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V.

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THE

VISHNU PURANA.A SYSTEMOF

HINDU MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION.TRANSLATED

FROM THE ORIGINAL SANSKRIT,AND

ILLUSTRATED BY NOTESDERIVED CHIEFLY FROM OTHER PURAN^AS,BY THE LATE

H.

H.WILSON,IN

M.A.,F.R,S.,THE DNIVERSITT OF OXFORD,

BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT

ETC., ETC.

EDITED BY

FITZEDWARD HALL,M.A., l),C.L.

OXON.

VOL.

1.

LONDON:TRtJBNER &CO., GO,

PATERNOSTER ROW.

1864.

TO

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS, AND SCHOLARSOF

THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,THISIS

WORK

RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY

H. H.

WILSON,VENERATION FOR

IN TESTIMONY OF HIS

THE UNIVERSITY,ANDIN

GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE DISTINCTION

CONFERRED UPON HIM

BY

HIS ADMISSION AS

A MEMBER,

AND HIS ELECTIONTO THB

BODEN PROFESSORSHIP OF THE SANSKRIT LANGUAGE.

Oxford,Feb. 10, 1840.

/

PREFACE.1for

HE literature of the Hindus lias now been cultivated,manyits

years, with singular diligence, and, in

many

of

branches, with eminent success. There are some

departments, however, which are yet but partially andimperfectly investigated; andin possession of that

we are far from being knowledge which the authentic

writings of the Hindus alone can give us of their religion,

mythology, and historical traditions.the materials to whichit

Fromaccess,

we have

hitherto had

seems probable that there have been three principal forms in which the religion of the Hindushas existed, at as

many

different periods.

The duration

of those periods, the circumstances of their succession,

and the preciseit is

state of the national faith at each season,

not possible to trace with any approach to accu-

The premises have been too imperfectly determined to authorize other than conclusions of a general and somewhat vague description; and those remain to be hereafter confirmed, or corrected, by more extensiveracy.

and

satisfactory research.earliestis

Theappears

form under which the Hindu religion

that taught in the Vedas.

The

style of the

language, and the purport of the composition, of thoseI.

a

nworks, as far as

PREFACE.

we

are acquainted with them, indicate

a date long anterior to that of any other class of SansIt is yet, however, scarcely safe to advance an opinion of the precise belief, or philosophy, which they inculcate. To enable us to judge of their

krit writings.

we have only a general sketch of their arrangement and contents, with a few extracts, by Mr.tendency,

Colebrooke, in the Asiatic Researches;* a few incidentalthe same miscellany;^ and book of the Samhitd, or collection of the prayers of the Rig-veda, by Dr. Rosen;' and some of the Upanishads or speculative treatises,Ellis, infirst

observations by Mr.

a translation of the

,

attached to, rather than part of, the Vedas, by

Ram-

mohun

Roy."**

Of the

religion taught in the Vedas,will

Mr. Colebrooke's opinionthat whichis

probably be received as

best entitled to deference; as, certainly,

the onginal works.

no Sanskrit scholar has been equally conversant with "The real doctrine of the whole111>

Indian scripture''"".

I !.

is

the unity of the deity, in..II-

whomI

the-i

...^

.,_... !-

I...

I.

Ml.

i-

' *

Vol. VIII., p. 369. t Vol. XIV., p. 37. Published by the Oriental Translation Fund Coramittee.-^

A

translationtitle

of the principal Upanishads was published,

under the

of Oupnekhat, or Theologia Indica,it

by Anquetil

du Perron; butandis

was made through

the

medium

of the Persian,

very incorrect and obscure.

A

translation of a very difin course of preparation

ferent character* has been

some time

by M. Poley.

* To insert here a list of the numerous publications bearing on the Vedas, that have appeared since the date of this preface, 1840, would be beside the purpose of my notes.

f*

The kindness

Reprinted in Colebrooke's Miscellaneous Essays, Vol.1., pp. 9-113. of Professor Wilson here mistook a hope for a reality.

PREFACE.

Ill

universe is comprehended; and the seeniing polytheism which it exhibits offers the elements, and the stars and planets, as gods. The three principal manifestivtions of the divinity, with other personitied attributes

and energies, and most of the other gods of Hindu mythology, are, indeed, mentioned, or, at least, indicated, in the Vedas. But the worship of deified heroesis

deities suggested in

no part of that system; nor are the incarnations of any other portion of the text which

I have yet seen: though such are sometimes hinted at by the commentators."^ Some of these statements may,

perhaps, require modification; for, without a careful

examination of

all the prayers of the Vedas, it would be hazardous to assert that they contain no indication whatever of hero-worship; and, certainly, they do ap-

pear to allude, occasionally, to the Avataras, or incarnations, of Vishnu.Still,

however,ritijal

it is

true that theis

prevailing character of the

of the Vedas

the

worship of the personified elements; of Agni or fire; Indra, the firmament; Vayu, the air; Varuna, the water;of Aditya, the sun;

Soma, the moon; and otheris.

ele-

mentary and

planetar}^ personages.

It is also true that

the worship of the Vedas

for the

most part^ domestic

worship, consisting of prayers and oblations offeredin their

own

houses, not in temples

by

individuals,

for individual good,

and addressed

to unreal presences,

not to visible types.

In a word, th^ religion of the

Vedas was not

idolatry.

'

As. Res., Vol.VlIL,

p. 474.*

Or Miscellaneous Essays, Vol.1., pp.110 and 111.

IVIt is

PREFACE.not possible to conjecture

when

this

more simple

and primitive form of adoration was succeeded by the worsliip of images and types, representing Brahma,Vishnu, Siva, and other imaginary beings, constitutinga mythological pantheon of most ample extent; or

when Rama and Krishna, who appearoriginally, real

to

and

historical characters,

have been, were elevatedis

to the dignity of divinities.

Image-worshipsubsist

alluded

to by

Manu,

in several passages,^ but with an intima-

tion that thosein

Brahmans who

by ministeringclass.

temples are an inferior and degraaed

The

story of the

Ramavana and Mahabharata

turns wholly

upon the doctrine of incarnations; all the chief dramatis poems being impersonations of gods, and demigods, and celestial spirits. The ritual appears to be that of the Vedas: and it may be doubted if any allusion to image-worship occurs. But the doctrine of propitiation by penance and praise prevails throughout; and Vishnu and Siva are the especial objects of panegyric and invocation. In these two works, then, we trace unequivocal indications of a departure from thepersonfe of the

elemental worship of the Vedas, and the origin or elaboration of legends which

form the gTeat body of the

mythologicai religion of the Hindus..

How

far

they

only improved upon the cosmogony and chronologyof then* predecessors, or in

what degree the

traditions

of families and dynastioHt|uestions that

may

originate with them, are

and the two worksth oi'O ughly

can only be determined when the Vedas in question shall ha\e been more

ex a,min e diU,B. IV., 214.

'

B.

III.,

Ij2,

PREFACF,.

V

Theas the

different

works known bv the name of Purunas

are evidently derived from the same religious system

heroic stage of Hindu belief.pecujiarities

Ramayana and Mahahharata, or from the mythcThey present, however,which designatetheir belonging to a later

period, and to an importani; modification' in the pro-

They repeat the theoretical cosmogony of the two great poems; they expand and systematize the chronological computations; and they give a more definite and connected representation of the mythological fictions and the historical traditions. But, besides these and other particulars, which may be derivable from an old, if not from a primitive, era, they offer characteristic peculiarities of a more modern description, in the paramount importance which theygress of opinion.assign to individual divinities, in the variety and purof* the rites and observances addressed to them, and in the invention of new legends illustrative oi' the power and graciousness of those deities, and of the

port

efficacy of implicit devotion to them,

Siva and Vishnu,

under one or other form, are almost the sole objects that claim the homage of the Hindus, in the Puraiias;departing fi'om the domestic and elemental ritual ofthe Vedas, and exhibiting a sectarial fervour and exclusiveness not traceable in theto a qualified extent in the Mahabharata.

Ramayana, and only They are no

longer authorities for Hindu belief, as a whole: they are special guides for separate and, sometimes, con-

branches of it; compiled for the evident purpose of promoting the preferential, or, in some cases, the sole, worship of Vishnu, or of Siva.^flicting

'

Besides the three periods marked

by the Vedas, Heroic

VI

TRKFACE.

given of them

That the Puraiias always bore the character here may admit of reasonable doubt: that it

correctly applies to

them

as they

now

are

met

with,It

the following pages will irrefragably substantiate.is

possible,

however, that there may have been an

earlier class of Purai'ias, of

which those we now have

are but the partial and adulterated representatives.

The

identity of the legends in

many

of them, and,

still

more, the identity of the wordslong passages areliterally

for, in

several of them,is

the same

a sufticient

proof

that, in all

such cases, they must be copied either

from some other similar work, or from aprior original.statedIt is

common and

not unusual, also, for a fact to be

cited accordingly;

upon the authority of an 'old stanza', which is showing the existence of an earlier

source of information: and, in very

manyelse.

instances,

legends are alluded

to,

not told; ev^lncing acquaintance

with their prior narration somewhereitself,

The namethe object

Puraha, which implies

'old', indicates

of the compilation to be the preservation of ancienttraditions; a purpose, in the present condition of the

Puranas, very imperfectly

fullilled.

may

be attached to these considerations, thereeffect^

disputing evidence to the like

Whatever weight is no afforded by other

The description given, by Mr. Colebrooke,^ of the contents of a Purana isand unquestionable authority.Foeras, aud Furanas, a fourthexercised by the Tantras upon

may bo

dated from the inftuence

Hindu

practice

and

belief: but

we

are yet too

little

acquainted with those works, or their origin, to

speculate safely upon their consequences.'

As. Res., Vol. VII., p. 202.*

Or Miscellaneous Essays, Vol.

II.,

pp.

4 and

5,

foot-note.

PREFACE.taken from Sanskrit writers.

VU

The Lexicon of Amara

Simha gives,

as a

synonym

of Parana, Pancha-Itikshana,

'that which has five characteristic topics'; and there is no difference of opinion, amongst the schohasts, as to what these are. They are, as Mr. Colebrooke mentionsI.

Primary

creation, or

cosmogony;III.

II.

Secondary cre-

ation,

or the destruction and renovation of worlds,

inchiding

chronology;

Genealogy of gods and

patriarchs; IV. Reigns of the Manus, or periods called

Manwantaras; and, V. History, or such particulars as have been preserved of the princes of the solar and lunar races, and of their descendants to modeni times. *Such, at any rate, were the constituent and characteristic

portions of a Purana, in the days of Amara Simha,*

fifty-six

years before the Christian era;f and,

if

the

Theit is

following definition of a

Purana

is

constantly quoted:

found in the Vishnu, Matsya, Vayu, and other Puiaiias:

A

variation of reading in the beginning of the second line

ia

noticed by

Ramasrama,

the scholiast on

Amara, WSnf^pETWr'f:

'Destruction of the earth and the rest, or final dissolution;' in

which case the genealogies of heroes and princes are comprisedin those of the patriarchs.

?

t That Amarasiiiiha lived at that time, though proved. Professor Wilson Sanskrit Dictionary,

possible, has notlirst

been

edition,

Preface,

p. V.

asserts

tha^;

"all

traditionin

concurs in enutoerating him amongstof the Hindus,

the learnedare

men who,

the metaphorical phraseology

denominated the 'nine gems' of the court of Vikramaditya. Authorities which assert the contemporary existence of Amara and Vikramaditya might be indefinitely multiplied; and those are equally nu-

merous

which

class

him amongst

the

'nine gems'."'

In the se(;ond

Vnr

PREFACE.

Piiranas had undergone no change since his time, such

we

should expect to find thera

still.

Do

they confonn

word the Professor explains "The nine men of letters at the court of Vikrautaditya, or, Dhanwantari, Kshapauaka, Amarasimha, l^ankn, Vetalabhatia, Ghafakarpara Kalidasa, Varahamihira, and Vararuchi." The traditionedition of his Dictionary, under the

the "nine

gams"

to be:

,

about these ornaments he thinksp. V.

Megkadtila,

second edition, Preface,is

to

be one of those regarding which "there

no reason to dispute

the truth."

The "authorities" spoken offallen yet in the

in the first of the preceding extracts are

and they are not known to have any one else. Those authorities apart, he adduces a stanza about the "nine gems ', of which he says, that it "appears in a great measure traditionary only; as I have not been able to trace it to any authentic source, although it is in the mouth of every Pandit, ^en interrogated on the subject."

not specified by Professor Wilson;

way

of

The stanzaclusion, where

in question occurs in the Jyoiirviddbharana , near its con-

we

find the following verses:

^5fNrRlaces

have no dates attachedauthorities are

to them, yet circumstances are

sometimes mentioned, or alluded

made, or legends are narrated, or

are particularized, of which the comparatively recent dateis

indisputable,

and which enforce a correspondingsam.e time, they

reduction of the antiquity of the work in which theyare discovered.

At the

may be

ac-

quitted of subservience to any but sectarial imposture.

They were piousthetire

frauds for temporary purposes: they

never emanated from any impossible combination of

Brahmans to fabricate for the antiquity of the enHindu system any claims which it cannot fully

support.

A very great portion

of the contents of many,all, is

some portion of the contents of

genuine andis

old.

Thethe

sectarial interpolation, or embellishment,

always

sufficiently palpable to

be set aside without injury topi'imitive material;

more authentic and

and the

Puranas, although they belong especially to that stage

Xn

PREFACE.

of the Hindis religion in which faith invinity

some one

di-

was

the prevailing principle, are, also, a valuable

record of the form of Hindu belief which came nextin

order to that of the Vedas; which grafted hero-

ritual of the latter; and which had been adopted, and was extensively, perhaps universally, established in India, at the time of the Greek

worship upon the simpler

invasion.

The Hercules of the Greek

writers was, in-

Balarama of the Hindus; and their notices of Mathura on the Jumna, and of the kingdom of the Suraseni and the Pands&an country, evidence the prior currency of the traditions which constitutedubitably, the

the argument of the Mahabharata, and which are constantly repeated in the Puranas, relating to the

Pah-

dava and Yadava races, to Krishna and his contemporary heroes, and to the dynasties of the solar andlunar kings

The theogony and cosmogony of the Puranas may, probably, be traced to the Vedas. They are not, asfar asis

but they are frequently alludedless mystical

yet known, described in detail in those works; to, in a strain more or

and obscure, which indicates accjuaintance

with their existence, and which seems to have suppliedthe Puranas with the

groundwork of

their systems.

The scheme

of primary or elementary creation theyis,

borrow from the Sankliya philosophy, which

pro-

bably, one of the oldest fonns of speculation on man and nature, amongst the Hindus. Agreeably, however,to that part of the Pauranik character

which there

is

reason to j^uspect of later origin,

theii'

inculcation of

the worship of a favourite deity, they combine the interposition of a creator with the independent evolu-

PREFACE.tion of matter, in atelligible style.

Xmaccounts

somewhat contradictory and unin-

It is evident, too, that their

of secondary creation, or the development of the exist-

ing forms of things, and the disposition of the universe,are derived from several and different sources; andit

appears very likely that they are to be accused of someof the incongruities and absurdities by which the narrativeis

disfigured, in

consequence of having attemptedhowever, amidst the

to assign reality

and significancy to what was merelyis,

met^aphor or mysticism. There

unnecessary complexity of the description, a general

agreement, amongst them, as to the origin of things

and

their final distribution: and, inis

many

of the circum-

stances, there

a striking concurrence with the ideas

which seem to have pen'aded the whole of the ancient world, and which we may, therefore, believe to be faithfully represented in the

Puranas.is

The pantheism

of the Puranas

one of their

in-

variable characteristics; although the particular divinity

whoto

is all

things,all

from

whom

all

things proceed, and

whom

things return, be diversified according to

their individual sectarial bias.

Thev seem

to

have de-

rived the notion from the Vedas; but, in theyn, the

one universal Being

is

of a higher order than a per-

sonification of attributes or elements,

and, howeverisis

imperfectly conceived, or unworthily described,

God.sup-

In the Puranas, the one only

Supreme Being

posed to be manifesteither in the

in

the person of Siva, or Vishnu,

way

of illusion, or in sport; and one oris,

other of these divinitiesall

therefore, also the cause of

that

is,

is,

himself, all that exists.is

God and

nature

not a

new

notion:

it

The identity of was very genei'al

XIV

PBEFACE.it

in the speculations of antiquity; bat

assumed a new

vigour in the early ages of Christianity, and was carriedto

an equal pitch of extravagance by the Platonic

Christians as

by the Saiva or Vaishnava Hindus.

It

seems not impossible that there was some communication between them. We know that there was anactive communication between India

and the Red Sea,and that doc-

in the earlv ages of the Christian era,trlnes, as well as articles of

merchandise, were brought

to

Alexandria from the former. Epiphanius^ and Eu-

sebius^ accuse Scythianus of having importedIndia, in the second century,retical notions

fromat

books on magic, and heit

leading to Manichseism; and

was

the same period thatsect of theliis

Ammonius

Saccas instituted the

new

Platonists at Alexandria.

The

basis of

heresy was, that true philosophy derived

its

origin

from the eastern nations. His doctrme of the identity of God and the universe is that of the Vedas and Puranas; and the practices he enjoined, as well as theirobject,

Puranas, under the

were precisely those described in several of the name of Yoga. His disciples werespirit;

taught to extenuate, by mortiiication and contemplation,

the bodily restraints upon the immortallife,

so that, in this

they might enjoy communion withafter death, to the

the

Supreme Being, and ascend,

universal Parent.^

That these are Hindu tenets, the

following pages* will testify; and, by the admission oftheir Alexandrian teacher, they onginated in India.

The importation'

was, perhaps, not wholly unrequited:

Adv. Manichieos.

^

Hist,

Evaog.

See Mosbeio),

I.,

II.,

i.

See Book VI., Chap. Vll.

PREFACE.the loan

XVunpaid.It is

may

not have been

left

not im-

possible that the

Hindu doctrines received fresh animation from their adoption by the successors of Ammonius, and, especially, by the mystics, who may haveprompted, as well as employed, the expressions of thePuranas. Anquetll du Perron has given, ^ in the introduction to his translation of the 'Oupnekhat', several

hymns byfifth

Synesius, a bishop of the beginning of the

the

may serve as parallels to many of hymns and prayers addressed to Vishnu in thecentury, whichascription, to individual

Vishnu Purana.

But the

and personal

deities,

of the attributes of the one universal and spiritual Su-

preme Being,

is

an indication of a later date than thealso,

Vedas, certainly, and, apparently,

than the

Rama-

yana, where Rama, although an incarnation of Vivshnu,

commonly appearsis

in his

humanin the

character alone. There

something of the kindKrishna;as the

Mahabharata, in respectIn other places, the didecidedly affirmed;in

to

especially in the philosophical episode

knownsome,

Bhagavad

Gita.is less

vine nature of Krishnait is

disputed, or denied; and, in most of the

situations in

which he

is

exhibited in action,

it is

as a

prince and warrior,

riot as

a divinity.

He

exercises no

superhuman

faculties in the defence of himself or his

friends, or in the defeat

and destruction ofis,

his foes.

The Mahabharata, however,carefullyity

evidently, a

work of

various periods, and requires to be read throughout,

and

critically,

before

its

weight as an author-

can be accurately appreciated.

As

it

is

now

in

'

Theologia

et

PhilosopLia Indica, Dissert.,

p. xxvi.

XVI

PREFACE.to the public spirit of the Asiatic Soof Bengal, and their secretary, Mi-. J. Prinsep,

type/ thanksciet}'it

wiil

not be long before the Sanskrit scholars of theits

continent will accurately appreciate

value.

works of evidently different ages, and have been compiled under different circumare, also,

The Puranas

stances, the precise nature of

which we can but imand fromreligious opinion in

perfectly conjecture fi-om internal evidence

what we know of the history ofIndia. It

is highly probable that, of the present popular forms of the Hindu religion, none assumed their actual

state earlier than the time of

Sankara Acharva, theall

great Saiva reformer,in

who

flourished, in

likelihood,

the eighth or ninth century.

Of

the Vaishnava

teachers,

Ramanuja

dates in the twelfth century;

Ma-

dhwacharya, in the thirteenth; and Vallabha, in the sixteenth;^ and thePura/ias seem to have accompanied,or followed, their innovations; being obviously intendedto advocate the doctrines they taught.

This

is

to astrue;

sign to

some of them a very

modem

date,

it is

but

cannot think that a higher can, with justice, be ascribed to them. This, however, applies to some onlyI

out of the number, asspecify.

I shall

presently proceed to

Another evidence of a comparatively modern date'

Three volumes have been printed: the fourth andAs. Res., Vols.

last is

understood to be nearly completed.*'

XVI. and XVII.

Account of Hindu

Sects,

f

'

it

was couipleted ia 1839:

at,

least, it bears that date,

t This "Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus", by Professor Wilson, will be found in the first volume of his collected works.

PREFACE.

XVn

must be admittednasties

in

those chapters of the Puranasforetell

which, assuming a prophetic tone,chapters,

of kings will reign in the Kali age.it is

what dyThesePurathe date

true, are found but in four of the

nas; but they are conclusive in bringing

down

of those four to a period considerably subsequent toChristianity.Itis,

also, to

be remarked that the Vayu,other re-

Vishiin,

Bhagavata, and Matsya Puranas, in whichall

these particulars arc foretold, have, in^

spects, the character of as great antiquity as

any works

of their class.

The

invariable

form of the Puraiias

is

that of a dia-

logue, in which

some person

relates its contents, ia

reply to the inquiries of another.

This dialogue

is

interwoven with others, which are repeated as having

been held, on other occasions, between different

indi-

viduals, in consequence of similar questions having

been asked. The immediate narrator is, commonly, though not constantly, Lomaharshana or Komaharshana, the disciple of Vyasa,

who

is

supposed to comsage.is

municate what was imparted to him by his preceptor,as hewill

had heardin

it

from some other

Vyasa, astitle,

be seen

ihe body of the work, ^

a generic

meaning an

'arranger' or 'compiler'.

It is, in this age,

applied to Krishna Dwaipayana, the son of Parasara,

'

On

the history of the compositiou of the Piirarias, as theyI

now

appear,

have hazarded some specuhations in

my

Analysis

of the1S32.*^

Vayu Puraua: Journ.III.,

Asiatic Society of Bengal, December,

BookSee Vol.

Chapter

III.

*

III. of

our author's collected writings.

I.

XVIII

PREFACE.is

who

said to

have taught the Vedas and Puranas to

various disciples, but

who appears

to

have been the

head of alearned

college,

or school, under

whom

various

men gave

to the sacred literature of theit

Hindusler,

the form in which

now

presents

itself.

In this task,

the disciples, as they are termed, of Vyasa were, rathis colleagues

and coadjutors; for they were already conversant with what he is fabled to have taught them ;* and, amongst them, Lomaharshana represents the class of persons who were especially charged with the record of political and temporal events.Siita, as ifit

He

is

called

was a proper name: but it is, more correctly, a title; and Lomaharshana w^as 'a Siita', that is, a bard, or panegyrist, who was created, according toourtext,^ to celebrate the exploits of princes,

and who,

according to the

Vayu and Padma Puranas, has a rightsto narrate the Puranas, in preIt is

by birth and profession,therefore, that

ference even to the Brahmans.^

not unlikely,his being re-

we

are to understand,

by

presented as the disciple of Vyasa, the institution of

to collect,

some attempt, made under the direction of the latter, from the heralds and annalists of his day,

the scattered traditions which they had imperfectly

preserved: and hence the consequent appropriation ofthe Puranas, in a great measure, to the genealogies ofregal dynasties

and descriptions of the universe. How-

ever this

may

be, the machinery has been but looselyChapter

See Book

III.,

III.

Book

I.,

Chapter XIII.

'

Journ. Royal As. Soc, Vol. V., p. 281.*

*

The

article referred to is

from the pen of Professor Wilson, and has

been leprinted.

PREFACE.

X[X

adhered to; and many of the Puranas, like the Vishnu, are referred to a different narrator.is given, in the following work/ of a of Pauranik compilations of which, in their present form, no vestige appears. Lomaharshana is

An

account

series

said to have as

had

six disciples, three of

whom composed

many fundamental piled a fourth. By a

Samhitas, whilst he himself comSarnhita,is

generally understood

a 'collection' or 'compilation'.

The Samhitas of

the

Vedas are collections of hymns and prayers belonging to them, aiTJinged according to the judgment of someindividual sage,

who is, therefore, looked upon as the originator and teacher of each. -The Samhitas of theat-

Puranas, then, should be analogous compilations,tabrana, and Romaharshana: no such Pauranikhitas are

tributed, respectively, to Mitrayu, Sanisapayana, Aki'-i-

Samisis,

now known. The

substance of the four

said to be collected in the Vishnu Purana,also, in

which

another place, ^

itself called-as

a Sarnhita. But suchinquiry has yet pro-

compilations have not, as far

ceeded, been discovered. The specification may be accepted as an indication of the Puranas' having existedin

some other form,it

in

which they are no longer mettheir

with; although

does not appear that the arrangementexistenceis

was incompatible with

as

separate

works; for the Vishnu Purana, whichmeration of the several Puranas.

our authority

for the four Sarhhitas, gives us, also, the usual enu-

Thereto in the

is

another classification of the Puranas, alludedspecified

Matsya Purana, andIII.,

by the PadmaChapterI.

'

Book

Chapter

III,

*

Book

I.,

XXParana, but moretice, as it

PREFACE.fully.It is

not undeserving of no-

expresses the opinion which native writers

entertain of the scope of the Puranas,

and ofit is

their re-

cognizing the subservience of these works to the dis-

semination of sectarian principles.the Uttara

Thus,

said, in

Khanda

of the

Padma,*

that the Puranas,

as well as other works, are divided into three classes,

according to the qualities which prevail in them. Thus,

Padma, and Varaha Puranas are Sattwika or pure, from the predominance,ranas.in

the Vishnu, Naradiya, Bhagavata, Garuda,

them, of the Sattwaare, in

quality, or that of

goodness and purity. They

factv,

Vaishnava Pu-

and Agni Puranas are Tamasa, or Puranas of darkness, from the prevalence of the quality of Tamas, 'igno-.Siva, Skanda,ranee', 'gloom'.

The Matsya, Kurma, Linga,

They

are, indisputably,

Saiva Puranas.

Brahmahda, Brahma Vaivarta, Markandeya, Bhavishya, Vamana, and Brahma Puranas, are designated as Rajasa, 'passionate', from Rajas, the property of passion, which they are supposed to represent. The Matsya does not specify which are the Puranas that come under these designations, but remarks f that those in which the Mahatmyathird series, comprising the*

The

Chapter XLII.:

wm ^r^ ^m tt t^ wn^ 7T%^ ^

w^

i

"^ ^^tfrfsT

rrrwrf^

t^vcr

ii

^r^rwt Chapter LII.:

^%^

*^iJiQ^

7T^ ^

II

PREPACK.

XXI

of Hari or Vishnu prevails are Sattwika; those in whichthe legends of Agni or Siva predominate are Taniasa;

and those which dwell most on the

stories of

Brahma

are Rdjasa. I have elsewhere stated^ that I considered

the Rajasa Puranas to lean to the Sakta division of the

Hindus, the worshippers of Sakti or the female principle;

founding this opinion on the character of the

legends which some of them contain, such as the Durga

Mahatmya, or celebrated legend on which the worship of Durga or Kali is especially founded, which is a principal episode of the Markandeya. The BrahmaVaivarta also devotes the greatest portion ofters to the celebration ofits

chap-

Radha, the mistress of Krishna,Colonel Vans Kennedy,

and other female

divinities.

however, objects to the application of the term Sakta to this last division of the Puranas; the worship ofSakti

bemg

the especial object of a different class of

works, theTantras; and no such form of worship beingparticularly inculcated in thelast

Brahma Purana.^ This

argument

is

of weight in regard to the particular

instance specified; and the designation of Sakti

may

not be correctly applicable to the wholeit is

class,

although

to

some of the

series: for there is

no incompati-

bility in

the advocacy of a Tantrika modification ofp. 10.*

As. Res., Vol. XVI.,

'

Asiatic Journal, March, 1837, p. 241.

d^g^^ ?nfirw ^^55 iTT^m:Vol.I.,

frRT%g

t

irw ^f^TT^^

i

f^ryait "^

ii

p. 12, foot-note, of the author's collective publications.

XXn

PREFACE.it

the Hindu religion by any Parana; andtionably,

has, unques-

works known asUpapuranas. The proper appropriation of the third class of the Puranas, according to the Padma Purana, appears to bebeen practisedin

to the worship of Krishna, not in the character in which

he

is

nas,

represented in the Vishnu and Bhagavata Purain which the incidents of his boyhood are onlyin

a portion of his biography, and

which the human

character largely participates, at least in his riper years, but as the infant Krishna, Govinda, Bala Gopala, the

sojourner in Vfindavana, the companion of the cowherds and milkmaids, the lover of Radha, or as the juvenile mast-er of the universe, Jagannatha. The termRajasa, implying the animation of passion and enjoy-

ment of sensual

delights,

is

applicable not only to the

character of the youthful divinity, but to those with

whom

his adoration

in

these forms seems to have

originated, the Gosains of

Gokul and Bengal, the

fol^

lowers and descendants of Vallabha and Chaitanya, the priests and proprietors of Jagannath and Srin4thdwar,

who

lead a

life

of affluence and indulgence, and vin-

dicate, both by precept and practice, the reasonableness of the Rajasa property, and the congruity of tem-

poral enjoyment with the duties of religion.^

The Puranasnumber.

are uniformly stated to be eighteen in

It is said that there are also

eighteen Upa-

purahas or minor Puranas: but the names of only a

few of these are specified

in the least exceptionable

'

As. Res., Vol. XVI., p. 85.

CoUectiTe Works of Pxofessoi Wilson, Vol.

I.,

p. 119.

PREFACE.authorities;

XXIII

not procurable.thereis

and the greater number of the works is With regard to the eighteen Purai'ias,is

a pecuUarity in their specification, which

proof of an interference with the integrity of thein

text,

some of them,

at least; for each of

them

specifies

the names of the whole eighteen.

not have been complete whilst

Now, tlie list could the work that gives itit.

was

unfinished; and in one only, therefore, the last of

the series, havethere are

we

a right to look for

As, however,

more last words than one, it is evident that the names must have been inserted in all except one, after the whole were completed. Which of the eighteenis

the exception, and truly the

last,is,

there

is

no clue

to

discover; and the specificationpolation, in most^if

probably, an inter-

not in aU.

The namesshnava,

that are specified are1.

same, and are as follows:4. Saiva, 5.8.

Brahma,6.

Bhagavata,9.

commonly the Pddma, 3. VaiNaradiya, 7. Mar2.

kandeya,15.

Agneya,

Bhavishya, 10. Brahma Vai-

varta, 11. Lainga, 12. Varaha, 13. Skanda, 14.16. Matsya, 17. Garuda, 18.

Vamana,

Thisis

Kaurma^ is from the twelfth book of the Bhagavata, and the same as occurs in the Vishnu.^ In other authoriThe namesare put attributively; the noun substantive, Pu-

Brahmanda.^

*

rana, being understood.

Thus, Vaishnavam Puraiiam means the

Puraiia of Vishnu; Saivam Puranam, the Puraiia of Siva; Brahmam Puranam, the Puraiia of Brahma. It is equally correct, and

more common,

to use

the two substantives

in apposition,

as

Vishnu Puraria, 6iva Puraria, &c.

In the original Sanskrit the

noims are compounded, as Vishnu-purana, &c.: but it has not been customary to combine them, in their European shape.'

Book

III.,

Chapter VI.

XXIV

PREFACE.

ties there are a few variations. The list of the Ki'irma Parana omits the Agni Parana, and substitutes the Vayu.* The Agni leaves out the Siva, and inserts the Vayu. The Varaha omits the Garuda and Brahmanda^ and inserts the Vayu and Narasiihha: in this last, it is singular. The Markandeya agi-ees with the Vishnu and Bhagavata, in omitting the Vayu. The Matsya, hke

the Agni, leaves out- the Siva.

Some

of the Puranas, as the Agni, Matsya,f Bhaga-

vata, t and

Padma,

also particularize th

number ofIn one

stanzas which each of the eighteen contains.

or two instances they disagree; but, in general, theyconcur.

The aggregatelines.

is

stated at 400,000 slokas, or

1,600,000

These are fabled to be but an abridg-

ment: the whole* I

amount being a krore or ten*t

millions

Professor Wilson's MS. has

[4

tion of very heterogen