahmin agriculturist named Gosvāmin, who was tired out by the work of cultivation and pressed hard by a ‘methi’ (a post for binding cattle with) and other agricultural implements and whom he blessed to be relieved of his farming, because, he said, a ploughman acquires in a day the same amount of sin as that earned by a fisherman in a year, his arrival, with Nārada, at Kānyakubja and bath in a beautiful lake, Nārada’s transformation into an extremely charming lady immediately after his bath, the marriage of this beautiful lady with king Tāladhvaja, her bringing forth of a pumpkin from which fifty powerful sons were born, her mourning for the sudden destruction of these sons and their descendants, Viṣṇu’s appearing in the form of a Brahmin and explaining the nature of Viṣṇu-māyā, and Nārada’s regaining his previous form.

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Chap. 4.—Karma-vipāka (the results of actions, with a grim description of the manifold troubles of life from birth to death).—Birth of creatures (—stages in the development of the child in the mother’s womb till delivery; sufferings undergone by the child in the womb; impurity of the body; the child’s retention of the power of remembrance of the events of the previous birth, while residing in the mother’s womb); troubles in childhood, youth etc.; insignificance of the pleasures arising from enjoyment of women; inevitability of death.

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Chap. 5.—Different kinds of sins which lead one to hell. Classification of sins into mānasa, vācika and kāyika. Classification of sinners into (a) mahāpātakins (such as those who kill Brahmins, drink wine, and do similar other acts), (b) brahmaghnas (such as those who refuse to give anything to a poor needy Brahmin after calling him with a promise—verse 11; those who, being proud of their learning, do not show proper respect to Brahmins in a meeting—verse 12; those who create obstruction to those hungry or thirsty Brahmins who are eager for food or drink—verse 14; those who make false reports of other’s faults to the king—verse 17; those who misappropriate the landed property already dedicated to gods, Brahmins or cows—verse 18; and so on), (c) pātakins (such as those who do not marry their marriageable daughters to proper persons—verse 14), (d) upapātakins (such as those who sell their wives or children—verse 34; those who do not pay their debts, and those who accept interests on food materials lent out to others—verse 36; teachers who accept remuneration, and students who read with such teachers—verse 38; and so on), and (c) other greater sinners—pāpatarāḥ—who go to hell (such as those who fight unfairly; the manufacturers of bows, arrows and other weapons, as well as the dealers in these things—verse 53; those who do not support their wives, children and other dependants with maintenance—verses 55-56; those twice-born men who enjoy Śūdra women or smell wine intentionally—verse 48; those kings who are bad rulers—verses 67-71; and so on).

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Chap. 6.—The ways in which the donors of different articles (such as shoes, umbrellas, clothes, bed, gardens, temples, poor-houses,³⁰ lamps, asylums, medicine, land, food etc.) proceed comfortably to the region of Yama and thence to heaven. Praise of anna-dāna (gift of food). The paths by which the sinners go to Yama's residence. Description of hells as well as of the sufferings of the sinners there.

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³⁰ Bhav. IV. 6. 10— devāyatana-kartā ca yatinām āśramasya ca / anātha-maṇḍapānāṃ ca krīḍan yāti gṛhottamaiḥ //

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Chaps. 7-126, 129-130, 132-140, 146-147 and 206.—Praise of donations (dāna) and vows (vrata) as the only means of attaining happiness, power, peace and prosperity and getting rid of the sufferings in hells. Description and praise of various kinds of vratas which are to be observed on different lunar days from Pratipad and in which various deities, viz., Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Durgā, Gaṇeśa, Sarasvati, Kārttikeya, Vināyaka and other gods and goddesses, are to be worshipped. (These vratas have been arranged in the Uttara-parvan in the order of the Tithis on which they are to be observed). Description and praise of various kinds of festivals, such as Nīrājana-dvādaśī (chap. 71), Phālguna-pūrṇimotsava (chap. 132), Āndolaka-mahotsava (chap. 133), the Sun's Ratha-yātrā (chap. 134), Madana-mahotsava (chap. 135), Bhūtamātrutsava (chap. 136), Mahānavamī (chap. 138), Mahendra-dhvaja-mahotsava (chap. 139), and Dīpālikā (chap. 140). Methods and praise of various kinds of bath, viz., *māgha-snāna* (bath in the month of Māgha), *nitya-snāna*, *rudra-snāna* (a special kind of bath meant chiefly for progeny), and *grahaṇa-snāna* (bath during eclipses).

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Chaps. 127-128.—Methods and benefits of dedicating wells, pools and tanks and of planting trees for the good of others.

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Chap. 131.—Dedication of bulls especially for the good of the departed forefathers.

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Chaps. 141-145.—Methods of performing *ayuta-homa*, *lakṣa-homa*, *koṭi-homa*, *mahāśānti* and *nakṣatra-homa* for the pacification of planets. Methods of pacifying Vināyaka for allaying impediments and getting rid of evils indicated by bad dreams.

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Chap. 148.—Praise of giving one's own daughter or a helpless girl in marriage to a worthy bridegroom either of the same caste as that of the girl or of a higher one, without accepting any money from the bridegroom.

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Chap. 149.—Praise of Brahmins as the highest gods on earth as well as in heaven. They are said to be the makers and unmakers of gods and non-gods, and the sources of origin of the universe.³¹

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³¹ Bhav. IV. 149. 2-3—

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Chaps. 150-204.—Methods and praise of making various kinds of donation, viz., gifts of cows, bulls, female buffaloes, sheep etc. and of cows made of gold, gems, sesamum, water, ghee, salt, etc.; gifts of ploughs fitted with bulls, and of houses, food, utensils, maid-servants,³² and manuscripts of the Purāṇas, Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa etc. after having them copied by scribes; donation of hillocks made of gold,

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³² The Bhaviṣyottara emphasises the necessity of maid-servants for comfort and cleanliness and says (in verse 8) that the house which lacks gold, maid-servants, sufficient food and ghee as well as milk is a veritable hell.

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adevam daivatam kuryuḥ kuryur devam adaivatam /
. . . . .
brāhmaṇebhyaḥ samutpannā devāḥ pūrvam iti smṛtiḥ /
brāhmaṇebhyo jagat sarvaṃ tasmāt pūjyatama dvijāḥ //

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(For praise of Brahmins see also chap. 69, in which verse 25 runs as follows:

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brāhmaṇāś caiva gāvaś ca kulam ekam dvidhā kṛtam /
ekatra mantrās tiṣṭhanti havir anyatra tiṣṭhati //).

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silver, gems, rice, salt, sesamum, sugar etc.; bigger donations, such as those of tulā-puruṣa, hiraṇya-garbha, brahmāṇḍa, hiraṇyāśva-ratha, hema-hasti-ratha etc.; donation of one's own iron statue after decorating it with various articles; and so on.

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Chap. 205.—Good manners, customs and usages. (Of the numerous prescriptions and prohibitions the following are noteworthy: One, who wants a long life, should not see one's image in a mirror at night; one may dine at the house of a goldsmith but must never believe him or make friends with him; one should not take food from a dish placed on a stool; while taking one's meal one should eat mild things first, pungent things in the middle, and liquid things at the end; one should not take fried rice and barley at daytime and curd and barley meal—saktu—at night; one, who wants freedom from disease, should sleep with the head turned preferably towards the east or towards the south; one should maintain in one's house pigeons, parrots and sārikās but not cockroaches, because the presence of the first three brings in wealth, whereas the last are creative of evils.)³³

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³³ See Bhav. IV. 205. 91b-93a, 109-112, 122, and 143b-144a.

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Chaps. 207-8.—Kṛṣṇa's departure for Dvārakā. Enumeration of the topics dealt with in the Bhaviṣyottara. Conclusion.

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The above contents of the Bhaviṣyottara show clearly that it is practically a work on vows (vrata), festivals and donations and has almost nothing of the five characteristics of the 'Purāṇa'. The vows dealt with in this work are various and numerous, some being Vaiṣṇava, some Śaiva, some Śākta, some Gāṇapatya, some Saura, and so on. There is also a good number of vows in which lesser deities like Sarasvatī, Kārttikeya, Yama, Varuṇa, Budha, Nakṣatras, and the Earth,³⁴ and even trees, grass and animals,³⁵ are to be worshipped, but there is not a single *vrata* which requires the worship of Brahmā as the principal deity. Among the Vaiṣṇava *vratas* there are some which seem to be Pāñcarātra and some appear to be Bhāgavata. This distinction seems to be indicated by the Mūla-mantras mentioned in connection with them. For instance, in the Govinda-śayanotthāpana-dvādaśī-vrata (chap. 70), Sukṛta-dvādaśī-vrata (chap. 82), Dharaṇī-vrata (chap. 83) and Kāma-dāna-veśyā-vrata (chap. 111) the Mūla-mantra ‘oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya’ is directed to be used, but in the Bhīṣma-pañcaka-vrata (chap. 72), Śravaṇa-dvādaśī-vrata (chap. 75) and Śanaiścara-vrata (chap. 114) the Mūla-mantra to be used is ‘oṃ namo vāsudevāya’ or ‘oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya’. The Saura Vratas, on the other hand, differ in their media of worship of the Sun-god. Thus, in the Viśoka-ṣaṣṭhī-vrata and the Kamala-ṣaṣṭhī-vrata the medium of worship is a golden lotus (kāñcana padma, haima-padma);³⁴ in the Kalyāṇa-saptamī-vrata and the Śarkarā-saptamī-vrata, as described in Bhav. IV. 48 and 49 respectively, the figure of an eight-petalled lotus has to be painted on the ground with powdered rice dried in the sun or with saffron for the worship of the Sun-god in the different petals and the pericarp with

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³⁴ See Bhav. IV. 35 (Sārasvata-vrata), 42 (Kārttikeya-pūjā-ṣaṣṭhī-vrata), 89 (Yama-dariana-trayodaśī-vrata), 91 (Pāli-vrata), 54 (Budhāṣṭamī-vrata), 65 (Tāraka-dvādaśī-vrata), and 105 (Viśoka-pūrṇimā-vrata). In the Tilaka-vrata (chap. 8) the figure of a man is to be painted on the ground to represent the year and then worshipped.

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³⁵ In connection with the worship of Kārttikeya (in the Kārttikeya-pūjā-ṣaṣṭhī-vrata) the Bhaviṣyottara says:

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³⁴ See Bhav. IV. 38. 6— kṛtvā tu kāñcanam padmam arko ‘yam iti pūjayet / karavīreṇa raktena rakta-vastra-yugena ca // Bhav. IV. 39. 2 (ṣaṣṭhīm upoṣya kamalam kārayitvā sukāñcanam), and 10 (śarkarā-kalaśaṃ dadyāddhaima-padma-phalānvitam).

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“kārttikeyād ṛte nānyo rājñāṃ pūjyaḥ pravakṣyate //
saṃgrāmam gacchamāno yaḥ pūjayet kṛttikā-sutam /
sa sarvaṃ jayate vīro yathendro dānavān raṇe //”
(Bhav. IV. 42. 24b-25).
“No [deity] other than Kārttikeya is said to deserve worship by kings.
“That hero who, when going out for war, worships the son of the Kṛttikās, conquers all, just as Indra defeats the Dānavas in war.”

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For instance, in the Aśoka-vrata, Karavīra-vrata and Madhūka-vrata the respective trees (Aśoka, Karavīra and Madhūka) are to be worshipped (chaps. 9, 10 and 16); in the Dūrvāṣṭamī-vrata Dūrvā grass has to be worshipped (chap. 56); in the Kokilā-vrata the form of a female cuckoo is to be made with powdered sesamum, furnished with eyes of gems and wings of gold, placed on a copper dish, duly worshipped, and then given to a Brahmin (chap. 11); in the Go-vatsa-dvādaśī-vrata a cow is to be regarded as Gaurī herself and worshipped (chap. 69); in the Mandāra-nimb-ārka-karavīra-vrata Śveta-mandāra, Nimba, Śveta-arka, and Rakta-karavīra plants are to be worshipped (chap. 88); and so on.

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the mention of his different names; and in the Mandāra-ṣaṣṭhī-vrata an image of a male, made of gold and furnished with a golden lotus in one of its hands, is to be placed on an eight-petalled lotus made with black sesamum, and the Sun-god is to be worshipped in the eight petals with Mandāra flowers with the mention of his eight names (Bhāskara, Sūrya, Arka, Aryaman, Vasu-dhātṛ, Caṇḍa-bhānu, Pūṣan and Ānanda) and in the pericarp as Puruṣa (Bhav. IV. 40).

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Though there are a few vratas in which sectarian spirit is noticeable,³⁷ there are many which are free from all kinds of narrowness and in which more deities than one are to be worshipped or respected. For instance, in the Aviyoga-vrata Hari-and-Lakṣmī, Hara-and-Gaurī, Brahmā-and-Sāvitrī, and Ravi-and-Rājñī are to be worshipped in a maṇḍala (chap. 68); and in the Nīrājana-dvādaśī, as described in chap. 71, first Hari and then Lakṣmī, Brahmā, Caṇḍikā, Āditya, Śaṃkara, Gaurī, Gaṇeśa, Nāgas, planets, cows, buffaloes etc. are to be lustrated.

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³⁷ Viz., Bṛhat-tapo-vrata (chap. 12), Umā-maheśvara-vrata (chap. 23), and Rambhā-tṛtīyā-vrata (chap. 24), all of which are Śaiva. In these vratas the devotees of Śiva are given preference.

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The powers of these vratas have been shown by means of stories, some of which are based on those of the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas,³⁸ but most of which are later fabrications. In these fabricated stories even, the central figures are in most cases some renowned princes or princesses of the epics or the Purāṇas [viz., Nahuṣa, Ila, Sagara, Aja, Dilīpa, Yayāti, Haihaya, Kārtavīryārjuna, Kuśadhvaja (of Mithilā), Sītā, Sāvitrī, Damayantī and others] or some ancient sages or their wives. The fabricators of these stories have, in many cases, cared very little for the limits of possibility. For instance, in chap. 13 the story of a Vaiśya is given in connection with the Bhadropavāsa-vrata. It is said that this Vaiśya was reborn as the son of Sañjaya, king of Kuśāvatī, and his spittle, stool, urine etc.

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³⁸ Viz., the stories of Vinatā and Kadrū and of Jaratkāru in chap. 36; the story of the abduction of Tārā by Soma in chap. 99; the story of Sāvitrī in chap. 102; the story of the birth of Agastya, and his exploits, viz., his consumption of the demon Vātāpi, his drinking of all the waters of the oceans, etc.; and so on.

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turned into gold as soon as these fell on the ground. So he was named Svarṇaṣṭhīvi. He was later on killed by the robbers from the Deccan but was revived by Nārada. Among the other stories of interest the following may be mentioned: Nārada and Parvata's mutual curse for the former's marrying the daughter of king Saṃjaya of Kuśāvati with the promise that he would cause to be born to the king a son whose spittle, stool and urine would turn into gold (chap. 13); indifference of Indumatī, a harlot of Magadha, to her sinful life, her approach to Vasiṣṭha for religious instructions, and the latter's advice to her about the observance of the Acalā-saptamī-vrata (chap. 53); Datta³⁹ Ātreya's practice of Yoga in his hermitage on the Vindhya mountain, his saving of the gods from the hands of Śumbha, Jambha and other Daityas, and his granting of four boons to Kārtavīryārjuna, who, consequently, became extremely powerful, performed numerous sacrifices at Māhiṣmatī, his capital, and introduced the Anaghāṣṭamī-vrata (chap. 58); and Indra and other gods' defeat in a war with the demon Raktāsura and coming down to the city of Karacchatrā (?) for seeking the shelter of Devī Bhagavatī, who, as a virgin deity having twenty hands and a lion as her mount, resided there with Cāmuṇḍā and the nine Durgās named Mahālakṣmī, Nandā, Kṣemaṃkarī, Śivadūtī, Mahātuṇḍā, Bhrāmarī, Candramaṇḍalā, Revatī and Harasiddhi,⁴⁰ and who saved the gods by killing the demons and snatching away their flags for the gods (chap. 61—Dhvaja-navamī-vrata).

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³⁹ He was also called Anagha.—Bhav. IV. 58. 2b-3a (datto nāma mahāyogī viṣṇor aṃśo mahītale / dvitīyo nāma loke 'smin anaghaś ceti viśrutaḥ //).

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⁴⁰ For the names and description of these deities see Bhav. IV. 61. 9-21. The names 'Mahātuṇḍā' and 'Candramaṇḍalā' occur in verses 17b and 19b respectively, but in verse 10a these two names have been given as 'Mahāruṇḍā' and 'Candramaṅgalā'.

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An examination of the vratas dealt with in the Bhaviṣyottara shows that though some of these vratas and worships might have a popular origin, many of them are the productions of the fertile brains of the Brahmins who are rightly called ‘the makers and unmakers of gods and non-gods’. In some cases the Brahmins support popular *vratas* by fabricating relevant stories, but there are numerous cases in which they are found to take the advantage of Purāṇic stories for the creation of new *vratas*.⁴¹

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⁴¹ See, for instance, the Hara-kālī-tṛtīyā-vrata, which is based on the following story: Kālī, daughter of Dakṣa, was married to Śiva. Once, being mortified at the mention of her dark complexion by Śiva, she burnt herself in a fire and was reborn to Himālaya as Gaurī. (Chap. 20).

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Though these *vratas* might be observed by all without distinction of caste or sex, they were meant mainly for women,⁴² probably because it was through women, or rather mothers, that the teachings of the epics and the Purāṇas could be successfully spread among the people. It seems that the *vratas* were multiplied and encouraged by the Brahmins not only to counteract the influence of Buddhism and Jainism⁴³ on the varṇāśrama-dharma, but also to facilitate the distribution of wealth especially among those who were engaged in intellectual pursuits,⁴⁴ to make the mothers painstaking and fit for giving birth to healthy children,⁴⁵ to raise the moral standard of the people, and to make the family and the social life more enjoyable.⁴⁶

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⁴² See, for instance, Bhav. IV. 29. 1b-2a—

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⁴³ Jainism is indirectly described as ‘vrata-bhūyiṣṭha’ in Devī-p. 13. 10.

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⁴⁴ All the *vratas* are to be followed by gifts to Brahmins and the poor. Sometimes these gifts are very costly.

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⁴⁵ Various kinds of austerities were to be observed in the *vratas*. (See, for instance, chaps. 11, 26 and 70). So, the performers of these *vratas* had little opportunity to give themselves up to luxury and to have a fatty and ease-loving body.

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⁴⁶ Festivities, interdining, songs, dance etc. formed parts of some of the *vratas*. See, for instance, the Bṛhat-tapo-vrata, Bhadropavāsa-vrata, Yama-dvitīyā-vrata, Śrīpañcamī-vrata, Dūrvāṣṭamī-vrata, Anaghāṣṭamī-vrata and Araṇya-dvādaśī-vrata, in which the devotees were to dine with their friends and relatives as well as employees and guests. (See Bhav. IV, chaps. 12-14, 37, 56, 58 and 66). Bhav. IV. 58.68 refers to music and dancing by experts; and in the Devī-vratas (such as Dhvaja-navamī and Ulkā-navamī) virgin girls are to be fed (see, for instance, Bhav. IV. 61.51 and 62.6).

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Among the festivals described in the Bhaviṣyottara there are a few which were to be observed in the spring season, viz., Phālguna-pūrṇimotsava (chap. 132), Āndolaka-mahotsava (chap. 133) and Madana-mahotsava (chap. 135). During

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ānantarya-vrataṃ brūhi . . . . . /
hitāya sarva-bhūtānāṃ lalanānāṃ viśeṣataḥ //

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the Phālguna-pūrṇimotsava, which was also called Holikā and which was to be observed in every town and village⁴⁷ at the close of the winter,⁴⁸ a cottage was to be constructed with posts and straws and burnt. Children were to rush out of their houses with pieces of wood in hand, go thrice round the fire, shout, laugh and sing. It was believed that these acts of children brought about the destruction of the female goblin (rākṣasī) Dhaunḍhā (also called Aḍāḍā). In order to explain who this goblin was and why she was defeated by turbulent children, the Bhaviṣyottara gives the following story. During the reign of king Raghu a goblin named Dhaunḍhā began to give trouble to children, although his subjects were otherwise very happy. Being informed of this trouble Raghu asked Vasiṣṭha as to who this goblin was and how she could be got rid of. Vasiṣṭha said that this Dhaunḍhā worwhipped Śiva and received from him a boon that none but unruly children could overpower her. He then described the method in which this Dhaunḍhā could be killed. (It may be mentioned here that the goblin Dhaunḍhā is nothing but the personified spirit of the winter season which troubles children with diseases and of which the latter get rid at the advent of spring). During the Āndolaka-mahotsava, which was enjoyed equally by men and women, a swing was to be set up at the side of a tank, and the image of the deity to be worshipped was placed in it and swung.

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People threw dusts of saffron and took part in water-sports which they considered to be due to the influence of Cupid.⁴⁹ In the Madana-mahotsava, Madana was to be worshipped in temples, and wives were to worship their husbands by identifying them with Cupid. The worshippers were to pass the night without sleep, have feasts, present scented betels, and see dances and dramatic and other performances. Besides these spring-festivals mentioned above, the Bhaviṣyottara describes a few more which seem to have been widely observed. Of these, the most interesting one is that of Bhūta-mātā (‘mother of evil spirits’, also called Bhrātṛ-bhāṇḍā) who is said to have originated from Pārvatī’s urine. The image of Bhūta-mātā, who had a very ugly and hideous look⁵⁰ and was believed to be a form of Bhagavātī herself, was to be worshipped under an old tree, in order that no trouble could be caused to children by evil spirits. While taking the image to the tree, people were to make various interesting demonstrations⁵¹ such as those of taking a murderer to the place of execution for impaling him, and of a cruel Śabara with jet-black complexion and blood-shot eyes. This Bhūta-mātrutsava, which must have had a popular origin, was to be observed in every town and village, and during this festival people were to behave like wild men, sing, laugh and dance at random, distort their faces and cover their bodies with mud. The Nirājana-dvādaśī (chap. 71) was a festival to be observed by kings.

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