THE PURANAS CONTAIN THE TRUTH DRESSED UP IN MYTHS AND STORIES, TO SUIT THE WEAK UNDERSTANDING OF THE MAJORITY.

THE PURANAS CONTAIN THE TRUTH DRESSED UP IN MYTHS AND STORIES, TO SUIT THE WEAK UNDERSTANDING OF THE MAJORITY.

The real history of a country is not the history of wars and battles, invasions and conquests, not even the record of the rise and fall of dynasties, but it is the history of the evolution of its inner national life in all its dimensions and aspects. In studying the History of Bharatvarsha, more particularly the history of ancient Bharatvarsha, most of the historians and scholars more often than not, fail to find out the real soul of India. Our present knowledge and history of ancient Bharatvarsha is derived from and mostly based on the work and writings of western historians and indologists during the last 300 years. Most of these western scholars, armed with passages from Hindu and Buddhist Scriptures, often taken out of their context and whose symbolic significance they could not understand (much less appreciate!), have helped to propagate the fallacy that the history of ancient Bharatvarsha is lost in the mists of unknown and unknowable antiquity and that it is very difficult to reconstruct the history of ancient India on the basis of our Vedas, ancient epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha and the eighteen (18) Puranas.

According to tradition, there are 18 Mahapuranas and 18 Upapuranas. Each Mahapurana lists eighteen canonical Puranas, but the contents of each list vary reflecting differences in time and place. The eighteen extant Mahapuranas are :

1. Agni Purana (15,400 verses)

2. Bhagavata Purana (18,000 verses). The most celebrated and popular of the Puranas. It is concerned with Vishnu Bhakti, telling of the exploits and deeds of Vishnu's Avataras. Its tenth canto (its longest) narrates the deeds of Krishna and, probably for the first time in Sanskrit, tells of his exploits as a child, a theme later elaborated by many Bhakti movements.

3. Bhavishya Purana (14,500 verses)

4. Brahma Purana (24,000 verses)

5. Brahmanda Purana (12,000 verses; includes Lalita Sahasranamam, a text millions of Hindus recite as prayer)

6. Brahmavaivarta Purana (18,000 verses)

7. Garuda Purana (19,000 verses)

8. Kurma Purana (17,000 verses)

9. Linga Purana (11,000 verses)

10. Markandeya Purana (9,000 verses; includes Devi Mahatmyam, an important text for Shaktas)

11. Matsya Purana (14,000 verses)

12. Narada Purana (25,000 verses)

13. Padma Purana (55,000 verses)

14. Skanda Purana (81,100 verses), probably the longest of all, containing parables, legends and stories, with multiple versions and rescensions. Many untraced quotes from a Purana are conveniently attributed to this Purana.[10]

15. Vamana Purana (10,000 verses)

16. Varaha Purana (10,000 verses)

17. Vayu Purana (24,000 verses)

18. Vishnu Purana (23,000 verses)

In addition to the above 18 Puranas, we also have the Harivamsa Purana (16000 verses) and Shiva Purana (24000 verses).

There is also another traditional approach to the classification of Puranas. They have been classified with reference to the three aspects of Trimurti _ creation, preservation and destruction. Based on this approach, Mahapuranas can be classified as follows:

Brahma Puranas: Brahma Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana,

Vishnu Puranas: Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Naradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana,Vamana Purana,Kurma Purana, Matsya Purana, Kalki Purana

Shiva Puranas: Shiva Purana, Linga Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana, Vayu Purana

Puranas have also been classified based on the gunas (qualities) of satvik(goodness), rajhasic (passion) and thamasic (ignorance). According to the Padma Purana, the 18 Puranas can be classified based on gunas in the following manner:

Sattva (`truth; purity'): Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Naradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana

Rajas (`dimness; passion'): Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana

Tamas (`darkness; ignorance'): Matsya Purana, Kurma purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana

Traditionally, the Puranas are said to have been composed by the Sage Veda Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata epic. Vyasa in Sanskrit means `Divider,' and some scholars therefore take this simply as a term meaning `Editor'.

The Puranas also lay emphasis on keeping a record of genealogies. Thus the Vayu Purana says: `As seen by good people in the ancient times the suta's duty was to preserve the genealogies of gods, rishis and glorious kings and the traditions of great men.'

Apart from the 18 Mahapuranas, there are also 18 Upapuranas. They are:Sanat-kumara Purana, Narasimha Purana, Brihan-naradiya Purana, Siva-rahasya Purana, Durvasa Purana, Kapila Purana, Vamana Purana, Bhargava Purana, Varuna Purana, Kalika Purana, Samba Purana, Nandi Purana, Surya Purana, Parasara Purana, Vasishtha Purana, Devi-Bhagavata Purana, Ganesha Purana, Mudgala Purana, and Hamsa Purana. Most of these Upapuranas have not been critically edited yet and are available mostly through devotional publications, in multiple versions and recensions. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana extols the virtues of the goddess Durga as the supreme being. It has become (along with the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana) a basic text for Devi worshipers.

Apart from Mahapuranas and Upapuranas, we also have Sthala Puranas and Kula Puranas.

The corpus of Sthala Puranas narrates the virtues and stories connected with a certain temple or shrine (the word `Sthala' means `Place' in Sanskrit). There are numerous Sthala Puranas, most written in vernaculars, some with Sanskrit versions as well. Most claim to have a Sanskrit origin, and some of the Sanskrit versions also appear in a Mahapurana or an Upapurana. Some Tamil Sthala Puranas have been researched by David Dean Shulman. Kula Puranas are mostly caste-focussed Puranas (the word `Kula' means `Family' or `Tribe' in Sanskrit). They deal with a caste's origin myth, stories and legends.

There are many Jain Puranas, dealing with Jain myths, history and legends. Studies and English translations of this particular genre are meagre. The best known of them is the Mahapurana of Acharya Jinasena. The Jain Puranas form a major part of the early Kannada literature. Swayambhu Purana, a Buddhist Purana, is major source of the history of the Kathmandu valley. Arguably, some Buddhist Mahayana Sutras seem to have some characteristics of Puranas.

According to Hindu tradition, the Puranas were composed by Vyasa at the end of Dvapara Yuga. An early reference to Purana in its present sense can be traced to the Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.2), in which the sage Narada refers to itihâsapurânam panchamam vedânâm. Thus the Chandogya Upanishad ascribes to the Puranas, together with Itihas, the status of a fifth Veda, or Panchama Veda.

In the opinion of Gavin Flood, the Puranic corpus is a complex body of materials that advance the views of various competing cults. Although the puranic texts are related to each other, and material in one is found in another, they nevertheless each present a view of ordering of the world from a particular perspective. They must not be seen as random collections of old tales, but as highly selective and crafted expositions and presentations of worldviews compiled by particular groups of Brahmins to propagate a particular vision, whether it be focused on Vishnu, Shiva, or Devî, or, indeed, any number of deities.

According to Matsya Purana, the puranas are said to narrate five subjects, called Pancha Lakshana (pañchalakshana – ‘five distinguishing marks’):

1. Sarga - The creation of the universe.

2. Pratisarga - Secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution.

3. Vamœa - Genealogy of gods and sages.

4. Manvañtara - The creation of the human race and the first human beings.

5. Vamúâanu charitam - Dynastic histories.

The Buddhist scholar Amarasimha (between the 6th and 8th centuries), who wrote that admirable lexicon the Amara-Kosa, also defined the notion of a Purana along the above lines. He said a true Purana should treat of five subjects: the creation of the world, its periodic destruction and recreation, the pedigree of the Gods and mythical sages, the periods of the life of the world, over each of which a new Manu or First Man, presides and the pedigrees of the Kings of the lines of the Sun and of the Moon.

Most Mahapuranas and Upapuranas deal with these subject matters, although the bulk of their text consists of historical and religious narratives. Some scholars have suggested that these ‘distinguishing marks’ are shared by other traditional religious scriptures of the world (e.g. the Bible). A Purana usually gives prominence to a certain deity (Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna or Durga) and depicts the other gods as subservient. Most use an abundance of religious and philosophical concepts in their narration, from Bhakti to Samkhya.

Among the Puranas, the Vishnu Purana comes closest to the definition of a Purana with regard to its contents. Most Puranas devote themselves to one God in whom is personalized the concept of the One Para Brahmma. The Vishnu Purana invokes the God Vishnu. Beginning with an invocation to Vishnu, the Vishnu Purana is in the form of questions and answers between the Sage Parasara and his disciple Maitreya.

In a conversation between Satanika and Sumanta, in the Vishnu Purana, Sumanta says that the Dharma Sastras consisting of the 18 Puranas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha are meant for the education and enlightenment of the common people and are for all the four Varnas.

The Puranas gave the people of ancient India a world-view, a sense of identity and a moral foundation. Though they may not appear to be history as we know it today, yet it cannot be disputed that they teach something more than mere history. The philosophical concepts were told in a manner that even the uneducated could understand.

The Vishnu Purana declares that he who is wise, balanced and kind, goes to worlds which are eternal sources of happiness. He who is intelligent, modest, devout, who respects wisdom, his superiors and the aged goes to heaven. Let me quote the words of Vishnu Purana ‘The Earth is upheld by the virtuous who have subdued their passions, behaved righteously, uncontaminated by desire, greed or wrath. A wise man should always seek to be pleasant and speak the truth. Where the truth is likely to be painful he should not speak. However, he must not utter that which may be pleasant and acceptable but is detrimental, because if so, then it is better to speak the truth, even if it were to give great offence. A considerate man will always cultivate an act, thought and speech that which is good for all living beings in the world and the next’.

These personal and social obligations of the Hindus given as above in the Vishnu Purana conform with the Institutes of Manu and many passages in the Vishnu Purana follow Manu word for word.

The Puranas are invaluable sources of religious, social and cultural history of ancient India. In his magnificent work on the history of Dharmasastras, P.V.Kane has observed ‘Puranas sound modern when they put social service and removal of suffering and distress as the highest Dharma. They at the same time also lay stress on the heart being more important than works’.

Dr.Dange’s work is an invaluable reference work on all the 18 Mahapuranas and 18 Upapuranas. What is significant is that original passages in the Sanskrit have been presented at the end of each entry.

To quote the appropriate words of Dr.Dange ‘Purana is described as the fifth Veda, in addition to the four namely, Rig, Yajus, Sama and Atharva (Puranam panchamo Vedah). The reason is that in the Purana, the popular rituals are documented, according to which the general mass of people behave. As such, the Puranic tradition is a blend of the Vedic ritualistic and popular mythical traditions. The Purana is not inferior to the Veda. According to Skanda Purana, Purana is as steady as the Veda. Not only this, all the Vedas are firmly rooted in the Purana. It says that, whatever is not seen in the Smritis or the Veda, is seen in the Purana’.

In his great work Ancient India and Indian Civilization, Paul Masson-Oursel has brillently concluded

‘India was predestined by its geographical structure to be one of the great breeding-grounds of humanity.… It is the land of great asceticism, which seeks to enrich spiritual life by detaching the individual from his surroundings, and it owes its complex originality to its separation from the rest of our planet…. Life breaks out from rules, and does not cease to proliferate in capricious growths, just as it perpetuates ancient types, long obsolete, among other types, more highly developed. .. Theories full of fantastic conceptions, but these are classified under headings governed by analogy. Often richness is accepted as beauty and abundance as truth…. Yet India puts things together and co-ordinates them without artificially assimilating them. That is why its civilization preserves barbaric elements more than it transforms them, and mingles them with others far more refined. It loves art passionately, without ever opposing it to nature, doubtless because nature in that country is like art in its creative exuberance. Religious belief and philosophic reflection partake of the nature of art, because they claim, not to treat of a real, independent of thought, but to establish modes of existence by means of the autonomous activity of the mind….Dives and Lazarus rub shoulders, zeal for fullness and passion for emptiness stand face to face for ever. Let us make our choice without blaming India for the lack of measure in its spirit – which, indeed as I have pointed out, proceeds according to cannons of right conduct. In Greece, Ontology has its limits, those drawn by definition. But India dedicates itself to the unknown and the unlimited because it always operates, even when it seeks to know. When it succeeds in avoiding anarchy, it is because it has found, in its very action, principles of order and guarantees of objectivity’.

Excerpts from an essay by V SUNDARAM