THE EIGHTEEN PURANAS :WHAT THEY CONTAIN.- FORWARD
Our old beliefs and culture are the main reasons for whatever has remained with us on honesty, purity, liberal attitude, sacrificial nature, chivalry etc. Truth and good conduct are our basic nature.
"Yadbhootahitamatyantam tatsatyamiti dhaarana".
To remain peaceful without either hate or attachment and to do good to every one is dharma. The basis for dharma is the Vedas.-
VedOkhilam Dharmamoolam (Manu 2.1), VedO dharmamoolam (Goutama dharmasootras (1.1).
Vedas are also called shruthis (heard). Vedangas help in understanding the Vedas. Shikshaa, Vyakarana, Chandas, Nirukta, Jyothisha and Kalpa are the six Vedangas. Vedas are divided into three groups- Karmakaanda, Upaasanaakaanda and Jnaanakaanda.
Based on the Vedas, several Smrithis have come into existence to make the Contents simpler and easy to understand and follow. These smrithis are the basis for Dharmasastras, Mahakaavyaas, Puranas, Agamas or methods of worship etc.
Smrithis consolidate the rules and regulations necessary to regulate the society from time to time. As society grows and changes, smrithis should also change. Otherwise, it will be like forcing a dress stitched for a baby on a grown up man. That is how the smrithis written by Manu, Yajnavalkya or Parashara have become outdated. (The Indian Constitution is the smrithi now being followed in our country).
Puranas and epics contain stories based on history. However, major portions of these are because of the creative ability of the authors/poets. The main purpose of the puranas is to create an atmosphere where people realize how God has helped in uplifting the humanity.
There are eighteen puranas generally accepted. They are:-
Agnipurana,Bhaagavatha purana, Bhavishya purana, Brahma purana, Bramaanda purana,
Brahmavaivartha purana, Garuda purana, Koorma purana, Linga purana, MaarkanDeya purana,
Matsya purana, Naaradeeya purana, Padma purana, Skaandapurana,Vaamanapurana,Varaaha purana,
Vaayu purana and Vishnu purana.
The Brahmapurana, Brahmaand purana, Brahma vaivartapurana, Markandeya purana, Bhavishya purana and Vaamana purana are prominently Rajasika and dedicated to Brahma.
Those which are predominantly saatvika (Sattvaguna pradhaana) are dedicated to Vishnu. They are: - Vishnu purana, Bhaagavatha purana, Naaradeeya purana, Garudapurana, Padmapurana and Varaaha purana.
The other six are dedicated to Shiva.
We may now see a gist of the contents of these puranas one by one. Then we may discuss on the antiquity of the puranas, their general characteristics, their evolution and growth, the recurrent topics in them, their ethics etc. After this, we may proceed to discuss the upa puranas (which are also 18 in number).
AGNIPURANA:
Agni told this to Vasishta. It contains descriptions of Rama and Krishna (Ramayana and Mahabharata) in addition to details about the other avatharas of Vishnu.
It also gives rules of worship of various deities, installation of idols in temples, Jyotishya, Architecture, medicine human physiology and various other such subjects.
BHAGAVATHA PURANA:-
SRIMADBHAGAVATHAis the most well known of the puranas. Sage Shuka tells the story of Krishna to king Pareekshit. Although it contains stories of the other avatharas of Vishnu, the emphasis is on the life of Krishna.
It explains the cosmic form of God and how the universe is created; the story of Jaya and Vijaya and how they had to take three janmas as Hiranyakashipu- Hiranyaaksha etc., the story of PrahladaТs devotion, Story of Kapila, Daksha yajna and its destruction by Rudra, stories of Dhruva, Jadabharatha etc., Stories of Gangaavatharana, Tripura samhaara, samudra mathana etc.
Krishnaavathaara details are found in the tenth chapter and the eleventh contains the famous Uddhavageetha. There is a vivid description of the present Kaliyuga.
There are a number of commentaries on this Purana and is considered the most popular among all the puranas.
BHAVISHYA PURANA:-
Some scholars consider the second part of this purana as an independent purana and call it the Bhavishyottara purana.
Among the several topics dealt with in this purana mention could be made of the shodasha samskaaras, rules for the study of Vedas, Vrathas and kaamya karmas, varnaashrama dharma, worship of Soorya and snakes, creation of the earth and the world, etc. There is a description of the good conduct one must emulate.
This purana is considered as a pointer and indication of the future and so, it is called the Bhavishya purana.
BRAHMAPURANA:-
Shrines at holy places like Puri, Konark and Bhuvaneswar are described in addition to the portions of Mahabharata, and some other puranas like Markandeya purana etc.Story of Daksha's sacrifice, story of Krishna, description of certain avatharas like Varaha, Nrisimha etc., are the others dealt with in this.It also deals with creation of the world and description of the sapta dveepas.
BRAHMAANDAPURANA:-
It deals with creation of brahmaanda (cosmic egg) and description of Bharatavarsha. The other contents are about shraadhdhas etc in addition to stories of Bhagiratha, Parashurama, Dhanvantri etc. A very important portion of this purana is the LalithOpaakhyaana in forty chapters which includes the famous Lalitha sahasranama. The whole purana is in four parts.
BRAHMAVAIVARTA PURANA:-
Vivarta or appearence is a term used in the advaita vedanta. This purana is Krishna centric. It describes Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati etc., as evolved from Moolaprakriti as per the desire of Krishna. Shree Krishna janma kaanda describes the story of Krishna and Radha. There are stories of Shanmukha and Ganesha.
There are some mundane subjects like Ayurveda, rules for building construction, bathing in Ganga and its benifits, greatness of Tulasi, code of conduct of women etc.
GARUDAPURANA:-
We all know that this purana is read when some one in the family passes away. It is said that this purana was taught by Vishnu himself to Garuda.
While the first part deals with stories from the two epics- Mahabharatha and Ramayana- in addition to certain medicines and uses of precious stones etc., the second part deals with the prethakalpa- the journey of Jeeva after death.
It suggests that moksha or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths is through devotion to Vishnu.
KOORMAPURANA:-
This is believed to have been taught by Vishnu in his Koormaavathaara to sage Naarada. It describes the chaaturvarnas and how the prakriti evolved as the world. Stories of Manu, Daksha, Vaamana, Yaduvamsha, Kaashi and Prayaaga etc. It also describes certain praayaschittas. It deals with Pralaya also.
LINGAPURANA:-
The five aspects of Shiva- Sadyojaata, Vaamadeva, Tatpurusha, Aghora and Eeshaana are described. The story of Shiva appearing as a huge pillar of fire to Vishnu and Brahma is dealt with. Stories of Dadheechi, Vyasa, Nandi, Sooryavamsha and chandravamsha kings, Kaashi etc., are the others.
Shiva's eight forms, Shiva panchaakshari mantra and the meditation of Shiva after establishing shivalinga, the mruthyunjaya mantra are the other contents.
MAARKANDEYA PURANA:-
This contains the teachings of Markandeya to Krowshtuki. The most well known portion of this purana is the Durgasaptashati or the Devi mahatme. In addition to the subjects of manvantaras etc., it deals with the stories of Harishchandra, Kartaveeryaarjuna etc.
Karma and its usefulness and some portions of Yoga are also dealt with.In this purana, instead of shiva and vishnu, other deities like Indra, Agni, Surya etc are given importance.
MATSYAPURANA:-
This is supposed to have been taught by Vishnu in his Matsyaavathaara.
Stories of Kacha- Devayaani, Yayathi- Puru, etc., are described. Various Vratas, daanas(gifts), holy places and rivers are also mentioned. Even mundane subjects like Building construction are explained.
Naarada Purana:-
This is believed to be the teachings of Naarada to Sanaka and other rishis. Religious rites, devotion to God, duties of people of each varna and Aashrama are detailed.There is a different version of Lalthaasahasranaama which is not popular. Fasting on the eleventh day of each paksha of a month (Ekaadashi) and its benefits is given importance.
PADMAPURANA:-
This deals with a number of subjects and it is in five parts. There are several stories and important rivers and pilgrimage centres are described. Several vrathas are found in this purana. Several sahasranaamas are also mentioned.
SKAANDA PURAANA:-
This purana was originally taught by Shivamahadeva to his consort Parvathi. It contains many stories.
It gives a detailed description of Bhaaratavarsha of those days. In addition to the various forms of Shivalingas and the meditation thereof, the now famous Sathyanarayana vratha is also described.
VAAMANAPURAANA:-
The incarnations of Vishnu- mainly as a Vaamana- is described in addition to the mention of other deities like Shiva, Ganapati and Soorya. The doctrine of Karma is explained.An important portion of this puraana is the story of Gajendra moksha.
VARAAHA PURAANA:-
This is supposed to have been given by Vishnu to Bhoodevi in his Varaaha roopa, It provides details of the theory of Karma, Shraadhdhas , Ashoucha etc. An important portion of this puraana is the Nachiketopaakhyaana which deals with heaven and hell.
VAAYU PURAANA.
Gayaa, the famous place known for shraadhdhas is described in addition to the details of the shraaddha ceremonies. The science of musicology is a part of this puraana. These are in addition to the other usual descriptions of several kings and rishis etc..
VISHNU PURAANA:-
In addition to the other usual descriptions of creation, there are stories of Dhruva, Prahlaada etc. The Kalidosha is also dealt with.
The stories of Raama and Krishna are also described. It is important to note that Vishnu here is not one of the thrimoorthies, but the origin of all the three- the para Brahma. Bhaktimaarga is given utmost importance.
We should note that the puraanas with their simplicity of presentation and language have helped in the preservation of our philosophy and dharma over a long period as they are easily accessible to the common man. However, it should be remembered that wherever there is any ambiguity or conflicts with the other texts of shrutis and smrithies, what the shruthi says becomes final and not what the puraanas or smrities say.
THE EIGHTEEN PURANAS: Posted by: "shivashankara rao" shivashankararao@hotmail.com Date: Wed Jan 25, 2012
Forwarded by R, Gopala Krishnan on 6-4-2020.It was stored in my external memory of computer.
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