Vishnu Purana
Encyclopedia
The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu
text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna (gem of Puranas). Presented as a dialogue between Parashara
and his disciple Maitreya
and divided into six parts, the major topics discussed include creation myths, stories of battles fought between asuras and devas
, the Avatar
s (divine descents) of Vishnu
and genealogy and stories of legendary kings.
In its listing of Puranas, the Matsya Purana
credits the Vishnu Purana with 23,000 shloka
s or verses, whereas the text we have runs to less than 7000. Such over-reckonings in old sources are hard to account for, but if there was a much longer version it is agreed that the one we have shows no signs of abridgement or structural incompleteness and is "incontestably entire".
The text starts with detailed stories of creation and introduces the concept of four yugas. The tale of Rudra, an elaborate story of the Samudra Manthana, or the churning of the ocean, the Story of Dhruva
, an ardent devotee of Vishnu, and stories of ancient kings Vena
and Prithu
are also discussed in the first section. Tales of Prithu's descendants, the Prachetas, the famous story of Hiranyakashipu
and Prahlada
, some topological details of the known world with mentions of lands, tribes, mountains and rivers, concepts of the universe, and the stories of the many births of Jadabharata
are the major topics discussed in the next book. The third section discusses the stories of Manvantara
(cycles of creation and destruction), the sages Vyasa
and Yajnavalkya
, Surya
(the sun god), Yama
(the god of the dead), devotees Shatadhanu and Shaivya, the four classes (varnas
) and the four stages of life (ashramas) and details of many rituals. The fourth section gives a detailed account of all the famous Kings from the solar and lunar dynasties of ancient India, and also lists the names of kings who 'would appear' in the age of Kali (demon)
. The second list contains the name of historical kings of Magadha, including kings from the Shishunaga
, Nanda
and Maurya dynasties. The next section details the different events in the life of Lord Sri Krishna, starting from His birth, through His childhood, until the moment He left the earth and the prominent destruction of the Yadava
clan. The sixth and last section mainly discusses the impending age of Kali, the concepts of universal destruction that would eventually follow, and the importance of the Puranas
in general.
The Vishnudharmottara Purana
, a separate text dedicated to the arts, is a Supplement or Appendix to the Vishnu Purana.
, and therefore its final version could not have been written before 320 CE.
The composition dates of Vishnu Purana mentioned by the various scholars include:
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna (gem of Puranas). Presented as a dialogue between Parashara
Parashara
' is a Rigvedic Maharishi and author of many ancient Indian texts. Parāśara was the grandson of Vashista, the son of Śakti Maharṣi, and the father of Vyasa. There are several texts which give reference to Parāśara as an author/speaker...
and his disciple Maitreya
Maitreya
Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
and divided into six parts, the major topics discussed include creation myths, stories of battles fought between asuras and devas
Deva (Hinduism)
' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
, the Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
s (divine descents) of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
and genealogy and stories of legendary kings.
In its listing of Puranas, the Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana
Matsya Purana is the sixteenth purana of the Hindu scriptures. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya Avatar to save the seeds of all lives and Manu...
credits the Vishnu Purana with 23,000 shloka
Shloka
A ' is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anuṣṭubh. It is the basis for Indian Epic verse, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence, occurring, as it does, far more frequently than any other meter in classical Sanskrit poetry. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, for...
s or verses, whereas the text we have runs to less than 7000. Such over-reckonings in old sources are hard to account for, but if there was a much longer version it is agreed that the one we have shows no signs of abridgement or structural incompleteness and is "incontestably entire".
Contents
The extant text comprises six aṃśas (parts) and 126 adhyāyas (chapters). The first part has 22 chapters, the second part consists 16 chapters, the third part comprises 18 chapters and the fourth part has 24 chapters. The fifth and the sixth parts are the longest and the shortest part of the text, comprising 34 and 8 chapters respectively.The text starts with detailed stories of creation and introduces the concept of four yugas. The tale of Rudra, an elaborate story of the Samudra Manthana, or the churning of the ocean, the Story of Dhruva
Dhruva
In the Hindu mythology, Dhruva is a devotee of the god Vishnu, who blessed to attain the position of the polar star, also known as Dhruva in Sanskrit. Dhruva was the son of Uttānapāda...
, an ardent devotee of Vishnu, and stories of ancient kings Vena
Vena
In Hindu mythology, Vena was a great king. However, he became evil and corrupt. The world became so gloomy and dark that the earth-goddess Bhumidevi decided that she would not provide crops to humans anymore. She took form as a cow and went into hiding. Meanwhile, a group of Rishis killed Vena out...
and Prithu
Prithu
According to Hindu mythology, Prithu is a sovereign , named in the Vedic scriptures and considered an Avatar of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called Pruthu, Prithi and Prithu Vainya, literally, Prithu — the son of Vena...
are also discussed in the first section. Tales of Prithu's descendants, the Prachetas, the famous story of Hiranyakashipu
Hiranyakashipu
Hiranyakashipu [golden-haired] is an Asura from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. The Puranas describe Hiranyakashipu as an Asura. His younger brother, Hiranyaksha was slain by Varaha, one of the Avatars of Vishnu and angered by this, Hiranyakashipu decided to gain magical powers by performing...
and Prahlada
Prahlada
Prahlada is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, wherein he is famed for his exclusive devotion to Vishnu, despite attempts in the story by his father, Hiranyakashipu, to turn him to the contrary...
, some topological details of the known world with mentions of lands, tribes, mountains and rivers, concepts of the universe, and the stories of the many births of Jadabharata
Jadabharata
The story of Jadabharata is a story about Bharata, son of Rishabha, it appears in the second section of the Vishnu Purana and the fifth canto of the Bhagavata Purana, and also in Jain texts, like Adipurana, a 10th century Kannada text by Jain poet Adikavi Pampa The story of Jadabharata is a story...
are the major topics discussed in the next book. The third section discusses the stories of Manvantara
Manvantara
Manvantara or Manuvantara , or age of a Manu , the Hindu progenitor of mankind, is an astronomical period of time measurement. Manvantara is a Sanskrit sandhi, a combination of words manu and antara, manu-antara or manvantara, literally meaning the duration of a Manu, or his life span .Each...
(cycles of creation and destruction), the sages Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
and Yajnavalkya
Yajnavalkya
Yajnavalkya of Mithila was a legendary sage of Vedic India, credited with the authorship of the Shatapatha Brahmana , besides Yogayajnavalkya Samhita and the Yājñavalkya Smṛti...
, Surya
Surya
Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
(the sun god), Yama
Yama
Yama , also known as Yamarāja in India and Nepal, Shinje in Tibet, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, Yeomla Daewang in South Korea and Enma Dai-Ō in Japan, is the lord of death, in Hinduism and then adopted into Buddhism and then further into Chinese mythology and Japanese mythology. First...
(the god of the dead), devotees Shatadhanu and Shaivya, the four classes (varnas
Varnas
Varnas is the masculine form of a Lithuanian family name. Its feminine forms are: Varnienė and Varnytė .The surname may refer to:* Adomas Varnas , Lithuanian artist...
) and the four stages of life (ashramas) and details of many rituals. The fourth section gives a detailed account of all the famous Kings from the solar and lunar dynasties of ancient India, and also lists the names of kings who 'would appear' in the age of Kali (demon)
Kali (Demon)
In Hinduism, Kali is the reigning lord of Kali Yuga and archenemy of Kalki, the 10th and final Avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu...
. The second list contains the name of historical kings of Magadha, including kings from the Shishunaga
Shishunaga
Shishunaga was the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire in the present day northern India. Initially, he was an amatya of the Magadha empire under the Haryanka dynasty. He was placed on the throne by the people who revolted against the Haryanka dynasty rule...
, Nanda
Nanda
Nanda is a surname of Punjabis . Nanda is a Tarkhan , Ahluwalia and Kamboj surname. All the clans of Tarkhan , Lohar, Gujjar, Kamboj, Ahluwalia tribes have a close genetic and ancestral relationship with each other, and together they form the Khatri/Rajput caste.-Among Kamboj people:*Nanda is a...
and Maurya dynasties. The next section details the different events in the life of Lord Sri Krishna, starting from His birth, through His childhood, until the moment He left the earth and the prominent destruction of the Yadava
Yadu
Yadu is one of the five Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rig Veda . The Mahabharata, the Harivamsha and the Puranas mention Yadu as the eldest son of king Yayati and his queen Devayani. The prince of King Yayati, Yadu was a self-respecting and a very established ruler...
clan. The sixth and last section mainly discusses the impending age of Kali, the concepts of universal destruction that would eventually follow, and the importance of the Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
in general.
“The kings of Kali Yug will be addicted to corruption and will seize the property of their subjects. Then property and wealth alone will confer rank; falsehood will be the only means of success. Corruption will be the universal means of subsistence. In the end, unable to support their avaricious kings, the people of the Kali Yug will take refuge in the chasms between mountains.”
The Vishnudharmottara Purana
Vishnudharmottara Purana
The Vishnudharmottara Purana is a Hindu text, encyclopedic in nature. Along with the narratives, it also deals with cosmology, cosmogony, geography, astronomy, astrology, division of time, pacification of unfavourbale planets and stars, genealogies , manners and customs, penances, duties of...
, a separate text dedicated to the arts, is a Supplement or Appendix to the Vishnu Purana.
Date of composition
Vishnu Purana contains a genealogy of the rulers of the Gupta EmpireGupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
, and therefore its final version could not have been written before 320 CE.
The composition dates of Vishnu Purana mentioned by the various scholars include:
- H. H. WilsonHorace Hayman WilsonHorace Hayman Wilson was an English orientalist.He studied medicine at St Thomas's Hospital, and went out to India in 1808 as assistant-surgeon on the Bengal establishment of the British East India Company....
: first century BCE; one of the oldest of the Puranas - Hem Chandra RaychaudhuriHem Chandra RaychaudhuriHem Chandra Raychaudhuri was an Indian historian, known for his studies on ancient India.-Early life and education:...
: 320-255 CE - Rajendra Chandra Hazra: 275-325 CE
- Moriz WinternitzMoriz WinternitzMoriz Winternitz was an eminent Austrian Orientalist.He received his earliest education in the gymnasium of his native town, and in 1880 entered the University of Vienna, receiving the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1886...
: before 400 CE - Gavin Flood: fourth century CE
Further reading
- Mani, Vettam. Puranic Encyclopedia. 1st English ed. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975.