the vishnu purƒn: a system of hindu mythology - forgotten books
TRANSCRIPT
W O R K S
THE LATE
HO RA C E HAYMAN W IL S O N ,
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIAT IC SOCIET Y, OF T HE AS IAT IC SOCIET IES OF
CALCUT T A AND PARIS,AND OF T H E ORIENTAL S OCIET Y OF GERMANY ;
FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE NAT IONAL INST IT UT E OF FRANCE ;
MEMBER OF T H E IMPERIAL ACAD EMIE S OF ST . PE T ERSBURGH AND VIENNA ,
AND OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIE S OF MUNICE '
AND BE RLIN ;PH . D . BRE SLAU ; M . D . MARBURG ,
E T C . ;
AND BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERS IT Y OF OXFORD .
VOL. VI.
LONDON :
TRUBNER CO.,60
,PATERNOSTER ROW.
VISHNU PURANA:
A SYST EM
HINDU MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION .
TRANSLATED
FROM THE ORIGINAL SANSKRIT,
AND
ILLUSTRATED BY NOTES
D E RIVE D CH I E F LY FROM O T H ER P URANA S ,
BY THE LAT E
H. H. W ILSON , M.A.,
BODEN PROFE S SOR OF SANSKRIT IN T HE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD ,
E TC E T C .
EDITED BY
FITZEDWARD HALL,
M . A . ,D . C . L. OXON .
VOI 1 .
LONDON :
TRUBNER OO.
,60
,PATERNOSTER ROW .
THE CHANCELLOR,MASTERS
,AND SCHOLARS
THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD,
THIS WORK
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY
H. H . WILSON,
IN TESTIMONY OF HIS VENERATION FOR
THE UN I V ER S I TY ,
AND IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE DISTINCTION
CONFERRED UPON HIM
BY HIS ADMISSION AS A MEMBER,
AND HIS ELECTION
T O THE
BODEN PROFESSORSHIP OF THE SANSKRIT LANGUAGE .
N O T CE.
The Editor defers till the completion Of his under
taking any general remarks that he may have to Offer.
PRE FAC E .
THE l iterature of theHindus has now been cultivated ,for many years
, with singular diligence , and ,in many
of its branches, with em inent success . There are some
departments,however, which are yetbut partially and
imperfectly investigated ; and we are far from beingin possession of that knowledge which the authenticwritings of the H indus alone can give us of their re
ligion ,mythology
,and historical trad itions.
From the materials to which we have hitherto hadaccess , it seem s probable that there have been threeprincipal forms in which the rel igion of the Hindushas existed
,at as many different periods . The duration
of those periods,the circum stances of their succession,
and the precise state of the national faith at each season,it is not possible to trace with any approach to accuracy . The
'
premises have been too imperfectly determ ined to authorize other than conclusions of a generaland somewhat vague description ; and those remain tobe hereafter confirmed
,or corrected, by more extensive
and satisfactory research .
The earliest form under which the H indu rel igionappears is that taught in the Vedas . The style of the
language,and the purport of the composition, of those
I .
H PREFACE .
works, as far as we are acquainted with them,indicate
a date long anterior to that of any other class. of Sans
krit writings . It is yet , however , scarcely safe to ad
vance an Opinion of the precise bel ief , or philosophy,which they inculcate . To enable u s to judge of theirtendency, we have only a general sketch of their ar
rangement and contents,w ith a
“
few extracts , by Mr.
Colebrooke, in the Asiatic Researches ;1a few incidental
observations byMr. Ellis, in the same m iscellany ;2and
a translation of the first book of the Samhita, or col
lection of the prayers of the Rig-veda, by Dr. Rosen ;and some of the Upanishads , or speculative treatises,attached to , rather than part of
,the Vedas , by Ram
mohun Roy .
“ e Of the religion taught in the Vedas,Mr. Colebrooke
’
s Opinion will probably be received as
that which is best entitled to deference ; as , certainly,no Sanskrit scholar has been equally conversant withthe original works .
“The real doctrine of the wholeInd ian scripture is the unity of the deity, in whom the
1 Vol . VIII.,p .
2 VOl . x 1v.,p . 37 .
3 Publ ished by the Oriental Transla tion Fund Comm i ttee .
4 A transla tion of the principal Upanishads was publ ished ,under the ti tle of Oupnekhat , or T heolog ia Ind ica ,
by Anqueti ld u Perron ; but i t was made through the med ium o f the Persian
,
and is very incorrect and obscure A translation of a very different character i has been some time in course Of preparationby M. Poley .
To insert here a l ist of the numerous publications bearing on the
Vedas , that have appeared since the date of this preface , 1 840 , wouldbe bes ide the purpose of my notes.
I Reprinted in Colebrooke’s Miscellaneous Essays, Vol . I., pp. 9- 1 1 3 .
The kindness of ProfessorW ilson here mistook a hope for a reality .
PREFACE II I
universe is comprehended ; and the seeming polytheismwhich it exhibits offers the elements , and the starsand planets
,as gods . The three principal m anifesta
tions.
of the d ivinity, with other personified attributesand energies , and m ost of the other gods of H indumythology, are , indeed , mentioned , or
,at least , ind i
cated,in the Vedas . But the worship of deified heroes
is no part of that system ; nor are the incarnations of
deities suggested in any other portion of the textwhichI have yet seen ; though such are sometimes hinted at
by the commentators .
”1 Some of these statements may,
perhaps,require modification ; for , without a careful
exam ination 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 , it is true that theprevailing character of the ritual of the Vedas is theworship of the personified elements ; Of Agni or fire ;Indra
,the firmament ; Vayu , the air ; VaruI
'
Ia,thewater ;
of Ad itya , the sun ; Soma,the moon ; and other ele
mentary and planetary personages . It is also true thatthe worship of the Vedas is, for the m ost part, domesticworship , consisting of prayers and oblations offered
in their own houses , not in temples—by indiv iduals,for individual good, and addressed to unreal presences,not to v isible types . In a word , the religion of the
Vedas was not idolatry .
1 A s . Res , Vol . VIII. , p .
Or Miscellaneous Essays, Vol . I. , pp. 1 1 0 and 1 1 1 .
IV PREFACE
It is not possible to conjecture when thismore simpleand prim itive form of adoration was succeeded by the
worship of images and types , representing Brahma,
Vishnu, S iva, and other Imaginary beings, cconstitutinga mythological pantheon of most ample extent ; or
when Rama and Krishna , who appear to have been,originally
,real and historical characters, were elevated
to the d ignity of d iv inities . Image-worship is alludedto by Manu
,in several passages,
1 but with an intima
tion that those Brahmans who subsist by m inisteringin temples are an inferior and degraded class . The
story of the Ramayana and Mahabharata turns whollyupon the doctrine of incarnations ; all the chief dramatispersonae of the poems being impersonations of gods,and demigod s
,and celestial spirits . The ritual appears
to be that of the Vedas ; and it may be doubted if anyallusion to image-worship occurs . But the doctrine of
propitiation by penance and praise prevails throughout ;and VishI
'
Iu and S iva are the especial obj ects of panegyric and invocation . In these two works , then ,
we
trace unequ ivocal indications of a departure from the
elemental worship of the Vedas, and the origin or elaboration of legends Which form the great body of the
mythological religion of the Hindus . How far theyonly improved upon the cosmogony and chronologyof their predecessors, or in what degree the traditionsof fam il ies and dynasties may originate with them,
are
questions that can only be determ ined when the Vedasand the two works in question shall have been more
thoroughly exam ined .
B. 1 52,1 64. B. IV.
,2 1 4.
PREFACE V
The different works known by the name of Puranas
are evidently derived from the same rel igious systemas the Ramayana and Mahabharata, or from the mytho
heroic stage of H indu bel ief. They present , however,peculiarities which designate their belonging to a laterperiod , and to an important modification in the progress of opinion . They repeat the theoretical cosmogony of the two great poems ; they expand and sys
tematize the chronological computat ions ; and they givea more definite and connected representation of the
mythological fictions and the historical trad itions . But,
besides these and other p articulars , Which may be
derivable from an old,if not from a prim itive , era,
they offer characteristic peculiarities Of a more moderndescription
,in the paramount importance which they
assign to individual d ivinities , in the variety and pur
port of the rites and Observances addressed to them,
and in the invention of new legends illustrative of the
power and graciousness of those deities , and of the
efficacy of implicit devotion to them . S iva and Vishnu,under one or other form ,
are almost the sole objectsthat claim the homage of the Hindus
,in the Puranas ;
departing from the domestic and elemental ritual ofthe Vedas , and exhibiting a sectarial fervour and ex
clusiveness not traceable in the Ramayana,and only
to a qual ified extent in the Mahabharata . They are no
longer authorities for Hindu belief, as a whole : theyare special guides for separate and
,sometimes , cOn
flicting branches of it ; compiled for the evident purpose of prom oting the preferential , or
,in some cases
,
the sole, worship of Vishnu, or of S iva .
1
Besides the three periods marked by the Vedas , Heroic
.VI PREFACE .
That the Puranas always bore the character heregiven of them may adm it of reasonable doubt : that it
«correctly applies to‘
them as they now are met with,
the following pages will irrefragably substantiate . Itis possible , however that there may have been an
earl ier class of Puranas , of which those we now havea re but the partial and adulterated representatives .
The identity of the legends in many of them ,and
, stillmore, the identity of the words —for
,in several of them
,
long passages are literally the same - is a s ufficient
proof that,in all such cases, they must be copied either
from some other sim il ar work, or from a common and
prior original . It is not unusual,also
,for a fact to be
stated upon the authority of an‘old stanza ’
,which is
cited accordingly ; showing the existence of an earliersource of information : and
,in very many instances
,
legend s are alluded to,not told ; evincing acquaintance
with their prior narration somewhere else . The name
itself, Purana, which implies ‘old’
,ind icates the object
of the compilation to be the preservation of ancienttraditions ; a purpose , in the present cond ition of the
Puranas, very imperfectly fulfilled . Whatever weight
m ay be attached to these considerations , there is no
d isputing evidence to the like effect,afforded by other
and unquestionable authority . The description given,by Mr. Colebrooke
,
1of the Contents of a Purana is
Poems,and Puranas , a fourth may be dated from the influence
exercised by the Tantras upon H indu practice and bel ief : but we
are yet too l i ttle acquainted w i th those works,or their origin, to
specu late safely upon the ir consequences .
As . Res.,Vol . VI I .
,p .
Or Miscellaneous Essays, Vol . II., pp . 4 and 5, foot-note.
PREFACE VII
taken from Sanskrit writers . The Lexicon of Amara
Simha gives, as a synonym of Purana,Pancha- lakshana
,
‘that which has five characteristic topics’
; and there is
no difference of opinion ,amongst the scholiasts , as to
what these are . They are, asMr. Colebrooke mentions :I . Primary creation, or cosmogony ; II . Secondary cre
ation ,or the destruction and renovation of worlds,
including chronology ; III. Genealogy of gods and
patriarchs ; IV . Reigns of the Manus, or periods calledManwantaras ; and , V . History
,or such particulars as
have been preserved of the princes of the solar and
lunar races, and of their descendants to modern times .
Such,at any rate
, were the constituent and characteristic port-ions of a Purana, in the days of Amara Simhaf
e
fifty- six years before the Christian erayl
‘and
,if the
T he following defini tion of a Purana is constantly quo ted :i t is found in the Vishnu , Matsya
,Vayu
,and o ther Puranas
WIS W e sif twa fi v fiuaaim
-
fi rmRS am t tram u
A variation of read ing in the beg inning of the second l ine isno ticed by Ramasrama
,the scho l iast on Amara , W QRQJW ,
‘Destruction of the earth and the rest,or final d issolution ; ’ in
which case the genealogies of heroes and princes are comprisedin those of the patriarchs .
1 That AmaraSImha l ived at that time, though possible, has not beenproved . Professor W ilson—Sanskrit Dict'lonai ,
first edition , Preface,p. v.—asserts that “
al l tradition concurs in enumerating him amongstthe learned men who , in the metaphorical phraseology of the Hindus ,are denominated the ‘
nine gems ’of the court of Vi‘kramaditya. a
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 second
VII I PREFACE
Puranas had undergone no change since his time, such
we should expect to find them still ."
Do they conform
edition of his Dictionary, under the word am ,the Professor explains
the “nine gems to be : “The nine men of letters at the
’ court of Vikramaditya, or, Dhanwantari , Kshapanaka, Amarasi ihha, Sanku, Vetalabhaft
'
a,
Ghat’
akarpara , Kalidasa , Varahamihira , and Vararuchi . The traditionabout these ornaments he thinks—Meghaduta , second edition , Preface,p . v.—to be one of those regarding which “there is no reason to dispute
the truth.
The “authorities spoken of in the first of the preced ing extracts are
not specified by Professor W il son ; and they are not known to have
fallen yet in the way of any one else. Those au thorities apart , he ad
duces a stanza about the “nine gems of which he says, that it “
appearsin a great measure traditionary only ; as I have not been able to traceit to any authentic source, although it is in the mouth of every Pandit,when interrogated on the subject.The stanza in question occurs in the Jyol lrvidabhararia , near its cOn
clusion, where we find the following verses
W W W warm : u
w a ft : nutri tmt fiisu‘
gfim ugm fiw fnzm :
and? au stere Rafi : mumW fit 3‘M afia farm ern
aa a a s s a a
a a a a a a a a
s a s s a s s e
a a a a a a a a
X PREFACE .
more authentic character than most Of its fellows canpretend to . Yet
,even in this instance, we have a book
upon the institutes of society and Obsequial rites interposed between the Manwantaras and the genealogies
Of princes ; and a l ife of Kri shna , separating the latterfrom an account of the end of the world ; besides theinsertion of various legends of a manifestly popular
and sectarial character. No doubt,many of the Pu
ranas,as they now are , correspond with the v iew
which Colonel Vans Kennedy takes of their purport .I cannot d iscover , in them ,
he remarks,
“any other
object than that of religiou s instruction .
” “The de
scription of the earth and of the planetary system,and
the l ists of royal races that occur in them,he asserts
to be “evidently extraneous, and not essential circum
stances ; as they are om itted in some Puranas, and veryconcisely il lustrated, in Others ; while, on the contrary,in all the Puranas , some or other of the leading principles, rites, and Observances of theH indu religion are
fully dwelt upon,and illustrated
, either by suitablelegends , or by prescribing the ceremonies to be practised, and the prayers and invocations to be employed ,in the worship of different deities .
”1 Now howeveraccurate this description may be of the Puranas as theyare
,it is clear that it does not apply to what they were
when they were synonymouslydesignated as Panchalakshanas or
‘treatises on five topics’ ; not one of whichfive is ever specified , by text or comment , to be
“re
l igious instruction In the knowledge ofAmara Simha,
Researches into the Nature and Affini ty of Ancient andH indu Mythology, p . 1 53
,and note.
PREFACE XI
the lists of princeswere not extraneous and unessential ;and their being now so considered by a writer so wel lacquainted with the contents of the Puranas as ColonelVans Kennedy, is a decisive proof that
, since the daysof the lexicographer, they have undergone some material alteration ,
and that we have not,at present , the
same works , in all respects,that were current , under
the denom ination of Puranas,in the century prior to
Christian ity .
The inference deduced from the discrepancy between the actual form and the older definition of a
Purana,unfavourable to the antiqu ity of the extant
works generally, is converted into certainty, when wecome to exam ine them in detail . For
,although they
have no dates attached to them , yet circumstances are
sometimes mentioned , or alluded to,or references to
authorities are made, or legends are narrated, or placesare particularized , of which the comparatively recentdate is ind isputable, and which enforce a correspond ingreduction of the antiqu ity of the work in which theyare discovered . At the same time , they may be ac
quitted of subserv ience to any but sectarial imposture .
They were pious frauds for temporary purposes : theynever emanated from any impossible combination of
the Brahmans to fabricate for the antiquity of the en
tire Hindu system any claim s which it cannot ful lysupport . A very great portion of the contents of many,some portion of the contents of all
,is genu ine and Old .
The sectarial interpolation, or embellishment, is alwayssufficiently palpable to be set aside without injury tothe more authentic and prim itive material ; and the
Puranas, although they belong especially to that stage
XII PREFACE
of the H indu religion in which faith in some one div inity was the prevailing principle, are, also, a valuablerecord of the form of Hindu bel ief which came nextin order to that of the Vedas ; which grafted heroworship upon the simpler ritual of the latter; and whichhad been adopted ,
and was extensively, perhaps uni
versally, established in India, at the time Of the Greekinvasion . The Hercules of the Greek writers was , indubitably
,the Balarama of the H indus ; and their no
tices of Mathura on the Jumna,and of the kingdom
of the Suraseni and the Pandacan country, ev idencethe prior currency of the traditions which constitutethe argument of the Mahabharata
,and which are con
stantly repeated in the Puranas , relating to the Pandava and Yadava races , to Kri shna and his contem
porary heroes , and to the dynasties of the solar and
lunar kings .
The theogony and cosmogony of the Puranas may,
probably,be traced to the Vedas . They are not
,as
far as is yet known, described in detail in those works ;but they are frequently alluded to
,in a strain more or
less mystical and obscure, which ind icates acquaintancewith their existence, and which seems to have suppliedthe Puranas with the groundwork of their systems .
The scheme of primary or elementary creation theyborrow from the Sankhya philosophy, which is , probably
,one of the oldest forms of speculation on man
and nature, amongst the Hindus . Agreeably,however,
to that part of the Pauranik character which there isreason to suspect of later origin
,their inculcation of
the worship of a favourite deity,they combine the
interposition of a creator with the independent evolu
PREFACE XI II
tion of matter, in a somewhat contradictory and unintelligible style . It is ev ident , too ,
that their accountsof secondary creation
,or the development of the exist
ing form s of things,and the disposition of the universe,
are derived from several and different sources ; and itappears very likely that they are to be accused of some
of the incongruities and absurd ities by which the nar
rative is d isfigured , in consequence of hav ing attemptedto assign reality and significancy to what was merelymetaphor or mysticism . There is, however, am id st theunnecessary complexity of the description ,
a generalagreement
,amongst them ,
as to the origin Of thingsand their final distribution ; and , in many of the circumstances , there is a striking concurrence with the ideaswhich seem to have pervaded the whole of the ancientworld
,and which we may, therefore, bel ieve to be faith
fully represented in the Puranas .
The pantheism of the Puranas is one of their invariable characteristics ; although the particular d iv initywho is all things
,from whom all things proceed
,and
to whom all things return,be d iversified according to
their indiv idual sectarial bias . They seem to have derived the notion from the Vedas ; but , in them ,
the
one universal Being is of a higher order than a per
sonification of attributes or elements , and,however
imperfectly conceived, or unworthily described, is God .
In the Puranas,the one only Supreme Being is sup
posed to be manifest in the person of S iva, or Vishnu,either in the way of illusion , or in sport ; and one or
other of these d iv inities is, therefore, also the cause of
all that is,—i-s, himself, all that exists . The identity of
God and nature is not a newn otion : it was very general
XIV.PREFACE
in the speculations of antiquity ; but it’
assumed a new
v igour in the early ages of Christianity, and was carriedto an equal pitch of extravagance by the PlatonicChristians as by the Saiva or Vaishnava Hindus . Itseems not impossible that there was some communication between them . We know that there was an
active communication between Ind ia and the Red Sea,
in the early ages of the Christian'
era,and that doc
trines, as well as articles of m erchandise, were brought
to Alexandria from the former. Ep iphanius1and Eu
sebius2accuse Scythianus of hav ing imported from
Ind ia,in the second century, books on magic
,and he
retical notions lead ing to Manichaeism ; and it was at
the same period that Ammonius Saccas instituted thesect of the new Platonists atAlexandria . The basis of
his heresy was, that true philosophy derived its originfrom the eastern nations . His doctrine of the identityof God and the universe is that of the Vedas and Pu
ranas ; and the practices he enjoined,as well as their
object, were precisely those described in several of the
Puranas, under the name of Yoga . His d isciples weretaught to extenuate , by mortification and contemplation
,the bodily restraints upon the immortal spirit ;
so that, in this life, they m ight enjoy communion withthe Supreme Being
,and ascend
,after death
,to the
universal Parent . 3 That these '
are H indu tenets , thefollowing pages 4 will testify ; and , by the ,
admission of
their Alexandrian teacher , they originated in Ind ia .
The importation was, perhaps, not wholly unrequited :
1 Adv. Manichseos. H ist. Evang.
See Mosheim,I., IL, I. See Book VI . , Chap . VI I.
PREFACE . XV
the loan"
may not have been left unpaid .
"
It is not impossible that the H indu doctrines received fresh ani
mation from their adoption by the successors of Am
monius, and, especial ly, by the mystics, who may haveprompted, as well as employed
,the expressions of the
Puranas . Anquetil d u Perron has given,1 in the intro
duction to his translation of the ‘Oupnekhat’
, severalhymns by Synesius , a bishop of the beginning of the
fifth century,which may serve as parallels to many of
the hymns and prayers addressed to Vishnu in the
Vishnu Purana .
But the ascription, to ind iv idual and personal deities,of the attributes of the one universal and spiritual Supreme Being , is an ind ication of a later date than theVedas, certainly, and , apparently, also, than the Ramayana, where Rama
,although an incarnation of Vishnu,
commonly appears in his human character alone . Thereis something of the kind in the Mahabharata
,in respect
to Krishna ; especially in the philosophical episodeknown as the Bhagavad Gita. In other places, the div ine nature of Krishna is less decidedly affirmed ; insome
,it is d isputed
,or denied ; and , in most of the
situations in which he is exhibited in action ,it is as a
prince and warrior,not as a d iv inity . He exercises no
superhuman faculties in the defence of himself or hisfriends
,or in the defeat and destruction of his foes .
The Mahabharata,however , is , ev idently, a work of
various period s,and requ ires to be read throughout,
carefully and critically,before its weight as an author
ity can be accurately appreciated . As it is now in
Theologia et Phi losophia Indica, D issert. , p . xxvi .
XVI PREFACE
type , —thanks to the public spirit of the Asiatic So
ciety of Bengal , and their secretary, Mr. J . Prinsep,
it will not be long before the Sanskrit'
scholars of the
continent wil l accurately appreciate its value .
The Puranas are,also
,works of ev idently d ifferent
ages,and have been compiled under different circum
stances , the precise nature of which we can but im
perfectly conjecture from internal ev idence and from
what we know of the history of rel igiou s opinion in
Ind ia . It is highly probable that, of the present popularforms of the Hindu religion
,none assumed their actual
state earl ier than the time of Sankara Acharya , thegreat Saiva reformer, who flourished , in all l ikel ihood,in 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 ;2and thePuranas seem to have accompanied ,
or followed , their innovations ; being obv iou sly intendedto advocate the doctrines they taught . This is to as
sign to some of them a very m odern date , it is true ;but I cannot th ink that a higher can
, with justice , beascribed to them . This
,however, applies to some only
out of the number,as I shall presently proceed to
specify .
Another evidence of a comparatively modern date
Three volumes have been printed : the fourth and last isunderstood to be nearly completed .
2 As. Res,Vols . XVI. and XVII . Account Of H indu Sects .
~
l
I t was completed in 1 839 : at least , i t bears that date1 This “ Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus by Professor
W ilson, will be found in the first volume of his collected works .
XVIII PRE FACE
who is said to have taught the Vedas and Puranas to
various d isciples , but who appears to have been the
head of a college , or school,under Whom various
learned men gave to the sacred literature of the Hindusthe form inwhich it now presents itself. In this task
,
the d isciples, as they are termed,of Vyasa were, rather,
his colleagues and coadj utors ; for they were alreadyconversant with what he is fabled to have taught them ;
1
and,amongst them ,
Lomaharshana represents the classof persons who were especially charged with the re
cord of pol itical and temporal events . He is calledSnta
,as if it was a proper name : but it is , m ore cor
rectly, a title ; and Lomaharshana was ‘a Sli ta’
,that is
,
a bard,or panegyrist
,who was created
,accord ing to
our text,2to celebrate the exploits of princes, and who ,
accord ing to the Vayu and Padma Puranas has a right,by birth and profession
,to narrate the Puranas
,in pre
ference even to the Brahmans .
3 It is not unl ikely,therefore
,that we are to -understand , by his being re
presented as the d isciple of Vyasa ,the institution of
some attempt,made under the d irection of the latter,
to collect,from the heralds and annal ists of his day,
the scattered trad itions which they had imperfectlypreserved : and hence the consequent appropriation of
the Puranas,in a . great m easure , to the genealogies of
regal dynasties -
and descriptions of the universe. How
ever this may be , the machinery has been but loosely
See Book Chapter III.
2 Book I.,Chapter XIII.
Journ . Royal A s . Soc.
,Vol . V .
,p . 28 1 .
The article referred to is from the pen of ProfessorWilson , and has
been reprinted .
PREFACE XIX
adhered to ; and many of the Puranas, like the Vishnu ,are referred to a d ifferent narrator.
An account is given,in the following work ,
1of a
series of P auranik compilations Of which ,in their
present form,no vestige appears . Lomaharshana is
sa id to have had six d isciples,three of whom composed
as many fundamental Samhitas,whilst he him self com
piled a fourth . By a Samhita is generally understooda‘collection ’
or‘compilation ’
. The Samhitas of the
Vedas are collections of hymns and prayers belongingto them , arranged according to the j udgment of some
ind iv idual sage,who is
,therefore ,
looked upon as the
originator and teacher of each . The Samhitas of the
Puranas , then , should be analogous compilations , at
tributed, respectively, to Mitrayu, Sam sapayana, Akritabrana
,and Romaharshana : -no such Pauranik Sam
hitas are now known . The substance of the four issaid to be collected in the Vishnu Purana
,which is,
also,in another place
,
2 itself called a Samhita. But suchcompilations have not
,as far as inqu iry has yet pro
ceeded , been discovered . The specification m ay be ac
cepted as an ind ication of the Puranas’ hav ing existedin some other form
,in which they are no longer met
with; although it does not appear that the arrangementwas incompatible with their existence as separateworks ; for the Vishnu Purana ,
which is our authorityfor the four Samhitas
,gives us , also , the u sual enu
meration of the several Puranas .
There is another classification of thePuranas, alludedto in the Matsya Purana
,and
'
specified by . the Padma
Book Chapter III . 2 Book I.
,Chapter I .
XX PREFACE
Purana , but more fully . It is not undeserving of no
tice , as it expresses the Opinion which native writers
entertain of the scope of the Puranas , and of their re
cognizing the subserv ience of these works to the dis
sem ination of sectarian principles . Thus , it is said in
the Uttara Khanda of the Padma,that the Puranas
as well as other works , are d iv ided into three classes,accord ing to the qual ities which prevail in them . Thusthe Vishnu
,Narad iya, Bhagavata, Garuda, Padma
,and
Varaha Puranas are Sattwika or pure , from the pre
dom inance,in them
, of the Sattwa quality, or that of
goodness and purity . They are,in fact, Vaishnava Pu
ranas . The Matsya,Knrma , L inga, S iva, Skanda, and
Agni Puranas are Tamasa,or Puranas of darkness,
from the prevalence of the qual ity of Tamas,
‘igno
rance’,‘gloom’
. They are, ind isputably, Saiva Puranas .
The third series , comprising the Brahmanda , Brahma
Vaivarta,Markandeya,Bhav ishya,Vamana, andBrahma
Puranas,are designated as Rajasa , ‘passionate
’
, fromRajas , the property of passion ,
which they are sup
posed to represent . The Matsya does not specifywhich are the Puranas that come under these designations, but remarks j
'
that those in which the Mahatmya
Chapter XLIInm
o
fi fi’
j m é‘
rs‘irs E FT-
“
é W e“
i n“
suite at aerate W fi a‘ma n
m mmmfit firfiwfi w fi fi l
M afi afiwfi fi fi afia a u
“fiwamfi xrai n amfi fififiw u
‘
l' Chapter LII
PREFACE . XXI
of Hari or Vishnu prevails are Sattwika ; those in whichthe legends of Agni or S iva predominate are Tamasa ;
and those which dwell most on the stories of Brahmaare Rajasa . I have elsewhere stated 1 that I consideredthe Rajasa Puranas to lean to the Sakta d ivision of the
Hindus,the worshippers of Sakti or the female prin
ciple ; founding this opinion on the character of the
legends which some of them contain, such as the DurgaMahatmya, or celebrated legend onwhich the worshipof Durga or Kali is especially founded , which is a
principal episode of the Markandeya. The Brahma
Vaivarta also devotes the greatest portion of its chapters to the celebration of Radha
,the m istress ofKr i shna,
and other female div inities . Colonel Vans Kennedy,however , objects to the application of the term Saktato this last div ision of the Puranas ; the worship of
Sakti being the especial object of a different class of
works, the Tantras ; and no such form of worship beingparticularly inculcated in the Brahma Parana ? Thislast argument is of weight in regard to the particularinstance specified ; and the designation of Sakti may
not be correctly applicable to the whole class, althoughit is to some of the series : for there -is no incompati
bility in the advocacy of a Tantrika mod ification of
1 A s. Res,Vol . XVI ., p .
2 Asiatic Journal,March
,1 837
,p . 241 .
Vol . I., p. 1 2 , foot-note, of the author’s collective publications.
XXI I PREFACE .
the H indu religion by any Purana ; and it has, unques
tionably, been practised in works known asUpapuranas .
The proper appropriation of the third Class of the Pu
ranas , according to the Padma Purana , appears to beto the worship of Krishna, not in the character in whichhe is represented in the Vishnu and Bhagavata Pura—in which the incidents of his boyhood are only
a portion of his biography, and in which the human
character largely participates, at least in his riper years,—but as the infant Krishna, Gov inda, Bala Gopala, thesojourner in Vrindavana ,
the companion of the cow
herds and m ilkmaid s,the lover of Radha
,or as the
j uvenile master of the universe,Jagannatha . The term
Raj asa , implying the animation of passion and enjoym ent of sensual delights , is applicable not only to thecharacter of the youthful div inity, but to those withwhom his adoration in these forms seems to haveoriginated ,
the Gosains of Gokul and Bengal,the fol
lowers and descendants ofVallabha and Chaitanya,the
priests and proprietors of Jagannath and Srinathdwar
who lead a l ife of affluence and indulgence , and v in
d icate , both by precept and practice,the reasonable
ness of the Rajasa property, and the congruity of tem
poral enj oymentwith the duties of religion .
1
The Puranas are uniformly stated to be eighteen innumber. It is said that there are also eighteen Upapuranas or m inor Puranas : but the names of only a
few of these are specified in the least exceptionable
As. Res .
,Vol . XVI .
,p .
Collective Works of Professor W ilson, Vol . I., p. 1 1 9.
PRE FACE . XXII I
authorities ; and the greater number of the works isnot procurable . With regard to the eighteen Puranas,there is a pecul iarity in their specification
,which is
proof of an interference with the integrity of the text,
in some of them ,at least ; for each of them specifies
the names of the whole eighteen . Now,the l ist could
not have been complete whilst the work that gives itwas unfinished ; and in one only
,therefore, the last of
the series, have we a right to look ‘
for it. As, however,there are more last words than one
,it is ev ident 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
,there is no clue to
discover ; and the specification is,probably, an inter
polation, in most, if not in all .
The names that are specified are commonly the
same, and are as follows : 1 . Brahma,2 . Padma
,3 . Vai
shnava ,4 . Saiva ,
5 . Bhagavata , 6 . Narad iya, 7 . Mar
kandeya ,8 . Agneya , 9 . Bhavishya , 1 0 . Brahma Vai
varta, 1 1 . Lainga, 1 2 . Varaha, 1 3 . Skanda, 1 4 . Vamana,
1 5 . Kaurma,1 6 . Matsya
,1 7 . Garuda
,1 8 . Brahman '
da .
1
This is from the twelfth book of the Bhagavata , and
is the same as occurs in the Vishnu .
2 In other authori
T he names are put a ttribu tively ; the noun substantive , Purana being understood . Thus Vaishnavan
'
i Puranam means the
Purana of Vishnu ; SaivamPuranam,the Purana of Siva ; Brah
mam Puranam,thePurana of Brahma. It is equally correct, and
more common to use the two substantives in apposi tion ,as
Vishnu Purana, Siva Purana , &c. In the original Sanskri t the
nouns are compounded,as Vishnu-purana
,&c. : but i t has not
been customary to combine them,in their European shape.
2 Book III . , Chapter VI .
XXIV PREFACE .
ties there are a few variations . The list of theKnrma
Purana om its the Agni Purana ,and substitutes the
Vayu . The Agni leaves out the S iva, and inserts theVayu . The Varaha om its the Garuda and Brahmanda
,
and inserts the Vayu and Narasin'
iha : in this last, it issingular. The Markandeya agrees with the Vishnu and
Bhagavata,in om itting the Vayu . The Matsya
,like
the Agni,leaves out the S iva .
Some of the Puranas, as the Agni, Matsyagl' Bhaga
vata, : and Padma
,also particularize the number of
stanzas which each of the eighteen contains . In one
or two instances they d isagree ; but , in genei al , theyconcur . The aggregate is stated at s
'
lokas,or
l ines . These are fabled to be but an abridg
ment ; the whole amount being a krore or tenm illions
ProfessorW ilson 5 MS . has N W T but fourMSS . thatI have consul ted have WW TQ QI. And the latter reading is tobe preferred. The Kurma professes , at the end of its list of the Pu
ranas ,to have enumerated eighteen ; and , unless i t names both the d a
and the Agni, i t enumerates but seventeen.
‘
I' The particulars from the Matsya will be found in the sequel .
The computation of the Bhagavata , XII.
, 1 3 , 4- 8 , is as follows :
Brahma, stanzas ; Padma , If'
ishnu, Siva ,Bhagavata , Na
'
rada , Ma'
rkandeya , Agni,
Bhavishya ,Brahma-va icarla
, Linga , Varaha ,
Skanda , Vamana, Ku
’
rma , Il l a lsya ,
Garac’
ia, Brahma/26m
, The total is
The Bhagavata here calls the Agni and the Garuda by the names of
t h a and S auparna .
The Deoi—Nza'ga -
vata substitutes , in place of the Siva , the Vayu , and
assigns to it stanzas. Further,i t gives to the Agni , to
the Skanda , and to the Bran-manila ,The Reuri-md/«ilmya also has , instead of Siva , Vayu , but reckons it
at couplets ; and i t likewise allows to the Agni. To the
Shanda i t gives and to the Brahma'
nd’a ,For further details , see Burnout’s edition of the Bhagavata
-
purana,Vol . I.
, Preface , pp. Lxxxv1 - Lxxx1 x ,foot - note.
XXVI PREFACE .
competent assistance , by which I made a m inute ah
Stract of most of the Puranas . In course of time Ihope to place a tolerably copious and Connected ana
lysis of the whole eighteen before Oriental scholars,and
,in the meanwhile
,offer a brief notice of their
several contents .
In general , the enumeration of the Puranas is a
simple nomenclature,with the add ition
,in some cases,
of the number of verses ; but to these the Matsya Purana"joins the mention of one or two circumstancespeculiar to each
,which
,although scanty, are of value
,
as Offering means of identifying the copies of the Pu
ranas now found with those to which the Matsya re
fers,or of d iscovering a d ifference between the present
and the past . I shall therefore,prefix the passage de
scriptive of each Purana, from the Matsya . It is necessary to remark
,howev er
,that
,in the comparison in
stituted between that description and the Purana as itexists
,I necessarily refer to the copy or copies which
I employed for the purpose of exam ination and ana
lysis,and which were procured , with some trouble and
cost,in Benares and Cal cutta. In some instances my
manuscripts have been collated with others from d if
ferent parts of India ; and the result has shown that,
with regard at least to the Brahm a, Vishnu , Vayu ,
Matsya,Padma
,Bhagavata , and Karma Puranas , the
same works, in all essential respects,are generally cur
rent under the same appellations . Whether this is invariably the case, may be doubted ; and further inqu irymay possibly show that I have been obliged to con
Chapter LII.
PREFACE . XXVI I
tent myself with mutilated or unauthentic works .
1 Itis with this reservation ,
therefore , that I must be un
derstood to speak of the concurrence or d isagreement
of any Purana with the notice of it which the Matsya
Purana has preserved .
1 . Brahma Purana .
“That,the whole of which was
formerly repeated by Brahma to Marichi, is called theBrahma Purana
,and contains ten thousand stanzas .
In all the l ists of the Puranas , the Brahma is placedat the head of the series , and is
,thence , sometimes
also entitled “
the Ad i or ‘first’ Purana . It is also de
signated as theSaura ; as it is, in great part, appropriatedto the worship of Snrya ,
‘the There are
,how
ever , works bearing these names which belong to theclass of Upapuranas , and which are not to be con
founded with the Brahma . It is usually said,as above
,
to contain ten thousand Slokas ; but the number actually occurring is between seven and eight thousand .
There is a supplementary or conclud ing section,called
the Brahmottara Purana,and which is d ifferent from
a portion of the Skanda called theBrahmottara Khanda,
which contains about three thousand stanzas m ore. But
Upon exam ining the translations of d ifferent passag es fromthe Puranas
, given by Co lonel Vans Kennedy in the work men
tioned in a former note,and comparing them wi th the text of the
manuscrip ts I have consu l ted,I find such an agreement as to
warrant the bel ief,that there is no essential d ifference between
the copies in his possession and in m ine . T he varieties whichoccur in the MSS . of the East Ind ia Company ’s Library w i l l benoticed in the text.
XXVIII PREFACE .
there is every reason to conclude that this is a distinctand unconnected work .
The immediate narrator of the Brahma Purana isLomaharshana , who communicates it. to theRishis or
sages assembled at Naim isharanya, as it was originallyrevealed by Brahma
,not to Marichi
,as the Matsya af
firms,but toDaksha
,another of the patriarchs . Hence
its denom ination . of the Brahma Purana .
The early chapters of this work give a descriptionof the creation
,an account of the Manwantaras , and
the history of the solar and lunar dynasties tothe timeof Krishna
,in a summary manner
,and in words which
are common to it and several other Puranas . A briefdescription of the universe succeeds ; and then com e
a number of chapters relating to the holiness of Orissa,
with its temples and sacred groves ded icated to the
sun,to S iva , and Jagannatha , the latter especially .
These chapters are characteristic of this Purana , and
show its main object to be the promotion of the wor
ship of Krishna as Jagannatha.
1 To these particulars
Colonel VansKennedy Obj ects to this character of the Brahma
Purana,and observes that i t contains only two short descriptions
of pagodas , the one of Konaditya ,the other of Jagannatha .
'
In
that case,his Copy must d iffer considerably from those I have
met wi th ; for, in them ,the descrip tion of Purushottama Kshetra,
the holy land of Orissa , runs through forty chapters, or one thirdof the work . T he description
,i t is true
,is interspersed ,
in the
usual rambl ing s train of the Puranas,wi th a variety of legends ,
some ancient,some modern ; bu t they are intended to i l lustrate
some loca l circumstance,and are
,therefore
,not incompatible wi th
the main design ,the celebration of the g lori es of Purushottama
Kshetra. T he specification of the temple of Jagannatha , how
PREFACE . XXIX
succeeds a life of Krishna, which is word for word, thesame as that of the Vishnu Purana ; and the compilation term inates with a particular detail of the m ode in
which Yoga or contemplative devotion ,the object of
which is still Vishnu , is to be performed . There isl ittle , in this , which corresponds with the definition of
a Pancha- lakshana Purana ; and the mention of the
temples of Orissa, the date of the original constructionof which is recorded ,
1shows that it could not have
been compiled earl ier than the thirteenth or fourteenthcentury .
The Uttara Khanda of the Brahma Purana bears st illmore entirely the character of a Mahatmya or locallegend ; being intended to celebrate the sanctity of the
Balaj a river , conjectured to be the same as the Banasin Marwar. There is no clue to its date : but it is clearlymodern ; grafting personages and fictions of its own in
vention on a few hints from older authorities .
2 . PadmaPurana .
“That which contains an accountof the period when the world was a golden lotos
(padma ) , and of all the occurrences of that time,is,
therefore , called the Padma by the wise . It containsfifty
-five thousand stanzas .
”3 The second Purana,in
ever,is
,of i tself
,sufficient
,in my opinion
,to determine the
character and era of the compilation .
See Account of Orissa Proper,or Cuttack
,by A . S tirl ing,
E sq. : As iat ic Res,Vol . XV .
,p . 305 .
2 See Analysis of the Brahma Purana : Journ . Royal A s . Soc.,
Vol . V .
,p . 65.
F lea slat new smansum1ag
'
f um zi Hemmfimafit an : nma amm awsemfis was 1
XXX PREFACE
the usual l ists, is always the Padma,a very volum inous
Work , containing , accord ing to its own statement,as
wel l as that of other authorities,fifty
-lfive thousands'
lokas ; an amount not far from the truth . These are
d iv ided amongst five books,orKhandas ; 1 . The Sr1 sht 1
Khanda or section on creation ; 2 . The Bhnm i Khanda,description of the earth ; 3 . The Swarga Khanda
,chap
ter on heaven ; 4 . Patala Khanda,chapter on the re
gions below the earth ; and 5 . the Uttara Khanda,last
or supplementary chapter. There is also current a
sixth d iv ision,the KriyaYoga Sara
,a treatise on the
practice of devotion .
The denom inations of these divisions of the Padma
Purana convey but an imperfect and partial notion of
their contents . In the first,or section which treats of
creation,the narrator is Ugras
’
ravas, the Snta, the son
of Lomaharshana,who is sent , by his father , to the
Rishis at Naim isharanya,to communicate to them the
Purana,which
,from its containing an account of the
lotos (padma) in which Brahma appeared at creation,
is termed the Padma,or Padma Purana . The Sata re
peats what was originally communicated by Brahmato Pulastya, and by him to Bhishma . The early chapters narrate the cosmogony
,and the genealogy of the
patriarchal fam ilies, m uch in the same style, and oftenin the same words
,as the Vishnu ; and short accounts
of the Manwantaras and regal dynasties : but these,which are legitimate Pauranik matters, soon make wayfor new and unauthentic inventions, illustrative of the
v irtues of the lake of Pushkara or Pokher , in Ajmir,as a place of pilgrimage.
The Bhnm i Khan '
da,or section of the earth , defers
PREFACE . XXXI
any description of the earth until near its close ; fill ingup one hundred and twenty- seven chapters with le
gends of a very m ixed description ,some ancient , and
common to other Puranas, but the greater part peculiar
to itself, illustrative of T irthas,either figuratively so
termed ,—as a wife,a parent,
'
or a Guru,considered as
a sacred object, —or places to which actual p ilgrimageshould be performed .
The Swarga Khanda describes,in the first chapters,
the relative positions of the Lokas or spheres abovethe earth ; placing above all
,Vaikuntha , the sphere of
Vishnu : an add ition which is not warranted by whatappears to be the Oldest cosmology .
1 Miscellaneousnotices of some of the most celebrated princes thensucceed , conformably to the u sual narratives ; and theseare followed by rules of conduct for the several castes,and at d ifferent stages of life . The rest of the book isoccupied by legends of a d iversified description, introduced without much method or contrivance ; a few of
which ,as Daksha’s sacrifice
,are of ancient date , but
of which the most are original and modern .
The Patala Khanda devotes a brief introduction tothe description of Patala
,the regions of the snake
gods. But
,the name of Rama hav ing been mentioned
,
Sesha ,who has succeeded Pulastya as spokesman
proceeds to nari ate the history of Rama,his descent,
and his posterity ; in which the compiler seems to havetaken the poem of Kal idasa, the Raghu Va ins
'
a,for his
chief authority . An originality of add ition may be sus
pected , however , in the adventures of the horse des
See Book II .,Chapter VII.
XXXII PREFACE
tined by Rama for an ASwamedha,which form the
subject of a great many chapters . When about to besacrificed ,
the horse turns out to be a Brahman,con
demned, by an imprecation of Durvasas, a sage, to as
sume the equ ine nature,and who ,
by having been
sanctified by connexion w ith Rama,is released from
his metamorphosis,and despatched
,as a spirit of l ight,
to heaven . This piece of Vaishnava fiction is followedby praises of the Sri Bhagavata, an account ofKrishna’ sj uvenilities , and the merits of worshipping Vishnu .
These accounts are communicated through a machineryborrowed from the Tantras : they are told by SadaSivato Parvati
,the ordinary interlocutors of Tantrika com
positions .
The Uttara Khanda is a most volum inous aggregation of very heterogeneous matters ; but it is consistentin adopting a decided ly Vaishnava tone, and admittingno comprom ise with any other form of faith . The chiefsubjects are first d iscussed in a d ialogue between kingDilipa and the Muni Vasishtha ; such as the merits of
bathing in the m outh of Magha,and the potency of
the Mantra or prayer addressed to Lakshmi Narayana,
But the nature of Bhakti,faith in Vishnu—the u se of
Vaishnava marks on the body—the legends of Vishnu’sAvataras , and especially of Rama—and the construetion of images of Vishnu—are too important to beleft to m ortal d iscretion . They are explained by S ivato Parvati , and wound up by the adoration of Vishnuby those d ivinities . The d ialogue then reverts to theking and the sage ; and the latter states why Vishnu isthe only one of the triad entitled to respect ; S iva beinglicentious , Brahma arrogant
,and Vishnu alone pure .
XXXIV PRE FACE
commend the u se of the fronta l and other Vaishnavamarks ; and they notice other subjects which, like these,are of no remote origin . The Patala Khanda dwellscopiously upon the Bhagavata
,and is
,consequently,
posterior to it . The Uttara Khanda is intolerantlyVaishnava , and 1 s
,theref0 1 e , unquestionably modern .
It enjoins the veneration of the Salagrama stone and
Tulasi plant,the use of the Tapta—mud i a
,or stampi ng
with a hot iron the nam e of Vishnu 0 1 1 the skin, and a
variety of practices and Observances undoubtedly no
part of the original system . It speaks of the shrinesof Sriranga and Venkatadri in the Dekhin
,temples that
have no pretension to remote antiqu ity ; and it names
Haripura on the T ungabhadra,which is, in all l ikelihood ,the city of
. Vijayanagara, founded in the m iddle of the
fourteenth century . The KriyaYoga Sara is equallya modern, and , apparently, a Bengal i composition . No
portion of the Padma Purana is,probably
,older than
the twelfth century ; and the last parts may be as recentas the fifteenth or six teenth .
’l
3 . Vishnu Purana .
“That in which Parasara, beginning with the events of the Varaha Kalpa
,expounds
all duties,is called theVaishnava : and the learned know
its extent to be twenty- three thousand stanzas ”? The
T he grounds o f these conclus ions are more particularlydetailed in my Analysis of the Padma Purana : J . R . A s. Soc.
,
Vol . V .
,p . 280 .
2am w mnfidfi w uv l
w wufimfi m fim fi g zni s as a a es s ec
a a as a x a a
m am as-fm m?fi gém
PREFACE . XXXV.
third Purana of the lists is that which has been selectedfor translation ,
the Vishnu . It it unnecessary , therefore, to offer any general summary of its contents ; and
it will be convenient to reserve any remarks upon itscharacter and probable antiquity, for a subsequent page .
It may here be observed , however , that the actualnumber of verses contained in it falls far short of theenumeration of the Matsya
,with which the Bhagavata
concurs . Its actual contents are not seven thousandstanzas . All the copies—and
,in this instance
,they are
not fewer than seven in number ,—procured both inthe east and in the west of India
,agree ; and there is
no appearance of any part being wanting . There is abeginning
,a m iddle
,and an end
,in both text and com
ment ; and the work,as it stands , is , incontestably,
entire . How is the d iscrepancy to be explained ?4 . Vayu Purana .
“The Purana in which Vayu hasdeclared the laws of duty
,in connexion with the Sweta
Kalpa,and which comprises the Mahatmya of Rudra
,
i s the Vayaviya Purana : it contains twenty-four thousand ve i ses .
”1 The S iva or Saiva Purana i s,as above
remarked,om itted In some of the lists ; and , m gene1 a]
,
when that is the case,it is replaced by the Vayu or
Vayav iya . When the S iva is specified , as in the Bha
gavata, then the Vayu is om itted intimating the possible identity of these two works '
l‘ This
,indeed
,is
See p . XXIV . supra .
1 This identity is distinctly asserted inthe Revd-ma'hdlmya , as followsR
C
XXXVI PREFACE .
confirmed by the Matsya,which describes the Vaya
5v iyaPurana as characterized by its account of the greatness of Rudra or S iva : and Balam Bhatta 1 m entions,that the Vayaviya is also called the Saiva
,though, ac
cording to some,the latter is thename of anUpapuran
Colonel Vans Kennedy observes,that
,in the west of
Ind ia the Saiva is considered '
to be an Upa or‘m inor’
Purana .
2
Another proof that the same work is intended bythe authoritieshere followed , theBhagavata andMatsya
,
under d ifferent appellations , is their concurrence inthe extent of the work ; each specifying its verses tobe twenty-four thousand . A copy of the S iva Purana,of which an index and analysis have been prepared,does not contain more than about seven thousand . Itcannot, therefore, be the S iva Purana of theBhagavata :
and we may safely consider that to be the same as theVayaviya of the Matsya .
3
Commentary on the Mitakshara,Vyavahara Kanda .
2 As . Journ .
,March
,1 837
,p . 242
,note .
3 Analysis Of the Vayu Purana : Journ . A s . Soc. of Bengal ,December
,1 832 .
Eras?meat fi sh arefuaufi fiw fi fi s
‘
II
For accounts of works entitled S'ioa- f
purana and Laghu-si
’
va—purana ,see Cata log . Coal. Manuscrip t. S ansor
-it. Postoeclic. Bod leian. , &c. , 1 1 3,
1 27,and 1 29.
Regarding the first , described in 1 1 3 ,Dr. Aufrecht Observes : “De
l ibro ipso, quem ad celebrandum cul tum Laingicum scriptum esse vides ,in praesentia nihil temere asseveraverim ; ex spectandum enim est , dum
de Skandapuranae parte , quae Sivamahatmya appel latur , accuratiora
audiamus . Ex quo l ibel lum nostrum desumtum esse , us quae infradicta
'
sunt, suspicari possis.
PREFACE . XXXVII
The Vayu Purana is narrated,by Suta
,to the Rishis
at Naimisharanya, as it was formerly told , at the same
place,to sim ilar persons, by Vayu ; a repetition of cir
cum stances not uncharacteristic of the inartificial styleof this Purana . It is d iv ided into four Padas
,termed
,
severally,Prakriya, Upodghata, Anushanga, and Upa
samhara ; a classification pecul iar to this work . Theseare preceded by an index, or heads of chapters, in themanner of the Mahabharata and Ramayana —anotherpeculiarity .
The Prakriya portion contains but a few chapters,and treats
,chiefly
,of elemental creation
,and the first
evolutions of beings,to the sam e purport as theVishnu
,
but in a more obscure and unmethodical style . The
Upodghata then continues the subject of creation,and
describes the various Kalpas ‘
or periods during whichthe world has existed ; a greater number of which isspecified by the Saiva, than by the Vaishnava, Puranas .
Thirty t- hree are he 1 e described,the last of which i s
the Sweta or‘white ’ Kalpa
,from S iva’s being born, in
it,of a white complexion . The genealogies of the pa
triarchs,the description of the universe , and the inci
dents of the first six Manwantaras are all treated of in
this part of the work ; but they are interm ixed withlegends and praises of S iva
,as the sacrifice of Daksha,
the Maheéwara Mahatmya, the Nilakantha Stotra , and
others . The genealogies,although ,
in the main ,the
same as those in the Vaishnava Puranas, present some
variations . A long account of the P itris or progenitorsis also pecu liar to this Purana ; as are stories of some
of the most celebrated Rishis who were engaged in thed istribution of the Vedas.
XXXVIII PREFACE .
The third d ivision commences with an account ofthe seven Rishis and their descendants , and describesthe origin of the d ifferent classes of creatures from the
daughters of Daksha,with a profuse copiousness of
nomenclature ,not found in any other Pu
’
rana . Withexception of the greater m inuteness of detail , the particulars agree with those of the Vishnu Purana. A
chapter then occurs on theworship of theP itris ; another,on T irthas or places sacred to them ; and several
,on
the performance of Sraddhas, constituting the SraddhaKalpa . After this comes a full account of the solar andlunar dynasties
,form ing a parallel to that in the fol
lowing pages,w ith this difference, that it is, throughout,
in verse,whilst that of our text, as noticed in its place,
is, chiefly, in prose . It is extended, also, by the insertionof detailed accounts of various incidents, briefly noticedin the Vishnu
,though derived, apparently, from a com
mon original . The section term inates with sim ilaraccounts of future kings , and the same chronologicalcalculations
,that are found in the Vishnu .
The last portion, the Upasamhara ,describes briefly
the future Manwantaras , the measures of space and
time, the end of the world, the efficacy of Yoga, and theglories of Sivapura, or the dwelling of S iva, with whomthe Yogin 1 s to be united . The manuscript concludeswith a different history of the success ive teachers of
the Vayu '
Purana,tracing them from Brahma to Vayu
,
fromVayu toBrihaspati, and from him ,through various
deities and sages, to Dwaipayana and Sata .
The account given of this Purana in the Journal ofthe Asiatic Society of Bengal was lim ited to somethingless than half the work ; as I had not then been able to
PREFACE . XXXIX
procure a larger portion . I have now a more completeone of my own ; and there are several Copies in theEast Ind ia Company’s l ibrary
,of the like extent . One,
presented by His Highness the Guicowar,is dated
Samvat 1 540, or A . D . 1 48 3,and is
,ev idently, as old
as it professes to be . The exam ination I have madeof the work confirm s the v iew I formerly took of it ;and
,from the internal evidence it afford s
,it may, per
haps,be regarded as one of the oldest and most authen
tic specimens ex tant'
of a prim itive Purana .
It appears,however that we have not yet a copy of
the entire Vayu Purana . The extent of it, as mentionedabove
,should be twenty - four thousand verses . The
Gui'
cowarMS . has but twelve thousand , and is denom inated the Pnrvardha or first portion . My copy isof the like extent . The index also shows, that severalsubjects remain untold ; as, subsequently to the description of the sphere of S iva, and the periodical d issolutionof the world ,
the work is said to contain an accountof a succeed ing creation , and of various events thatoccurred in it, as the birth of several celebrated Rishis,including that of Vyasa, and a description of his distri
bution of the Vedas ; an account of the enm ity betweenVasishtha and Vis
’
wam itra ; and a Naim isharanya Mahatmya . These topics are
,however of m inor impor
tance, and can scarcely carry the Purana to the wholeextent of the verses which it is said to. contain . If thenumber is accurate
,the index must still om it a con
siderable portion . of the subsequent contents .
5 . Sri Bhagavata Purana .
“That in which ampledetails of duty are described , and which opens with
(an extract from) the Gayatri ; that in which the death
XL PREFACE .
of the Asura Vritra is told , and in which the mortalsand immortals of the Saraswata Kalpa, with the eventsthat then happened to them in the world ,
are related ;that is celebrated as the Bhagavata , and consists of
eighteen thousand verses .
”1 The Bhagavata is a workof great celebrity in India, and exercises a m ore d irectand powerful influence upon
“
the opinions and feelingsof the people than, perhaps, any other of the Puranas .
It is placed the fifth in all the l ists ; but the Padma
Purana ranks it as the eighteenth,as the extracted
substance Of all the rest . According to the u sual specification, it consists of eighteen thousand s
'
lokas, distributed amongst three hundred and thirty- two chapters
,
d iv ided into twelve Skandhas or books . It is named
Bhagavata from its being ded icated to the glorificationof Bhagavat or Vishnu .
The Bhagavata is communicated to the Rishis atNaim isharanya, by Sata, as usual : but he only repeats whatwas narrated by Suka
,the son of Vyasa , to Parikshit,
theking ofHastinapura, the grand son ofArjuna . Hav ingincurred the imprecation of a herm it
,by which he was
sentenced to d ie of the bite of a venomous snake at
the expiration of seven days,the king , in preparation
for this event , repairs to the banks of the Ganges,whither also come the gods and sages , to witness his
ga g-
(m am mali a n
m m mam m3? 3 q fit mt t z l
W mfim fi u
as a a as as as a as
a a a as a a es a
W WWw e?m afifa‘aa
XLI I PREFACE .
authority 1 s changed ; and the narrative is said to havebeen that which was commun icated by Sesha to the
Nagas . The creation of Brahma i s then described, andthe d iv isions of time are explained . A very long and
pecul iar account is given of the Varaha incarnation of
Vishnu,which is followed by the creation of the Pra
j apatis and Swayambhuva , whose daughter Devahntiis married to Kardama Rishi ; an incident peculiar tothis work
,as is that which follows, of the Avatara of
Vishnu as Kapila the son of Kardama and Devahnti,
the author of the Sankhya philosophy , which he ex
pounds,after a Vaishnava fashion ,
to his mother,in
the last nine chapters of this section .
The Manwantara of Swayarnbhuva, and the mul tiplication of the patriarchal fam ilies
,are next described
with some peculiarities of nomenclature , which are
pointed out in the notes to the parallel passages of theVishnuPurana . The traditions ofDhruva
,Vena,Prithu,
and other princes of this period , are the other subjectsof the fourth Skandha
,and are continued
,in the fifth
,
to that of the Bharata who Obtained emancipation . The
details generally conform to those of the Vishnu Purana ; and the same word s are often employed ; so thatit would be difficult to detei mine which w0 1 k had thebest right to them , had not the Bhagavata itself ind icated its Obligations to the Vishnu . The remainder of
the fifth book i s occupied with the description of the
universe ; and the same conform ity with the Vishnucontinues .
This is only partially the case with the sixth book,which contains a variety of legends of a m iscellaneousdescription , intended to illustrate the merit of worship
PREFACE . XLIII
ping Vishnu . Some of them belong to the early stock ;but some are
,apparently
,novel . The seventh book is,
mostly, occupied with the legend of Prahlada . In the
eighth,we have an account of the remaining Manwan
taras ; in which, as happening in the course of them ,a
variety of ancient legends are repeated ,as the battle
between the king of the elephants and an all igator, thechurning of the ocean
,and the dwarf and fishAvataras .
The ninth book narrates the dynasties of the Vaivas
wataManwantara,or the princes of the solar and lunar
races to the time of Kr i shna .
1 The particulars conform,
generally, wi th those recorded in the Vishnu .
The tenth book is the characteristic part of thisPurana
,and the portion upon which its popu larity is
founded . It is appropriated entirely to the history of
Kr1 shna, which it narrates much in the same manner
as the Vishnu, but in more detail ; holding a m iddle
place,however, between it and the extravagant prolixity
with which the Hari Vams'a repeats the story . It is notnecessary to particularize it further . It has been translated into
,perhaps , all the languages of Ind ia , and is
a favourite work with all descriptions of people .
The eleventh book describes the destruction of the
Yadavas and death of Krishna . Prev ious to the latterevent , K rishna instructs Uddhava in the performanceof the Yoga ; a subj ect consigned , by the Vishnu ,
to
the concluding “passages . The narrative is much
1 A translation of the n inth,by Captain Fel l
,was published
in Calcu tta,in d ifferent numbers of the Monthly and Quarterly
Magaz ine ,in 1 823 and 1 824 . T he Second volume of Mauri ce ’s
Ancient H istory of H indostan contains a translation,byMr.Halhed
,
of the tenth book,made through the med ium of a Persian version.
XLIV PREFACE .
the same , but something more summary than that ofthe Vishnu . The twelfth book continues the l ines of
the kings of the Kal i age , prophetically , to a sim ilarperiod as the Vishnu
,and gives a like account of the
deterioration of all things and their final dissolution .
Consistently with the subject of thePurana, the serpentTakshaka bites Parikshit, and he expires : and the workshould term inate ; or the close might be extended to thesubsequent sacrifice of Janamejaya, for the destructionof the whole serpent race . There is a rather ak ardlyintroduced description however , of the arrangementof the Vedas and Puranas by Vyasa, and the legend of
Markandeya’
s interv iewwith the infantKri shna, duringa period of worldly dissolution . We then come to the
end of the Bhagavata ,in a series of encomiasticc om
m endations of its own sanctity and efficacy to salvation .
Mr. Colebrooke observes, of the Bhagavata Purana :I am
,myself, incl ined to adopt an opin ion supported
by. many learned Hindus, who consider the celebratedSri Bhagavata as the work of a gramm arian [Bopadeva]supposed to have lived about six hundred years ago .
Colonel Vans Kennedy considers this an incautiousadm ission because “it is unquestionable that the numberof the Puranas have been always held to be eighteen ;but, in most of the Puranas, the names of the eighteenare enumerated ,
amongst which the Bhagavata is invariably included ; and , consequently ,
if it were com
posed only six hundred years ago, the others must be
A s. Res,Vol . VIII . , p .
Miscellaneous Essays, Vol . I., p . 1 04.
PREFACE . XLV
of an equally modern date .
”1 Some of them are,no
doubt,more recent ; but, as already remarked, noweight
can be attached to the specification of the eighteen
names ; for they are always complete : each Puranaenumerates all .
* Which is the last? Which had the
opportunity of nam ing its seventeen predecessors, andadd ing itself? The argument proves too much . Therecan be little doubt that the l ist has been inserted, uponthe authority of tradition
,either : by some improving
transcriber,or by the compiler of a work m ore recent
than the eighteen genu ine Puranas . The obj ection isalso rebutted by the assertion , that there was anotherPurana to which the name applies , and which is stillto be met with, the Dev i Bhagavata .
For the authenticity of the Bhagavata is one of the
few questions,affecting their sacred literature
,which
H indu writers have ventured to discuss . The occasionis furnished by the text itself. In the fourth chapterof the first book ,
it is said that Vyasa arranged the
Vedas , and div ided them into four , and that he thencompiled theItihasa and Puranas, as a fifthVeda . The
Vedas he gave to Paila and the rest ; the Itihasa and
Puranas,to Lomaharshana, the father of S l
’
i ta .
2 Then,
Researches into the Nature and A ffini ty of Ancient and
H indu Mythology, p . 1 55,no te .
9 Book I.,Chapter IV .
,1 9
But see the editor’s second note in p . LIV. inf ra .
XLVI PREFACE
reflecting that these works may not be accessible towomen
, Sadras , and m ixed castes,he composed the
Bharata,for the purpose of placing rel igious knowledge
within their reach . Still, he felt dissatisfied , and wan
dered ,in
“
much perplexity,
along the banks of the
Saraswati , where his hermitage was situated,when
Narada paid him a v isit . Hav ing confided to him his
secret and seem ingly causeless d issatisfaction,Narada
suggested that it arose from his not hav ing sufficientlydwelt, in the works he had finished
, upon the merit of
worshipping Vasudeva . Vyasa at once adm itted itstruth ,
and found a remedy for his uneasiness in thecomposition of theBhagavata
,which he taught to Suka,
his son .
1 Here, therefore, is the most positive assertionthat the Bhagavata was composed subsequently to thePuranas
,and given to a d ifferent pupil
,and was not,
therefore, one of the eighteen of which Romaharshana,
the Sata, was, according to all concurrent testimonies,the depositary . Still, the Bhagavata is named amongstthe eighteen Puranas, by the inspired authorities : andhow can these incongru ities be reconciled ?The principal point in dispute seems to have been
started by an expression of Sridhara Swamin,a com
mentator on theBhagavata,who, somewhat incautiously,made the remark
,that there was no reason to suspect
Book I.,7,8 .
PREFACE XLVII
that,by the term Bhagavata, any other work than the
subject of his labours was intended . This was,there
fore,an adm ission that some suspicions had been enter
tained of the correctness of the nomenclature, and thatan Opinion had been expressed, that the term belonged ,not to the Sri Bhagavata , but to the Dev i Bhagavata ;to a Saiva
,not a Vaishnava, composition .
“
With whomdoubts prevailed prior toSridhara Swam in, or by whomthey were urged
,does not appear ; for , as far as we
are aware , no works , anterior to his date , in whichthey are advanced have been met with . Subsequently,various tracts have been written on the subject . There
are three in the l ibrary of the East Ind ia Company :the Durjana Mukha Chapetika,
‘A slap of the face forthe v ile ’
,by Ramasrama ; the Durjana Mukha Maha
Chapetika,* ‘A great slap of the face for the wicked ,
by Kas'
inatha Bhatta ; and the Durjana Mukha Padma
Paduka,
‘A slipper ’ for the same part of the same per
sons,by a nameless d isputant . The first maintains the
authenticity of the Bhagavata ; the second asserts,that
The postscript of this tract has Durj ana-mulcha—chapet’
ika. In the MS . ,
Professor W ilson has noted , that it is referred to, in the Durj ana -muff ler:
p adma-
pa'
duka,under a longer title , that given in the text . Burnouf
who , in the p reface to the first volume of his Bhagavata-
p urana , has
translated and annotated the three treatises named above - remarks as
follows on that reference : “ Le trai té auquel notre auteur fait allusionparait etre l e méme que celui que j ’ai placé le troisi eme , et qui est
consacré tout entier a prouver cette these , que quand les Puranas parlent da Bhagavata , c’est l e Dévibhagavata qu ’
ils entendent désigner , et
non pas notre C11 Bhagavata , qui fai t autorité pour les Va1 chnavas.
Cependant'
l e passage sur lequel porte la présente note nomme ce trai té :Un grand soufflet , etc. ; ce qui ferait supposer qu ’ il existe deux traitésde ce genre , dont l ’un serait plus étendu que l ’autre , et dont nous na
posséderions que lo plus court,c’est-a-dire celui qui est tradui t plus
bas . P . LXXVI I .
XLVIII PREFACE
the Devi Bhagavata is the genu ine Purana ; and the
third replies to the arguments of thefirst. There is,also , a work by Purushottama
,entitled ‘Thirteen argu
ments for d ispell ing all doubts of the character of the
Bhagavata ’
(Bhagavata swarnpa vishaya sanka nirasatrayodas
'
a) ; whilst Balam Bhatta, a commentator 0 1 1 theMitakshara
,indulging in a d issertation on the meaning
of the word Purana,adduces reasons for question ing
the inspired origin of this Purana .
The chief arguments in favour of the authenticityof this Purana are
,the absence of any reason why
Bopadeva , to whom it is attributed , should not have
put his own name to it ; its being included in all listsof the Puranas , sometimes with circumstances thatbelong to no other Purana ; and its being admi tted to
be a Purana,and cited as authority, or made the sub
ject of comment , by W 1 iters of established reputation,of whom Sankara A charya i s one : and he l ived longbefore Bopadeva . The reply to the first argument is
rather feeble ; the controversial ists being unwil ling,perhaps, to adm it the real object, the promotion of new
doctrines . It is,therefore , said, that Vyasa was an in
carnation of Narayana ; and the purpose was to propitiate his favour. The insertion of a Bhagavata amongst
the eighteen Puranas is acknowledged ; but this , it is
said , can be the Devi Bhagavata alone : for the circum
stances apply more correctly to it than to theVaishnava
Bhagavata .Thus, a text is quoted, by Kasmatha, from
a Purana —he does not state which—that says , of theBhagavata , that it contains eighteen thousand verses,
twelve books, and three hundred and thirty-two chap
L PREFACE .
va,fwho
,in a commentary of his own, asserts that he
has consulted eight others . Now,amongst these is
one by the monkey Hanumat ; and ,although a Hindu
d isputant may bel ieve in the real ity of such a composition , yet we may receive its citation as aproof thatMadhwa was not very scrupulous in the verificationof his authorities .
There are other topics urged ,in this controversy,
on both sides, some of which are simple enough, some
are ingenious : but the statement of the text is,of itself,
sufficient to show,that
,according to the received opinion,
of all the au thorities , of the priority of the eighteenPuranas to the -Bharata
,it is impossible that the Sri
Bhagavata, which is subsequent to the Bharata, shouldbe of the number ; and the ev idence of style, the superiority of which to that of the Puranas in general is
adm itted by the disputants , is also proof that it is thework of a d ifferent hand . Whether the Dev i Bhagavata have
'
a better title to be considered as an originalcomposition of Vyasa , is equally questionable ; but itcannot be doubted that theSri Bha g avata IS the productof uninspired erud ition . There does not seem to be
any other ground than tradition for ascribing it toBopadeva the grammarian : but there is no reason to
call the tradition in question . Bopadeva flourished at
the court of Hemadri , Raja’
of Devagiri , Deogur or
Dowlutabad, and must,consequently, have lived prior
to the conquest of that principal ity by the Mohammedans in the fourteenth century . . The date of the
See Burnouf’
s edition of the Bhdgavata-
purana , Vol . I. , Prefac ep . LXII ., note.
PREFACE LI
twelfth century,commonly assigned to him ,
is, pro
bably,correct
,and is that of the Bhagavata Purana .
6 . Narada or Narad iya Purana .
“Where Narada hasdescribed the d uties which were observed in the Br1hatKalpa
,that is called the Narad iya , hav ing twenty-five
thousand stanzas .
”1 If the number of verses be herecorrectly stated , the Purana has not fallen into myhands . The copy I have analysed contains not manymore than three thousand s
'
lokas. There is anotherwork
,which m ight be expected to be of greater extent,
the Br1han Narad iya or great Narada Purana ; but this,accord ing to the concurrence of three copies in mypossession, and of five others in the Company’s l ibrary,contains but about three thousand five hundred verses .
It may be doubted, therefore, if the Narada Purana of
the Matsya exists .
2
According to theMatsya, theNarada Purana is related
2 T he descrip tion of Vishnu,trans lated by Co lonel Vans
Kennedy (Researches into the Nature and A ffinity of Ancientand Hindu Mythology, p . 200) from the Naradiya Purana , occursin my copy of the Br1han Naradiya . There is no Narada Puranain the East India Company ’s l ibrary
,though ,
as noticed in the
text,several of the Brihan Naradiya . There is a Copy o f the
Rukmangada Chari lra , said to be a part of the Sri Narada Purana.
Burnouf—Bhagavata-
purana , Vol . I. , Preface , p. LXIII . , first Note,and pp. XCVII. ci sea
—would place Bopadeva in the second half of thethirteenth century.
I follow the western and southern pandits in preferring Bopadeva toVopadeva, as the name is ordinarily exhibited .
Touching BOpadeva and Hemadri , see Dr. Aufrecht ’s Cata log. Cod.
Manuscr ipt , &c. , pp . 37 and 38 .
LI I PREFACE
by Narada, and gives an account of the Brihat Kalpa .
The Naradiya Purana is communicated , by Narada, tothe Rishis at Naim isharanya
,on the Gomati river. The
Brihan Narad iya is related to the same persons, at thesame place,by Sli ta, as it was told by Narada to Sanatkumara . Possibly
, the term Brihat may have been sug
gested by the specification Which is given in theMatsya :but there is no description
,in it
,of any particularKalpa
or day of Brahma.
From a cursory exam ination of these Puranas it isvery ev ident that they have no conform ity to the definition of aPurar
'
i a,and that both are sectarial and modern
compilations, intended to'
support the doctrine ot akti
or faith in Vishnu . With this v iew,they have collected
a variety of prayers addressed to one or other form of
that d ivinity ; a number of Observances and holydaysconnected
'
with his adoration ; and d ifferent legends,some
,perhaps
,of an early
,others of a more recent,
date,illustrative of the efficacy of devotion t o Hari .
Thus,in the Narada ,
we have the stories of DhruvaandPrahlada ; the latter told in the words of theVishnu :whilst the second portion of it is occupied with a legendofMohini
,the will-born daughter of a king called Ruk
mangada ; beguiled by whom ,the king offers to perform
for her whatever she may desire . She calls upon himeither to v iolate the ru le of fasting on the eleventh dayof the fortnight, a day sacred to Vishnu ,
or to put his
son to death ; and he kills his s on , as the lesser sin of
the two . This shows the spirit of the work . Its date
may also be inferred from its tenor ; as such monstrousextravagancies in praise of Bhakti are
,certainly, of m o
dern origin . One l imit it '
fu'
rnishes, itself ; for it refers
PREFACE L1H
to Suka and Parikshit , the interlocutors of the Bhagavata ; and it is , consequently ,
subsequent to the dateof that Purana . It is
,probably
,considerably later ; for
it affords ev idence that it was written after Ind ia wasin the hands of the Mohammedans . In the conclud ingpassage it is said : “Let not this Purana be repeated inthe presence of the ‘killers of cows ’ and contemners
of the god s . It is, possibly ,a compilation of the six
teenth or seventeenth century .
The Brihan Narad iya“
is a work of the same tenorand time . It contains l ittle else than panegyrical prayersaddressed toVishnu
,and injunctions to observe various
rites, and keep holy certain seasons, in honour of him .
The earlier legend s introduced are the birth of Mar
kar’
i deya, the destruction ofSagara’
s sons,and the dwarf
Avatara ; but they are subserv ient to the design of the
whole,and are rendered occasions for praising Na
rayar'
i a . Others , illustrating the efficacy of certainVaishnava observ
’
ances, are puerile inventions, wholly
foreign to the more ancient system of Pauranik fiction .
There is no attempt at cosmogony,or patriarchal or
regal genealogy . It is possible that these topics maybe treated of in the m issing stanzas : but it seems more
likely that the Narada Purar’i a of the l ists has l ittle incommon with the works to which its name is appliedin Bengal and Hindusthan .
7 . Markanda orMarkandeya Purana.
“That Puranain which, commencing with the story of the birds thatwere acquainted with right and wrong
,everything is
narrated fully by Markandeya ,as it was explained by
holy sages , in reply to the question of the Muni,is
called the Markar’
i deya , containing nine thousand ver
LIV PREFACE
ses .
”1 This is so cal led from its being, in the first instance, narrated byMarkandeyaMuni, and , in the secondplace
,by certain fabulou s bird s ; thus far agreeing with
the account given of it in the Matsya . That , as wellas other authorities, specify its containing nine thousandstanzas ; but my copy closes with a verse affirming thatthe number of verses recited by the Muni was six thousand nine hundred ; and a copy in the East India Com
pany’
s library has a sim ilar specification . The term ination is , however , somewhat abrupt ; and there is noreason why the subject with which it ends should not
have been carried on further . One copy in the Com
pany’
s library ,indeed , belonging to the Guicowar
’
s
collection,states
,at the close, that it is the end of the
first Khanda or section . If the Purana was ever com
pleted , the remaining portion of it appears to be lost . *
Jaim ini,the pupil of Vyasa , applies to Markar
'
idcya
to be made acquainted w ith the nature of vasudeva,and for an explanation of some of the incidents described in theMahabharata ; with the ambrosia of whichd iv ine poem
, Vyasa, he declares, has watered the wholeworld : a reference which establishes the priority of the
Bharata to the Markandeya Purana ,however incom
zm fima W W W ‘L
See the Rev . Krishnamohan Banerjea’
s edition of the Ma'
rkan’
deya
p arana , Introduction, pp. 26 , 3 1 , and 32 .
1 Two MSS . of the Matsya-
purana , out of four within my reach, omi tthe second and third l ines . The other two give the second as follows :
W M M W H
PREFACE . LV
patible this may be with the tradition ,that
,having
finished the Puranas, Vyasa wrote the poem .
*
Markar’
ideya excuses himself, saying hehas a rel igiou srite to perform ; and he refers J aim ini to some verysapient birds who reside in the Vindhya mountains ;birds of a celestial origin ,
found,
“
when j ust born ,by
the Mun i Sam ika,on the field of Kurukshetra ,
and
brought up , by him ,along with his scholars : in conse
quence of which, and by v irtue of theirheavenly descent,they became profoundly -
versed in the Vedas and a
knowledge of spiritual truth . This machinery is borrowed from theMahabharata
, with some embellishment .Jaim ini, accordingly, has recourse to the bird s, Pingaksha and his brethren
,and puts to them the questions
he had asked of the Muni : “Why was Vasudeva bornas a mortal ? How was it that Draupad i was the w ifeof the five Pandus ? Why did Baladeva do penancefor Brahmanicide? And why were the children of
Draupad i destroyed , when they had Kri shna and Ar
j una to defend them ?” The answers to these inquiriesoccupy a number of chapters, and form a sort of supple
In his account of the Mdrkafic’leya—purana , Professor Banerjea says :W e cannot help noticing , in this place , the dignity imputed to the
work under review. It is classed in the same category with the Vedas ,and described as an immediate product from Brahma s mouth. Althougha Furari a, i t is not attributed to Vyasa, whom other S
'
astras consider as
the author of al l works bearing that title. The Markarideya , however,
does not acknowledge him as its composer, editor, or compiler. I t claimsequal honour, in this respect, with the Vedas themselves .
Again,with reference to the l ist spoken of in pp . XXIII. and XLV. , supra :
As far as we have seen BengalManuscripts, theMarkaii c'
leya presents a
singular exception to this hackneyed enumeration of the eighteen Puranas,and the celebration of Vyasa
’
s name as the author of them al l . The
Maithila manuscripts , as they are commonly called , are not so chaste.
Ibid . , Preface, pp. 1 5 and 1 6 .
LVI PREFACE .
ment to the Mahabharata ; supplying, partly by invention
,perhaps
,and partly by reference to equally ancient
authorities, the blanks left in some of its narrations .
Legends of Vritrasura’
s death,Baladeva
’
s penance,Haris
'
chandra’
s elevation to heaven ,and
”the quarrel
between Vasishtha and Vi swamitra,are followed by a
d iscussion respecting birth, death, and sin ; which leadsto a more extended description of the d ifferent hellsthan is found in otherPurar
'
i as . The account of creationwhich is contained in this work is repeated ,
by the
birds, after Markandeya’
s account of it to Kraushfuki,and is confined to the origin of the Vedas and patriarchal fam ilies, amongst whom are new characters
,as
Duhsaha and his wife Marsht i , and their descendants ;allegorical personages
,representing intolerable iniquity
and its consequences . There is then a description of
the world,with, as usual to this Purana, several singu
larities, some of which are noticed in the following
pages . This being the state of the world in the Swa
yambhuva Manwantara,an account of the other Man
wantaras succeed s , in which the births of the Manus,
and a number of other particulars, are pecul iar to thiswork . The present or VaivaswataManwantara is verybriefly passed over ; but the next, the first of the futureManwantaras
,contains the long episod ical narrative of
the actions of the goddess Durga, which is the especialboast of this Purana
,and is the text book of the wor
shippers of Kali , Chandi , or Durga,in Bengal . It is
the Chandi Patha , or DurgaMahatmya ,in which the
v ictories of the goddess over d ifferent evil beings or
Asuras are detailed with considerable power and spirit.
It is read daily in the temples of Durga, and furnishes
PREFACE
It is not easy to conjecture a date for this Purana .
It is subsequent to the Mahabharata ; but how longsubsequent
,is doubtful . It is
,unquestionably ,
m ore
ancient than such works as the Brahma,Padma
,and ,
Narad iya Puranas ; and its freedom from sectarial biasis a reason for supposing it anterior to the Bhagavata .
At the same time , its partial conform ity to the definition of a Purana, and the tenor of the additions whichit has m ade to received legends and traditions, indicatea not very remote age ; and , in the absence of any gu ideto a more positive conclusion ,
it may ,conjecturally
,
be placed in the ninth or tenth century .
8 . Agni Purana .
“That Purana which describes theoccurrences of the IsanaKalpa, and was related byAgmto Vasishtha ,
is called the Agneya . It consists of six
teen thousand stanzas .
”1 The Agni orAgneya Puranaderives its name from its hav ing being communicated ,originally ,
by Agn i,the deity of fire , to the Mun i Va
sishtha,for the purpose of instructing him in the two
fold knowledge of Brahma .
2 By him it was taught toVyasa ,
who imparted it to saw; and the latter i s re
presented as repeating it to the Rishis at Naimisha
ranya . Its contents are variously specified as sixteenthousand ,fifteen thousand , or fourteen thousand , stanzas .
The two cop ies which were employed by me containabout fifteen thousand s
'
lokas . There are two,in the
See Book VI . , Chapter V .
PREFACE LIX
Company’
s l ibrary,which do not extend beyond twelve
thousand’
verses ; but they are, in many other respects,d ifferent from m ine . One of them was written at Agra
,
in the reign of Akbar,in A . D . 1 589 .
The Agni‘Purana,in the form in which it has been
obtained in Bengal and at Benares,presents a striking
contrast to the Markandeya . It may be doubted if asingle line of it is original . A very : great proportion
of it may be traced to other sources ; and‘
a more careful collation—if the task was worth the time it wouldrequ ire—would probably d iscover the remainder.
The early chapters of this Purana ’l describe the
Avataras,and
,in those of Rama and Krishna, avowed ly
follow theRamayana andMahabharata . A considerableportion is then appropriated to instructions for the performance of religious ceremonies ; many ofWhichbelongto the Tantrika ritual , and are
,apparently
,transcribed
from the principal authorities of that system . Some
belong to mystical forms of Saiva worship, little known
in Hindusthan,though
,perhaps
,still practised in the
south . One of these is the D iksha or initiation of a
novice ; by which with numerous ceremonies and in
vocations,in which the mysterious monosyllables of
the Tantras are constantly repeated ,the d isciple is
transformed into a l iving personation of S iva,and re
ceives, in that capacity, the homage of his Guru . Inter
Analysis of the Agni Purana : Journal of the As iatic Societyo f Bengal , March
,I have there stated
,incorrectly , that
the Agni is a Vaishnava Purana . It is one o f the Tamasa or
Sa iva class,as mentioned above.
See Professor W ilson’
s collected works, Vol . I II .
LX PREFACE
spersed with these are chapters descriptive of the earthand of the universe , which are the same as those of
the Vishnu Purana ; and Mahatmyas or legends of holyplaces
,particularly of Graya. Chapters on the duties
of kings and on the art of war then occur,which have
the appearance of being extracted from some olderwork ,
as is , undoubted ly,the chapter on judicature,
which follows them ,and which is the same as thetext
of the Mitakshara. Subsequent to these we have an
account of the d istribution and arrangement of the
Vedas and Puranas, which is little else than an abridgment of the Vishnu ; and , in a chapter on gifts
, we havea description of the Puranas
,which is precisely the
same,and in the same situation
,as the similar subject
in the Matsya Purana . The genealogical chapters are
meagre l ists , d iffering ,in a few respects
,from those
commonly received , as hereafter noticed, but unaccom
panied by any particulars such as those recorded or
invented in theMarkandeya . The next subject is medicine , compiled , avowedly ,
but injudiciou sly,from the
Sau s’
ruta . A series of chapters on the mystic worshipof S iva and Devi follows ; and the work wind s up withtreatises on rhetoric, prosody, and grammar, accordingto the Sntras of Pingala and Pan ini .The cyclopaed ical character of the Agni Purana
,as
it is now described , excludes it from any legitimateclaim s to be regarded as a Purana
,and proves that its
According to Dr. Aufrecht : “ Haec pars , paucis mutatis et additis ,
ex Yajnavalkyae legum codice desumta est. Then follows “Rigvidhanam,
i . e . , Rigvedi hymni s ive disticha ad varias superstitiones adhibenda.
Haec pars e Rigvidhana libello, qui et ipse scrae originis indicia prae “
se
fert excerpta est , multique versus ad literam cum illo consentiunt.
Catalog . Cod . Manuscript , &c. , p . 7 .
PREFACE .
'
LXI
origin cannot be very remote . It is subsequent to theItihasas
,to the chief works on grammar, rhetoric, and
med icine , and to the introduction of the Tantrikaworship of Dev i : When this latter took place , is yetfar from determ ined ; but there is every probabilitythat it dates long after the beginning of our era . The
materials of the Agni Purana are , however , no doubt,of some antiquity . The m edicine of Sus
’
ruta is con
siderably older than the ninth century ; and the grammar of Pan ini probably precedes Christianity . The
chapters on archery and arms,and on regal adm inis
tration,are also d istinguished by an entirely Hindu
character,and must have been written long anterior
to the Mohammedan invasion . So far the Agni Puranais valuable
,as embodying and preserv ing relics of
antiqu ity,although compiled at a more recent date .
Colonel Wilford I has made great use of a l ist of
kings derived from an append ix to the Agni Purana,which professes to be the sixty- third or last section .
As he observes , it is seldom found annexed to the
Purana . I have never met with it , and doubt its ever
hav ing formed any part of the original compil ation .
It would appear, from Colonel W ilford’
s remarks,that
this l ist notices Mohammed as the institutor of an era :
but his account of this is not very d istinct. He men
tions , explicitly ,however
,that the l ist speaks of Sal i
vahana and Vikramad itya : and this is qu ite sufficientto establish its character. The compilers of thePuranas
were not such bunglers as to bring within their chro
Essay on Vikramad itya and Sal ivahana : A s . Res ., Vo l . IX ,
LXI I PREFACE .
nology so well known a personage as Vikramaditya .
There are , in all parts of Ind ia,various compilations
ascribed to the Puranas, which never formed any por
tion of their contents , and which , although offering,sometimes
,useful local information
,and valuable as
preserv ing popular traditions, are not,in justice, to be
confounded with the Puranas , s o as to cause them to
be charged with even more serious errors and ana
chronisms than those of which they are guilty .
The two Copies of this work in the l ibrary of the
East Ind ia Company appropriate the first half to a
description of the ordinary and occasional Observancesof the Hindus , interspersed with a few legends . The
latter half treats exclusively of the history of Rama .
9 . Bhav ishyaPurana .
“ThePurana in whichBrahma,hav ing described the greatness of the sun, explained to.
Manu the existence of the world,and the characters
of all created things, in the course of the AghoraKalpa,
that is called the Bhavishya ; the stories being, for themost part , the events of a future period . It containsfourteen thousand five hundred stanzas .
”1 ThisPurana,as the name implies , should be a book of prophecies,foretelling what will be (bhavishyati ) , as the MatsyaPurana intimates . Whether such a work exists , isdoubtful . The co
’
pies,which appear to be entire
,and
of which there are three in the library of the EastInd ia Company
,agreeing , in their contents , with two
W fi fl i fim l
PREFACE LXIII
in my possession ,contain about seven thousand stan
zas . There is another work,entitled the Bhavishyot
tara,as if it was a continuation or supplement of the
former,containing
,also
,abou t seven thousand verses :
but the subjects of both these works are but to a veryimperfect degree analogous to those to which theMat
sya alludes .
1
The Bhavishya Purana ,as I have it , is a work in a
hundred and twenty- six short chapters , repeated bySumantu to Satanika
,a king of the Pandu fam ily . He
notices, however, its hav ing originated with Swayambhuor Brahma
,and describes it as consisting of five parts ;
four dedicated,it should seem ,
to as many deities,as
they are termed , Brahma,Vaishnava, Saiva, and Twash
tra ; whil st the fifth is the Pratisarga or repeated cre
ation . Possibly ,the first part only may have come
into my hands ; although it does not so appear by themanuscript .Whatever it may be , the work in question is not a
Purana . The first portion , indeed ,treats of creation ;
but it is l ittle else than a transcript of the words of
the first chapter ofManu . The rest is entirely a manualof rel igious rites and ceremonies . It explains the tenSamskaras or initiatory rites ; the performance of the
Sandhya; the reverence to be sh own to a Guru ; the
duties of the d ifferent As'
ramas and castes ; and enjoinsa number of Vratas or Observances of fasting and the
Co lonel Vans Kennedy s tates that he had “not been able
to procure the Bhavishya Purana , nor even to obtain any accountof its contents .
” Researches into the Nature and Affini ty o f
Ancient and Hindu Mythology, note .
LXIV PREFACE .
l ike,appropriate to different lunar d ays . A few legends
enliven the series of precepts . That of the sage Chyavana is told at considerable length, taken, chiefly, fromtheMahabharata . TheNaga Pancham i, or fifth lunationsacred to the serpent-gods , g ives rise to a
’
description
of d ifferent sorts of snakes . After these, which occupyabout one third of the chapters, the remainder of themconform ,
in subj ect,to one of the topics referred to by
the Matsya . They chiefly represent conversations betweenKrishna, his son Samba,—who had become a leperby the curse of Durvasas
,—Vasishtha ,
Narada ,and
Vyasa , upon the power and glory of the Sun, and the
manner in which he is to be worshipped .
“ There issome curious matter in the last chapters , relating to
the Magas, silent worshippers of the sun ,
from Sakadwipa ; as if the compiler had adopted the Persian termMagh, and connected the fire-worshippers of Iran withthose of India . This is a subject, however, that requiresfurther investigation .
The Bhavishyottara is , equally with the preceding,a sort of manual of religious offices ; the greater portionbeing appropriated to Vratas , and the remainder , tothe forms and circumstances with which gifts are to
be presented . Many of the ceremonies are obsolete,or are observed in a d ifferent manner , as the Rathayatra or car-festival
, and the'
Madanotsava or festivalof spring . The descriptions of these throw some l ightupon the public cond ition of the H indu religion at a
period probably prior to the Mohammedan conquest.The d ifferent ceremonies are illustrated by legends,which are
, sometimes,ancient ; as, for instance, the de
struction of the god of love by S iva , and his thence
LXVI PREFACE .
the Varaba Avatara of Vishnu ,—which seems to be
intended by the Matsya ,—nor any reference to a Ra
thantara Kalpa . It may also be observed,that
,in
describing the merit of presenting a copy of this Purana
,the Matsya add s : “Whoever makes
)
such gift ishonoured in the Brahma- loka a sphere which is of
very inferior dignity to that to which a worshipper of
Krishna is taught to aspire by this Purana . The cha
racter of the work is , in truth , so decidedly sectarial,and the sect to which it belongs so distinctly marked ,that of the worshippers of the juvenile Kri shna and
Radha,a form of bel ief of known modern origin, —that
it can scarcely have found a notice in a work to which,l ike the Matsya ,
a m uch more remote date seem s to
belong . Although,therefore , the Matsya may be re
ceived in proof of there hav ing been a Brahma Vai
varta Pur'
ana at the date of its compilation,dedicated
especially to the honour of Kr1 shna, yet we cannot
cred it the possibility of its being the same we now
possess .
Although some of the legends believed to be ancientare scattered through the d ifferent portions of thisPurana
, yet the great mass of it is taken up with tiresome descriptions ofVrindavana and Goloka, the dwel lings of Krishna on earth and in heaven ; with end lessrepetitions of prayers and invocations addressed tohim ; and with insip id descriptions of his person and
sports,and the love of the Gropis and of Radhatoward s
him . There are,some particulars of the origin of the
m ea 3m m 3
d imme ra was?0) was with ? u
PREFACE . LXVII
artificer castes, -which is of value, because it is cited asauthority in matters affecting them—contained in the
Brahma Khanda ; and,in the Prakriti and Ganesa
Khandas,are legends of those d iv inities , not wholly,
perhap s,modern inventions , but of which the source
has not been traced . In the life of Krishna , the ihcidents recorded are the same as those narrated in theVishnu and the Bhagavata ; but the stories
,absurd as
they are,are much compressed, tomake r oom for ori
gimal m atter still m ore“puerile and tiresome . The
Brahma Vaivarta has not the slightest title to be re
garded as a Purana .
1
1 1 . Linga Purana .
“Where Mahes’
wara,present “
in
the Agni L inga , explained (the objects of l ife) v irtue,wealth ,
pleasure, and final liberation at the end of the
Agni Kalpa, thatPurana, consisting of eleven thousandstanzas, was called the Lainga by Brahmahimself.The L inga Purana conforms
,accurately enough ,
to
this description . The Kalpa is said to be the Isana :
but this is the only difference . It consists of eleventhou sand stanzas . It is said to have been originallycomposed by Brahma; and the prim itive L inga is a
Analysis of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana : Journal of the
A siatic Society of Bengal , June,narrates
-
awe : are 351 Hea t 1
ami awfimwimm fiaaa‘
i ra
W W W ni W naam am |
m mw a a a a a a a a
Instead of ProfessorW ilson 3 Hiatus—ti &c. ,
one of the MSS . I haveseen has 3 anothei , and anothei , Him
while the fourth is here cmrupt past mend ing by conjecture.
1 See Professor W ilson’
s collected works, Vol . III .
LXVI II PREFACE .
pillar of rad iance, in which Mahes'
wara is present . The
work is, therefore, the same as that referred to by theMatsya .
A short account is given ,in the beginning , of ele
m ental and secondary creation ,and of thepatriarchal
fam il ies ; in which , however , S iva takes the place of
Vishnu,as the indescribable cause of all things . Brief
accounts of S iva’s incarnations and proceedings ind ifferent Kalpas next occur, offering no interest, exceptas characteristic of sectarial notions . The appearanceof the great fiery L inga takes place
,in the interval of
a creation,to separate Vishnu and Brahma
,who not
only d ispute the palm of supremacy, but fight for it ;
when the L inga suddenly springs up ,and puts them
both to shame ; as, after travelling upwards and downward s for a thousand years in each d irection
,neither
can
'
approach to its term ination . Upon the L inga thesacred monosyllable Om is v isible ; and the Vedas proceed from it
,by which Brahma and Vishnu become
enlightened,and acknowledge and eulogize the superior
m ight and glory of S iva.
A notice of the creation in the Padma Kalpa thenfollows ; and this leads to praises of S iva by Vishnuand Brahma. S iva repeats the story of his incarnations
,twenty-eight in number ; intended as a counter
part,no doubt
,to the twenty-four Avataras of Vishnu,
as described in the Bhagavata ; and both being amplifications of the original ten Avataras, and of much lessmerit as fictions. Another instance of rivalry occursin the legend of Dadhichi
,a Muni, and worshipper of
S iva . In the Bhagavata, there is a story of Ambarisha
being defended againstDurvasas by the d iscus ofVishnu,
PREFACE LXIX
against which that Saiva sage is helpless . Here, Vishnuhurls his d iscus at Dadhichi : but it falls , blunted , tothe ground ; and a conflict ensues , in which Vishnuand his partisans are all overthrown by the Muni .A description of the universe
,and of the regal dy
nasties of the Vaivaswata Manwantara to the time of
Kri shna,runs through a number of chapters
,in sub
stance,and
,very commonly
,in words, the same as in
otherPuranas ; after which the work resumes its propercharacter
,narrating legends
,and enjoining rites
,and
reciting prayers,intending to do honour to S iva under
various form s . Although,however
,the L inga holds a
prom inent place amongst them,the Spirit of theworship
is as little influenced by the character of the type as
can well be imagined . There is nothing like the phallicorgies of antiquity : it is all mystical and spiritual . TheL inga is twofold
,external and internal . The ignorant
,
who need a v isible sign, worship S iva through a‘mark’
or‘type ’—which is the proper meaning of the word
‘L inga ’—of wood,or stone ; but the wise look upon
this outward emblem as nothing , and contemplate , intheir m inds , the inv isible ,
inscrutable type , which isS iva him self. Whatever may have been the origin of
this form of worship in Ind ia,the notions upon which
it was founded ,accord ing to the impure fancies of
European writers , are not to be traced in even‘
the
Saiva Puranas .
Data for conjecturing the era of this werk are de
fective. But it is more a ritual'
than a Purana ; and thePauranik chapters which it has inserted ,
“
in order to
keep up something of its character,havebeen, evidently,borrowed for the purpose. The incarnations of Siva,
LXX PREFACE
and their ‘pupils ’ , as specified in one place,and the
importance attached to the practice of the Yoga, renderit possible that , under the former
,are intended those
teachers of the Saiva religion who belong to the Yoga
school ,1which seems to have flourished about the
eighth or ninth centuries . It is not likely that the workis earlier : it m ay be considerably later. It has preserved , apparently , some Saiva legends of an earlydate ; but the greater part is ritual and mysticism of
comparatively recent introduction .
1 2 . Varaha Purana.
“That in which the glory of
the great Varaha is predom inant,as it was revealed to
Earth by Vishnu ,in connexion
, wise Munis,with the
Manava Kalpa , and which contains'
twenty-four thou
sand verses, is called the Va1 aha Purana.
”2
It may be doubted if the Varaba Purana of the pre
sent day is here intended . It is narrated by Vishnuas Varaba, or in the boar incarnation, to the person ifiedEarth . Its extent , however , is not half that specified ;l ittle exceed ing ten thousand stanzas . It furnishes, also,itself, ev idence of the prior currency of some other
work, sim ilarly denominated ; as, in the description of
Mathura contained in it,Sumantu
,a Muni
,is made to
observe : “The divineVaraha in former times expoundeda Purana, for the purpose of s olv ing the perplexity of
Earth .
See As iatic Researches , Vol . XVII . p . 1 87.
2 warm s : “ aim s : a
fm mfii fsj m m afia-
«ga inw as: REEF! W EI{if-1 1mm :
See Professor W ilson’
s collective works, Vol . I. , p . 205 .
PREFACE . LXXI
Nor can the Varaba Purana be regarded as a Puranaagreeably to the common definition ; as it contains buta few scattered and brief allusions to the creation of
the world and the reign of kings : it has no detailedgenealogies, either of the patriarchal or regal fam ilies
,
and no account of the reigns of the Manus . L iketheL inga Parana ,
it is a religious manual,almost wholly
occupied with forms of prayer and rules for devotionalObservances , addressed to Vishnu ; interspersed withlegendary illustrations , most of which are peculiar toitself
,though some are taken from the common and
ancient stock . Many of them,rather incompatibly with
the general scope of the compilation,relate to the
o history of S iva and Durga.
1 A considerable portionof the work is devoted to descriptions of variousT irthas , places of Vaishnava pilgrimage ; and one of
Mathura enters into a variety of particulars relating tothe shrines of that city, constituting the MathuraMahatmya .
In the sectarianism of the Varaha Purana there isno leaning to the particular adoration of Krishna ; norare the Rathayatraand Janmashtam i included amongstthe Observances enjo ined . There are other ind icationsof its belonging to an earl ier stage of Vaishnava worship ; and it may , perhaps , be referred to the age of
Ramanuj a, the early part of the twelfth century .
One of these is translated by Colonel Vans Kennedy,the
origin of the three Sak tis or goddesses , Saraswati , Lakshm i , andParvati . Researches into the Nature and Affini ty of Ancien t andH indu Mythology ,
p . 209. T he T ri Sakti Mahatmya occurs as
he gives i t , in my Copy,and is
,so far
,an ind ication of the iden
ti ty of the Varaha Purana in the different MSS .
LXX I I PREFACE .
1 3 . Skanda Purana .
“The Skanda Purana is that in
which the six -faced deity (Skanda ) has related theevents of the Tatpurusha Kalpa
,enlarged
'
with manytales , and subserv ient to the duties taught by Mahes'
wara Is is said to contain eighty- one thou sand one
hundred stanzas : so it is asserted amongst mankind .
It is uniformly agreed that the Skanda Purana,in a
collective form,has no existence ; and the fragments, in
the shape of Sainhitas, Khandas, andMahatmyas, whichare affirmed in various parts of India
,to be portions
of the Purana,present a mu ch more form idable mass
of stanzas than even the immense number of which itis said to consist . T he most celebrated of these portions,in Hindusthan, is the Kas
'
i Khan'
da,a very m inute de
scription of the temples of S iva in or adjacent to Benares
,m ixed with directions for worshipping Mahe
s'
wara,and a great variety of legends explanatory of
its merits and of the hol iness of Kas' i . Many of themare pu erile and uninteresting ; but some are of a highercharacter . The story of Agastya records
,probably
,in
a legendary style ,the propagation of Hindu ism in the
south of India ; and , in the history of -Divodasa ,king
of Kas' i,we have an embellished trad ition of the tem
porary depression of the worship of S iva , even in itsm etropol is , before the ascendancy of the followers of
Buddha.
’ There is every reason to believe the greater
as nfintmfiwfiqm"
i t wage :as: areas an airm a n n“
(arr-f am an d fi mfi fafnw finew art 3 6 1
“
a wri ts! min inT he legend is translated by Colonel Vans Kennedy : Re~
LXXIV PREFACE .
Purana contains six Sa inhitas , five hundred Khandas,and five hundred thousand stanzas ; more than is even
attributed to all the Puranas . He thinks,judging from
internal ev idence , that all the Khandas and Samhitasmay be adm itted to be genuine , though theMahatmyashave rather a questionable appearance. Now,
one kindof internal ev idence is the quantity ; and , as no more
than eighty- one thousand onehundred stanzashave everbeen claimed for it, all in excess above that amountmustbe questionable.Butmany of theKhandas, theKas
'
i
Khanda,for instance , are qu ite as loCal as the Mahat
myas ; being legendary stories relating to the erectionand sanctity of certain temples , or groups of temples,and to certain L ingas ; the interested origin of whichrenders them
,very reasonably
,objects of suspicion .
In the present state of our acquaintance with the re
puted portions of the Skanda Purana, my own v iews oftheir authenticity are so opposed to those entertained byColonelVansKennedy, that, instead of adm itting all theSamhitas and Khandas to be genuine
,I doubt if any
one of them was ever a part of the Skanda Purana .
1 4 . Vamana Purana .
“That in which the four-facedBrahma taught the three objects of existence , as sub
servient to the account of the greatness of Trivikrama,
which treats, also, of the S iva Kalpa, and which consistsof ten thousand stanzas, is called theVamana Purana.
”1
fafiim w www stasis :
faawim mnn awnfift afifnaa u
Emi rai rmen GIT?”mart ini firm 1
But see the end of my third note in p. XXIV ,supra .
J
r Professor W ilson here omitted a word of two syllables—,probably,
PREFACE LXXV
The Vamana Purana contains an account of the
dwarf incarnation of Vishnu : but it is related by Pulastya to Narada ,
and extends to but about seven thousand stanzas . Its contents scarcely establish its claimto the character of a Purana .
1
There is little or no order in the subjects which thiswork recapitulates, and which arise out of repl ies madeby Pulastya to questions put , abruptly and unconnec
tedly ,by Narada. The greater part of them relate to
the worship of the L inga ; a rather strange topic for a
Vaishnava Purana,but engrossing the principal part
of the compilation . They are , h owever , subserv ientto the object of illustrating the sanctity of certain holyplaces ; so that the Vamana Purana is l ittle else thana succession of Mahatmyas . Thus
,in the opening,
almost, of the work occurs the story of Daksha’s sacrifice
,the o bject of which is to send S iva to Papamo
chana T irtha ,at Benares
,where he is released from
the sin of Brahmanicide . Next com es the story of the
burning of Kamadeva,for the purpose of illustrating
the hol iness of a S iva - linga at Kedares'
wara in the
H imalaya,and of Badarikasrama . The larger part of
the work consists of the Saro-mahatmya, or legendaryex emplifications of the holiness of Sthanu T irtha ; that
From the extracts from the Vamana Parana translated byColonel Vans Kennedy
,pp . 293
,et seq.
,i t appears that his copy
so far corresponds wi th m ine ; and the work is,therefore
, pro
bably,the same. Two copies i n the Company ’s l ibrary also agree
wi th m ine.
LXXVI PREFACE .
is , of the sanctity of various L ingas and certain poolsat Thanesar and Kurukhet
,the country north - west
from Delhi . There are some stories , also,relating to
the hol iness of the Godavari river : but the general
site of the legends is in Hindusthan . In the course of
these accounts,we have a long narrative of the mar
riage of S iva with Uma, and the birth of Karttikeya .
T here are a few brief allusions to creation and the
Manwantaras ; but they are merely incidental : and all
the five characteristics of a Purana are deficient . In
noticing the Swarochisha Manwantara,towards the
end of the book ,the elevation of Bali as monarch of
the Daityas , and his subjugation of the universe , thegods included
,are described ; and this leads to the
narration that gives its title to the Purana,the birth
of Krishna as a dwarf, for the purpose of hum iliatingBal i by fraud
,as he was inv incible by force . The story
is told as usual ; but the scene is laid at Kurukshetra .
A m ore m inute exam ination of this work than thatwhich has been given to it , m ight , perhaps , d iscoversom e hint from which to conjecture its date . It is of
am ore tolerant character than thePuranas,and d iv ides
its homage between S iva and Vishnu with tolerableimpartial ity . It is not connected
,therefore , with any
sectarial principles , and may have preceded their introduction . It
'
has not , however , the air of any anti
quity ; and its compilation m ay have amused the leisureof someBrahman ofBenares three or four centuries ago .
1 5 . Knrma Purana .
“That in which Janardana,in
the form of a tortoise , in the regions under the earth,explained the objects of l ife—duty
,wealth ,
pleasure,
and l iberation—in communication with Indradynmna
PREFACE LXXVI I
and the Rishis in the proxim ity of Sakra, which refersto theLakshmi Kalpa, and contains seventeen thou sandstanzas, is the Knrma Purana .
”1
In the first chapter of the Knrma Purana,it gives
an account of itself, which does not exactly agree withthis description . Snta, who is repeating the narration
,
is made to sav to the Rishis : “This most excel lentKaurma Purana is the fifteenth . Sarnhitas are fourfold ,from the variety of the collections: The Brahm i, Bha
gavati , Sauri , and Vaishnav i are well known as the
four Sarnhitas which confer v irtue , wealth ,pleasure,
and liberation . This is theBrahm i Sarnhita,conformable
to the four Vedas ; in which there are six thou sands'
lokas ; and, by it, the importance of the four objects ofl ife
,O great sages
,holy knowledge and Parames
'
wara
is known .
” There is an irreconcilable difference inthis specification of the numb er of stanzas and that
as Wartime-
Tat than“
fl“
( sun'
s-T
{w anes aefirfii : t nm fasfiRagaw mW amrfim a n
{i‘
s'
! ve ganand w as i
stash aren’tgetnfemm
’
when:menmwadi the find ? i t nefifiim :
nae : t if‘
s'
at : 5mmnfim nfi’rfi gr: n{a 3 ste mmenafi
’
és Great“at? assent sham an shamas intras ta te? thi s : a {when i
W renas: 3 1 2m“ firs t : itthe best MSS . of the Kiéi ' flzia -
purana that are at presentcessible to me.
i One of the four 1 . o. L. MSS . of the Matsya-
purana has azfiwr:
LXXVIII PRE FACE
given above . It is not very clear what is meant by a
Sarnhita, as here used . A San'
ihita,as observed above
is something d ifferent from a Purana . It maybe an assemblage of prayers and legends , extracted
,
professedly ,from a Purana
,but is not , u sually, appli
cable to the original . The four Samhitas here specifiedrefer rather to their rel igious character than to theirconnexion with a ny specific work ; and
,in fact
,the
same terms are applied to what are called Samhitasof the Skanda . In this sense , a Purana m ight be also
a Samhita; that is, it m ight be an assemblage of formulae
and legends belonging to a div ision of the Hindu sys
tem ; and the work in question, like the Vishnu Purana,does adopt bo th titles . It says : “This is the excellentKaurma Pnrana , the fifteenth ( of the series) . .And
again : “This is the Brahm i Samhita . At any rate, no
other work has been met with pretending to be the
Knrma Purana .
With regard to the other particulars specified bythe Matsya, traces of them are to be found . Although,in two accounts of the trad itional communication of
the Purana,no mention is made of Vishnu as one of
the teachers, yet Sata repeats, at the outset, a dialogue
between Vishnu ,as the Knrma , and Indradyumna
,at
the time of the churning of the ocean ; and much of
the subsequent narrative is put into the mouth of the
former .
The name, being that of an Avatara of Vishnu, m ight
lead us to expect a Vaishnava work : but it is always,and correctly
,classed with the Saiva Puranas ; the
greater portion of it inculcating the worship of S ivaand Durga. It is divided into two parts , of nearly
PREFACE LXXIX
equal length . In the first part , accounts of the crea
tion,of the Avataras of Vishnu ,
of the solar and
lunar dynasties of the kings to the time of Krishna,of the universe , and of the Manwantaras , are given,in general in a summary manner
,but
,not unfrequently
in the words employed in the Vishnu Purana . With
these are blendedf
hymns add 1 essed to Mahes’
wara byB1 ahma and othel s ; the defeat of Andhakasm a byBhai1 ava ; the 0 1 igin of fou1 Saktis
,Mahes
’
wari , S iva,Sati
,andHaimavati, from S iva ; and othe1 Saiva legends .
One chapte1 gives a m 0 1 e d istinct and connected ac
coun t of the incarnations of S iva, in the present age,
than the L inga ; and it wears, still more,the appearance
of an attempt to identify the teachers of the Yoga
school with personations of their preferential deity .
Several chapters form a Kas' i Mahatmya ,a legend of
Benares . In the second part there are no legends . Itis d ivided into two parts , the Is
’
wara Grita1 and VyasaGrita. In the former , the knowledge of god, that i s, ofS iva
,through contemplative devotion ,
is t .aught In
the latter , the same object 1 s enjoined through wo 1 ks,or observance of the ceremonies and precepts of the
Vedas .
The date of the Knrma Purana cannot be very re
mote ; for it is, avowedly, posterior to the establishmentof the Tantrika. the Sakta, and the Jaina sects . In the
twelfth chapter it is said : “The Bhairava,-Vama,Arhata,
This is also translated by Co lonel Vans Kennedy (Researchesinto the Nature and Affini ty of Ancient and H indu Mythology,Append ix D.
, p . and,in this instance
,as in o ther passages
quoted by him from the Knrma , his MS . and m ine agree .
LXXX PREFACE
and Yamala Sastras are“ intended for delusion . There
is no reason to believe that the Bhairava and YamalaTantras are very ancient works , or that the practicesof the left-hand Saktas
, or the doctrines of Arhat or
Jina, were known in the early centuries of our era .
1 6 . Matsya Purana .
“That in which ,for the sake
of prom ulgating theVedas,Vishnu
,in the beginning
of a Kalpa ,related to Mann the story of Narasimha
and the events of seven Kalpas ; that , O sages , knowto be the Matsya Purana , containing twenty thousandstanzas .
We m ight,it is to be supposed
,adm it the description
which the Matsya gives of itself to be correct ; and yet,as regard s the number of verses , there seems to be a
m isstatement . Three very good copies —one in my
possession , one in the Company’s l ibrary ,and one in
the' Radcliffe l ibrary—concur in all respects , and in
containing no more than between fourteen and fif teenthousand stanzas . In this case the Bhagavata is nearerthe truth
,when it assigns to it fourteen thousand
“
. We
may conclude, therefore, that the read ing of thepassagei s
,in this respect, erroneous
f It is correctly said , that
wfixm fi’maw g
‘
fi ti tan-
en z 1
awrezfi tfa ennu i s ea men fif‘afi l n
Two out of the four I . O . L. MSS . of the Matsya-
parana—see th
last line of the Sanskrit quoted in this page—gfourteen thousand and the others exhibit ev
same reading. That this reading is to be preferred , we have , besidesthe evidence , adduced by Professor W ilson , of the Bhagavata
-
purawa ,
that of the Dcvi-b/tdgavata and Revd-mdlzdtmya .
LXXXI I PREFACE .
dynasties are next described ; and then follow chapterson the duties of d ifferent orders . It is in relating thoseof the householder
,in which the duty of making gifts
to Brahmans is comprehended , that we have the spe
cification of the extent and subjects of the Puranas .
It is meritorious to have copies made of them, and to
give these away on particular occasions . Thus , it issaid , of theMatsya : “Whoever
'
gives it away at eitherequ inox ,
along with a golden fish and a m ilch cow,
gives away the whole earth that is , he reap s a likereward , in his next m igration . Special duties of the
householder—Vratas or occasional acts of piety —arethen described a t considerable length ,
with legendaryillustrations . T he account of the universe is given inthe usual strain . Saiva legends ensue : as the destruction of Tripurasura ; the war of the gods with Tarakaand the Daityas , and the consequent birth of Kartti
keya,with the various circum stances of Uma’s birth
and marriage,the burning of Kamadeva , and other
events involved in that narrative ; the destruction of
the AsurasMayaand Andhaka ; the origin“
of theMatris,and the like ; interspersed with the Vaishnava legendsof the Avataras . Som eMahatmyas are also introduced ;one of which ,
the NarmadaMahatmya , contains some
interesting particulars . There are various chapters on
law and morals , and one which furnishes directionsfor buil ding houses and making images. We then havean account of the kings of future periods ; and the
Purana concludes with a chapter on gifts.
PREFACE . LXXXI II
The Matsya Purana,it will be seen ,
even from thisbrief sketch of its contents , is a m iscellaneous compilation, but includ ing, in its contents, the elements of a
genuine Purana . At the same time,it is of too m ixed
a character to be considered as a genu ine work of the
Pauranik class ; and ,upon exam ining it carefully
,it
may be suspected that it is indebted to various works,not only . for its matter
,but for its words . The genea
logical and historical chapters are much the same as
those of the Vishnu ; and m any chapters , as those on
the P1 t1 1 s and S 1 addhas are precisely the same as thoseof theSrishtiKhanda of thePadmaPu1 ana . It has drawnlargely also from the Mahabharata . Amongst otherinstances , it is sufficient to quote the story of Savitri
,
the devoted wife of Satyavat , which is given in the
Matsya in the same manner,but considerably abridged .
Although a Saiva work,it i s not exclusively so ; and
it has not such sectarial absurd ities as the Knrma and
L inga . It is a composition of considerable interest ;but
, if it has extracted its materials from the Padma,
which it also quotes on one occasion,the specification
of the -Upapuranas,—it is subsequent to that work, and ,
therefore,not very ancient.
1 7 . Garuda Purana .
“That which Vishnu recitedin the Garuda Kalpa
,relating , chiefly , to the birth of
Garuda from Vinata,is here called the Garu '
da Purana ;and in it there are read nineteen thousand verses .
w a m e as? faaama‘
sfiw fl
wtana raa’ifieugm meagre u
W at‘s as
”E “fi rms safe 1
m w m fi fi seems to be the more ordinary reading .
LXXX IV PREFACE
The Garuda Purana which has been the subject ofmy exam ination corresponds in no respect with thisdescription, and is, probably, a d ifferent work
,though
entitled the Garuda Purana. It is identical,however,
with two copies in the Company’s l ibrary . It consistsof no more than about seven thousand stanzas ; it isrepeated by Brahma to Indra ; and it contains no ac
count of the birth of Garuda. There is a brief noticeof the creation ; but the greater part is occupied withthe description of Vratas or religious Observances , of
holydays , of sacred places ded icated to the sun ,and
with prayers from the Tantrika ritual,addressed to
the sun, to S iva, and to Vishnu . It contains,also
,trea
tises on astrology, palmistry, and precious stones,and
one,still more extensive, on medicine . The latter por
tion,cal led the Preta Kalpa, is taken up with directions
for theperformance of obSequial rites . There is nothing,in all this
,to justify the application of the name .
’
Whe
ther a genuine Garuda Purana exists is doubtful . The
description given in the Matsya is less particular than
even the brief notices of the other Puranas,and m ight
have easily been written without any knowledge of
the book itself; being, with exception of the number of
stanzas , confined to circumstances that the title alone
ind icates .
1 8 . Brahmantla Purana . That which has declared,in twelve thousand two hundred verses
,the magnifi
cence of the egg of Brahma, and in which an account
A very popular work which is considered to be a part of the Brahmano
’
la -
purd/ia , is the Adlzydtma- ramdya fia . It has been l i thographed,
with the commentary of Nages'
a Bhatta ,at Bombay. For some account
of it, see Prof. Aufrecht’s Cata log . Cod . Manuscript. &c. , pp. 28 and 29 .
PREFACE . LXXXV
of the future Kalpas is contained , is called the Brahman '
da Purana, and was revealed by Brahma.
”1 ’e
The Brahmanda Purana is usually considered to bein much the same pred icament as the Skanda, no longerprocurable in a collective body
,but represented by a
variety of Khandas and Mahatmyas , professing to bederived from it . The facil ity with which any tractmay be thus attached to the non-existent original
,and
the advantage that has been taken of its absence tocompile a variety of unauthentic fragments, have givento the Brahmanda
,Skanda
,and Padma
,accord ing to
Colonel Wilford , the character of being “ the Puranasof thieves or impostors .
”2 This is not applicable tothe Padma
,which
,as above shown, occurs entire and
the same in various parts of India . The imposition of
which the other two are made the vehicles can deceiveno one ; as the purpose of the particular legend —isalways too obv ious to leave any doubt of its origin .
Copies of what profess to be the entire BrahmandaPurana are sometimes , though rarely
,procurable . I
met with one in two portions , the former containingone hundred and twenty - four chapters , the latter
,
seventy - eight ; and the whole containing about thenumber of stanzas assigned to the Purana . The first
fi t mm wm nfi m mfim : 1
an W W W“
fi lms fanmfima 11
M a mmw vy fi w fam z l
treatm en t?a m were“ 11
2 As . Res .,Vo l . VIII .
,p . 252 .
1' The four I. O. L. MSS . of the Matsya have W P
, not W .
LXXXVI PREFACE .
and largest portion however proved to be the same
as the Vayu Purana,with a passage occasionally
slightly varied , and at the end of each chapter thecommon phrase ‘Iti Brahmanda Purane ’
substitutedfor ‘Iti Vayu Purane
’. I do not think there was any
intended fraud in the substitution . The last sectionof the fir st part of the Vayu Purana is termed theBrahmanda section
,giv ing an account of the d issolution
of the universe : and a careless or ignorant transcriberm ight have taken this for the title of the whole. The
checks to the identity of the work have been honestlypreserved , both in the index and the frequent specification of Vayu as the teacher or narrator of it.The second portion of this Brahmanda is not any
part of the Vayu : it is,probably
,current in the Dakhin
as a Samhita or Khanda. Agastya is represented “
as
going to the city Kanchi (Conjeveram) , where Vishnu ,as Hayagriva , appears to him ,
and in answer to his
inquiries , imparts to him the means of salvation,the
worship of Parasakti . In illustration of the efficacy of
this form of adoration,the main subj ect of the work
is an account of the exploits of LalitaDev i,a form of
Durga, and her destruction of the demon Bhandasnra .
Rules for her worship are also given,which are de
cidedly of a Sakta or Tantrika description ; and thiswork cannot be adm itted , therefore , to be part of a
genu ine Purana.
The Upapuranas , in the few instances which are
known, d iffer l ittle, in extent or subject,from some of
those to which the title of Purana is ascribed . The
Matsya enumerates but four ; but the Dev i Bhagavatahas a more complete l ist
,and specifies eighteen . They
PREFACE .
‘LXXXVI I
are : 1 . The Sanatkumara,2 . Na1 asin
'
1ha 3 . Narad iya,4 . S iva ,
5 . Durvasasa,6 . Kapila
,7 . Manava
,8 . Ansa
nasa,9 . Va1 nna
,1 0 . Kal ika
,1 1 . Samba
,1 2 . Nandi
,
1 3 . Saura , 1 4 . Parasara,1 5 . Ad itya
,1 6 . Mahes
'
wara,
1 7 Bhagavata , 1 8 . Vasishfha . The Matsya observes,of the second , that it is named in the Padma Purana
, i~
and contains eighteen thousand verses . The Nandi itcalls Nanda
,and says , that Karttikeya tells , in it , the
story of Nanda i A rather different l ist is given in theReva Khanda ; or : 1 . Sanatkumara
,2 . Narasimha,
3 . Nanda,4 . Sivadharma
,5 . Daurvasasa
,6 . Bhavishya
related by Narada or Narad iya , 7 . Kapila,8 . Manava
,
9 . Aus'
anasa,1 0 . Brahmanda
,1 1 . Varuna
,1 2 . Kalika,
1 3 . Maheswara,1 4 . Samba
,1 5 . Saura
, 1 6 . Parasara,
1 7 Bhagavata , 1 8 . Kaurma . These authorities,how
ever,are of questionable weight ; hav ing in v iew
,no
doubt,the pretensions of the Devi Bhagavata to be
considered as the authentic Bhagavata .
Of these Upapuranas few are to be procured . Thosein my possession are the S iva
,considered as distinct
from the Vayu , the Kal ika, and,perhaps
,one of the
Narad iyas, as noticed above. I have, also, three of the
For an account of the N arastm/ta-
p uraua , see Prof. Aufrecht ’s Cata log .
Cod . Manuscr ipt , &c. pp . 82 and 83 .
1: In the Reva-maltatmya , it is thus spoken of
was ni x-
fife a gem w ere ? 1
are 31 1 i?w henfl awuawawereewee M anam a 11
W in era merazi
W i
gnerawaw nfid a nitrite 1
Three of the I. . .L copies of the Matsya purana mention ,besides
the N arasmzlza and
0
the Nanda, the Samba and the Adztya ; while one
copy omits the Samba . I t seems that the Oxford MS . omits theAd itya .
See Prof. Aufrecht ’s Cata log. Cod . Manuscr ip t , &c., p. 40 .
LXXXVI II PREFACE .
Skandhas of the Devi Bhagavata,which
,most undoub
tedly , is not the real Bhagavata , supposing that anyPurana so named preceded the work
"
of Bopadeva.
There can be no doubt that in any authentic l ist the
name of Bhagavata does not occur amongst the Upapuranas : it has been put there to prove that there are
two works so entitled, of which the Purana is the Dev iBhagavata , the Upapurana , the Sri Bhagavata . The
true reading should be Bhargava ,*the Purana of
Bhrlgu : and the Dev i Bhagavata is not even an Upa
purana. It is very questionable if the entire work,
which ,as far as it extends , i s em inently a Sakta com
position, ever had existence. j:
The S iva Upapurana contains about six thousandstanzas , distributed into two parts . It is related bySanatkumara toVyasa and theRishis atNaimisharanya ;and its character may bejudged of from the questionsto which it is a reply .
“Teach us said the Rishis,
the rules of worshipping the L inga ,and of the god
of gods adored under that type : describe to us his
various forms , the places sanctified by him ,and the
prayers with which he is to be addressed . In answer,
Sanatkumara repeats the S iva Purana ,containing the
birth of Vishnu and Brahma; the creation and div isionsof the universe ; the origin of all things from the L inga ;the 1 ules of worshipping it and S iva ; the sanctity of
This suggestion is offered by the anonymous author of the Durj anamukka-
padma-
paduka. See Burnouf’
s Bha'
gavata-
purana , V0 1 . I ., Preface,p . LXXVII.j The editor saw, at Benares , abou t twel ve years ago , a manuscript
of the Devi-bluigavata , containing some élolcas . Its owner, a learnedBrahman, maintained that his copy Was complete. To collect its variousparts, he had travelled during many years, and over a large part .of India.
XC PREFACE
Pithasthanas or places where the d ifferent membersof it were scattered
,and where Lingas were
, conse
quently ,erected . A legend follows of the births of
Bhairava and Vetala, whose devotion to d ifferent forms
of Devi furnishes occasion .to describe,in great detail,
the rites and formulae of which her worship consists,includ ing the chapters on sanguinary sacrifices, translated in the Asiatic Researches. Another peculiarityin this work is afforded by very prolix descriptions of
a number of rivers and mountains at Kamarnpa T irtha,
in Assam,and rendered holy ground by the celebrated
temple of Durga in that c ountry ,as Kamakshi or Ka
makshya. It is a singular, and yet uninvestigated, circumstance
,that Assam ,
or,at least , the north-east of
Bengal,seem s to have been ,
in a great degree,the
source from which the Tantrika and Sakta corruptionsof the rel igion of the Vedas and Puranas proceeded .
The specification of the Upapuranas, whilst it names
several of which '
the existence is problematical , om itsother works bearing the same designation ,
which are
sometimes m et with .,Thus, in the collection of Colonel
Mackenzie,1we have a portion of the Bhargava
,and a
Mudgala Purana , which is , probably ,the same with
theGanesaUpapurana, citedby Colonel VansKennedy .
I have , also,a copy of the
‘Ganesa Purana ,
'
l' which
Mackenz ie Col lection,Vol . I.
,pp . 50
,5 1 .
2 Researches into the Nature and Affini ty of Ancient and H induMythology, p . 25 1 .
Vol . V. ,pp . 37 1 , ct scg.
1 For Dr. J . S tevenson’
s“Analysis of the Ganeéa Purana, with special
reference to the History of Buddhism see Journa l of the Royal Asiatic
Society, Vol , VI II ., pp, 3 1 9-329.
PREFACE XCI
seems to agree with that of which he speaks ; the secondportion being entitled the KridaKhanda
,in which the
pastimes of Ganesa , includ ing a variety of legendary
matters, are described . The main subject of the work
is the greatness of Ganes’ a ; and prayers and formulaeappropriate to him are abundantly detailed . It appearsto be a work originating with the Ganapatya sect or
worshippers of Ganes’ a . There is,also
,a m inor Purana
called Adi or ‘first ’, not included in the list . This is a
work ,however
,of no great extent or importance, and
is confined to a detail of the sports of the juvenileKrishna .
From the sketch thus offered of the subjects o f thePuranas
,and which
,although adm itting of correction
,
is bel ieved to be,in the main
,a cand id and accurate
summary,it will be ev ident
,that
,in their present con
d ition, they mustbe received with caution as authoritiesfor the mythological rel igion of the H indus at anyremote period . They preserve, no doubt, many ancientnotions and traditions ; but these have been so muchm ixed up with foreign matter , intended to favour thepopularity of particular forms of worship ,
or articlesof faith , that they cannot be unreservedly recognizedas genu ine representations of what we have reason to
believe the Puranas originally were .
The safest sources,for the ancient legends of the
H indus , after the Vedas , are ,no doubt”
,the two great
poem s,the Ramayana and Mahabharata . The first
offers only a few ; but they are of a prim itive character.
The Mahabharata is more fertile in fiction ; but it ism ore m iscellaneous ; and much that it contains is of
equ ivocal authenticity and‘
uncertain date . Still,it
XCII PREFACE .
afford s many materials that are genuine ; and it is,
evidently,the great fountain from which most
,if not
all,of the Puranas have drawn ; as it intimates , itself,
when it declares, that there is no legend current in theworld which has not its origin in the Mahabharata .
1
A work of some extent,professing to be part of the
Mahabharata,may, more accurately,be ranked with the
Pauranik comp ilations of least authenticity and latestorigin . The Hari Vams'a is chiefly occupied with theadventures of Krishna ; but, as introductory to his era,it records particulars of the creation of the world, andof the patriarchal and regal dynasties . This is donewith much carelessness and inaccuracy of compilation ;as I have had occasion
,frequently , to notice , in the
following pages . The work has been very industriouslytranslated by M . Langlois .
A comparison of the subjects of the following pagesw ith those of the other Puranas will sufficiently show
,
that,of the whole series
,the Vishnu m ost closely con
forms to the defin ition of a Pancha - lakshar'
i a Purana,
or one which treats of five specified topics . It comprehends them all ; and, although it has infused a por
tion of extraneous and sectarial matter,it has done so
with sobriety and with judgment,and has not suffered
the fervour of its religious.zeal to transport it into
very wide dev iations from the prescribed path . The
legendary tales which it has inserted are few,and are
conveniently arranged, so that they do not distract the
W W am afara fan?‘Unconnected wi th this narrative , no story is known upon
earth.
’
Ad i-p arvan, 307.
XCIV PREFACE
which we have Only fragmentary traces in the recordsof other nations .
The course of the elemental creation is,in theVishnu,
as in other Puranas,taken from the sankhya philoso
phy ; but the agency that operates upon passive matteris confusedly exhibited , in consequence of a partialadoption of the il lusory theory of the Vedanta philosophy
,and the prevalence of the Pauranik doctrine of
pantheism . However incompatible with the independent existence of Pradhana or crude matter, and however incongruous wit-h the separate condition of purespirit orPurusha
,it is declared
,repeatedly
,that Vishnu ,
as one with the supreme being,is not only spirit , but
crude matter,and not only the latter
,but all v isible “
substance,and Time. He is Purusha
,
‘spirit’ ; Prad
hana,
‘crude matter ’ ; Vyakta,‘v isible form ’
; and Kala,‘time
’. This cannot but be regarded as a departure
from the prim itive dogmas of the Hindus,in which
the d istinctness of the Deity and his works was enun
ciated ; in which ,upon his willing the world to be , it
was ; and in which his interposition in creation ,held
to be inconsistent with the qu iescence of perfection,
was explained away by the personification of attributesin action ,
which afterwards came to be considered as
real divinities , Brahma, Vishnu ,and S iva , charged,
severally ,for a given season, with the creation , pre
servation, and temporary annihilation of material forms.
These d ivinities are, in the following pages, consistentlywith the tendency of a Vaishnava work declared tobe no other than Vishnu . In Saiva Puranas
,they are,
in l ike manner,identified with S iva ; the Puranas thus
d isplaying and explaining the seeming incompatibility,
PREFACE XCV
of which there are traces in other ancientmythologies,between three distinct hypostases of one superior deity,and the identification of one or other of those hypostases with their common and separate original .After the world has been fitted for the reception of
l iving creatures , it is peopled by the will- engenderedsons of Brahma
,the Prajapatis or patriarchs
,and their
posterity . It would seem as if a prim itive trad ition of
the descent of mankind from seven holy personageshad at first prevailed
,but that , in the course of time
,
it had been expanded into complicated, and not alwaysconsistent , amplification . How cou ld these Rishis or
patriarchs have posterity ? It was necessary to pro
v ide them with wives . In order to account for theirexistence
,the Manu Swayambhuva and his wife Sata
rupa were added to the scheme ; or Brahma becomes
twofold,male and female ; and daughters are then be
gotten, who are married to the Frajapatis. Upon this
basis various legends of Brahma’s double nature, some
,
no doubt, as old as the Vedas, have been constructed .
But,although they may have been derived , in some
degree,from the . authentic tradition of the origin of
mankind from a single pair , yet the circum stances intended to g ive more interest and precision to the storyare
, ev idently, of an allegorical ormystical description,and conduced
,in apparently later times, to a coarseness
of realization which was neither the letter n or spiritof the original legend . Swayambhuva , the son of the .
self- born or uncreated , and his wife Satarupa, thehundred- formed or multiform
,are
,them selves , alle
gories ; and their female descendants, who become the
wives of the Rishis, are Faith ,Devotion ,
Content,In
PREFACE
telligence, Tradition, and the l ike ; whil st, amongst their
posterity ,we have the different phases of the moon
and the sacrificial fires In another creation, the chief
source of creatures is the patriarch Daksha (ab il ity),whose daughters—Virtues, or Passions, or
’
Astronom i
cal Phenomena—are the mothers of all existing things .
These legends , perplexed as they appear to be , seem
to'
admit of allowable solution,in the conjecture that
the Praj apatis and Rishis were real personages , theauthors of the H indu system of social , moral , and
religious obligations , and the first observers of the
heavens, and teachers of astronomical science.
The regal personages of the Swayambhuva Manwan
tara are but few; but they are described,in the outset,
as governing the earth in the dawn of society , and as
introducing agriculture and civ il ization . How muchof their story rests upon a traditional remembrance oftheir actions, it would be useless to conjecture ; althoughthere is no extravagance in supposing that the legendsrelate to a period prior to the ful l establishment
,in
India, of the Brahmanical institutions . The legends of
Dhruva and Prahlada, which are interm ingled with
these particulars , are,in al l probabil ity , ancient ; but
they are ampl ified,in a strain conformable to theVaish
nava purport of this Purana, by doctrines and prayersasserting the identity of Vishnu with the Supreme . Itis clear that the stories do not originate with thisPurana . In that ofPrahlada
,particularly, as hereafter
pointed out,circumstances essential to the complete
ness of the story are only alluded to ,not recounted ;
showing, indisputably, the writer’
s hav ing avail ed himself of some prior authority for his narration.
XCVII I PREFACE .
described in the beginning of the third book, is of muchimportance to the history of Hindu literature and of
the Hindu rel igion . The sage Vyasa'
is here repre
sented , not as the author, but the arranger or compiler,of the Vedas , the Itihasas , and Puranas. His name
denotes his character , meaning the ‘arranger ’ or ‘dis
tributor and the recurrence of many Vyasas , manyind ividuals who new -modelled the Hindu scriptures,has nothing
,in it, that is improbable, except the fabu
lous intervals by which their labours are separated .
The rearranging,the refashioning , of old materials is
nothing more than the progress of time would be likelyto render necessary . The last recognized compil ationis that of Kr1 shr’1 a Dwaipayana , assisted by Brahmans
who were already conversant with the subjects respectively assigned to them . They were the members of
a college,or school, supposed, by the Hindus, to have
flourished in a period more remote ,no doubt , than
the truth, but not at all unl ikely to have been institutedat some time prior to the accounts of Ind ia which weowe to Greek writers , and in which we see enough of
the system to j ustify our inferring that it was then
entire . That there have been other Vyasas and other
schools since that date , that Brahmans unknown to
Mahdbhdm ta , Adi -p arvan, 241 7
W m m rfit m u“ Inasmuch as be arranged the mass of the Vedas, he
c
is styled Vyasa.
Again, that, Adi-p ervan, 4236ina s :m W W :
i513 W fi? W e aThese two passages are referred to in Lassen
’
s Indische A lterthums
kunde, Vol . I. , p . 6 29, note 2 .
See ,further , Origina l S anskr it Texts, Part II . , p. 1 77 , and Part. I II
pp. 20 , cl seq., and p . 1 90 .
PREFACE . XCIX
fame have. remodelled some of the Hindu scriptures,and
,especially, the Puranas, cannot reasonably be con
tested,after d ispassionately weighing the strong inter
nal ev idence,which all of them afford
,of the interm ix
ture of unauthorized and comparatively modern ingred ients . But the same internal testimony furn ishesproof, equally decis ive
,of the anterior existence of
ancient materials ; and it is , therefore , as id le as it isirrational , to d ispute the antiquity or authenticity of
the greater portion of the contents of the Puranas,
in the face of abundant . positive and circumstantialevidence of the prevalence of the doctrines which theyteach, the currency of the -legends which they narrate,and the integrity of the institutions which they describe,at least three centuries before the Christian era . But
the origin and development of their doctrines , trad itions , and institutions were. not the work of a day ;
and the testimony that establishes their existence threecenturies before Christianity, carries it back to a muchmore remote antiquity
,to an antiquity that is, probably,
not surpassed by any of the prevailing fictions , insti~
tutions, or belief, of the ancient world .
The remainder of the third book describes the leading institutions of the Hindus, the duties of castes, theobligations of different stages of life
,and the celebra
tion of obsequial rites , in a short but p i 1 1n 1 t1ve strain,
and in harmony with the laws of Mann . It is a d istinguishing feature of the Vishnu Purana , and it ischaracteristic of its being the work of an earlier periodthan most of the Puranas , that it enjo ins no sectarialor other acts of supererogation ; no Vratas , occasionalself- imposed observances ; no holydays , no birthdays
C PREFACE .
of Krishna, no nights dedicated to Lakshm i ; no sacrifices or modes of worship other than those conformableto the ritual of the Vedas . It contains no Mahatmyasor golden legends, even of the temples in which Vishnuis adored .
J
The fourth book contains all that the Hindus haveof their ancient history . It is a tolerably comprehensivel ist of dynasties and ind ividuals : it is a barren recordof
‘
events . It can scarcely be doubted , however , thatm uch of it is a genu ine chronicle of persons , if not of
occurences . That it is discredited by palpable absurd
ities in regard to the longev ity of the princes of theearl ier dynasties
,must be granted ; and the particulars
preserved of som e of them are triv ial and fabulous.Still
,there is an inartificial simplicity and consistency
in the succession of persons, and a possibility and pro
hability in some of the t ransactions , which give to
these traditions the semblance of authenticity ,and
render it l ikely,that they are not altogether without
foundation . At any rate,inthe absence of all other
sources of information,the record , such as it is , de
serves not to be altogether set aside . It is not essentialto its cred ibility, or its usefulness, that any exact chronological adjustment of the d ifferent reigns shou ld beattempted . Their d istribution amongst the severalYugas
,undertaken by SirWill iam Jones , or his Pan
dits , finds no countenance from the original texts,further than an incidental notice of the age in whicha particular monarch ruled
,or the general fact that
the dynasties prior to Krishna precede the time of the
Great War and the beginning of the Kal i age ; bothwhich events we are not obliged
, with the Hindus , to
CII PREFACE
where precision is impossible , to be satisfied with thegeneral impression ,
that,in the dynasties of kings de
tailed in the Puranas, we have a record Which, althoughit cannot fail to have suffered detriment from age, and
may have been injured by careless or injud icious com
p ilation, preserves an account,not wholly undeserv ing
of confidence , of the establishment and succession of
regular monarchies,amongst the Hindus, from as early
an era,and for as continuous a duration, as any
- in the
cred ible annals of mankind .
The " circum stances that are told of the first princeshave ev ident relation t o the colonization of India
,and
the gradual extension of the authority of new racesover an uninhabited or unciv ilized region . It is commonly adm itted
,that the Brahmanical religion and ci
v ilization were brought into Ind ia from without. 1 ‘Cer
tainly, there are tribes on the borders, and in the heartof the country
,who are still not Hindus ; and passages
in the Ramayana,and Mahabharata
,and Mann ,
and
the uniform traditions of the people them selves,point
to a period when Bengal, Orissa, and the whole of the
Dakhin were inhabited by degraded or outcaste thatis,by barbarous, tribes . The trad itions of the Puranas
chronology .
” T o these may be added the opinion o f Dr. Mill,
who ,for reasons which he has ful ly detai led , identifies the com
mencement of the Kal i age o f the H indus,B . C . 3 1 02
,w i th the
era of the deluge . Christa Sangita, Introd .,supplementary note.
S ir W i l liam Jones on the H indus (A s . Res .
,Vol .
Klapro th,A sia Polyglotta ; Colonel Vans Kennedy , Researches
into the Origin and Affini ty of the Principal Languages o f Asiaand Europe ; A . von Schlegel , Orig ines des Hindous (Transactionsof the Royal Society of Li terature) .
PREFACE CII I
confirm these views : but they lend no assistance tothe determination of the question whence the Hinduscame ; whether from a central Asiatic nation
, as Sir
William Jones supposed,or from the Caucasian m oun
tains , the plains of Babylonia,or the borders of the
Caspian , as conjectured by Klaproth,Vans Kennedy,and Schlegel . The a ffinities of the Sanskrit languageprove a common origin of the now widely scatterednations amongst whose dialects they are traceable
,and
render it unquestionable that they must all have spreadabroad from some centrical spot in that part of the
globe first inhabited by mankind,according to the
inspired record . Whether any ind ication of such an
event be discoverable in the Vedas , remains to be determined ; but it would have been obv iously incompatible with the Pauranik system to have referred theorigin of Indian princes and principal ities to other thannative sources . We need not
,therefore , expect, from
them , any information as to the foreign derivation of
the Hindus .
We have,then
, wholly insufficient means for arrivingat any information concerning the ante-Indian periodof Hindu history
,beyond the general conclusion deri
vahle from the act-nal presence of barbarous and , appa
rently, aboriginal tribes—from the adm itted progressiveextension of Hinduism into parts of India where it d idnot prevail when the code ofMann was compiled—fromthe general use of d ialects in Ind ia, more or less cOp iOus,which are d ifferent from Sanskrit—and from the affi
nities of that language with forms of speech currentin the western world—that a people who spoke Sanskrit, and followed the religion of the Vedas, came into
CIV PREFACE .
Ind ia, in some very d istant age, from land s west of theIndus . Whether the date and circumstances of theirimm igration will ever be ascertained , is extremelydoubtful : but it is not d ifficult to form a plausible outl ine of their early site and progressive colonization .
The earl iest seat of the Hindus , W ithin the confinesof Hindusthan, was
,undoubtedl y,the eastern confines
of the Punjab . The holy land of Manu and the Puranas
l ies between the Dri shadwati and Saraswati rivers,
.
—theGaggar and Sursooty of our barbarous maps . Variousadventures of the first princes and most famous sagesoccur in this v icinity ; and the As
’
ramas or rel igiousdom iciles of several of the latter are placed on the
banks of the Saraswati . Accord ing to some authorities,
it was the abode of Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedasand Puranas ; and , agreeably to another
,when
, on one
occasion,the Vedas had fall en into disuse and been
forgotten, the Brahmans were again instructed in themby saraswata
,the son of Saraswati . 1 O ne of the most
d istinguished of the tribes of the Brahmans is knownas the Saraswata ;
2and the sam e word is employed
,by
Mr. Colebrooke, to denote that modification of Sanskritwhich is termed generally Prakrit, and which ,
in thiscase , he
'
supposes to have been the language of the
Saraswata nation ,
“which occupied the banks of the
river Saraswati .”3 The river itself receives its appella
See Book III Chapter VI .,note ad finem.
9 As . Res .,Vol . V .
,p .
3 Ibid .,Vol .
,VII.
,p . 2 1 9
See my note in p .
1 Miscellaneous E ssays, Vol . II ., p. 1 79 .
1 3nd , Vol . I I ., p .
‘
2 1 .
CVI PREFACE
ture,and rel igion ; partly ,
in all probability,brought
along with them ,and partly devised and fashioned ,
by degrees , for the growing necessities of new con
d itions of society . Those with whom this civ ilizationcommenced would have had ample inducements toprosecute their successful work ; and , in the course of
time, the improvement which germinated on the banksof the Saraswati was extended beyond the borders ofthe Jumna and the Ganges .
We have no satisfactory intimation of the stages bywhich the pol itical organization of the people of UpperInd ia traversed the space between the Saraswati andthe more easterly region
,where it seems to have taken
a concentrated form , and whence it diverged, in variousdirections
,throughout Hindusthan. The Mann of the
present period , Vaivaswata , the son of the Sun ,is re
garded as the founder of Ayodhya; and that city con
tinned to be the capital of the most celebrated branchof his descendants
,the posterity of Ikshwaku . The
Vishnu Purana evidently intends to describe the radiation of conquest or
'
colonization from this spot , in theaccounts it gives of the d ispersion of Vaivaswata
’
s
posterity ; and ,although it is difficult to understand
what could have led early settlers in India to such a
s ite, it is not inconveniently situated as a commandingposition whence em igrations m ight proceed to the
east , the west , and the south . This seems to havehappened . A branch from the hou se of Ikshwaku spreadinto Tirhoot , constituting the Maithila kings ; and theposterity of another of Vaivaswata
’
s sons reigned at
Vaisali, in Southern Tirhoot, or Sarun.
PREFACE . CVI I
The most adventurous em igrations,however, took
place through the lunar dynasty ,which
,as observed
above , originates from the solar ; making,in fact , but
one race and source for the whole . Leav ing out of
consideration the legend of Sudyumna’
s double transformation
,the first prince of Pratisht
'
hana, a city southfrom Ayodhya, was one of Vaivaswata
’
s children,equally with Ikshwaku . The sons of Purnravas
,the
second of this branch , extended , by them selves ,“
or
their posterity, in every direction : to the east,to Kas' i,
Magadha, Benares and Behar ; southwards , to the
Vind hya hills, and, across them ,to Vidarbha or .Berar ;
westwards, along the Narmada,to Kus
'
asthali or Dwa
raka in Gujerat ; and , in a north-westerly d irection, toMathuraand Hastinapura . These movements are veryd istinctly discoverable am idst the circumstances nar
rated in the fourth book of the Vishnu Purana , and
are precisely such as m ight be expected from a radiation of colonies from Ayodhya. Intimations also occurof settlements in Banga
,Kal inga, and the Dakhin : but
they are brief and indistinct,and have the appearance
of additions subsequent to the comprehens ion of thosecountries within the pale of H induism .
Besides these traces of m igration and settlement,several curious circumstances, not likely to be unauthorized inventions , are hinted in these historical traditions . The d istinction of castes was not fully developedprior to the colonization . Of the sons of Vaivaswata,
some,as kings
, were Kshatriyas ; but one founded a
tribe of Brahmans,another became a Val sya , and a
fourth,a Sudra . It is also said , of other princes , that
they established the four castes amongst their sub
CVIII PREFACE .
jects .
1 There are,also
,various notices of Brahmanical
Gotras or fam il ies , proceed ingfrom Kshatriya races ;2
and there are several ind ications of severe strugglesbetween the two ruling castes , not for temporal
, but
for spiritual , dom inion ,the right to teach the Vedas .
This seems to be the especial purport of the inveteratehostilitythat prevailed between theBrahmanVasishtha
and the Kshatriya Vi swam itra,who
,as the) Ramayana
relates , compelled the gods to make him a Brahman
also ,and whose posterity became very celebrated as
the Kaus 1ka Brahm ans . Other legends,again
, such as
Daksha’s sacrifice,denote sectarial Strife ; and the
legend of Paras’
urama reveals a conflict even for temp oral authority
,between the two ruling castes . More
or less weight will be attached to these conjectures,
accord ing to the'
temperament of different inquirers .
But,even whilst fully aware of the facility with which
plausible deductions may cheat the fancy,and l ittle
disposed to relax al l curb upon the imagination,I find
it difficult to regard these legends as wholly unsub
stantial fictions,or devoid of all resemblance to the
realities of the past .After the date of the great war, the Vishnu Purana,
in common with those Puranas which contain sim ilarl ists , specifies kings and dynasties with greater precision
, and offers politiCal and Chronological particularsto which, on the score of probability
,there is nothing
to object. In truth,their general accuracy has been
incontrovertibly established . Inscriptions on columns
See Book IV .
,Chapters VIII. and XVIII .
, &c.
9 See Book IV.,Chapter XIX.
OX PREFACE .
although the passages are numerous that attach div inityto
: his person . There are,however
,no descriptions
,in
the Mahabharata , of his juvenile frolics , of his sportsin Vrindavana, his pastimes with the cow-boys, or evenhis destruction of the Asuras sent to kill him . Thesestories have, all
, a modern complexion ; they do not
harmonize with the tone of the ancient legends,which
is, generally, grave, and , sometimes, majestic . They are
the creations of a puerile taste and grovelling imagination. These chapters of the Vishnu Purana offer some
d ifficulties as to their originality . They are the same
as those on the same subject in the Brahma Purana :
they are not very,
dissim ilar to those of the Bhagavata .
The latter has some incidents which the Vishnu hasnot, and may, therefore , be thought to have improvedupon the prior narrative of the latter. On the otherhand ,
abridgment is equally a proof of posteriority as
amplification . The simpler style of the Vishnu Puranais
, however , . in favour of its priority ; and the m iscellaneous composition of the Brahma Purana renders itlikely to have borrowed these chapters from theVishnu .
The life of Kri shna in the Hari Vamsa and the Brahma
Vaivarta are,ind isputably, of later date.
The last book contains an account of the dissolutionof the world, in both its major and m inor cataclysms ;
and, in the particul ars of the e
‘
nd of al l things by fireand water
,aswell as in the principle of their perpetual
renovation , presents a faithful exhibition of opinionsthat were general in the ancient world .
1 The meta
Dr. Thomas Burnet has col lected the Opinions of the ancientworld on this subject
,tracing them , as he says , “ to the earl iest
PREFACE CXI
physical annihilation of the‘
universe, by the release of
the spirit from bodily existence,offers , as already re
marked , other analogies to doctrines and practices
taught by Pythagoras and Plato ,and by the Platonic
Christians of later days.
The Vishnu Purana has kept very clear of partienlars from which an approximation to its date may be
conjectured . No place is described of whichthe sacredness has any known lim it , nor
‘
any work cited of pro
bable recent composition . The Vedas , the Puranas,other works form ing the body of Sanskrit literature,are named ; and so is the Mahabharata
,to which, there
fore , it is subsequent. Both Bauddhas and Jainas areadverted to . It was
,therefore
, written before the
former had disappeared . But they existed , in some
parts of India , as late as the twelfth century ,at least ;
and it is probable that the Purana was compiled beforethat period . The Gupta kings reigned in the seventhcentury .
*The historical record of the Purana which
mentions them was , therefore , later : and there seems
l ittle doubt that the same alludes to the first incursionsof the Mohammedans , which took place in the eighth
century ; which brings it still lower. In describing thelatter dynasties , some
,if not all
,of which were , no
doubt , contemporary , they are'
described as reigning,
people , and the first appearances of wisdom after the Flood .
”
Sacred Theory of the Earth, Book Chapter III . T he Hinduaccount explains what is imperfect or contrad ictory in ancienttrad i tion ,
as handed down from o ther and less careful ly perpetuated sources .
More recent researches have rendered this conclusion doubtful .
CXI I PREFACE
altogether, one thousand seven hundred and ninety- six
years . Why this duration should have been chosendoes not appear ; unless, in conj unction with the numberof years which are said to have elapsed between theGreat War and the last of the Andhra dynasty ,
whichpreceded these different races
,and which amounted
to two thousand three hundred and fifty,the compiler
was influenced by the actual date at which he wrote .
The aggregate of the two period s would be the Kaliyear 4 1 46, equ ivalent to A . D . 1 045 . There are some
variety and indistinctness in the enumeration of the
periods which compose this total : but the date whichresults from it is not unl ikely to be an approximationto that of the VishnuP urana .
It is the boast of inductive philosophy, that it drawsits conclusions from the careful observation and accu
mulation of facts ; aud i t is, equally, the business of all
philosophical research to determ ine its facts before it
ventures upon speculation . This procedure has not
been observed in the investigation of the mythologyand traditions of the H indus . Impatience to general izehas availed itself greedily of whatever prom ised to
afford materials for generalization ; and the most erroneous v iews have been confidently advocated , be
cause the guides to which their authors trusted wereignorant or insufficient . The
‘information gleaned byS ir William Jones was gathered in an early season of
Sanskrit study ,before the field was cultivated . The
same may be said of the writings of Paolino da S . Bar
tolomeo ,
1 with the further disadvantage of his having
Systema Brahmanicum,&c.
CXIV PREFACE .
m ix ture of truth and error in their conclusions . Theirlabours, accord ingly, are far from entitled to that confidence which their learning and industry would ,
else,have secured ; and a sound and comprehensive surveyof the Hindu system is still wanting to the comparativeanalysis of the rel igious opinions of the ancient world,and to a satisfactory elucidation of an important chapter in the history of the human race .
‘ It is with thehope of supplying some of the necessary means for the
accomplishment of these obj ects,that the following
pages have been translated .
The translation of the Vishnu Parana has been madefrom a collation of various m anuscripts in my possession . I had three
,when I commenced the work ; two
in the Devanagari,and one in the Bengali , character.
A fourth,from the west of India , was given to me by
Major Jerv is, when some progress had been made ;
and,in conducting the latter half of the translation
through the press, I have compared it with three othercopies in the l ibrary of the East Ind ia Company . All
these copies closely agree ; presenting no other d ifferences than occasional varieties of reading ,
owing,chiefly , to the inattention or inaccuracy of the trans
criber. Four of the copies were accompanied by a
commentary, essentially the sam e , although occasion
ally varying, and ascribed
,in part , at least , to two
different scholiasts . The annotations on the first two
books and the fifth are,in two MSS . , said to be the
work of Sridhara Yati , the d isciple of Parananda Nri
hari, and who is, therefore, the same as Sridhara Swa
min, the commentator ou the Bhagavata . In the otherthree books, these two MSS . concur with other two in
PREFACE . CXV
nam ing the commentator Ratnagarbha Bhattacharya,who
,in those two ,
is the. author of the notes on the
entire .work . The introductory verses*of his comment
specify him to be the d isciple of Vidyavachaspati,
the son of Hiranyagarbha , and grandson of Madhava,who composed his commentary by desire of Si ’i ryakara,son of Ratinatha M i sra
, son of Chandrakara, hereditarym inisters of some sovereign who is not particularized .
In the illustrations which are attributed to these different writers , there is so much conform ity
,that one or
other is largely indebted to his predecessor. Theyboth refer to earl ier commentaries . Sridhara cites theworks of Chitsukha Yogin and others , both more ex
tensive and more concise ; between which ,his own,
which he terms Atma orSwa—prakasa, ‘self- illum inator’,
The verses referred to are as follows1“
n m awm m :
W an d W Maged fls
’
u’
ag’
i afim warn Elmsfiqmmt fiq m a : “ Ghana
At the end of Ratnagarbha s commentary we read
m was :7 1 M a xi : "
El l Hf?! castrate?
min W ér-EfaW w : Hagar:
FW‘
Q Fm fi W ar:
CXVI PREFACE
holds an intermediate character .
*Ratnagarbha entitles
his, Vaishnavakuta- chandrika
,
‘the moonl ight of devo
tion to Vishnu .
’The dates of these commentators are
not ascertainable,as far as I am aware , from any of
the particulars which they have specified .
In the notes which I have added to the translationI have been desirous
,chiefly ,
of comparing the statements of the text with those of other Puranas , and
pointing out the circumstances in which they d iffer or
agree ; so as to render the present publication a sort ofconcordance to the whole ; as it is not very probablethat “
many of them will be published or translated .
The Index that follows j‘ has been made sufficientlycopious to answer the purposes of a mythological andhistorical d ictionary
,as far as the Puranas , or the
greater number of them,furnish materials .
In . rendering the text into English ,I have adhered
to it as l iterally as was compatible with some regardto the usages of English composition . In general , theoriginal presents few d ifficulties . The style of the Pu
ranas is , very commonly,humble and easy ; and the
narrative is plainly and unpretend ingly told . In the
addresses to the deities , in the expatiations upon thed ivine nature
,in the descriptions of the universe ,
and
S'
rl'
dhar,a at the opening of his commentary, writes thusfi nfi m fi fw fi mw i fi lfi fi l Ww fiimrW fl wm rfimqzfinfm svmw fiafa aah urn: ‘Sfi‘ifl ‘
ETTFfi am nes ty : mg : 6 6 1 133 1 1
mammal W Tmafia ram s u
if A newand ampl ified Index will be given at the end of the last volume.
B OOK 1 .
CHAPTER I.Invocation . Maitreya inqu ires of his teacher
,Parasara the
origin and nature of the universe . Parasara performs a ri teto destroy the demons : reproved by Vasishtha
,t he desists :
Pu lastya appears,and bestows upon him d ivine knowledge :
he repeats the Vishnu Purana . Vish iiu the origin ,existence,
and end of al l things .
CHAPTER II .Prayer of Parasara to Vishnu . Successive narration of theVishiiu
Furaria . Explanation of Vasudeva : his existence before creation : his first manifestations . Description of Pradhana or the
chief principle of things . Cosmogony . Of Prakri ta or ma
terial creation ; of time ; of the active cause . Development ofeffects ; Mahat ; Ahariikara ; T anmatras ; elements ; objects of
sense ; senses ; of the mundane egg . Vishnu the same as
Brahma “
the creator,Vishnu the preserver , Rudra the de
stroyer.
CHAPTER III .Measure of time . Moments or Kashthas &c. ; day and night ;fortnight, month
,year
,d ivine year : Yugas or ages : Mahayuga
or grea t age : day of Brahma: periods of the Manus : a Man
wantara : night o f Brahma and destruction of the world : a yearof Brahma: his l ife : a Kalpa : a Parardha : the past or PadmaKalpa : the present or Varaba .
CXX CONTENT S .
CHAPTER IV.
Narayaria’
s appearance in the beg inning of the Kalpa,as the
Varaba or boar : Pri thiv i (Earth) addresses him : he raises theworld from beneath the waters : hymned by Sanandana and
the Yogins . The earth floats on the ocean : d ivided into seven
zones. The lower spheres of the universe restored . Creationrenewed.
CHAPTER V.
Vishriu, as Brahma, creates the world . General characteristics of
creation. Brahmamedi tates ,and gives orig in to immovable
things , animals , gods , men. Specific creation of nine k inds :Mahat
,T anmatra ,
Aindriya, inan imate objects,animals, gods,
men,Anugraha ,
. and Kaumara . More parti cular account of
creation. Origin o f d ifferen t orders of beings from Brahma sbody under d ifferent cond i t ions
,and of the Vedas from his
mou ths . A l l things created again as they ex isted in a former
CHAPTER VI .Origin of the four castes : their primi tive state. Progress of
society . D ifferent k inds of grain. Efficacy of sacrifice. Dutiesof men : regions assigned them after death.
CHAPTER VII .Creation continued . Production of the mind-born sons of Brahma;
of the Prajapatis ; of Sanandana and others ; of Rudra and the
eleven Rudras ; of the Mann Swayambhuva‘
and his wife Satarripa; of their chi ldren . The daughters of Daksha ,
and theirmarriage to Dh
'
arma and others . T he progeny of Dharma and
Adharma. The perpetual succession of worlds , and d ifferentmodes of mundane d issolu tion .
CHAPTER VIII .Origin of Rudra : his becom ing e ight Rudras : their wives and
chi ldren . T he posteri ty of Bhrigu . Account of Sri in con
junction wi th Vishxiu . (Sacrifice of Daksha .)
CXXII CONTENT S .
CHAPTER XV .
T he world overrun wi th trees : they are destroyed by the Prachetasas . Soma pacifies them ,
and g ives themMarisha to wife :her story : the daughter of the nymph Pramlocha. Legend
o f Karidu . Marisha s former history . Daksha the son of the
Prachetasas : his d ifferent characters : his sons : his daughters :theirmarriages and progeny al lus ion toPrahlada
,hi s descendant.
CHAPTER XVI .
Inqu iries of Mai treya respecting the history of Prahlada .
CHAPTER XVII .Legend of Prahlada . H iranyakaSIpu the sovere ign of the universe :
the gods d ispersed , or in servi tude to him : Prahlada,his son
,
rema ins devo ted toVishnu : questioned by his father, he praisesVishriu : H irariyakaSIpu orders him to be put to death ,
but in
va in : his repeated del iverance : he teaches his companions toadore Vishnu .
CHAPTER XVIII .H iranyakaSIpu
’
s rei terated attempts to destroy his son : their beingalways frustrated .
CHAPTER XIX.
D ialogue between Prahlada and his father : he is cas t from the
top of the palace unhurt : baffles the incantations of Sambara :
he is thrown,fettered
,into the sea : he praises Vishnu .
CHAPTER XX .
Vish iiu appears to Prahlada . H irariyakasxpu relents,and is re
conciled to his son : he is put .to death by Vishnu as the Nri
simha . Prahlada becomes k ing of the Daityas : his posteri ty :fru i t of hearing his story .
CHAPTER XXI.
Fam i l ies of the Daityas . Descendants of Kas'yapa by Danu .
Chi ldren o f Kas'yapa by his o ther wives . B irth of the Marutas,
the sons of D i ti .
CONTENT S . CXXIII
CHAPTER XXII .
Dom inion over d ifferent provinces of creation ass igned to d iff erentbeings . Universal i ty of V ishriu . Four varieties o f spiri tualcontemplation . Two cond i tions o f spiri t . T he perceptibleattributes of Vishnu types of his imperceptible properties .
Vishnu everything . Meri t of hearing the first book of the
Vishriu Parana.
B O OK II .
CHAPTER I .Descendants of Priyavrata, the e ldest son of Swayambhuva Mann :
his ten sons : three adopt a rel igious l ife ; the o thers becomek ings o f the seven Dwipas or isles o f the earth . Agnidhra ,k ing of Jambu - dwipa ,
d iv ides i t into n ine portions,wh ich he
d istribu tes amongst his sons . Nabhi , k ing of the sou th,suc
ceeded by Rishabha , and he,by Bharata : Ind ia named
,after
him,Bhara ta : his descendants reign during the Swayambhuva
Manwantara .
CHAPTER II.Description of the earth. T he seven Dwipas and seven seas .
Jambu- dwipa . Mount Meru : i ts extent and boundaries . Extentof Ilavri ta . Groves
,lakes
,and branches of Meru . C i ties o f the
gods . R ivers . The forms of Vishnu worshipped in d ifferentVarshas .
CHAPTER III.Description of Bharata - varsha : extent : chief mountains : nined iv isions : principal rivers and mountains -of Bharata proper :principal nations : superiori ty over o ther Varshas
,especi ally
as the seat of rel ig ious acts .
‘
(Topographical l ists .)
CHAPTER IV.
Account o f kings, d ivisions , mountains,rivers, and inhabitants o f
the other Plaksha,
"Salmala
,Kus'a
,Krauncha, Saka ,
CXXIV CONTENT S .
and Pushkara : of the oceans separa ting them : of the tides : ofthe confines o f the earth : the Lokaloka mountain. .Extent ofthe whole .
CHAPTER V.
Of the seven regions of Patala, below the earth. Narada’
s praisesof Patala . Account of the serpent “
Sesha . First teacher of
astronomy and astrology .
CHAPTER VI .
Of the d ifferent hel ls, or d ivis ions of Naraka below Patala : thecrimes punished in them
,reSpectively : efficacy o f expiation :
med i tation on Vishriu the most effective expiation .
CHAPTER VII.Ex tent and si tuation of the seven spheres
,viz . earth
,sky, planets
Mahar- loka,Jana - loka
,Tapo- loka ,
and Satya - loka . Of the
egg of Brahma,and its elementary envelopes . Of the influence
of the energy of Vishnu .
CHAPTER VIII .
Description of the sun : his chariot ; its two ax les : his horses.
The ci ties of the regents of the card inal points . The sun’
s
course : nature of his rays : his path along the ecl iptic . Lengthof day and night. D ivisions of time : equ inoxes and solstices
,
months , years , the cycl ical Yuga or age of five years . Northernand sou thern decl inations. Saints on the Lokaloka mountain.
Celes tial paths of the P i tris, gods, Vishriu . Origin of Ganga,
and separation, on the top of Meru,into four great rivers.
CHAPTER IX .
Planetary system,under the type of a Sl sumara or porpo ise. The
earth nourished by the sun. Of rain whils t the sun shines .
Of rain from clouds . Ra in the support of vegetation ,and
,
thence,of animal l ife. Narayaria the support of al l beings.
CXXVI CONTENT S .
CHAPTER XVI .Ribhu returns to his d isciple
,and perfects him in d ivine knowledge.
T he same recommended to the Raja,by Bhara ta
, w'
ho,there
upon,obta ins final l iberation. Consequences of hearing this legend .
BO OK 1 1 1 .
CHAPTER I .
A ccount of the several Manus and Manwantaras. Swarochisha
the second Manu : the d ivi ni ties,the Indra
,the seven Rishis ,
o f his period,and his sons . S imi lar detai ls of Auttami
,Tamasa
,
Raivata,Chakshusha
,and Vaivaswata . T he forms o f Vishnu ,
as the preserver,in each Manwantara . T he meaning of Vislniu .
CHAPTER II .Of the seven fu ture Manus and Manwantaras. Story of Sanjna and
Chhaya,'
wives of the sun . Savarm,son of Chhaya, the eighth
Manu . H is successors, w i th the d ivini ties , &c. of their respec
tive periods . Appearance of Vishriu in each of the four Yugas .
CHAPTER III.D ivis ion of the Veda into four portions
,by a Vyasa ,
in everyDwapara age . List of the twenty- eight Vyasas o f the presentManwantara . Meaning of the word Brahma .
CHAPTER IV.
D ivis ion of the Veda,in the las t Dwapara age ,
by the Vyasa
Kr1 shria Dwaipayana . Pai la made reader of the Rich ; Va i sampayana
,of the Yajus ; J aimini , of the Saman ; and Sumantu ,
of the A tharvan. S li ta appo inted to teach the histori cal poems .
Origin of the four parts of the Veda . Samhi tas of the Rig-veda.
CHAPTER V.
D ivi sions of the Yajur-veda . S tory of Yajnavalkya : forced tog ive up what he has learned : picked up by others , form ingthe T aittiriya
-
yajus. Yajnavalkya worships the sun,
communi cates to him the Vaj asaneyi-
yajus .
CONTENT S . CXXVI I
CHAPTER VI .
D ivisions of the Sama-veda : of the Atharva - veda . Four PauraiiikSamhi tas . Names of the eighteen Puranas . Branches of knowledge . Classes of Rishis .
CHAPTER VII.By what means men are exempted from the au thori ty o f Yama
,
as narrated by Bhishma to Naku la . D ialogue between Yama
and one of his attendants . VVorshippers of Vishnu not subjectto Yama . How they are to be known .
CHAPTER VIII .How V ishiiu is to be worsh ipped , as re lated by Aurva to Sagara .
Duties o f the four castes,several ly and in common : a lso in
time of d istress .
CHAPTER IX .
Duties of the rel igious student , householder, hermi t, and mend icant .
CHAPTER X .
Ceremonies to be observed at the birth and nam ing of a chi ld .
O f marrying , or lead ing a rel igious l i fe . Choi ce of a wife .
D ifferent modes of marrying .
CHAPTER XI .
O f the Sadacharas or perpetual obligations of a househo lder.
Da i ly purifications , ablu tions,l ibations
,and obla tions : hospi
tal i ty : obsequ ial ri tes : ceremon ies to beI
observed at meals,at
morning and evening worship,and on going to res t.
CHAPTER XII.Miscellaneous obl igations, purificatory , ceremonial , and moral .
CHAPTER XIII .
O f Sraddhas or ri tes in honour of ancestors,to be performed on
occasions o f rejo i cing. Obsequ ial ceremonies . O f the E kod
d ishta or monthly Sraddha,and the Sapm dana or annual one
By whom to be performed .
CXXVIII CONTENT S .
CHAPTER XIV .
Of occas ional Sraddhas or obsequ ial ceremonies : when most efficacious , and at what places .
CHAPTER XV.
What Brahmans are to be entertained at Sr .addh’
as D ifferentprayei s to be reci ted . Offerings o f food to be presented todeceased ances tors .
CHAPTER XVI .
Things proper to be offered,as food
,to deceased ancestors : pro
hibited things . Circumstances v i tiating a Sraddha : how to be
avo ided . Song of the Pi tr’ is or progeni tors , heard by Ikshwaku .
CHAPTER XVII .O f heretics, or those who reject the authori ty of the Vedas : their
origin ,as described by Vasishtha to Bhishma : the gods ,
de
feated by the Daityas , praise Vishnu : an i llusory be ing ,or
Buddha,produced from his body.
CHAPTER XVIIIBuddha goes to the earth and teaches the Daityas to contemn
the Vedas : his sceptical doctrines : his prohibi tion of animalsacrifices . Meaning of the term Bauddha. Jainas and Bauddhastheir tenets . The Daityas lose their power, and m e overcomeby the gods . Meaning of the te1 m Nagna . Consequences of
neglect of du ty. S tory of Satadhanu and his wife Saivya.
Commun ion wi th heretics to be shunned .
B O OK Iv.
CHAPTER I .Dynasties of k ings . Origin of the solar dynasty from Brahma.
Sons of the Mann Vaivaswata . Transformations of Ila or
Sudyumna . Descendants of the sons of Vaivaswat : those of
N edishta . Greatness of Marutta. Kings of Vais'
al i . Descen
dants of Saryati . Legend o f Raivata : his daughter Revati
married to Balarama.
CXXX CONT ENT S .
CHAPTER VII.Sons of Pururavas . Descendants of Amavasu . Indra born as
Gadhi . Legend of Richika and Satyavati . B ir th of Jamadagni
and V i swamitra . Paras'
urama the son of the former. (Legendof Paras
'
urama.) Sunalis'
epha and others,the sons of V is
'
wa
m i tra,form ing the Kau SIka race.
CHAPTER VIII .Sons of Ayus . Line -
of Kshatravrl ddha,or k ings of Kasi . Former
birth of Dhanwantari . Various names of Pratardana . Greatness of A larka.
CHAPTER IX .
Descendants of Raj l , son of Ayus : Indra resigns- his throne to
him : claimed,after his dea th
,by his sons
,who apostati ze from
the rel ig ion of theVedas,and are destroyed by Indra . Descend
ants of Pratikshatra, son of Kshatravfiddha .
CHAPTER X .
T he sons of N ahusha . T he sons of Yayati : he is cursed by Sukra :wishes his sons to exchange their v igour for his infirmi ties .
Pdru alone consents . Yayati restores him his you th : d ividesthe earth amongst his sons
,under the supremacy of Ptiru .
CHAPTER XI .T he Yadava race , or descendants of Yadu . Karttavirya obtains
a boon from Dattatreya : takes Ravafia prisoner : is k il led byParaéurama : his descendants .
CHAPTER XII.
Descendants of Kroshtri . Jyamagha’
s connubial affection for hiswife Saivya: their descendants k ings of Vidarbha and Ched i .
CHAPTER XIII .
Sons of Sattwata . Bhoja princes of Mrittikavati . S lirya the friendof Satraj i t : appears to him in a bod ily form : g ives him the
Syamantaka gem : i ts bri ll iance and marvel lous properties .
CONTENT S . CXXX I
Satraj it g ives i t to Prasena , who is k i l led by a l ion : the l ionk i l led by the bear Jambavat. Kr1 shna , suspected of k i ll ingPrasena , goes to look for him in the forests : traces the bearto his cave : fights wi th him for the jewel : the contest prolonged : supposed , by his companions , to be slain : heoverthrowsJambavat and marries his daughter J ambavati : returns
, wi thher and the j ewel
,to Dwaraka: restores the j ewel to Satraj it
and marries his daughter Satyabhama. Satraj it murdered bySatadhanwan : avenged by Kr1 shna . Quarrel between Krishriaand Bala
irama. Akrli ra possessed o f the j ewel : leaves Dwaraka.
Public calam i ties . Meeting of the Yadavas. S tory of Akrlira’
s
birth : he is inv i ted to return : accused , by Kr1 shna ,of having
the Syamantaka j ewel : produces i t in ful l assembly : i t remainsin his charge : Krishr
'
l a acqu i tted of having purloined i t.
CHAPTER XIV.
Descendants of Sini , of Anamitra , of Swaphalka and Chitraka,of
Andhaka . T he chi ldren of Devaka and Ugrasena . The des
cendants o f Bhajamana . Children of Sara : his son Vasudeva :his daughter Pritha married to Pandu : her chi ldren
,Yudhish
thira and his brothers ; also Karria,by Ad i tya . T he sons of
Pandu by Madri . Husbands and chi ldren of Sara’s o therdaughters . Previous birthsof Sl supala.
CHAPTER XV .
Explanation o f the reason why Sl supala , in his previous birthsas H irar
’
l yakas1pu and Ravaria , was not identified wi th Vishnu,
on being sla in by him,and was so identified , when k i lled as
Sis'
upala. T he wives of Vasudeva : his chi ldren : Balaramaand Kr1 sh1ia his sons by Devak i : born
,apparently
,of Rohiri l
'
and Yas’
oda. T he wives and children of Krl shr'
l a. Mul ti tude of
the descendants of Yadu.
CHAPTER XVI.Descendants of T urvasu .
CHAPTER XVII.Descendants of Druhyu .
CXXXI I CONTENT S .
CHAPTER XVIII .Descendants of Anu . Countries and towns named after some of
them,as Anga , Banga, and o thers.
CHAPTER XIX .
Descendants of Pliru . B irth of Bharata,the son of Dushyanta
his sons k i lled : adoptsBharadwaj a or Vitatha . Hastin,founder
o f Hastinapura . Sons of Ajamidha , and the races derived fromthem ,
as Panchalas , &c . Krlpa and Krlpi found by Santanu .
Descendants of Riksha,the son of Ajamidha . Kurukshetra
named from Kuru . Jarasandha and o thers,ki ngs of Magadha.
CHAPTER XX .
Descendants of Kuru . Devapi abd icates the throne : assumed bySantanu : he i s confirmed by the Brahmans : Bhishma his son
by Ganga: his o ther sons . B irth of Dhri tarasht'
ra,Pandu
,
and V idura . T he hundred sons of Dhrl tarashtra . The five
sons of Pandu : married to Draupad i : their posteri ty . Parikshit
,the grandson of Arjuna
,the reigning king.
CHAPTER XXI .
Fu ture k ings. Descendants of Parikshit,end ing wi th Kshemaka.
CHAPTER XXII .Fu ture k ings of the fami ly of Ikshwaku ,
end ing wi th Sumitra.
CHAPTER XXIII .Future k ings of Magadha, descendants of Br1 hadratha.
CHAPTER XXIV .
Fu ture k ings of Magadha. F ive princes of the l ine of Pradyota .
T en Sais’
unagas. Nine Nandas . T en Mauryas . T en Sungas .
Four Kariwas . Thirty Andhrabhmtyas . Kings of various tribesand castes
,and periods of their ru le . Ascendancy of barbarians.
D ifferen t races in d ifferent regions . Period of universal iniqu i tyand decay . Coming o f Vishnu as Kalk i . Destruction of the
wicked , and restoration of the practices of the Vedas . End
CXXX IV CONTENT S .
CHAPTER VIII.T he demon Dhcnuka destroyed by Rama .
CHAPTER IX .
Sports of the boys in the forest. Pralamba the’ Asura comes
amongst them : is destroyed by Rama, at the command of
Kr1 shria .
CHAPTER X .
Description of au tumn. Kr1 shr’
1 a d issuades Nanda from worshipping Indra : recommends him and the C opas to worship cattleand the mountains .
CHAPTER XI.Indra
,offended by
'
the loss of his offerings , causes heavy ra insto deluge Gokula . Kri shna holds up the mountain Govardhana
to shel ter the cowherds and their cattle.
CHAPTER XII.Indra comes to Gokula : praises Krishria
,and makes him prince
over the cattle . Kr1 sh1’
1 a promises to befriend Arjuna .
CHAPTER XIII .Kri shna praised by the cowherds : his sports w i th the Gopis :their imi tation and love of him . T he Rasa dance .
CHAPTER XIV.
Kr1 sh1'
1 a k i l ls the demon Arishfa, in the form of a bu ll .
CHAPTERXV .
Kamsa informed by Narada of the existence o f Kr1 shna. and
Balarama : he sends Kesm to destroy them,and Akrtira
,to
bring them to Mathura.
CHAPTER XVI.Kesm in the form of a horse , slain by Kr1 sh1
'
1 a : he is praised
CONTENT S . CXXXV
CHAPTER XVII .Akrlira
’
s med i tation on Kfishna : his arrival at Gokula : his del ightat seeing Kfishria and his brother.
CHAPTER XVIII .Grief o f the Gop is on the departure of Kr1 shr
'
1 a and Balarama
wi th Akrtira : their leaving Goku la . Akrtira bathes in the
Yamuna; beho lds the d ivine forms of the two you ths , and
praises Vishi 'l u .
CHAPTER XIX .
Akriira conveys Kr1 sh 1’
1 a and Rama near to Mathura,and leaves
them : they enter the town . Insolence of Kamsa’s washerman :
Kr1 sh 1ia k i l ls him . C ivi l i ty of a flower-sel ler : Kr1 sh 1’
1 a giveshim his bened iction.
CHAPTER XX .
Kr1 shr’
1 a and Balarama meet Kubj a ; she i s made straight by theformer : they proceed to the palace . Kri shna breaks a bow
intended for a trial of arms . Kamsa ’s orders to his servants .
Publ ic games . Kri shna and his'
bro ther enter the arena : the
former wrestles wi th Chandra, the la tter, wi th Mushtika,the
k ing ’
s wrestlers ; who are both ki lled . Krl shria a ttacks and
slays Kamsa : he and Ba larama do homage to Vasudeva and
Devak i : the former praises Kr1 shr'
1 a.
CHAPTER XXI.
Krishria encourages his parents ; places Ugrasena on the throne ;becomes the pupil of Sandipani , whose son he recovers fromthe sea : he k i lls the marine demo-n Panchajana ,
and makes a
horn of his shel l .
CHAPTER XXII .
J arasandha besieges Mathura; is defeated , but repeated ly renews
the at tack .
CXXXVI CONTENT S .
CHAPTER XXIII.Birth of Kalayavana : he advances against Mathura. Kr1 shr
'
1 a
bu ilds Dwaraka, and sends thi ther the Yadava tribe : he leadsKalayavana into the cave of Muchukunda : the latter awakes
,
consumes the Yavana k ing, and praises Krishria
CHAPTER XXIV .
Muchukunda goes to perform penance . Kr1 sh1'
1 a takes the armyand treasures ofKalayavana, and repa irs ,w i th them,
toDwaraka.
Balarama visi tsVraja : inqu iries of its inhabi tants after K l‘l I
'
l a .
CHAPTER XXV .
Balarama finds wine in the hol low of a tree ; becomes inebriated ;commands the “ Yamuna to come to him
,and
,on her refusal ,
drags her out of her course : Lakshm i gives him ornamentsand a dress : he returns to Dwaraka and marries Revati .
CHAPTER XXVI .Kr1 shr
'
1 a carries off Rukmir'
n'
: the princes who come to rescue herrepulsed by Balarama . Rukmin overthrown ,
but,spared by
Kr1 shna,founds Bhojakata . Pradyumna born of Rukmi i i i .
CHAPTER XXVII.Pradyumna stolen by Sambara ; thrown into the sea, and swal lowedby a fish ; found by Mayadevi : he k il ls Sambara ,
marriesMayadevi , and returns
,wi th her
,to Dwaraka. J oy of Rukminr
and Krishria .
CHAPTER XXVIII.W ives of Kri shna . Pradyumna has Aniruddha : nuptials of the
latter. Balarama ,beat at d ice
,becomes incensed , and slays
Rukmin and others .
CHAPTER XXIX .
Indra comes to Dwaraka, and reports to Kr1 shr'
1 a the tyranny of
Naraka . Kri shna goes to his ci ty,and pu ts him to death.
Earth g ives the earrings of Ad i ti to Kr1 sh1'
1 a,and praises him.
CXXXVIII CONT ENT S .
l iberation : i t is refused : in his wrath,he drags the ci ty towards
him,to throw i t into the river . T he Kuru chiefs g ive up
samba and his w ife .
CHAPTER XXXVI .
T he Asura Dwivida, in the form of an ape, destroyed by Balarama .
CHAPTER XXXVII .
Destruction of the Yadavas . Samba and o thers deceive and ridicu le the Rish is . The former bears an iron pestle : i t is broken ,
and thrown into the sea . T he Yadavas go to Prabhasa , bydesire of Kn shfia : they quarrel and fight, and al l perish . T he
great serpent Sesha issues from the mou th of Rama . Kri shna
is sho t by a hunter , and aga in becomes one w i th universal
CHAPTER XXXVIII .
Arjuna comes to Dwaraka,and burns the dead
,and takes away
the surviv ing inhabi tants . Commencement'
of the Kal i age .
Shepherds and thieves a ttack A rjuna, and carry off the women
and weal th . Arjuna regrets the loss of hi s prowess to Vyasa ;
who consoles him ,a nd tel ls him the story of A shtavakra
’
s
curs ing the Apsarasas . Arjuna and his brothers place Parik shit on the throne ,
and go to the forests . E nd of the fifthbook .
BOOK VI .
CHAPTER I .
Of the d isso lu tion of the world : the four ages : the decl ine of al l
things, and deterioration of mank ind , in the Kal i age .
CHAPTER II .Redeem ing properties of the Kal i age . Devo tion to V ishriu suf
ficient to salvation,in that age, for al l castes . and persons .
CONTENT S . CXXXIX
CHAPTER III .
Three d iff erent k inds of d isso lu tion . Duration of a Parardha .
T he clepsydra or vesse l for measuring time . T he d isso lutionthat occurs at the end of a day o f Brahma.
CHAPTER IV.
Continua tion of the account of the first k ind of d isso lu tion . Of
the second k ind , or e lemental d isso lu tion ; of al l being resolvedinto primary spiri t .
CHAPTER V.
The third k ind of d isso lu tion,or fina l l iberation from existence .
Evi ls of worldly life. Sufferings in infancy , manhood,old age .
Pains of hell . Imperfect fel ici ty o f heaven . Exemption frombirth des irable by the w ise. T he nature of spiri t or god .
Meaning of the terms Bhagavat and Vasudeva .
CHAPT ER VI .Means of atta in ing l ibera tion . Anecdotes of Khandikya and
Kemdhwaja . T he former ins tru cts the latter how to atone forperm i tting the dea th of a cow . KeSIdhwaja offers
“
him a re
quital , and he d esires to be instru cted in spiri tua l know ledge.
CHAPTER VII .KeSIdhwaja describes the nature of ignorance , and the benefits
of the Yoga or contempla tive devotion . Of the nov i ce and
the adept in the performance of the Yoga . How i t i s performed . T he first stage ,
proficiency in acts -of res tra int andm oral du ty : the second
,parti cu lar mode of si tting : the th ird ,
Prariayama,modes of breathing : the fourth ,
Pratyahara ,res
traint of thought : the fifth,apprehens ion of spiri t : the sixth ,
retention of the idea . Med i ta tion on the ind ividual and uni
versal forms of Vishnu . Acqu irement of knowledge . F inall iberation
CXL CONT ENT S .
CHAPTER VIII.Conclus ion of the dialogue between Parasara and Ma i treya . Rea
capitulation of the con tents of the Vishr'
l u Purana ; meri t of
hearing i t : how handed down . Praises of Vishr'
l u .
ding prayer.
2 vrsnr'
tu PURANA .
glory be to thee , Hrl shikes’
a,Mahapurusha and Par
vaja .
1
Accord ing to the same au thori ty,one of the mystical imports of
the term is the collective enunciation o f Vishnu,expressed by A ;
of Sri , his bride ,intima ted by U ; and of the ir jo int worshipper,
designa ted by M . A whole chapter of the Vayu Puraria i s devo ted to this term . A text of the Vedas i s there ci ted : fi n
a“ ? w ‘Om,the monosyllable Brahma ’
; the lattermeaning e i ther the supreme being ,
0 1: the Vedas col lective ly ,
o f
whi ch thi s monosyllable is the type . It is also said to typifythe three Spheres of the world
,the three holy fires
,the three
steps of Vishnu,&c
W EIR-
mit 3m sham ? sum :
Frequent med i tation upon i t and repeti tion of i t ensure releasefrom worldly existence :
range? we: “ fi remanW W W EW W W E
‘
ITV n
Ran a-
agree : Rat
-
azure“ : t
w e finju w fu'
q
‘
M a rian : It
See,al so
,Manu
,II .
,76 . Vasudeva
,a name of Vishnu or Kri shria
,
is , accord ing to i ts grammatical etymology , a patronym i c derivative implying son of Vasudeva . T he Vaishnava Puranashowever
,dev ise o ther explanations . See the next chapter
,and
,
again ,b . VI 0 . 5 .
In this stanza occurs a series o f the appel lations o f Vishnu :1 . Puridarikaksha having eyes l ike a lotos , or
heart-pervad ing : or Pur'
ldarika is explained supreme glory ,and
Aksha,imperishable . T he first is the most usual etymon . 2 . Vi
s'
wabhavana ( faw afi ) , the creator of the universe,or the
cause of the existence of al l things . 3. H rl shikes'
a (M ) ,
This verse is also found in the Mdrkafid’eya-
p um na , XML, 8 ; p . 24 1 of
the edition in the Bibliotkeca Indica .
BOOK I.,CHAP . I. 3.
May that Vishnu ,who is the existent
,imperishable
'
Brahma ; who is Is'
wara ;1who is spirit 5
2who, with the
three qualities,
3 is the cause of creation,preservation
,
and destruction ; who is the parent of nature, intell ect,
lord of the senses . 4 . Mahapurusha great or su
preme spiri t ; Purusha meaning that which abides or is qu iescentin body (puri s
'
ete) . 5 . P1'
1 rvaj a produced or appearingbefore creation ; the OIphic fl QCUTO/OI OQ. In the fifth book
,
c. 1 8,Vishr
'
1 u is described by five appellations whi ch are con
sidered analogous to these , 0 1 : 1 . Bh1i tatman (1 1mm ) , one wi thcreated things, or Puridarikaksha ; 2 . Pradhanatman (m m ) ,one w i th crude nature
,or V 1 swabhavana ; 3 . Indriyatman (f r
—c;
m ), one wi th the senses,or Hrishikes
'
a ; 4 . Paramatman (t itW ) : supreme Spiri t
,or Mahapurusha ; and Atman (w ),
sou l , l iving sou l, animating nature and existing before i t , or
Plirvaja .
Brahma (W EI) : in the neu ter form,is abstract supreme
Spiri t , and Iswara (W ) is the dei ty in his active nature,
he who is able to do or leave undone,or to do anything In any
o ther manner that that in which i t is done“
:
0
m : I
2 Pun'
ns (Era ) , whi ch is the same wi th Purusha,incor
porated Spiri t . By this,and the two preced ing terms
,also
,the
commentator understands the text to signify ,that Vishnu is any
form of spiri tual being that i s acknowl edged by d ifferent phi losoph ical systems ; or that he is the . Brahma of the Vedanta
,
the Is'
wara of the Patanjala ,and the Purusha of the sankhya
7
school .3 The three qual i ties
,to which we shal l have further occasion
to advert,
are : Sattwa (W ) , goodness or puri ty,knowledge,
In theMahabharata , Udyoga-
p arvan, 2 564 and 2567 , Pu1idar1'
kaksha
and Hfishl'
kes'
a are explained to a“
very different purport . The stanzasare quoted and translated in Mal t s Original Sanskrit Tex ts , Part IV. ,
pp . 1 82 and 1 83 .
4 V ISHNU PURARA .
and the other ingredients of the universe ;1 be to us
the bestower of understanding,
-wealth ,and final
emancipation .
Hav ing adored Vishr’1 u,
2the lord of all and paid
qu iescence ; Rajas (W E ), foulness, passion , activi ty ; and Tamas(m ) , darkness , ignorance ,
inertia .
Pradhanabuddhyad lj agatprapanchasdli (m ‘
Hafiz) . This pred icate o f the dei ty d istinguishes most of thePuranas from several of the phi losophical sys tems
,which main
tain , as did the earl iest Grecian systems of cosmogony , the
eternal and independent existence of the first principle of th ings ,as nature
,matter
,or chaos . Accord ingly, the commentator no
tices the objection. Pradhana. being w i thout beginning ,i t is
said,How can V ishriu be its parent ? T o which he repl ies
,that
this is not so ; for ,in a period of world ly destruction (Pralaya),
when the creator desists from creating ,nothing is generated by
virtue of any o ther energy or parent . Or,if this be no t satis
factory,then the text may be understood to imply tha t intel lect
(Buddhi) , &c.
,are formed through the material i ty of crude nature
or Pradhana .
2 Vishr'
l u is commonly derived,in the Puranas
,from the root
V l s (fag ) , to enter ; entering into or pervad ing the universe :agreeably to the text of the Vedas : FIT-33 1 W nfi ‘
afit‘Having created tha t (world) , he then afterwards enters into i t ;be ing ,
as our comment observes,undistinguished by place ,
time,
or property : aflm am ala%m afi [ IAccord ing to theMatsya P .
,the name al ludes to his entering into the mundane
egg : according to the Padma P .
,to his entering into , or combining
wi th Prak rl ti , as Purusha or spiri t :R 1 1a unarfiaug : M afia 3 1
In the Moksha Dharma of the Mahabharata,s . 1 65
,the word is
derived from the roo t vi (EFT) , signifying motion,pervas ion
,
See the editor’ s second note in p . 26 , and note in p . 35 , inf ra .
6 VISHNU PURANA .
Maitreya,
3 hav ing saluted him reverentially ,thus
addressed Parasara ,—the excellent sage,the grandson
of Vasishtha —who was versed in trad itional historyand the Puranas ; who was acquainted with theVedasand the branches of science dependent upon them ,
and skilled in law and philosophy yl‘
and who had
performed the morning rites of devotion .
Maitreya said : Master ! I have been instructed by
you ,in the whole of the Vedas , and in the institutes
of law and of sacred science . Through your favour,
other men ,even though they be my foes , cannot ao
cuse m e of hav ing been remiss in the acqu irement ofknowledge . I am now desirou s , O thou who art pro
found in piety ; to hear from thee how this world was,
and how in future it will be? what is its substance,O
Brahman ; and whence proceeded animate and inanimate things ? into what has it been resolved ; and intowhat w ill its d issolution again occur ? how were theelements manifested? whence proceeded the gods and
other beings ? what are the situation and extent of
the oceans and the mountains , the earth,the sun ,
and
the planets? what are the famil ies of the god s and
3 Mai treya is the d isciple of Parasara , who relates the VishriuFuraria to him . He is also one of the chief interlocu tors in theBhagavata , and is introduced , in the Mahabharata (Vana Parvan ,
as a grea t Rishi or sage ,who denounces Duryodhana ’
s
death . In the Bhagavata ,he is also termed Kausaravi
,or the
son of Ku s'
arava .
Literally,
“ Vasisht’
ha’
s son’
s son Paras'
ara’
s father , as the com
mentator remarks ,was Saktri . See my second note in p. 8 , inf ra .
1“ And philosophy is the commentator’s definition of the originale
a'
di ,“and the rest”.
BOOK I.,CHAP. I . 7
others , the Manus, the periods called Manwantaras,
those termed Kalpas,and their subd iv isions , and the
four ages : the events that happen at the close of a
Kalpa,and the term inations of the several ages : 1 the
histories , O great Muni,of the god s , the sages , and
kings ; and how the Vedas were div ided into branches
(or schools), after they had been arranged by Vyasa :
the d uties of the Brahmans and the other tribes , as
wel l as of those who pass through the d ifferent ordersof l ife ? All these things I wish to hear from you,
grandson of Vasisht'
hax l' Incline thy thoughts bene
volently toward s m e,that I may ,
through thy favour,
be informed of all I desire to know.
Parasara replied : Well inqu ired,piou s Maitreya .
You recall to my recollection that which was of old
narrated by my father’
s father,Vasishtha . I had heard
that my father had been devoured by a Rakshasa em
ployed by ViSwam itra . Violent anger seized me ; and
I commenced a . sacrifice for the destruction of the
Rakshasas . Hundreds‘
of them were reduced to ashesby the rite ; when ,
as they were about to be entirelyex tirpated , my grandfather Vasishtha thus spake to
me : Enough ,my child ; let thy wrath be appeased :
the Rakshasas are not culpable : thy father’s death wasthe work of destiny . Anger is the passion of fools ; itbecometh not a wise m an . By whom
,it may be asked,
One copy reads -Yugadharma ,the duties pecul iar . to the
four ages , or their characteristic properties,instead of Yuganta .
Vydsa- kartfi ka has , rather , the signification of “ composed by
Vyasa
1 To the letter, “son of Vésisht
’
ha whose father was Vasishtha.
8 V ISHNU PURANA .
‘
is any one killed ? Every man reaps the consequencesof his own acts . Anger, my son
,is the destruction of
all that man obtains,by arduous exertions
,of fame
and of devout austerities, and prevents the attainmentof heaven or of emancipation . The chief sages alwaysshun wrath : be not thou
,my child , subject to its in
fluence . Let no more of these unoffend ing spirits of
darkness be consumed . Mercy is the m ight of the
righteou s .
Sacrifice of Parasara. T he story of Parasara’
s birth is
narrated in detai l in the Mahabharata (Adi Parvan,s . King
Kalmashapada ,meeting wi th Sakti , the son of Vasishtha ,
in a
narrow path in a thi cke t , desired him to stand ou t of his way .
T he sage refused ; on whi ch the Raja bea t him w i th his whip ;and Sakti cursed him to become a Rakshasa , a man-devouringSpiri t. T he Raja
,in this transformation
,k i lled and ate its
au thor,or Sak ti , together wi th al l the o ther sons o f Vasishtha .
Sakti left his wife , Adris'
yanti , pregnant ; and She gave birth toParasara
, who was brought up by his grandfather. W hen he
grew up ,and was informed of his father’s death ,
he insti tuted a
sacrifice for the destruction of al l the Rakshasas,but was d is
suaded from its completion by Vasishtha and other sages , or
Atri , Pulastya , Pulaha , and Kratu . T he Mahabharata adds,that,
when he desisted from the ri te,be scattered the remaining sacri
ficial fire upon the northern face of the H imalaya mountain,
where i t sti l l blazes forth, at the phases of the“
moon,consum ing
Rakshasas , forests , and mountains . T he legend a l ludes , possibly ,
to some trans -himalayan vol cano . T he transformation of
Kalmashapada is ascribed ,in o ther places , to a d ifferent cause ;
but he is everywhere regarded as the devourer of Sakti -jSak tri , as the name also occurs . T he story is told in the Linga
S upply : “Let this thy sacrifice cease Ha m1 This is hardly the name of a male. The right word seems to be
Sak tri .
1 0 V ISHNU PURANA .
the son of Brahma,
1who was received, by my grand
father,w ith the customary marks of respect . The
illustrious brother fof Pulaha said to me : Since
,in
the v iolence of animosity , you have l istened to the
words of your progenitor,and have exercised clemency
,
therefore you shall become learned in every science .
Since you have forborne , even though incensed,to
destroy my posterity ,I wil l bestow upon you another
boon ; and you shall become the author of a summ aryof the Furar
'
i as .
2 You shall know the true nature of
the deities , as it really is and,whether engaged in
from that Source,i t here
,most probably, refers unavowedly, as
the Linga does avowedly to the Vishriu Purana .
Pulastya ,as wi l l be presently seen
,is one of the Rishis
who were the m ind -born sons of Brahma. Pu laha,who is here
also named,is ano ther. Pulastya is considered as the ancestor
o f the Rak shasas ; as he i s the fa ther of Vis'
ravas,the father of
Ravaria and his brethren . Uttara Ramayaria . Mahabharata,
Vana Parvan,s . 272. Padma Pur. Linga Pur.
,s . 63.
mariti me?"Hara re nfawfa 1Y ou shal l be a maker i of the Samhi ta or compend ium of the
Puranas,or of the Vishr
'
l u Purana , cons idered as a summary or
compend ium of Pauranik trad i tions . In ei ther sense i t is incompatible wi th the general attribu tion of al l the Puranas to Vyasa .
Read “elder brother agraj a .
1 Rather, agreeably to the commentator : “You shal l obtain in a propermanner the highest obj ect derivable from ap prehens ion of deity Thisis said to be “ knowledge conducive to emancipation In the Sanskrit
W mm rfi fi tfitfi fn m nw fi 6 11 51 1The line under exposition is as follows
0 \ 0 0 K
m urmura 1 1 2 11 3 13331 3 am 1
Kartrz is,however, elucidated , in the commentary , by p ravarlaka,
“publisher only.
BOOK I.,CHAP . I . 1 1
rel igious rites , or abst aining from their performance,
your understand ing,through my favour , shall be per
feet , and exempt from doubts . Then my grandsireVasishtha added : Whatever has been said to thee byPulastya shall assured ly come to pass .
Now truly all that was told me formerly by Vasishtha ,
and by the wi se Pulastya ,has been brought
to my recollection by your questions ; and I will relateto you the whole , even all you h ave asked . L isten tothe complete compendium of the Puranas , accord ingto its tenor. The world was produced from Vishnu :it exists in him : he is the cause of its continuance and
cessation : * he is the world .
1 W hether performing the u sual ceremonies of the Brahmans,
or lead ing a l ife of devo tion and penance,whi ch supersedes the
necessi ty of ri tes and sacrifices .
2 These are,in fact
,the brief repl ies to Mai treya ’
s six
questions (p . or : How was the world created ? By Vishnu .
How wi l l i t be ? A t the periods of d isso lution,i t wi l l be in
Vishriu . Whence proceeded animate and inanimate things ? FromVishriu . Of what is the substance of the world ? Vish l iu . Intowha t has i t been
,and wi ll i t again be ,
resolved ? Vishriu . He
is,therefore
,both the instrumental and material cause of the
universe .
‘T he answer to the “whence” repl ies to the queryas to the instrumental cause : “He i s the world” repl ies to the
inqu iry'
as to the materia l wafer-reg : fafm ‘
efiwt 5 1 1m R W W W R 1‘And by this explana
tion of the agency of the material i ty,&c . of Vishnu
,as regards
the universe, (i t fol lows that) al l wi l l be p
roduced from ,and al l
wi l l repose in him ’ =“
ai de fame: m amfears
-
aw famfit a‘m'fw fit“
eta-
ct”
am a'
im1 t W e have
Sarhyama . S ee the edi tor’s first note in p . 26 , inf ra .
1 These two extracts are from the commentary on the Valeria -
purana.
The first is a l ittle abridged.
1 2 V ISHN'
U PURANA .
here precisely the T 6 n ewof the Orph ic doctrines ; and we m ightfancy
,that Brucker was translating a passage from a Puraria
when he describes them in these words : “ Continuisse Jovem
[lege Vishnum] sive summum deum in Se omnia,omnibus ortum
ex se dedisse ; et H omnia ex se genu isse , et ex sua pro
dux isse essentia ; Spiritum esse un iversi, qui omnia regit, vivificat,
estqueM Ex qu ibus necessario sequi tur omnia in eum red i tura .
”
H ist . Phi los .,I.
,388 . J ambl ichus and Proclus also testify that
the Pythagorean doctrines of the orig in of the material worldfrom the De i ty ,
and i ts identi ty wi th him,were mu ch the same .
Cudworth ,Intel l . Syst. , Vol . I.
,p . 346 .
1 4 V ISHNU PURAr'
IA
of the world : to Vasudeva,the l iberator of his wor
shippers : to him whose essence is both single and
manifold ; who is both subtile and corporeal,ind iscrete
and discrete : to Vishnu,the cause of final eman
cipation .
l Glory to the supreme Vishnu ,the cause
They are ever combined wi th,and dependent upon
,one ano ther ;
and they are never for an instant separate ; they never qu i t eacho ther
mu 1 11 1 3 1 1 1 1 311 : fi’fl
‘
emfirgm a :
Rafi-i as? sua-“
ra ga em 1
fairer-5
1 t fi: £153 1m seen: Hana : 11“
( f t senmit i f? false: W w arm”“
as 1 161 Rafi ear 1 171 as 3 2 11 11ma shram E? 3 1
Rd fi a’l’
vfi a afi a a afa m n
The no tion is one common to al l antiqu i ty,al though less ph i lo
sophi cal ly conceived,or
,perhaps
,less d istinctly expressed , in the
passages which have come down to us . T he Tpei g 3191 1 dvn oordoezg
r
of P lato are said , by Cudworth (L,upon the
au thori ty of Plotinus,to be an ancient doctrine
,n a l a to
‘
z (55511 .
And he also observes : “ For,since Orpheus
,Pythagoras , and
Plato ,who
,al l of them
,asserted a trini ty of d ivine hypostases
,
unquestionably derived much of their doctrine from the Egyptians ,i t may be reasonably suspected
,that these Egyptians did the l ike
before them .
” A S,however , the Grecian accounts and those of
the Egyptians are much more perplexed and unsatisfactory thanthose of the H indus , i t i s most probable tha t we find amongstthem the doctrine in its mos t original , as wel l as most method icaland significant, form .
1 This address to Vishnu pursues the notion that he,as the
supreme being, is one, whi lst he is al l . H e is Avikara
,not sub
The words “of his worshippers are supplied from the commentary.
BOOK I.,CHAP. II . 1 5
of the creation ,ex istence ,
and end of this‘
world ;who is the root of the world , and who consists of the
world .
Having glorified him who is the support of all
things ; who is the smallest of the small ;2who is in all
created things ; the unchanged,imperishable 3 Puru
jce t to change : Sadaikarlipa ,one invariable nature : he is the
l iberator (Tara) , or he who bears mortals across the ocean o f
existence : he is both s ingle and manifold (Ekanekartipa ) : and
he is the ind iscrete (Avyak ta) cause of the world,as wel l as
the d iscrete (Vyak ta) effect ; or the invisible cause and visiblecreation .
J aganmaya , made up ,or consis ting substantially (W ) , o f
the world . Maya is an affix denoting ‘made ’or
‘consisting of ’ ;
as Kashthamaya ,
‘made of wood ’. T he world is
,therefore
,not
regarded , by the Paurariiks , as an emanation,or an i l lusion
,but
as consubstantial wi th i ts first cause.
2 Amyan'
nsam an lyasan'
n (W W W ) ,‘the most atomi c
of the atomi c ’ ; al lud ing to the atomi c theory of the Nyaya or
logical school .
Or Achyuta (w ) ; a common name of Vishriu ,from a
privative,and Chyuta ,
fallen : accord ing to our comment , ‘he
who does not perish w i th created things ’ . T he Mahabharatainterprets i t
,in one place
,to mean
‘he who is not d istinct fromfinal emancipation ’
; and,in another
,to s ignify ‘
exempt fromdecay ’ A commenta tor on the Kas
'
ikharida of the
Skanda Purar'la expla ins i t ‘he w ho never decl ines (or varies)from his own proper nature : amm fi It
In the original there is no term to which this corresponds .
t w wwfi n
1 6 VISHNU PURANA
shottama ;l who is one with true wisdom , as truly
known ;2eternal and incorrupt ;
*and who is known,
through false appearances,by the nature of visible
objects zi’
j‘ hav ing bowed to Vishnu
,the destroyer,
1 This is another common ti tle of Vishriu,implying supreme
,
best (U ttama) , Spiri t (Purusha) , or male,or sacrifice
,or
,ac
cord ing to the Mahabh .
,Moksha Dharma
,whatever sense Pu
ru sha may bear
“ T1 W {areW vfi fi fdat t 1m afim W EI aren
‘t-
am "Paramarthatah (nw zifl ) ,
‘by or through the real obj ect,
or sense ; through actual tru th .
’
3 BhrantidarSanatab (HTfiflF‘false appearances
,
’ in
opposi tion to actual truth .
‘By the nature of v isible objects .
’
(adam ) : Artha is explained by Dris'ya (gm) ,‘visib le ’
;
Swarliperia , by ‘the nature of ’ . That is
,v isible objects are not
what they seem to be,independent existences ; they are essen
t ial ly one wi th the ir original source ; and knowledge of theirtrue nature
,or relation to Vishr
'
l u,i s knowledge of V ishr
'
l u him
“ Who is , essentially, one with intelligence, transcendent, and without
0 Q 0 0
ren am e—fl fi at-1 armed : 1
j Preferably : “ Conceived of , by reason of erroneous apprehension,as a material form
a’
fiatfra s'
fimW a rden: farmThe commentary runs : Wfifi ‘
fi’
fimW M We
fa’
t'
flrfl fi fi fl
fa fi 3m The “erroneous apprehension spoken of is here ex
plained as arising from the conception of the individual soul.In the 1 1 358 , we find
W e we {a s am stamina 1
Es t eem aarea?swarm : 11
Purusha , that Is to say, sacrifice, or whatever el se 1 5 meant by p uruslza ,al l that , known for highest (p ara) , is called Purushottama .
The word is a karmadharaya compound, not a ta tp um sha .
1 8 vrsm’
iu PURANA .
m a,
lsupreme
, lord , eternal, unborn, imperishable, nudecaying ; of one essence ; ever pure, as free from defects .
He , that Brahma,was all things ; comprehend ing in
his own nature the ind iscrete and discrete. He thenexisted in the form s of Purusha and of Kala. Purusha
(spirit) is the first form of the supreme ; next proceededtwo other form s
,the discrete and
‘
indiscrete ; and Kala
(time) was the last .* These four—Pradhana (primary
wfiméfi'
fig aua'
ifi ifi i a
’fi fa 3 1 5523 : 1
‘He causes al l things to dwel l in him ; andhe abides in a ll : whence he is named Vasu . Being resplendentas the sun
,he is cal led Deva : and he who is both these is de
nominated Vasudeva .
’ See also b . VI.,0 . 5 .
T he commentator argues, that vasudeva must be the Brahmaor supreme being of the Vedas
,because the same circumstances
F123 fi hfimmwww aa 1
t it ersemi 6 3 sui t : mm first 1s ierra
-exit am $33
That Brahma ,in its total ity, has, essentially, the aspect of prakr‘z
’
tz,
both evolved and unevolved , and also the aspect of spirit, and the aspectof time. Spirit
,0 twice-born, is the lead ing aspect of the supreme Brahma.
The next is a twofold aspect, via , prakr‘itz
’
, both evolved and unevolved ;and time is the last .It seems , therefore , not that p rakr‘iti , spirit, and time originated from
Brahma,but that Brahma offers itself under these modes of apprehension.
These modes are coessential with Brahma.
The last l ine of the text cited above admi tting of two interpretations,that has been chosen which harmonizes the doctrine of the wri ter of the
Purana wi th the doctrine of his quotation in pp . 23—25 , infra ; for on
that his own enunciation here undoubtedly is founded .
ProfessorW ilson adopted the following reading of the first line of the
verses in questionK
i im1: These words have the appearance of being a glossarial expansion of
an etymology given in the Mahabharata , or some similar work . The
BOOK I., CHAP. II. 1 9
or crude matter) , Purusha (spirit) , Vyakta (v isiblesubstance) , and Kala (time)—the wise consider to bethe pure and supreme condition of Vishnu .
2 Thesefour forms , in their due proportions, are the causes of
the production of the phenomena of creation ,preser
vation ,and destruction . Vishnu
,being thus d iscrete
and indiscrete substance , spirit , and time, sports like
are pred icated o f bo th,as eterni ty
,omnipresence
,omnipotence
,
&c . ; but he does not adduce’
any scrip tural text wi th the name
Vasudeva .
7"Time is not usual ly enumerated”
,in the Puranas
,as an
e lement o f the first cause ; but the Padma P . and the Bhagavataagree wi th the Vishnu in includ ing i t . It appears to have beenregarded , at an earl ier da te
,as an independent cause. T he com
mentator on the Moksha Dharma ci tes a passage from the Vedas,
which he understands to al lude to the d ifferent theories of the
cause of creation :m : amenW W I W 1
Time,inherent nature
,consequence of acts
,self-w i ll
,elementary
atoms,matter
,and spiri t
,asserted
,several ly
,by the Astro logers,
the Buddhis ts,the Mimamsakas , the J ainas , the Logi cians , the
sankhyas,and the Vedantins . Kpdrog was a lso one of the first
generated agents in creation ,accord ing to the Orphi c theogony .
commentary on the Vishriu -
p urana has : afi’
éfi Staff-t
and fi rm 1 i t a:
M FRW :
W ang ;In the Mahabharata, Sdnti-parvan, 1 3 1 69 , we read
From d . See the Bibliotheca Indica,
Vol . VII , p . 275 .
20 -v1 sm~'
iu PunAr'
i A .
a playful boy ,as you shal l learn by listening to his
frolics .
1
That chief principle (Pradhana) , which is the i ii
d iscrete cause , is called ,by the sages , also Prak1 1 t1
(nature) . it 1 s subtile, uniform ,and comprehendswhat
is and what 1 s not (or both causes and
durable , self- sustained , illim itable , undecaying ,and
stable ; devo id of sound or tou ch ,and possessing
neither colour nor form ; endowed with the three qua
l ities (in equ ilibrium) ; the mother of the world ; without beginn ing ;
2and that into which all that is produced
The creation of the world is very commonly considered tobe the Lila (fi at) , sport or amusement
,of the supreme being .
2 T he attributes of Pradhana,the chief (principle or element) ,
here specified ,conform , general ly, to those ascribed to i t by the
Sa’
mkhya phi losophy (sankhya Karika, p . 1 6,
al though some
of them are incompatible wi th its origin from a first causes } In
the Sankhya , this incongru i ty does not occur ; for there Pradhanais independent, and coord inate wi th primary spiri t . T he Puranasg ive rise to the incons istency
,by a lax use of both phi losophi cal
and panthe istical express ions . T he most incongruous epithets in
our text are ,however , explained away in the comment . Thus
,
N itya (firm) , eternal ’,is sa id to mean ‘
uniform,not l iabl e to
increase or d im inu tion ’: fi atm Sada
sadatmaka (WW ) ,‘comprehend ing what is and what is
not ’,means
‘hav ing the power of both cause and effect ’ (an-
q
airm afimgai) , as proceed ing fromVishnu , and as g iving originto material things . Anad i (3 1W ),
‘wi thou t beginning ’
,means
The l iteral translation is this : “ That which is the unevolved causeis emphatically called , by the most eminent sages , pradlzana , origina l
base, which is subtile p rakri ti , viz , that which is eternal , and which at
once is and is not, or is mere p rocess.
The Sanskrit is in note 2 of this page. I cannot translate praki'iti .f ?
22 vra U PURANA .
vested in the period subsequent to thelast d issolution
T he passage is placed absolutely : ‘There was an indiscretecause
,—e ternal
,and cause and efi
'
ect,—whi ch was bo th mat ter
and spiri t (Pradhana and Purusha) , from which this world wasmade .
’ Instead of m ,
‘such ’
or‘this ’
,some copies read
“ I t ,‘from which Iswara or god (the active de i ty or Brahma)
made the world ’ . T he Hari Vamsa has the same read ing, exceptin the last term wh i ch i t makesm ; that is , accord ing to the
commentator,
‘the world , which is Is
’
wara, was made .
’ T he same
au thori ty explains this ind iscrete cause, Avyak takararia, to deno teBrahma
,
‘the creator ’ ; 3 Q fafg m m
an identification very unusual,if not inaccurate
,and possibly
founded 0 1 1 m isapprehension of what is stated by theBhavishyaP
na‘
u uwm f fm‘That male or Spiri t which is endowed wi th that which is theindi screte cause , &c.
,is known ,
in the world , as Brahma: he,
be ing in the egg’
,&c. The passage is precisely the same in
Mann,I.
, except that we have ‘Visr1 shta ’ instead of ‘Vis 1 shtha ’
. T he latter is a questionable read ing , and is , probably,wrong ; the sense of the former is
,
‘detached ’: and the who le
means,
very consisten tly,
‘embod ied spiri t detached from the
ind iscrete cause of the world , is known as T he PadmaP . inserts the first l ine
, W3 33“
,&c .
,bu t has :
W fi fim gfi fii fafi w z l
Visrisht'
a , the only read ing recognized by Kul l iika and Medhatithi ,commentators on the Manava - dharma - sastra , means , as explained by
them, utpa'
dita , produced or“ created
The Ma'
nava-dharma—sastra notably differs from the sankhya , in thatit does not hold a dual ity of first principles . And still different are thePuranas , in which the dualistic principles are united in Brahma ,
and
as previously remarked—are not evolutions therefrom ,but so many
aspects of some supreme deity. See the Translator’s first note in p . 1 5 ,
sup ra .
BOOK r.,CHAP . n . 23
of the un iverse, and prior to creation .
1 For Brahmans
learned in the Vedas , and teaching truly their doctrines , explain such passages as the following as in
tend ing the production of the chief principle (Pradhana) .
“There was neither day nor night,nor sky
nor earth, nor darkness nor l ight, nor any other thing,save only One , unapprehensible by intellect , or Thatwhich is Brahma and Pums ( spirit) and Pradhana
‘Which creates , undoubtedly,Maha t and the
"
o therass igning the firs t epi thets
,therefore
, as the Vishnu does,to
Prakri ti only . T h‘e Linga -
j also refers the expression to Prakr1 tialone , but makes i t a secondary cause :
“
s watm m W 1
W W M afia“
exam i ner: 11
‘An ind iscrete cause , which those acquainted w i th firs t principlescal l Pradhana and Prakri ti
,proceeded from that Is'wara
This passage is one of very many instances in which express ionsare common to several Puranas
,tha t seem to be borrowed from
one another,
or from some common source older than any of
them ; especial ly in thi s instance, as the same text occurs in Manu . I
The express ion of the text is rather obscure : ‘A l l was pervaded (or comprehended) by that chief principle before (re- creation) , after the ( las t) des truction ’
T he ell ipses are filled up by the commentator. This,he adds
,
is to be -regarded as the s tate of things at a Mahapralaya or
total d issolu tion ; leav ing ,therefore
,crude matter
,nature
, or
chaos as a coexistent element w i th the Supreme . This, which
is conformable to the phi losophical doctrine , is not,however
,
that of the Puranas in general , nor that of our tex t, which states
Read : “Which creates a ll , from mahat to individual existences :such is the conclus ion of the scrip tures.
1 Prior Section, LXX. , 2 .
See the editor’s note in the preceding page.
24 vrsnr'
i u PunariA .
(matter) . The two forms which are other than
(b . VI .
,c . that
,at a Prakmta or elementary d issolu tion, Pra
dhana i tself merges into the dei ty .
* Nei ther i s i t,apparently,
the doctrine of the Vedas , al though their language i s somewhat
T he metre here is one common to the Vedas , T rishtubh ;but
,in o ther respects
,the language is not characteristic of those
composi tions. T he purport of the passage is rendered somewhatdoubtful by its close and by the explanation of the oommen
tator. T he former is :‘
qai W fil'
ai 3131 W ‘One
Pradhanika Brahma Spiri t : THAT , was .
’ The commentatorexplains Pradhanika
,Pradhana eva
,the same word as Pradhana ;
but i t is a derivative word,which may be used attribu tively
,
implying ‘hav ing ,or conjoined wi th ,
Pradhana ’. T he oommen
tator,however , interprets i t as the substantive ; for he adds :
‘There was Pradhana and Brahma and Spiri t ; this triad was at
the period o f d issolu tion ’: W W i gm fif W w
W m l'
i‘ He ev idently
,however , understands their con
jo int ex istence as one only ; for he continues ‘So ,accord ing to
the Vedas,then there was nei ther the non- ex istent cause nor the
ex istent effect ’ : a!”a lafi
'f . I W W W“M
The evolutionary doctrine is not the Paurari ik ; and the commentatorwho ; on this occasion ,
does l ittle more than supply ellipses,and does
not call prakriti , at a Mahapralaya a coexistent element with theS upreme advances nothing in contradiction to the tenor of the
Puranas . See the editor’s second note in p . 2 1 , and note in p . 22 , sup ra .
1 It is the abridged comment that is here cited In the copy of it towhich I have access
,the passage extracted above begins : W m
W 1m rfimas: iwi l The fuller comment has muffins
Thus opens a hymn of the Rig - veda ; X. ,1 29 . See Colebrooke
’
s
Miscellaneous E ssays , Vol . I.
,p . 33 ; Muller’ s History of Ancient S anskrit
Li terature, pp. 559 el seq. ; and Goldstucker'
s Panini , His Place in S anskrit
Literature, pp. 1 44 et seq. The Sanskrit of the hymn, accompanied by a
new translation, will be found 1 n Orig ina l Sanskrit Texts, Part IV. , pp. 3
and 4 .
26 V ISHNU PURANA .
termed elemental (Prakri ta) . The deity as Time 1 S without beginning, and his end 1 s not known ; and fromhimthe revolutions of creation , continuance , and dissolution uninterm ittingly succeed z"for
,when
,in the latter
season ,the
“
equil ibrium of the qual ities (Pradhana)exists , and spirit (Pums) is detached from matter
,
then the form of Vishnu which is Time abides .
1 Then
Pradhana, when unmod ified
,is
,accord ing to the Sankhyas
and Paurari iks , nothing more than the three qual i ties ? in equil i
brio ; or goodness , foulness , and darkness neu tral iz ing each other ;(Sankhya Karika,
p . So in the Matsya P
This state is synonymous wi th the non- evo lu tion of material products
,or w i th d issolution ; implying, however, separate existence
,
and detached from spiri t. This being the case, i t is asked,Wha t
should sustain matter and Spiri t whils t separate , or renew theircombination so as to renovate creation ? It is answered
,Time
,
which is when everyth ing else is not,and whi ch , at the end of
a certain interval , uni tes Matter (Pradhana) and Purusha,and
W W ? mitte n-flaw : 1
We here have a reference, apparently, to four—not simply to threeconditions of things, the last of which, sarhyama, “delitescence denotesthe state that prevails during the nights of Brahma, when al l concreteforms are resolved into their original elements . The word has occurredbefore : see p . 1 1 , sup ra . Also see the Ma
'
rkandeya—p urana , XLVI . , 7 .
The commentator, at first , takes sarhyama—i . e., he says , saraba'ra
for the third condition , qual ified by anta,= ante , at last Alternati
vely,he makes anta the third of the conditions , and governs the names
of al l three by sarfiyamali , in the sense of niyamah'
. For niyama , in
place of samyama ,
in a classification similar to that of the text , see
Sankara Acharya’s Commentary on the Swetds‘watara Up anishad : Biblio
theca Indica , Vol . VII . pp. 2 75 and 276
1 Ou rendering the sankhya or Pauramk guna ,as here meant , by
quality see my translation of Pandit Nehemiah Nilakar’rtha Sastrin’
s
Rational Ref utation of the Hindu Philosophica l Systems , pp. 43 and 44,
foot -note , and ‘
pp. 2 1 9 cl seg. , foot - note.
BOOK CHAP . 1 1 .
the supreme Brahma, the supreme soul , the substanceof the world , the lord of all creatures , the universal
soul , the supreme ruler,Hari
,of his own will hav ing
entered into matter and spirit , agitated the mutableand immutable principles, the season of creation beingarrived . In the same manner as fragrance affects them ind from its proxim ity merely ,
and not from anyimmediate operation upon m ind itself
,so the Supreme
influenced the elements of creation .
1 Purushottama
produces crea tion. Conceptions of this k ind are evidently com
prised in the Orphic triad,or the ancient no tion of the coopera
tion of three such principles,in creation
,as Phanes or Eros
,
which is the H indu spiri t or Purusha ; Chaos ,matter or Pra
dhana ; and Chronos , or Kala,time .
Pradhana is styled Vyaya (m ) ,‘that which may be ex
pended’
y j'
or Parinamin (W Tfi'
fi o,‘which may be mod ified“
and Purusha is called Avyaya (wa i l ) ,‘inconsumable ’
,or
apaririamin (W W ) ,‘immutable ’
. T he expressionsufw ,
‘hav ing entered into ’
,andm ,
‘ag i tated ’
,recal l
the mode in whi ch d ivine intel l igence ,mens
,vovg , was con
ceived,by the ancients
,to operate upon matter
mpfiv (ppm/r ia l x o’
oy ov Eln ora/t a ,
na t a i ooovoa 19 0mm } ;
or as in a more fam i l iar passageSpiri tus intus al i t
,totamque infusa per artus ,
Mens agitat molem ,et magno se corpore miscet :
or,perhaps
,i t more closely approximates to the Phoenician cos
mogony, in whi ch a Spiri t,mixing wi th i ts own principles
, g ivesrise to creation. Bru cker
,I.
,240 . A s presently explained
,the
m ixture is not mechan ical ; i t is an influence or effect exertedupon intermed iate agents which produce effects ; as perfumes donot delight the m ind by actual contact
,bu t by the impress ion
Supply “al l-permeant sarvaga .
T“Passing away or
“ perishable”, is more l iteral.
28 vrsnr'
iU Punar'
i A .
is both the agitator and the thing to be agitated ; beingpresent in the essence of matter , both when it is con
they make upon the sense of smell ing , which communicates i t tothe m ind . T he entrance of the supreme Vishnu into spiri t
,as
wel l as matter,is less intel lig i ble than the V iew elsewhere taken
of i t,as the infus ion of Spiri t
,identified wi th the Supreme
,into
Prakrl ti or matter alone . Thus,in the Padma Parana :
ma d am : w titani u m ”e m an ati ng : n ll
‘He who is called the male (Spiri t) of Prakri ti is here named
Achyuta ; and that same d ivine Vishriu entered into Prakr1 ti . ’So the Er1 han Narad iya
w ristm ama gw éi
‘The lord of the world,who is cal led Purusha ,
producing agi
ta tien in Prakri t i . ’ From the notion of influence or agi tationproduced on matter through or w i th Spiri t , the abuse of personification l ed to actual or v icarious admixture . Thus the Bhagavata
,
“identifying Mayawi th Prakr1 ti , has
‘Through the operation of time,the Mighty One , who is present
to the pure,implanted a seed in Maya endowed wi th qual i ties
,
as Purusha, which is one w i th himself. ’ -j B . s . 5 . And the
Bhavishya :‘Some learned men say ,
that the supreme being ,desi rous to create beings , creates , in the commencement of theKalpa
,a body of sou l (or an incorporeal substance) ; whi ch soul ,
crea ted by him,enters into Prakr1 ti ; and Prak r1 ti , being thereby
agi tated , creates many material elements ’
Uttara - kanda, XXXIV.
1 Burnouf—Vol . I.,p. 1 76—has : “Lorsque l ’aotien da temps eut déve
loppé au sein de Maya les qualités ,Adhokchaja ,
doué de vigueur , se
manifestant sous la forme de Paracha , déposa en elle sa semence .
”
For Adhokshaja , see Goldstiicker’
s Sanskrit D ictionary, sub race : alsoOrigina l Sanskrit Tents, Part IV.
, pp. 1 82 and 1 83 .
30 vrsrn'
i U PURANA .
Chief principle then invests that Great principle, In
tellect ; and it becomes threefold,as affected by the
qual ity of goodness, foulness, or darkness, and invested
W u} 1
W e have,in the same Pararia
,as wel l as in the Brahmarida and
Linga , a number of synonyms for this term,as
w w m m zm
This stanza occurs in the fourth chapter of the Vayu-
purana . Im
mediately following it are these definitions , which Professor W ilson hastranslated
EITfi'Tt
W i se r-
its W t? um:Q ua? asffia ifi: W igwam .”
1 13mm W Wmama"fasmufu 1 131 3 11
"8m31 K
BOOK CHAP. 1 1 . 3 1
by the Chief principle(matter as seed is by its skin .
They are also explained,though not very d istinctly
,to the
following purport : “ Manas is tha t whi ch considers the couse
fwfi u a natured s tar’
s fan'
s 1amusifiifi fa than31 3 1? stew
-
vii :amfi dmfiim
‘
s W W W :
aim “mgfitfa W
warm : war m 11According to Vijnana Bhikshu ,
at least the first half of the stanza of
synonyms , quoted by ProfessorW ilson, is in the Matsya-
purana as wellas in the d a . See my edition of the Sankhya
-
praeachana—bhashya
published in the Bibliotheca Indica p . 1 1 7 .
The I/inga-
purana , Prior Section, LXX.,1 2 et seg. , differs from the Vayu
in having brahma and chit-para or vis'
wes'
a instead of brahma and cip ura .
Its explanations of the terms also present several deviations. ForTm&c.
,in definition of oip ura , it gives
0 0 R
w ar fawfimw m tha n 1or
,agreeably to another reading :
A
0m m “ : M an :
W 1 th nothmg correspondent to the next two stanzas and a half of theVayu , it then passes at once to the line beginning with fi rfla
‘
l‘
fi ’
In the same Furaria, Prior Section, VIII 67—74 , we read :
fae riem vi sit 316! firfa: W :
(art‘
s : affirm: W i t nfi l’
i fi'
a
sit ram : starnew: W itter:3 1m g
’
é : m g marti ni ? fria rs 11faerf
’rfalsfiwm g
'
oewtW arm : 1
Edam W IWa ffl e : 11
33 1mm wi n was; 1
m am a 31 61 are? arran : 11
«i nfirmafim‘afiafa i i’
rfii fi fe : gm 1
32 VISHr'
IU PURANA .
From the great principle (Mahat) Intell ect , threefold
quences of acts to al l creatures,and prov ides for their happiness .
Maha t , the Grea t principle ,is so termed from being the first of
the created principles,and from i ts extens ion be ing greater than
tha t of the rest . Mati is tha t which d iscriminates and d istingu ishesobj ects preparatory to their fru i tion by Sou l . Brahma impl iestha t whi ch effects the development and augmentation of createdthings . Pur is that by which the concurrence of nature occupiesand fil ls a ll bod ies . Buddhi i s that whi ch communi cates to sou lthe knowledge of good and evi l . Khyati is the means of ind ividual fru i tion, or the facu l ty of d iscrim inating objects by appropriate designations and the l ike . Iswara is that whi ch knowsal l things as if they were present . Prajna is that by whi ch the
properties of things are known. Chi ti is that by whi ch the con
sequences of acts and species of knowledge are selected for theuse of sou l . Sm i'i ti is the facul ty of recogni z ing al l things , past,present , or to come . San
’
nvid i s that in whi ch al l things are
found or known, and which is found or known in al l'
things : and
Vipura is that which is free from the effects of contrarieties,as
of knowledge and ignorance, and the l ike . Mahat is also cal ledIs
’
wara ,from i ts exercising supremacy over al l things ; Bhava ,
from i ts elementary existence ; Eka, or‘the one
’
,from its s ingle
ness ; Purusha ,from its abid ing within the body ; and
,from i ts
be ing ungenerated ,i t is called Swayambhu . Now ,
in this
wa‘
fi nwfiw wfi lfifirm tw n
waé’
rw fiw gerfi graw fi n3 1m {t h ym e W W 1
°“ e
W a fi é'
éwémmmwrfi fi mfiThe terms thus enumerated and elucidated viswam , mahat , praj nd ,
mamas , brahma ,Chiti , smh
’
ti , khydti , smhm’
d , iéwara , and ma lt—belong,as they here stand , to the Yoga philosophy.
.The reader will be able to verify this translation by the originalgiven at the beginning of the last note. Brahma—which comes between{swam and bhdva—was overlooked . Further, for “Eka read saka , meaningthe same thing ,
“one.
V ISHN'
U PURANA .
duced ; the origin of the (subtile) elements,and of the
organs of sense ; invested , in consequence of its threequal ities
,by Intellect
,as Intellect is by the Chief prin
ciple? Elementary Egotism , then becom ing productive,
as the rudiment of sound, produced from it. Etherf of
which sound is the characteristic , investing it with itsrud iment of soundxl
‘ Ether,becom ing productive
,en
T he equ ivalent employed by Mr. Colebrooke,ego tism ,
has the
advantage o f an analogous etymology ; Ahan’
rkara being derivedfrom Aham (fi g) ,
‘I ’ ; as in the Hari Vamsa :
we fa te a 333 1 ? van : w as: W 1‘He (Brahma) , O Bharata , said , I wil l create creatures .
’ See alsoS . Karika
,p . 91 .
2 These three varieties o f Ahan‘
ikara are also described in the
sankhya Karika,p . 92 . V aikarika
,tha t whi ch is productive
,or
susceptible o f production,is the same as the Salttwika
,or that
which is combined wi th the property of goodness . T a iyasa
Ahan'
i kara i s that whi ch is endowed w i th T ejas,
‘heat’ or ‘energy ’ ,in consequence o f i ts having the property o f Rajas
,
‘passion ’or
‘activi ty ’ ; and the third k ind
,Bhutad i
,or
‘elementary’
,is the
Tamasa,or has the property of darkness . From the first k ind
proceed the senses ; from the last,the rud imenta l unconscious
elements ; both k inds , whi ch are equal ly of themselves inert,being
“A characterization of dkasa will serve to show how inadequativelyi t is represented by ‘
ether’ . In dimension ,i t is ,
as has been said ,in
finite ; it is not made up of parts ; and colour , taste , smell , and tangibi lity do not appertain to i t. So far forth i t corresponds exactly to time,space ,
Is'
wara,and s oul . Its speciality, as compared therewith, consists
in its being the material cause of sound . Except for its being so ,we
m ight take i t to be one with vacui ty . Rationa l Rcfttta tion, &c. , p . 1 20 .
In Hindu opinion , the‘ether ’
is always essentially colourless and
pure, and only from error is supposed to possess hue. The ignorantit is said , think the blueness of the sky to be the befoulment of ‘ether .
Ibid .
,p . 272 .
T On the translation of this and subsequent passages, see the S tink/ayasdra , Preface, p . 33
,foot~note .
Book CHAP. n . 35
gendered the rudiment of touch ; whence originatedstrong wind, the property of which is touch ; andEther,with the rud iment of sound
,enveloped the rud iment
of touch . Then wind,becom ing productive
,produced
the rud iment of form (colour) ; whence l ight (or fire)proceeded ,
of which,form ( colour) is the attribute ;
and the rudiment of touch enveloped the wind withthe rud iment of colour. L ight
,becom ing productive
“
,
produced the rud iment of taste ; whence proceed all
juices in which flavour resides ; and the rud iment of
colour invested the juices with the rud iment of taste .
The waters, becom ing productive, engendered the rud iment of smell ; whence an aggregate (earth) originates,of which smell is the property .
1 In each several ele
rendered productive by the coopera tion of the second,the energetic
or active mod ification of Ahan'
ikara,which is
,therefore
,sa id to
be the origin o f both the senses and the elements ”?
T he successive series of rud iments and elements,and their
respectively engendering the rud iments and elements next in order,
o ccur in m ost of the Puranas, in nearly the same words . T he
Bi‘ihan Naradiya P . observes :
awa it mamm’
fiamefivmfa 3 1‘They (the elements) in successive order acqu ire the property of
causal i ty one to the o ther .
’ T he order is also the same ; or,
Ahafizka’
m,
“ the conception of I has a preponderance either of
sattwa , pure quietude or of raj as , activity or of tamas ,“stagnancy
The first species , as l ikewise the’ third, becomes productive, when assistedby the second . Such is the genu ine Sétnkhya doctrine . In the Puranas,the second
,besides serving as an auxiliary to production ,
of itself produces ; since therefrom arise five “ intellectual organs and five organs
of action. These organs ,wi th manas
,
“the organ of imagination
derived , in the unmodified Sankhya , from the first species of a lzan’
rkdra .
See , for additional details , the S dnlrhya - sa'
m , Preface , pp. 30 ct seg.,
foot -note.
36 Vi snnU PURANA .
ment resides its pecul iar rud iment ; thence the property
ether (Akasa), w ind or air (Vayu) , fire or l ight (Tejas) , water and
earth ; except in one passage of the Mahabharata (Mok shaDharma,
c . where i t is ether,water
,fire
,a ir
,T he order of
Empedocles was : e ther,fire
,earth
,water
,air. Cudworth
,I.
,97 .
T he investment (Avararia) of each element by i ts own rud iment,
and of each rud iment by i ts preced ing gross and rud imental elements
,is also met w i th in most of the chief Puranas
,as the vayu ,
Padma,Linga , and Bhagava ta ; and traces o f i t are found amongs t
the ancient cosmogonis ts ; for Anaximander supposed tha t,
‘when
the world was made,a certa in sphere or flame of fire
,separa ted
from ma tter (the Infini te) , encompassed the air,which invested
the earth as the bark does a tree ’: Kara any yéveow comic
t o?) x rioy ov an oxptfinva t , x a t'
zwa ax t oazov (pl oydg ocpa t
( my 7t 80t (pv771/OIL t a? wept z'
r‘
pg 7 171 ) oiépt , u p dérdpcp ml ow’
v.
E useb.
,Pr .
,I.
,1 5 . Some of the Puranas
,as the Matsya
,Vayu
,
Linga ,Bhagavata ,
and Markarideya ,add a descrip tion of a
participation o f properties amongst the elements , whi ch is ratherVedanta than sankhya . Accord ing to this no tion
,the elements
add to their characteristi c properties those of the elements whichprecede them . Akasa has the s ingle property of sound : air has
those of touch and sound : fire has co lour,touch
,and sound :
water has taste,colour
,tou ch
,and sound : and earth has smel l
and the rest,thus having five properties : or
,as the Linga Pu}
describes the series :smut use"? m am mfi ua 1
1°
n urnam : nova -Tamas} m an6 a
“
dwarfi sm aw n? 1firms m a fia: a {WW W 1
‘HW W HT‘
? W T? Ruffi an 1
m inim sui t tam W m :
For a related comment , see Goldstficker’
s S anskrit Dictionary ,
pp . 1 55 and 1 56 , sub voce W .
1 Prior Section, LXX. , 43—47 .
. VISHNU PURANA .
the property of darkness . The organs of sense are
said to be the passionate products of the sam e principle, affected by foulness ; and the ten d iv in ities
1
pro
oecd from egotism affected by the principleof goodness ; as does Mind, which is the eleventh . The organso f sense are ten : of the ten
,five are the skin
,eye, nose,
tongue ,and ear ; the object of which ,
combined withIntellect , is the apprehension of sound and the rest :the organs of excretion and procreation ,
the hands,the feet
,and the vo ice
,form the other five ; of which
excretion ,generation
,manipulation ,
motion ,and
speaking are the several acts .
Then ,ether
,air
,l ight
,water , and earth
,severally
united with the properties of sound and therest, existedas d istinguishable accord ing to their qual ities
,as
soothing, terrific, or stupefying ; but, possessing variousenergies and being unconnected , they could not, withoutcombination ,
create l iv ing beings,not hav ing blended
with each other . Having combined , therefore , withone another, they assumed
,through their mutual asso
ciation, the character of one mass of entire unity ; and ,from the d irection of spirit
,with the acqu iescence of
the indiscrete Principle ,2 Intellect and the rest , to the
T he Bhagavata ,whi ch gives a s imi lar statement of the
origin of the elements,senses
,and d ivini ties
,specifies the last to
be Di s (space) , air,the sun
,Prachetas
,the A s
'
wins , fire , Indra ,Upendra
,Mitra
,and Ka or Prajapati
,presid ing over the senses
,
accord ing to the comm ent,or
,severally
,over the ear
,sk in
,eye ,
tongue ,nose
,Speech
,hands
,feet
,and excretory and generative
organs . Bhag .
,II .
,5,3 1 .
Avyaktanugrahei ia T he express ion is something equ ivocal ; as Avyak ta may here apply ei ther to the F irst
BOOK CHAP . n . 39
gross elements inclusive , formed an egg ,1which gra
dually expanded l ike a bubble of water. This vastegg, 0 sage , compounded of the elements, and restingon the waters
,was the ex cellentnatural abode ofVishnu
in the form of Brahma; and there Vishnu ,the lord of
the universe , whose essence is inscrutable , assumed a
perceptible form ; and even he himself abided in it , in
Cause or to matter . In ei ther case,the notion is the same ; and
the aggregation of the elements is the effect of the presidence of
Spiri t , wi thou t any active interference of the ind iscrete principle .
T he Avyakta is pass ive ,in the evo lu tion and combina tion of
Mahat and the rest . Pradhana is,no doubt
,intended ; but its
identification w i th the Supreme is also impl ied . T he term Anu
graha may also refer to a classification of the order of creation,
which wil l be again adverted to .
I t is imposs ible not to refer this notion to the same originas the w idely d iffused Opinion of antiqu i ty
,of the first mani
festation of the world in the form of an egg.
“ I t seems to havebeen a favou ri te symbol
,and very ancient ; and we find i t adopted
among many nations”. Bryant,III.
,1 65 . Traces of i t occur
amongst the Syrians , Persians ,and Egyptians ; and
,besides the
Orphi c egg amongs t the Greeks , and that described by Aristophanes
,T t
'
xret now’
u orov ba ni/al um ate-Er; y el a ro
'
n t eoog ( tidy,
part of the ceremony in the D ionysiaca and o ther mysteries con
s isted of the consecration of an egg ; by which ,accord ing to
Porphyry,was sign ified the world : ' (
E piu yveéet (58 T 3) ( ti dy zo‘
v
adaptor . Whether this egg typified the ark,as Bryant and Faber
suppose ,is not material to the proof of the antiqu i ty and wide
d iffusion of the bel ief,that the world
,in the beginning ,
existedin such a figure . A s imi lar account o f the first aggregation of
the elements in the form of an egg is given in al l the Puranas,wi th the usual epi thet Haima or H irariya ,
‘golden ’
,as i t occurs
in Manu .,I,9 .
40 VISHNU PURANA.
the character of Brahma.
1 Its womb,vast as the
mountain Meru,was composed of the mountains ;
96and
the m ighty oceans were the waters that filled its cav ity .
In that egg, 0 Brahman,were the continents and seas
and mountains,the planets and d iv isions of the uni
verse, the gods , the demons,_
and mankind . And thisegg was externally invested by s even natural envelopes ; or by water, air, fire, ether, and Ahamkara,°l' theorigin of the elements
,each tenfold the extent of that
which it invested ; next came the principle of Intell i
gence ; and , finally,the whole was surrounded by the
ind iscrete Principle : resembling ,thus
,the cocoa-nut
,
filled interiorly with pulp , and exteriorly covered byhusk and rind
Here is another analogy to the doctrines of antiqu i ty re
la ting to the mundane egg : and,as the firs t vis ible male be ing,
who ,as we shal l herea fter see
,uni ted in
'
himsel f the nature o f
e i ther sex,abode in the egg ,
and issued from i t ; so“ this first
born of the world, whom they represented under two shapes and
characters,
and who sprang from the mundane egg ,was the
person from whom the mortals and immortal s were derived . He
was the same as D ionysus , whom they s tyled ,fl gwn iyovov
d trpvfi zo/yovov Ba xxem v’
fifilra xm H ymn); dogma); agar/“t or
dwégwt a d l'
y ogrpor z”
or, wi th the omiss ion of one epi thet
,
dme’
gcog :
The reading of many MSS . and of the commentator, and that whichseems to claim the preference
, is :
331m 3 1-
0 332? “era—( i : 1
Meru was its amnion,and the other mountains were its chorion.
1 : The word a lza /hka'
ra is supplied to the original by the translator.
The. commentary is s ilent.A new translation of this entire paragraph and of the first sentence
of the next will be seen in Origina l Sanskrit Tex ts , Part IV. , pp . 34
and 35 .
VISHNU PURANA .
creates him self; as preserver, preserves him self; as
destroyer , destroys him self at. the end of all things .
This world of earth,air
,fire
,water
,ether
,the senses
,
and them ind ; all that is termed spirit ;1—that also is the
lord of al l elements,the universal form
,
2and imperish
able . Hence he is the cause of creation,preservation
,
and destruction ; and the subject of the vicissitudesinherent in elem entary nature . He is the object and
Vishnu ; in the Saiva Puranas,as in the L inga ,
i t is Siva ; inthe Brahma Vaivarta
,i t is Krishna . T he identification of one
of the hypostases wi th the common source of the triad was an
incongru i ty not unknown to o ther theogonies : for Cneph , amongstthe Egyptians , appears
,on the one hand
,to have been identified
wi th the supreme be ing ,the ind ivis ible uni ty ; whilst , on the
o ther , he is confounded wi th both Emeph and Ptha,the second
and third persons of the triad of hypostases. Cudworth, I .,4 . 1 8 .
T he world that is termed Spiri t m fg Wexpla ined
,by the commentator
, HEW—{THEN
‘wh ich ,indeed
,
bears the appel lation Spiri t ’ ; conformably to the tex t of the
Vedas, W i t]? flat“
‘thj s universe is
,indeed
,spiri t ’ . -l This
i s ratherVedanta than Sankhya,and appears to deny the ex istence
o f matter . And so i t does,as an independent existence ; for the
orig in and end of infini te substance is the dei ty or universalspiri t : bu t i t does not therefore imply the non- existence of the
world as real substance .
Vishnu is both Bhii teéa t) ,‘lord
‘
of the elements ’or of created things , and Vis
'
wartipa (W t) ,substance ’ J
‘
, H e is , therefore ,as one with sensible things , sub
j cet to his own control .
Rather : “ That which is termed spirit is the world .
t See
The
in the m
BOOK CHAP. I t . 43
author of creation : he preserves destroys,and is pre
served . He, Vishr'
i u,as Brahma
,and as all other beings
,
is infinite form . He is the Supreme , the giver of all
good , the fountain of all happiness .
1
Vareriya (M t) ,‘mos t excel lent ’ ; being the same
,ac
cord ing to the commentator,w i th supreme fel i ci ty : UW W Q
‘
He writes : Bit tenau th e n : m m §q ~m 1 Vareziya ,‘of a form to be elected ’
, on account of his being , essentially,supreme felicity .
CHAP TER I I I .
Measure of time . Moments or Kashthas,&c. ; day and n ight ;
fortnight, month,year
,d iv ine year : Yugas or ages : Mahayuga
or grea t age : day of Brahma: periods of the Manus : a Man
wantara : night o f Brahma and destruction of the world : a yearo f Brahma: his l ife : a Kalpa : a Parardha : the past or Pad-ma
Kalpa : the present or Varaba .
MA ITREYA .
—HOW can creative agency be attributedto that Brahma who is without qualities
,ill im itable
,
pure,and free from imperfection ?
PARA SARA .
— The essential properties of existentthings are objects of Observation , of which no foreknowledge is atta inable ; and creation and hundreds ofproperties belong to Brahma
,as inseparable parts of
his essence ; as heat, C ch ief of sages, is inherent in fire .
1
Agency depends upon the Rajo -
guria, the qual i ty of fou lnessor pass ion ,
whi ch is an imperfection . Perfect being is vo id of
al l qual i ties , and is,therefore
,inert :
Omnis enim per se divom natura necesse est
Immortal i aevo summa cum pace fruatur.
But, if inert for ever,crea tion cou ld not occur. T he obj ection is
rather evaded than answered . T he ascrib ing to Brahma Of innum erable and unappreciable properties is supported
,by the com
aa'
q : samm mfi tw mfifl t t : 1Q‘
FITansatura te when man—am: 11
Hat-“
rt atmt its masherashram 1
Seeing that the potencies Of al l existences are understood only throughthe knowledge of that—i . e.
, Brahma—which is beyond reasoning,creation and the like
,such potencies of existences , are referrible to
Brahma &c .
Professor W ilson preferred aa‘lfi to af t {FIT
46 V ISHNU rUBAnA .
Brahma is said to be born : a fam il iar phrase, to signify his manifestation ; and
,as the pecul iar measure
of his presence,a hundred of his years is said
'
to con
stitute his life . That period is also calledPara, and the
This wi ll,however , in the mysticism of the Bhagavata ,
is per
sonified as Maya:GT HTm flag : wfifi :mm m 1 1m m fi g : 11
‘She ( tha t des ire ) was the energy of the Supreme,who was
contemplating (the uncreated world) ; and , by her, whose name is
Maya,the lord made the universe .
’ T his,which was
,at firs t, a
mere poeti cal personification of the d ivine wi l l,came
,in such
works as the Bhagavata ,to denote a female d ivini ty
,coequal
and coeternal w i th the F irst Cause . I t may be doubted if theVedas au thori z e such a mystification ; and no very decided vestigeo f i t occurs in the Vishriu Purana .
Burnout translates the stanza in these words : “ Au commencement cetunivers était Bhagavat, l ame et le souverain maitre de toutes les ames ;
Bhagavat existait seul sans qu’
ancun attribut le manifestat , parce quetout dés ir était éteint en son coeur.
The commentator on the Bhagavata , Sridhara Swamin, explains the latterpart of the stanza in three ways : ‘
aa“
firm al frfl‘
é FIR :3 121 1 1 1 175 1 sa tee n? g
’
e : gjé m rm m afi mm 1
estrrfim W W TW Ffi ij zm m env e
gganarm”tater
-
{1m 1 mtmmmufi «fixgw na'
twmatTi m I W W W 1 W W I? wfafim
’
tuw a
{fin W new 3 1W fafiermmi : 1 a : gs? annota‘
gfi'
a : 1 3 11 313 1 amwaned are} e ta 1 1
113 1 1 W EM T 33 711 1 1 1 13
B/tagavata-
purana , III, 5 ,
‘25 . Burnouf s translation is as follows :
“ Or l’
énergie de cet étre doue’
de vue ,énergie qui est a la fois cc qui
existe et ce qu i n’
ex iste pas [ pour nos organes ] , c'est 1a ce qui se
nomme Maya,et c’est par elle , illustre guerrier, que I’Etre qui pénétre
toutes choses créa cet univers .
BOOK CHAP. III.
half of it, Parardha .
1 I have already declared to you ,O sinless Brahman
,that Tim e is a form of Vishnu .
Hear , now,how it is applied to m easure the duration
of Brahma and of all other sentient beings , as well as
of those which are unconscious ; as the m ountains,oceans, and the like .
0 best of sages , fifteen twinklings of the eye make
aKashtha; thirtyKashthas, oneKala; and thirtyKalas,
one Muhlirta .
2 Thirty Muhurtas constitute a day and
This term is also appl ied to a d ifferent and stil l more pro
tracted period . See b . VI .
,0 . 3 .
2 T he las t proportion is rather obscurcl )rexpressed : mtg!
ffi‘n‘
afig ffiéfi fafix:‘Thirty of them (Kalas ) are the ru le
for the Muhiirta ’. T he commentator says i t means that thirty
Kalas make a Ghatika (or Ghari) ; and two Ghatikas , a Muhi'
i rta :
bu t his explanation is gratu i tou s , and is at variance wi th more
expl ici t passages elsewhere ; as in the Matsya : fw fi h‘
mfiaHfifl g fit l
‘A Muhurta is thirty Kalas . In these d ivis ionso f the twenty- four hours
,the Karma
,Markarideya , Matsya
,Vayu,
and L inga Puranas exactly agree wi th our au thori ty . In Mann,
64,we have the same compu ta tion
,wi th a d ifference in the
first arti cle , eighteen N imeshas being one Kashtha. T he Bha ~
vishya P . fol lows Manu ,in tha t respec t
,and agrees , in the res t
,
wi th the Padma,whi ch has :1 5 N imesbas 1 Kasl i tli a.
30 Kashtlias 1 Kala.
30 Kalas 1 Kshana .
1 2 Ksharias 1 Muhii rta .
30 Muhurtas 1 day and night .In the Mahabharata
,Moksha Dharma
,i t is said that thirty Kala.s
and one - tenth,or
,accord ing to the commentator
,thi rty Kalas
and three Kashthas,make a Muharta . A sti l l grea ter variety
,
Supply “the earth bled .
‘
V ISHNU PURANA .
night of mortals : thirty such days make a month,d iv i
ded into two half-menths : six m onths form an Ayana
however, o ccurs in the Bhagavata * and in the Brahma Vaivarta P .
These have :2 Paramanus 1 Ariu .
3 Arius 1 T rasareriu .
3 T rasarerius 1 T rufi .
1 00 T rutis
3 Vedhas
3 Lavas 1 N imesha .
3 N imeshas 1 Ksha iia .
5 Ksha i ias 1 Késhthé
1 5 Kashtli as
1 Muh lirta .
G or 7 Nadi kas 1 Yama f or watch of the day or n ight .A llus ions to this
,or e i ther of the preced ing computations , or to
any o ther have not been found in e i ther of the o ther Puranas .
Yet the work of Gopala Bhatta,from whi ch Mr. Co lebrooke
states he derived his informat ion on the subject of Ind ian weightsand measures (A . R.
,Vol . the SankhyaParimana , ci tes the
Varaba P . for a pecul iar compu tation,and quotes ano ther from
the Bhavishya ,d ifferent from that which o ccurs in the first chapter
o f tha t work,to whi ch we have referred . T he principle of the
calculation adopted by the astronom i cal works is d ifferent . I t is ‘
6 respirations (Prana) 1 Vikala; 60 Vikalas l Darida ; 60Daridas : 1 s idereal day . T he N imesha
,whi ch is -the base of one o f
the Pauranik modes,is a twinkle of the eye of a man at rest ;
whi lst the Paramanu,which is the origin of the o ther
,and
,appa
rently, more modern ,sys tem cons idering the works in which i t
occurs, is the tim e taken by a Paramanu,or mote in the sunbeam ,
to pass through a crevice in a shu tter. Some ind ications of thiscalculation
'
being in common currency occur in the Hindus tani
III. , I] , 5 et seq.
1 The Bhagavata -
p urana has pra/eara , a synonym of yama .
50 vrs-HNU PURANA .
Seven Rishis, certain (secondary) d iv inities, Indra,*
Manu and the kings his sons,are created and perish
appear,seems to admi t of easy explanation . W e have
,in the
firs t place,
a compu ta tion of the years of the gods in the fourages, or
Kri ta YugaSandhyaSandhyaméa
Treta Yuga
SandhyaSandhyamsa
Dwapara-Yuga
f l '
Kal i Yuga
SandhyaSandhyamsa
If these d ivine years are converted into years of mortals , bymu l tiplying them by 360 (a year of men be ing a day o f the gods),
we ob ta in the years o f whi ch theYugas of mortals are respectivelysaid to consist :
4800 x 360
3600 x 360
2400x 360
1 200 x 360
a Mahayuga .
So that these periods resolve themselves into very simple elementsthe no tion of four ages in a deteriora ting series expressed by
In the Sanskri t, Sakra, an epithet of Indra.
BOOK CHAP . I II . 5 1
at one period ;1and the interval , called a Manwantara,
is equal to seventy-one times the number of years con
tained in the four Yugas, with some add itional years :
descend ing ari thmetical progression ,as 4
,3,2,1 ; the convers ion
o f uni ts into thousands ; and the my thological fiction,tha t these
were d ivine years,each composed of 360 years of men. I t does
not seem necessary to refer the invention to any astronom icalcompu tations
,or to any attempt to represent actual chronology .
T he detai ls of these,as occurring in each Manwantara ,
are
g iven in the third book,0 . 1 and 2 .
fi rm W e? m m: 1'
‘One and seventy enumerations of the four ages , wi th a surplus .
’
A S im ilar read ing occurs in several other Puranas ; but none of
them state of wha t the surplus or add i tion consists . But i t is,in
fact,the number of years requ ired to reconcile two compu tations
of the Kalpa . T he most simple,and
,probably
,the original , calcu
lat ion of a Kalpa is i ts being 1 000 great ages , or ages of the gods :
W fl msé'
égmat gm'
mi ffi mt gmfi am vfi sw
sfi‘a math
“
( Tram 1
Bhavishya P . Then years,or a d ivine age ,
x 1 000
years or a day or night o f Brahma. But a day o f
Brahma is also seventy- one times a great age mul tipl ied by fourteen : x 7 l x 1 4 or less than the preced ingby 259 20 000 ; and i t is to make up for this deficiency
,tha t a
certain number of years must be added to the computation byManwantaras . Accord ing to the S lirya S iddhanta ,
as ci ted byMr. Davis (A . R .
, Vol . this add i tion consists of a Sandhi toeach Manwantara
,equal to the Satya age, or years ; and
one similar Sandhi at the commencement of,the Kalpa : * thus ,X 1 4 43 1 8 2 720 00
43 20 000 000 . T he Pauraniks , however , omi t the
Sdrya- siddhanta , I. , 1 9 ; p . 1 7 of my edition in the Bibliotheca
Indica : p. 1 0 of the American translation , and p . 4 of Pandi t BapiiDeva sastrin
’
s translation.
VISHNU PURANA .
this is the duration of the Mann,the(attendant) div i
n ities , and the rest,which is equal to div ine
years, or to years of morta ls, independentof the add itional period . Fourteen times this periodconstitutes a Brahma day ,
that is,a day
’
of Brahma;the term (Brahma) being the derivative form . At the
end of this day, a d issolution of the universe occurs,*
when all the three worlds,earth
,and the regions of
space are consumed with fire . The dwellers of Maharloka (the region inhabited by the saintswho surv ivethe world) , distressed by the heat, repair then to Janaloka (the region of holy men after their decease) . Whenthe three worlds are but one m ighty ocean
,Brahma
,
who is one with Narayana, satiate with the demol itionof the un iverse
,sleep s upon his serpent-bed—contem
plated , the lotos - born,by the ascetic inhabitants of
Sandhi o f the Kalpa,and add the whole compensation to the
Manwantaras . T he amount of this,in who le numbers
,is
in each Manwantara ,or 4 320 000 x 7 1
x 1 4 leaving a very small inferiori tyto the resul t of the cal cu lation of a Kalpa by a thousand greatages . T o provide for this deficiency , indeed ,
very m inute sub
d ivisions are admi tted into the calculation ; and the commentatoron our tex t says that the add i tional years , if of gods , are 5 1 42
years,1 0 months
,8 days , 4 watches , 2 Muhii rtas
,8 Kalas , 1 7
Kashthas,2 N imeshas ,
and l
l, th ; .i f of mortals
,years
,
6 months,24 days
,1 2 Nad is
,1 2 Kalas
,25 Kasli thas , and 1 0 N i
meshas . It w i l l be observed that,in the Kalpa
,we have the
regular descend ing series 4, 3, 2, w i th ciphers multipl ied ad l ibi tum .
For “the term &c. ,
read “At the end of this day occurs a recoalescenceof the universe, called Brahma s contingent recoa lescence
menfifirfi rfi t am was “: 1Videfl
'
nfm , VI.
,3, ad ma : also see the Mdrkavideya
-
pumna , XLVL, 38 .
54 VISHNU PURANA .
(or day of Brahma) termed varaha'
is the'
first of the
second period of Brahma s existence .
here denote every per iod of destruction , or those in whi ch the
Samvarta wind ,or other destructive agents ,
operate. Severalo ther compu tations o f time are found in d ifferent Puranas ; but i tw i ll be sufficient to noti ce one which occurs in the Hari Vamaa ;as i t is pecul iar
,and because i t is not qu i te correctly given in
M . Langlo is’s translation . It is the calculation of the Manavatime
,or time of a Manu
1 0 d ivine years a day and night of a Mann.
1 0 Manava days his fortnight .1 0 Manava fortnights : his month .
1 2 Manava months his season .
6 Manava seasons = his year .
Accord ingly , the commentator says 72000 d ivine years make up
his year. T he French translation has : “ D ix années des d ieuxfon t un jour de Manou ; dix jours des d ieux font nu Pakcha deManon
” &c . T he error l ies in the expression jours des d ieux”,and is evidently a mere inadvertence ; for , if ten years make a
day, ten days can scarcely make a f ortnight.
French translation of the Harivan'
zsa , Vol . I., pp. 43 et seq.
CHAP TER IV.
Narayaria’
s appearance,in the beginning of the Kalpa
,as the
Varaba or bear : Pri thivi (Earth) addresses him : he ra ises theworld from beneath the waters : hymned by Sanandana and
the Yogins . T he earth floats on the ocean : d ivided into seven
zones . The lower spheres of the universe restored . Creationrenewed .
MAIT REYA .—Tell me
,m ighty sage
,how,
in the com
mencement of the (present) Kalpa,Narayana
,who is
named Brahm a,created all existent things .
‘
PARA SARA .
—In what manner the d iv ine Brahma.who is one with Narayana , created progeny ,
and is
thence named the lord of progeny (Prajapati) the lord
god , you shall hearxl'
At the close of the past (or Padma) Kalpa,the div ine
Brahma,endowed with the quality of goodness, awoke
from his night of sleep ,and beheld the universe vo id .
He, the supreme Narayana,the incomprehensible , the
sovereign of all creatures , invested with the form of
T his creation is of the secondary order,orPratisarga (NW ) ;
water,and even the earth, being in existence
,and
,consequently
,
having been preceded by the creation of Mahat and the elements .
It is also a d ifferent Pratisarga from ~ that described by Manu,in
which Swayambhu first creates the waters , then the egg : one of
the s implest forms,and
,perhaps
,therefore
,one of the earl iest
,in
which the trad i tion occurs .
Read “ that Brahma, who is named Narayaria”: W m
ema i
1 Read , on the faith of my MSS . :“ Hear from me in what manner
the divine Brahma, one with Narayaiia , and the god who is lord of the
Progenitors prayapati-
pati created progeny
56 V ISHNU PURANA .
Brahma, the god without beginning , the creator of
all things ; of whom, with respect to his nameNarayana,the god who has the form of Brahma
,the imperishable
origin of the world,this verse is repeated : “ The
waters are called Nara,because they were the offspring
of Nara (the supreme spirit) ; and, as, in them ,his first
(Ayana) progress ( in the character of Brahma) tookplace
,he is thence named Narayana (he whose place
of mov ing was the waters)”1 He
,the lord ,
'
i‘ conclu
This is the wel l - known verse of Manu,I.
,1 0
, 1 rendered ,
by Sir Wm . Jones : “ T he waters are cal led ndra’
h, because they
were the production of Nara,or the sp iri t of god ; and
,s ince
they were his first ayana ,or p lace of motion, he thence is named
Narayana,or moving on the waters .
” N ow,a l though there can
be l i ttle do ubt that this trad i tion is,in substance , the same as
tha t o f Genes is,the language o f the translation is
,perhaps
,more
scriptura l than is qu i te warranted .
"
T he waters , i t is said in the
text of Manu , were the progeny of Nara,which Ku lhika Bhatta
expla ins Paramatman,
‘the supreme sou l ’ ; that is, they were the
first productions of god in creation. Ayana ,instead of ‘place
nan : emf interw arW W “ : 1
umufanfai é‘tm u
“
fi rfirama 11
But compare the Markar'uileya-
p urana , XLVI I. , 1 .
Prabhava'
pyaya . See the editor’s firs t note in p . 2 1 , supra .
1: Supply “when the world had become one ocean M i a ]
e r fi lfiarmfi’
é fl t gfi auHT newsman as m m: age : 11
In the l’
z’
s/wiu-
pura'
na , the last line begins : ERR"
! HQ FIT : IThe Hariva /hsa—I.
, 36—takes the stanza from the Manava—dlzarma
sastra ,without al teration. Compare the Mahabharata ,
Vana -
parvan,
1 2952 and 1 58 1 9 ; and the Santi—p arvan , 1 3 1 68 . Also see Goldstucker'
s
S anskrit D ictionary , sub voce amIt is beyond doubt that the verses quoted above pal ter with the
etymology of the word m m . 0 11 the taddhz'
ta affix “
EH“ ,which
cannot mean “son see the gana on Pa
'
ri ini,IV .
, 1 , 99.
58 VISHNU PURANA .
purpose ; and , as, in preced ing Kalpas,he had assumed
the shape of a fish or a torto ise,so
,in this
,.he took
the synonyms of water in the N iruk ta of the Vedas . I t may,
perhaps,be intended to .say, that Narali or Apalf has the meaning
o f ‘bod i ly forms ’
,in whi ch spiri t is enshrined
,and of which the
waters ,w i th Vishnu resting upon them are a type ; for there is
much mysti cism in the Puranas in whi ch the passage thus occurs .
Even i n them,however
,i t is introduced in the usual manner
,by
describing the world as water alone , and Vishnu reposing uponthe deep
Izmi r?! Her afwas s us t ain?! 1Fret a s afersen New s : m um 11
“ 6 1 6 151 saww as? senti entsign arm-
am : a W Hfirfi m 11
Vayu P.
* T he Bhagavata’
l' has
,ev idently
,attempted to explain
the ancient text :gw sfi fafi fi a m fi e fsfi fifl : 13 11mmsm fa a atfi ten ‘rfi fi :
mam gm Hm fiman airmanam new : gains
-
er:‘When the embod ied god , in the beginning, d ivided the mundane
egg , and issued forth,then
,requ iring an abid ing-place
,he created
the waters : the pure created the pure . In them,his own created
,
he abode for a thousand years,and thence received the name o f
Narayana : the wa ters being the product of the embod ied dei tyi . e .
,they were the produ ct of Nara or Vishnu
,as the firs t male
The same passage occurs in the I/ énga—purana , Prior Section, LXX1 1 6 and 1 1 7 . And compare the Mahabharata , Vana-
p arvan, 1 58 1 3—1 5 .
These verses , in an almost identical shape , are found in ' the Vayu
purana . See, further, the Linga -
purana , Prior Section, IV.,59.
1 II. , 1 0 , 1 0 and 1 1 .
Burnouf translates : “Purucha , ayant divisé en deux parties l’oeuf[de Brahma] , lorsqu
’
il en sortit an commencement, réfl échit a se faire un
l ien on i l pfit se mouvoir ; et pur, il créa les eaux pures . Il habita sur
ces eaux créées par lui , pendant mille années ; de la vient qu i ’l reqoit lenom de Narayana , parce que l es eaux qui sont nées de Purucha [sentappelées
BOOK CHAP. IV 59
the figure of a boar. Hav ing adopted a form composedof the sacrifices of the Vedas 1 for the preservation of
the whole earth,the eternal
,supreme ,
and universalsoul
,the great progenitor of created beings
,eulogized
by Sanaka and the other saints who dwell in the sphereo f holy men (J analoka) ; he , the supporter of spiritualand material being, plunged into the ocean . The god
dess Earth,behold ing him thus descend ing, to the sub
terrene regions , bowed in devout adoration ,and thus
glorified the god :Pri thivi (Earth) .
—Hail to thee, who art all creatures ;to thee
,the holder of the mace and shell : elevate me
now from this place,as thou hast upraised me in days
of old . From thee have I proceeded ; of thee do I
consist ; as do the skies and all other existing things .
Hail to thee,spirit of the supreme spirit ; to thee, sou l
or ViraJ, and were,therefore
,termed Nara : and
,from their being
his Ayana or Sthana,his ‘
abid ing - place ’ comes his epithet ofNarayana .
T he Varaba form was chosen,says the vayu P.
,because i t
is an animal del ighting to sport in water -
t But i t is described , inmany Puranas
,as i t is in the Vishnu
,as a type of the ri tual of
the Vedas ; as we shal l have '
further occas ion to remark . T he
elevation of the earth from benea th the ocean,in this form
, was,
therefore,probably at firs t an al legorical representation of the
extri cat ion of the world from a deluge of iniqu i ty,by the ri tes
of rel igion . Geologists may , perhaps, suspect, in the original andunmystified trad i tion ,
an al lusion to a geolog ical fact , or the
exi stence of lacustrine mammal ia in the early periods of the
earth .
S thz'
rdtman.
58 VISHNU DURANA .
purpose ; and , as, in preced ing Kalpas,he had assumed
the shape of a fish or a torto ise,so
,in this
,.he took
the synonyms of water in the N iruk ta of the Vedas . It may,
perhaps,be intended to .say , that Narali or Apah has the m eaning
o f ‘bod ily forms ’
,in whi ch Spiri t is enshrined
,and of whi ch the
waters ,w i th Vishnu resting upon them are a type ; for there is
much mysti cism in the Puranas in whi ch the passage thus occurs .
Even l n them,however
,i t is introduced “
in the usual manner,by
describing the world as water alone, and Vishnu reposing upon
the deep :Emi r? m affia
’
fi Q TW 1
an a W“
916”W : m are—1 11
W W W affirmW m m : a W «far? To 11
Vayu P.
* T he Bhagavata -
t has , ev idently,attempted to ex plain
the ancient text
H‘
s-Eh S te fart-
"minw e? a firfifi au3 11m? sam fa a ath sm a
’
iw fir: W :
y a amfi‘
ra ngm armaw
‘
vnt rcmfi am “
emu : 31 1 111 3 611 :‘When the embod ied god , in the beginning, d ivided the mundane
egg , and issued forth,then
,requ iring an abid ing-place
,he created
the waters : the pure created the pure . In them,his own created
,
he abode for a thousand years,and thence received the name o f
Narayana : the wa ters being the product of the embod ied dei tyi . e .
,they were the product of Nara or Vishnu
,as the firs t male
The same passage occurs in the Linga-
purana , Prior Section, LXX1 1 6 and 1 1 7 . And compare the Mahdbhdrata , Vana -
p arvan, 1 58 1 3—1 5 .
These verses , in an almost identical shape ,are found in ‘ the Va
'
yu
purana . See, further, the L-inga-
pum na,Prior Section, IV.
,59.
I I . , 1 0 , 1 0 and 1 1 .
Burnouf translates : “Purucha , ayant divisé en deux parties l’oeuf[de Brahma] , lorsqu
’
il en sortit au commencement, réfiéchit a se faire un
l ien on i l put se mouvoir ; et pur, il créa les eaux pures . Il habita sur
ces eaux créées par lui, pendant mille années ; de 1 a vient qu i ’l reqoit lenom de Narayai
'
i a,parce que l es eaux qui sont nées de Purucha [sont
appelées Nara] .
60 V ISHNU PURANA .
o f soul ; to thee, who art discrete and ind iscrete matter ;who art one w ith the elements and w ith time . Thouart the creator of all things , their preserver , and theirdestroyer , in the forms
,0 lord
,of Brahma
,Vishnu
,
and Rudra,at the seasons of creation
,duration
,and
dissolution . When thou hast devoured all things,thou
reposest on the ocean that sweep s over the world ,med itated upon , 0 Gov inda
,by the wise . No one
knoweth thy true nature ; and the gods adore thee onlyin the form s it hath pleased thee to assume. They whoare desirou s of final l iberation worship thee a s the
supreme Brahma ;‘
l‘and who that adores not Vasudeva
shall obtain emancipation ? Whatever may be appre
hended by the m ind,whatever may beperceived by
the senses, whatever may be d iscerned by the intellect,all is but a form of thee . I am of thee, uphel d by thee
°
thou art my creator, and to thee I fly for refuge : hence,
in this un iverse,Madhav i ( the bride of Madhava or
Vishnu) is my designation . Triumph to the essenceof all wisdom ,
to the the imperishable :triumph to the eternal ; to the indiscrete, to the essenceof d iscrete things : to him who i s both cause and effect ;who is the universe ; the sinless lord of sacrifice ;
1 triumph .
Thou art sacrifice ;'
thou art the oblation ;§thou art the
Yajnapati (M a ) ,‘the bestower of the beneficial resul ts
o f sacrifices .
’
L iterally , in place of “thou reposest , &c.
“the world having been
converted into one ocean, thou reposest : a“
? I
1 Read :“ W orshipping thee , the supi eme Brahma ,
they who were
desirous of final l iberation hzwe compassed i t”W TW at 3 31 mm gfifim a : 1
S tu la -nzara,
“the gross
“the concrete.
Rather, “the formula va .
s'
lzat”, vaskat
'
kdra ,
BOOK CHAP . Iv. 6 1
mystic omkara ; thou art the sa crificial fires ; thou art
theVedas, and their dependent sciences ; thou art,Ham,
the object of all worship .
1 The sun,the stars , the
planets,the whole world ; all that is formless
,or that
has form ; all that is v isible,or inv isible ; all, Purushot
tama,that I have said , or left unsaid ; al l this, Supreme,
thou art . Hail to thee,again and again ! ha il ! all hail !
PARA SARA .
—The auspicious supporter of the world,being thushymned by the earth
, ‘em itted a low mur
muring sound,l ike the chanting of the Selma Veda ;
and the m ighty boar,whose eyes were l ike the lotos
,
and whose body, vast as the Nila mountain
,was of the
dark colour of the lotos - leaves,
2uplifted upon his
ample tusks the earth from the lowest regions . As he
reared up his head ,the waters shed from his brow
purified the great? sages,Sanandana and others
,resi
d ing in the sphere of the saints . Through the indentations made by his hoofs
,the waters rushed into the
Yajnapurusha (W W ) ,‘the male or sou l of sacrifice ’
;
explained by Yajnamurti (W ffi)‘the form or personifica tion
o f sacrifice ’
; or Y '
ajnaradhya (m m) ,‘he who is to be
propi tiated by i t . ’2 Varaha Avatara . T he descrip tion of the figure of the boar
is much more particularly detailed in o ther Puranas . As in the
Vayu : “The boar was ten Yojanas in bread th,a thousand Yojanas
high ; of the colour of a dark cloud ; and his roar was l ike thunder ;his bu lk was vas t as a mountain ; his tusks were whi te
,sharp
,
and fearful ; fire flashed from his eyes l ike l ightning , and he wasrad iant as the sun ; his shou lders were round
,fat
,and large; he
s trode along l ike a powerful l ion ; his haunches were fat,his lo ins
Supply “full-blown Sphut'
a .
1 Supply “sinless ap aka lmasha .
62 VISHNU PURANA .
lower worlds with a thundering noise . Before hisbreath the pious d enizens of Janaloka were scattered ;
were slender,
and his body was smooth and beautiful .” T he
Matsya P. describes the Varaba in the same words , wi th one or
two unimportant varieties . T he Bhagavata -
l indulges in tha tamplification which marks its more recent composi tion
,and
describes the Varaha as issu ing from the nostrils of Brahma,
at
firs t of the size of the thumb,or an inch long ,
and presentlyincreasing to the stature of an elephant. That work also s ub
jo ins a legend of the death of the demon H irariyaikshafi who,in
a preced ing existence,was one of Vishnu s doorkeepers
,at his
palace in Vaikuntha . Having refused admission to a party of
Munis,they cursed him ; and he was
,in consequence , born as
one of the sons of D i ti . When the earth,oppressed by the weight
o f the mountains,sank down into the waters
,Vishnu was beheld
in the subterrene regions ,or Rasatala
,by Hirariyak sha ,
in the
act of carry ing i t off. T he demon cla imed the earth,and defied
Vishnu to comba t ; and a confl ict took place,in whi ch H irar'iyaksha
was slain . This legend has not been met wi th in any o therPurana
,and certainly does not occur in the chief of them ,
any
more than in our text . In the Moksha Dharma of the Mahabha
rata,c . 35
,Vishriu destroys the demons
,in the form of the Varaba ;
but no particular ind ividual is specified ; nor does the e levationo f the earth depend upon their discomfiture . T he Kal ika Upapurana has an absurd legend of a confli ct between Siva as a
M i l 1:1m
1 III . , 1 3, 1 8 et seq.
Il l 1 8 and 1 9.
64 VISHNU PURANA .
mountain,*be propitious . We acknowledge thee, who
hast traversed the world , 0 universal form,to be the
beginning , the continuance , and the destruction of all
things : thou art the supreme god . Have pity on i 1 s,
0 lord of conscious and unconscious beings . The orb
of the earth is seen seated on the tip of thy tusks,as
if thou hadst been sporting amidst a lake where thelotos floats , and hadst borne away the leaves coveredwith so il . The space between heaven and earth isoccupied by thy body
, 0 thou of unequalled glory,
resplendent with the power of pervad ing the universe,
0 lord ,for the benefit of all . Thou art the aim of al l :
there is none other than thee,sovereign of the world :
this is thy might,by which all things, fixed or movable,are pervaded . This form ,
which is now beheld,is thy
form ,as one essential ly with wisdom . Those who have
not practised devotion conceive erroneously of the
nature of the world . The ignorant,who do notperceive
that this un iverse is of the nature of wisdom ,and judge
of it as an object of perception only,are lost in the
ocean of Spiritual ignorance . But they who know truewisdom
,and whose m inds are pure, behold this whole
world as one with d iv ine knowledge, as one with thee,0 god . Be favourable
, O universal spirit : raise up thisearth
,for the habitation of created beings . Inscrutable
deity ,whose eyes are l ike lotoses
,give us felicity . 0
lord,thou art endowed with the quality of
,goodness :
is repeated in mos t of the Puranas , in the same or nearly thesame words .
The MSS . within my reach omit the words answering to “who art
in si ze a mountain
BOOK CHAP . i v 65
raise up , Gov inda , this earth,for the general good .
Grant us happiness,O lotos-eyed . May this, thy activityin creation , be beneficial to the earth . Salutation to
thee . Grant u s happiness, 0 lotos-eyed .
PARA SARA .
—The supreme being thus eulogized,up
hold ing the earth ,raised it quickly ,
and placed it on
the summ it of the ocean, where it floats l ike a m ightyvessel , and , from its expansive surface , does not sinkbeneath the waters . Then
,hav ing levelled the earth
,
the great eternal deity d iv ided it into‘
portions,by
mountains . He who neverwills in vain created, by hisirresistible power, thosemountains again upon the earth
,
which had been consumed at the destruction of the
world . Hav ing then div ided the earth into seven greatportions or continents, as it was before, he constructed,in like manner
,the four ( lower) spheres , earth , sky,
heaven, and the sphere of the sages (Maharloka) . ThusHari , the four-faced god , invested with the qual ity of
activ ity, and taking the form of Brahma,accomplished
the creation . But he (Brahma) is only the instrumentalcause of things to be created ; the things that are capableofbeing created arise from nature as a common materialcause . With exception of one instrumental cause alone
,
there is no need of any other cause ; for (imperceptible)substance becomes perceptible Substance accord ing tothe powers with which it is originally imbued .
‘-l'
1 This seems equ ivalent to the ancient no tion of a plastic
A large portion of the present chapter, down to this point, has beentranslated anew in Origina l Sanskrit Tex ts, Part IV., pp. 32 and 33 .
66 vrsm'
mPURANA.
nature ; “al l parts of matter being supposed able to form them
se lves artificial ly and methodi cal ly to the greatest advan
tage of their present respective capabi l ities .
” This , which Cudworth (0 . III .) cal ls hylozoism,
is not incompatible with an activecreator : not H that he shou ld adroveyeiv &na rra , set his
own hand to every work ,
” whi ch,as Aristo tle says , wou ld
be, (1 71 08 71 15; u p (9595 , unbecoming God ; but , as in the
case of Brahma and o ther subord inate agents , that they shouldoccasion the various developments of crude nature to takeplace
,by supplying that wi ll , of which nature i tself is incapable .
A ction being once insti tu ted by an instrumental med ium ,or by
the wi l l of an intel lectual agent, i t is continued by powers , or a
vi tal i ty inherent in nature or the matter of creation i tsel f. The
efficiency of such subord inate causes was advocated by P lato ,Aristo tle
,and others ; and the Opinion of Zeno, as stated by
Laertine , m ight be taken for a translation of some such passageas that in our text : “
"Eou dé 90 150 1 9 fs
’
é’
zg e’
§aét fig xwmwévnxardz 0 71 801 1 01 1 1 11o ho
'
yovg , 11 71 0 1 8 1 0 170 0? as xa i'
ovvéxovoa
761 sf ahzfig s’
r (dQl G/l éVOl Q 950 151 1 0 1 9, 1 1 01 1 zow vza dpo’
ioa cigo’
oi'
cov 51 71 8 11 9129 17. Nature is a habi t moved from i tself, accord ingto H seminal principles ; perfecting and containing those severalthings whi ch in determ inate times are produced from i t, and actingagreeably to that from which i t was secreted .
” Intel l . System ,
I.
,328 . So the commentator i llustrates our text , by observing
that the cause of the budd ing of rice is in its own seed ,and its
development is from i tself,though i ts growth takes place
“
only
W W ?“
fi’
ma fsrfa‘
m“
3 1
W anfi fis m m ag m nThese rather obscure verses lend themselves, without violence, to some
such interpretation as t hei
fol lowing :“He is only the ideal cause of
the potencies to be created in the work of creation ; and from him
proceed the potencies to be created , after they have become the realcause. Save that one ideal cause ,
there is no other to which the
world can be referred . Worthiest of ascetics , through its potency—i . e. ,
through the potency of that cause—every created thing comes by its propernature.
In theVedanta and Nyaya,n1
'
1 1 1 1'
tta is the efficient cause, as contrastedwith apadana , the material cause. In the Sankhya , pradhana implies
CHAP TER V .
Vishnu as Brahma creates the world . General characteristics o f
creation . Brahma med i tates,and g ives origin to
,immovable
things , animals , gods , men . Specific crea tion o f nine k inds :Mahat
,T anmatra
,A indriya , inanimate obj ects
,animals, gods ,
men,Anugraha ,
and Kaumara . More parti cu lar account o f
creation . Origin o f d ifferent orders of be ings from Brahma 5
body under d ifferent cond i tions ; and of the Vedas from his
mou ths . A l l things created again as they ex isted in a former
MAITREYA .—Now unfold to me , Brahman
,how this
deity created the gods,sages
,progenitors
,demons
,
men, animals , trees , and the rest , that abide on earthin heaven, or in the waters ; how Brahma, at creation,made the world, with the qual ities, the characteristics,and the forms of things .
PARA SARA .—I will explain to you ,
Maitreya : l istenattentively, how this deity, the lord of all
,created the
gods and other beings .
T he terms here employed are for qual i ties,Gurias ; which,
as we have already noticed,are those o f goodness, foulness, and
darkness .
* The characteristics or Swabhavas are the inherentproperties of the “qual i ties
,by which they act
,as soothing, terrific,
or stupefying ; and the forms,Swarapas , are the d istinctions o f
biped,quadruped
,brute
,bird
,fish
,and the l ike.
See Professor W ilson’
s note in p. 34 , supra , and the appendedcomment .
BOOK CHAP. v. 69
Whilst he (Brahma) formerly, in the beginning of
theKalpas, was meditating on creation,there appeareda creation beginning with ignorance
,and consisting of
darkness . From that great - being appeared fivefoldIgnorance , consisting of Obscurity, illusion ,
extremeillusion ,
gloom utter darkness .
1 The creation of the
creator thus plunged in abstraction was the fivefold
(immovable) world, without intellect or reflection, voidof perception or sensation ,
incapable of feeling, and
Or Tamas (m ) , Moha (fi g) , Mahamoha (W ) :T amisra (aTfiTa ) , Andhatamisra (W e ) ; they are the
five k inds Of Obstruction,Viparyaya (W ), of sou l
’
s l iberation.
Accord ing to the sankhya, they are explained to be : 1 . T he be
l ief Of material substance being the same wi th Spiri t ; 2 . Notionof property or possession ,
and consequent attachment to objects,
as chi ldren and the l ike,as being one
’
s own ; 3. Addi ction to the
enjoyments of sense ; 4 . Impatience or wra th ; and 5 . Fear of pri
va tion or death. They are cal led,in the Patanjala phil osophy,
the five affl ictions, K les
'
a but are s im i larly explained byAv idya ‘ignorance ’
; A smita (W T) ,‘selfishness ’ ,
l i terally ‘I-amness ’ ; Raga (m ) ,‘love’ ; Dwesha (ai l) ,
‘hatred ’ ;and Abhinives
'
a‘dread of temporal suffering’ . san
khya Karika, pp . 1 48 - 1 50 . This creation by Brahma in the VarabaKalpa begins in the same way, and in the same words ,
in mostof the Puranas . T he Bhagavata -
l reverses the order of thesefive products
,and gives them ,
Andhatamisra,T amisra
,Mahamoha
,
Moha,and Tamas ; a variation obviously more immethod ical than
the usual read ing of the text,and adopted
,no doubt
, 1 merely forthe sake of giving the passage an air of original i ty.
Compare Origina l Sanskri t Tex ts, Part I. , p. 20 .
1 II I . , 1 2 , 2 . In the same Purana , III . , 20 , 1 8 , we have ta'
misra
andhatamz'
sra , tamas, moha, and maha’
tamas.
70 VISHNU PUBANA .
destitute of motion .
l ee Since immovable things werefirst created, this is called the first creations? Brahma,
This is not to be confounded wi th elementary creation,al
though the descrip tion wou ld very wel l apply to’ that of crude
nature or Pradhana ; but, as wi l l be seen presently, we have here
to do wi th final productions,or the forms in whi ch the previously
created elements and facu l ties are more or less perfectly aggre
gated . T he first class of these forms is here said to be immovablethings ; that is, the m ineral and vegetable k ingdoms : for the sol idearth
, wi th i ts mountains, and rivers
,and seas
,was already pre
pared for their reception. T he ‘fivefold ’ immovable creation is,
indeed,accord ing to the comment , restri cted to vegetables , five
orders of which are enumerated , or : 1 . trees ; 2 . shrubs ; 3 . cl imbing plants ; 4. creepers ; and 5 . grasses i
tri mara n: uv’
r’
i wwi‘rwfimW 1
aterfi s am a fi m w m : 11
Of him med itating was a fivefold creation—via , of things—without
reflection , devoid of clearness in a l l matters external and internal , dullof nature , essentially immovable.
Another reading of the second line gives Hfm i'
flm fl I amfimm being taken in connexion with “
afg'
q ,the meaning i s
,
then :“devoid of reflection on external obj ects, endowed with inward mani
festations. This is according to the commentary, which interprets-
the
inward manifestations as being cognitions chiefly of a sensual kind.
The word a?“ as used in the stanza quoted , is very unusual .
1‘gen
-cm 1 1 6 3333 11 m am a“ !
Inasmuch as things immovable are designated as primary, this is cl 1sanguished as the primary creation.
The commentator refers to a sacred text for the explanation that immovable things are technically styled “primary mukhga , on the ground
that they were produced at the creation of the gods
and others : Hi? that faw’
fififa
i s : 1See the editor’s firs t note in p . 75 , infra .
In the words of the commentary : W M E Q“
6 11 7-1151 {fit I But the grammar here looks very doubtful.
72 vrsnnu PURANA .
sations,and associating with each other (accord ing to
their kinds) .Beholding this creation also imperfect
,Brahmaagain
med itated ; and a third creation appeared, abounding
with the quali ty of goodness,termed Urd’
hwasrotas .
1
The beings thus produced in theUrdhwasrotas creationwere endowed with pleasure and enjoyment
,unencum
bered internally or externally,and lum inou s within and
without . 1 This , termed the creation of immortalsfi.
horse ,the mule , the ass , the yak ,
the Sarabha, and the Gaura
or whi te deer. T he second are the cow,the goat , the buffalo ,
the hog , the gayal , the black deer , the antelope,the camel
,and
the Sheep . T he last are the dog ,jackal
,wol f
,tiger , cat , hare,
porcupine , l ion, m onkey,elephant
,torto ise
,l i zard
,and al l igator.§
Hrdhwa ‘above’
,and Srotas
,as before ; their nourish
ment being derived from the exterior,not from the interior
,o f
the body ; accord ing to the commentator : a fi guft aw ai aW fl m w H : as a text of the Vedas has i t :
‘Through satiety derived from even behold ing ambrosia ’ ; W4
t 1 1? 3 11 33 1 211 “W E“Endowed with inward manifestations, and mutually in ignorance about
their kind and nature.
1 11 gmfifaae anW e 3 1 31 1 1 : 1W 1 gym : I!
Those beings in which was a preponderance of happy and pleasurablefeel ings , and that were undull externally and internally, and possessedoutward and inward manifestations, were called Urdhwasrotas.
Deva-sar’
ga .
“Black deer is 1 1 15 11 1 11 1 , antelope ruru ;“ lizard god/Mi ; and
alligator makara .
HThe gods are called u'
rdhwasrotas , because they obtain their foodextraneously to the body. That is to say, the bare sight of alimentstands, to them, in place of eating it : “for there is satisfaction from the
mere beholding of ambrosia So says—not a Vaidik text , but s—the
BOOK CHAP. v . 73
was the third performance of Brahma,who
,although
well pleased with it, still found it incompetent to fulfil
his end . Continu ing,therefore, his med itations, there
sprang , in consequence Of his infall ible purposeyl' the
creation termed Arvaksrotas , from ind iscrete nature .
The products of this are termed Arvaksrotas,
1 fromthe downward current ( of their nutriment) . Theyabound with the light of knowledge ; but the qualitiesof darkness and of foulness predominate . Hence theyare afflicted by ev il , and are repeatedly impelled toaction . They have knowledge both externally and in
ternally, and are the instruments (of accomplishing the
object of creation, the liberation of soul) . i These creatures were mankind .§I have thu s explained to you ,
excellent Muni,six ?
A rvak (W ),‘downwards’ , and Srotas (fl ag ) ,
‘canal ’ .H2 This reckoning is not very easily reconci led wi th the crea
commentator. The quotation from the Veda , which he adds , in.
supportof hi s vi ew, i s : =1 e 3 28 11 w fa mfi l fizafiu 1 m ange
g‘g‘
t 5'w “The gods do not
,indeed , ei ther eat or drink. Having
looked upon this ambrosia,they are satisfied .
The translation is here somewhat compressed .
1 Satgabhidhagin ,—here an epithet of Brahma, true to his will”.
The commentator explains i t by satya- sanl 'a lp a .
The words in brackets are supplied by the translator. The com
mentator says : m an : W mfl mfm Allusion is made,
in the original text, to man’
s exclusive prerogative to engage in sacrificeand to explore the nature of spirit. See the editor’ s first note in p . 7 1 ,
sup ra .
For another rendering ,see Orig ina l Sanskrit Tex ts , Part I. , pp. 20
and 2 1 .
1] Men are called arua'
ksrotas , because they are developed by means
of their food going downwards . So says the commentator : mm1 : wife
‘
s-
am wade Henri 1 1mm 5 11m : 1 Possiblythe right word is avaksrotas.
74 V ISHNU PURANA .
creations . The first creation was that Of Mahat or Intel lect , which is also called the creation of Brahma .
The second was that of the rud imental principles (Tanmatras) , thence termed the elemental creation (BhutaSarga) . The third was the modified for-m Of egotism ,
f
termed the organic creation ,or creation of the senses
(Aindriyaka) . These three were thePrakri ta creations,the developments of indiscrete nature
,preceded by the
ind iscrete principle .
2 The fourth or fundamenta l crea
tions described ; for, as presently enumerated,the stages of creation
are seven. T he commentator , however , considers the Hrdhwasrotas creation
,or that of the superhuman beings , to be the same
wi th that Of the Ind'
riyas or senses,over whi ch they preside ; by
which the number is reduced to six s j'
This creation being the work of the supreme Spiri t, 3 31
Ham-335 : Rafi fafia accord ing to the com
mentator : or it m ight have been understood to mean,that Brahma
was then created,being ,
as we have seen, identified wi th Mahat,‘active intel l igence ’
,or the Operating wi l l of the Supreme. See
note in p . 33,sup ra .
2 T he text is : Inf-fl ga g whi ch is , as rendered
in the text,
‘creation preceded by,or beg inning wi th, Buddhi , in
“Modified form of egotism here translates va ikarika ; and this issynonymous wi th sattwilca , the adj ective of sattwa . See ProfessorW ilson’
s
note in p. 34, and the editor’s comment in p. 35 , sup ra .
1 Mention has been made , in the second chapter , of three creations,denominated mahattattwa , bhuta , and indriga ; and we have j ust read of
four, the 1nukhga ,tirgalcsrotas , urdhwasrotas , and aruaksrotas. The ia
( lriga comprehends the urdhu i asrotas, according to the commentator. He
speaks of a reading seven instead of“six”; when , he says , the 1 ir
( l/iwasrotas is not comprised in the indriga ; and the order of the creations is as follows : mahattattwa , 1 11 11 1 11 , indriga , 1 1 1 1 1k/1ga , t
-irgalrsrotas ,
urdliwasrotas, and ar'
va'
lcsrotas.
Most of my COpies of the commentary have : 2 13 1 316 1 1 W T
am en: mi t rawl : 1
76 visHNU PUBANA .
darkness .
1 Of these creations five are secondary and
three are primary? But there is a ninth
,the Kaumara
T he Anugraha creation ,of whi ch no notice has been found
in the Mahabharata,seems to have been borrowed from the San
khya phi losophy. It is more parti cularly described in the Padma,
Markarideya L inga, j and Matsya Puranas ; as :W a
itres s : mi : a 3 3 1 1 1 611 3 13 1 1 1 :
1”
a a teen 319 11 1 us e a 11‘T he fifth is the Anugraha creation, which is subd ivided into fourk inds ; by Obstruction ,
d isabil i ty,perfectness
,and acqu iescence.
’
This is the Pratyayasarga or intel lectual creation of the sankhyas(S . Karika
,v . 46
,p . the creation Of which we have a notion
,
or to which we give assent (Anugraha ) , in contrad istinction to
organ ic creation, or that existence of which we have sensible percep tion. In i ts Specific Subd ivisions
,i t is the notion of certain
inseparable properties in the four d ifferent orders of beings : oh
s truction or stol id i ty in inanimate things ; inabili ty or imperfectionin animals ; perfectibil i ty in man ; and acqu iescence or tranqu i lenjoyment in gods . So also the Vayu P. :
ww’
i'
g faufimfwfim‘rfi a ufam
2 OrVaikri ta,derived med iately from the first principle, through
i ts Vikr1 tis,
‘productions’ or ‘developments’ ; and Prakr1 ta , derivedmore immed iately from the chief principle i tself. Mahat and thetwo forms of Ahan
'
nkara,
or the rud imental elements and the
Senses,consti tu te the latter class ; inanimate beings , &c. compose
the former : or the latter are considered as the work of Brahma,
whi ls t the three first are evolved from Pradhana . So the Vayu
XLVII . , 28 ; where , however, the second half of the stanza is read :
1 3 1 11 151 1 1 fea ra ma n train as? a 1
‘
1 Prior Section LXX. ,1 57
I The Vayu-
purana , to the same effect—only that it substitutes “eighth
for “ fifth,
—as the verses given above ,is cited hy the commentator.
Then follows the stanza with which the note concludes.
BOOK CHAP . v . 77
creation,which is both primary and secondary .
1 Theseare the nine creations of the great progenitor of al l
,
1 11 15 1 11 1 1 3 31 : 1 11 1 1 : 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 13 1 131 111 :
1 1 11 1 11 31 1 1 1 1 111 1 1 13311 sense 31 11‘T he three creations beg inning w i th Intel ligence are elemental ;bu t the S ix creations which proceed from the series of which Intel lect is the first are the work of Brahma.
’
1 W e must have recourse,here also
,to other Puranas
,for the
elucidation of this term . T he Kaumara creation is the creationo f Rudra or N ilalohita
,a form of Siva
,by Brahma
,which is sub
sequently described in our tex t,and Of certain o ther m ind -born
Sons Of Brahma,of whose birth the V ishriu P. g ives no further
account . They are elsewhere termed Sanatkumara, Sauanda , Sa
naka,and Sanatana
, wi th sometimes a fifth,Ribhu
,added. These,
decl ining to create progeny , rema ined,as the name o f the first
impl ies,ever boys
,Kumaras ; that is , ever pure and innocent ;
whence their creation is cal led the Kaumara. Thus the Vayu :3 151 1 11 1 1 1
"1 1
“
91 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 : 1 1 1 11 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 11 1 11 171 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 11
uaq mt fia a a’
amét g usifi 1
11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 : 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 : we 11
And the Linga has :1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 : 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 : 1 1 1 11 3 1 1 1 11 11 1 11q 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 vaiifiia : 11
*
‘Being eve1 as he was born,he is here cal led a y ;ou th hence
his name is wel l known as Sanatkumara .
’ This authori ty mak es
Sanatkumara and Ribhu the two first born of al l :
whi lst the tex t of the Hari Vanhs'
a l imi ts the primogeni ture to
Sanatkumara :
s ac-
31 1 1 1 1 fax? 51513 1 1In another place
,however , i t enumerates
,apparently
,six
,or the
LXX. , 1 74 .
1 Prior Section, LXX., 1 70 and
78 VISH'NU PUBANA .
and, both as primary and secondary
,are the radical
causes of the world , proceed ing from the sovereigncreator. What else dost thou desire to h ear?
above four , wi th Sana , and e i ther Bibhu or another Sanatana :for the passage is corrupt. T he French translation ascri bes a
Share in creation to Sanatkumara : ‘Les Sept Pradj apatis, Roudra
Scanda (Son fils) , et Sanatcoumara se m irent a produire les étres,
répandant partout l ’inépuisable énerg ie du D ieu .
’ T he original is1 iah w fa 1 1 1 13 1 ( a?! 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 3 : m 1 11 1 : 1 1mmfirs-a : 11 1
Sankshipya is not ‘répandant’ , bu t ‘restraining’ ; and T ishfhatali,being in the dual number
,relates
,Of course
,to only two of the
series . T he correct rendering is : ‘These seven (Prajapatis) createdprogeny ; and so did Rudra : bu t Skanda and Sanatkumara ,
re
straining the ir power , abstained ( from So the 00m
mentator“
Rm r Erg fi éfi faa m a :
These sages , however, l ive as 1 0 1 11323Bifahma; and they are only
created by him in the first Kalpa,al though their generation is
very commonly,but inconsistently
,introduced in the Varaba or
Padma Kalpa . This creation ,says the text
,is both primary
(Prak r1 ta ) and secondary (Vaikri ta ) . It is the latter, accord ingto the commentator
,as regards the orig in of these saints from
Brahma: i t is the former,as affects Rudra
,who , though proceed
ing from Brahma, in a certain form was in essence equally an
immed iate production of the first principle . These no tions,the
birth Of Rudra and the saints,seem to have been borrowed from
the Saivas, and to have been awkward ly engrafted upon the Va i
shriava system . Sanatkumara and h is brethren i are always described , in the Saiva Puranas , as Yog ins : as the Karma , afterenumerating them ,
adds
fi’
fi tfifirfi famzv‘
t fim mfiamz l
Vol . I., p. 6 .
1 Stanza 44 .
On the subject of these personages , see Original S anskrit Tex ts,
passim, and the Sankhya-3am , Preface, pp. 1 3 et seq, foot-note.
80‘
VISHNU PURANA .
tors , and men , collected his m ind into itself.1 Whilst
thus concentrated ,the qual ity of darkness pervaded
his body ; and thence the demons ( the Asuras ) werefirst born, issu ing from his thigh . Brahma then abandoned that form which was composed of the rudimentof darkness, and which, being deserted by him ,
became
night . Continuing to create ,but assum ing a different
shape,he experienced pleasure ; and thence from his
mouth proceeded the god s , endowed with the qualityof goodness . The form abandoned by him became day,
in which the good qual ity predom inates ; and hence byday the gods are most powerful , and by night the demons . He nex t a dopted
’
another person,in which the
rud iment of goodness also prevail ed ; and , thinking of
himself as the father of the world,the progenitors (the
1 These rei terated,and. not a lways very congruous , accounts
of the crea tion are explained,by the Puranas, as referring to d if
ferent Kalpas or renovations of the world , and therefore involvingno incompatibil i ty . A better reason for their appearance is , theprobabi l i ty that they have been borrowed from d ifferent orig inalau thori ties. T he account that fol lows is e vidently mod ified bythe Yogi Saivas, by its general mysti cism , and by the expressionswi th whi ch i t begins :
.
‘Col lecting his m ind into i tself ’ , RH} according to the
comment is the performance of the Yoga (Yuyuj e ) . T he termAmbhamsi , l i t . , ‘waters’ , for the four orders of beings , gods, demons
,men
,and P i tris , is, also , a pecul iar
,and , probably, mystic,
term . T he commentator says i t occurs in the Vedas , as a synonym.of gods, &c. : Tmfif aanimffir 323 1 1mm : fi afi SW{fi t 333 ; T he Vayu Purana derives .i t from in t o shine’ ; because the d ifferent orders of beings shine , or flourish ,
several ly,by moonl ight, night, day , and twil ight :m W sw |&c.
BOOK CHAP. v“
8 1
P itri s) wereborn from his s ide. The body, whenheabandoned it , becam e the Sandhya (or evening twi
l ight) , the interval between day and night . Brahmathen assumed another person, pervaded by the qual ityof foulness ; and from this
,men, in whom fou lness (or
passion) predom inates, were produced . Qu ickly abandoning that body
,it became morning twilight , or the
dawn . At the appearance of this light of day, men
feel most V i gour ; while the progenitors are most powerful in the evening season . In this manner , Maitreya,Jy
‘
otsna(dawn), Ratri (night), Ahan (day), and Sandhya
(evening) , are the four bod ies of Brahma invested bythe three qualities .
1 This account is given in several o ther Puranas : in the Karma,wi th more simpl ici ty ; in the Padma, Linga, and Vayu , wi th more
detail . T he Bhagavata ,as usual , ampl ifies sti l l more Copiously,
and m ixes up much absurd i ty wi th the account. Thus , the personof Sandhya
,
‘evening twil ight’ , is thus described : “She appeared
wi th eyes rol l ing wi th pass ion , whilst her lotos - l ike fee t soundedwi th tink l ing ornaments : a musl in vest depended from her waist
,
secured by a golden zone : her breasts were protuberant and closetogether ; her nose was elegant ; her teeth ,
beau tiful ; her facewas bright wi th smi les , and she modestly concealed i t wi th thesk irts of her robe ; wh ils t the dark curls clustered round her
brow.
”1'
.T he Asuras address her , and win her to become their
“ Of the world and “ from his side are adopted from the com
mentary.
1' Bhagavata-
purana., II I . , 20 , 29-3 1
82 VISHNU PURANA.
Next, from Brahma, in a form composed of the quality of foulness , was produced hunger , of whom angerwas born : and the god put forth ,
in darkness , beingsemaciate with hunger
,of hideous aspects
,and with
long beards . Those beings hastened to the’
deity . Suchof them as exclaim ed Oh preserve u s ! were , thence,called Rakshasas : others , who cried out Let u s eat,
bride . T o the four forms of our text the same work adds
T andri,
‘s lo th’ ; J rimbharia, ‘yawning’ ; N idra, ‘
sleep ’ ; Unmada,‘insani ty’ ; Antardhana, ‘d isappearance ’ ; Pratibimbafi ‘
reflex ion’ ;which become the property of P isachas
,Kimnaras
,Bhutas
,Gan
dharvas,Vidyadharas, sadhyas, P i tris , and Manus . T he notions
o f nigh t, day , twi l ight, and moonl ight being derived from Brahmaseem to have originated wi th the Vedas . Thu s
,the commentator
on the Bhagavata observes : mg 3 3m m “ m mfg .
W ef t-f Sgfif :‘That which was his body
,and was left
, was
darkness : this is the Sru ti . ’ A l l the au thori ties place night beforeday, and the Asuras or Titans
,before the gods , in the order of
appearance ; as di d Hesiod and other ancient theogonists .
1 From Baksh (W ) ,‘to preserve.
’
. fifi mfi m arfia fi a‘
m q fi l
Those among them that called out‘Not so : oh ! let him be saved !
’
were named Rakshasas .
It is related , in the Bladgavata—purand , I II. , 20, 1 9—2 1 , that Brahmatransformed himself into night, invested with a body. This the Yakshasand Rakshasas seized upon , exclaiming “Do not spare i t ; devour it .Brahma cried out “Don
’ t devour me ; spare me.
The original of Brahma s petition is : “
RT“
Fri“
W 3 W 3For yaks/ta , as implied in j akshata , see the editor’s fourth note in
the :
next page.
1 The Bhdgavata-
p umna has the strange term pralydtmya . Pratibz’
mba
occurs in Sridhara Swamin’
s elucidation of i t .J z‘imbliazia , j ust above , has been substituted for Professor W ilson’s
j fimbhikd.
84 VISHNU PURANA .
animals , from"
his feet ; whil st from the hairs of his
body sprang herbs, roots, and fruits .
Brahma, hav ing created , in the commencement oftheKalpa, various
”plants, employed them in sacrifices,in the beginning of the Treta age . Animals were distinguished into two classes, domestic (v ill age) and wild
(forest) . The first class contained the cow , the goat,the
'
hogf l‘ the sheep ,
the horse,the ass, the mule ; the
latter, all beasts of prey, 1€ and many animalswith clovenhoofs , the elephant
,and the monkey . The fifth order
were the birds ; the sixth ,aquatic animals ; and the
seventh, reptiles and insects .
1
§From his eastern mouth Brahma then created the
Gayatra metre,the Big-veda , the collection of hymns
termed Trivr‘
it,the Rathantara portion of the 8ama
veda, and the Agnishtoma sacrifice : from his southernm outh he created the Yajur - veda , the Traishtubhametre
,the collection of hymns called Panchadas
’
a,the
Bf'ihat saman ,and the portion of the saina - veda
termed Ukthya : from his western month. he created
This and the preced ing enumeration of the origin of voge
tables and'
animals occurs in several Puranas , precisely in the
same words . T he Linga adds a specification of the Araiiya or
w i ld animals, which are said to be th
'
e'
buffalo , gayal , bear,monkey
, Sarabha,wolf, and l ion .
Insert “sacrificial animals p as
‘u.
1" The MSS . consulted by me have “man purusha . The commentator
observes, that, in the nara-medlaa , or human sacrifice, man is accounteda sacrificial animal . His words are N 1 13 5 1 : I am amW
‘
Swdpada.
“Reptiles and insects sar
BOOK CHAP . v. 8 5
the 8ama - veda ,the Jagati metre , the collection of
hymns termed Saptadas’
a,the portion of the saman
called Vairtipa, and the Atiratra sacrifice : and from hisnorthern mOuth he created the Ekavins
’
a collection of
hymns the Atharva-veda , the Aptoryaman rite,the
Anushtubh metre, and the VairaJa portion of the 8ama1 96
This Specification of the parts of th e Vedas that proceedfrom Brahma occurs , in the same words
,in the Vayu ,
L inga,Karma , Padma, and Markandeya Puranas. The Bhagavata offerssome important varieties : “ From his eastern and o ther mou thshe created the Rich
,Yajus , Saiman ,
and Atharva Vedas ; the
Sastra (W ) or‘the unuttered incantation ’
; i a (W T) ,‘obla
t ion ’
; S tu ti (W ) and S toma (m ) ,‘prayers ’ and ‘hymns ’ ;
and Prayas'
chitta (W W ) ,‘expiation ’
,or
‘sacred phi losophy ’
(Brahma) : also the Vedas of med icine , arms,musi c , and me
chanics ; and the Itihasas and Puranas,which are a fifth Veda
also the portions of the Vedas cal led Shodasm , Ukthya, Purishin,
Agnishtut , Aptoryaman , Atiratra ,Vayapeya ,
Gosavafi' the four
It is on the authority of the commentator , as supplementing the
text , that Gayatra and Anusht’
ubh are here said to be metres ; thatAgnisht
’
oma , Atiratra , and Aptoryaman are taken to denote parts of a
sacrifice , aim , of the J yotisht'
oma ; and that Vairtipa and VairaJa deno
m inate sundry verses of the 8ama-veda. But the commentator also saysthat Ukthya is , here , a stage of a sacrifice : fl aw . He means
the J yotisht’
oma.
As to Aptoryaman, both in the Viskiiu-
purana and in the Bhagavata ,it is to be regarded as a Paurar
'
i ik alteration of the Vaidik Aptoryama.
For Vairupa and VairaJa, see Benfey’
s Index to the -sama-veda : Indische
S tudien, Vol . III . , p . 238 .
Professor W ilson’
s“Gayatri”, “ Trisht
’
ubh and “Uktha have beencorrected to Gayatra, Traisht
'
ubha,and Ukthya.
See , regarding the passage thus annotated , Original Sanskrit Texts ,Part I II . , pp . 6 and 7 .
1 These are not characterized , in the original , as“
portions of the
Vedas They are sacrificial proceedings.
8 6 VISHNU PURANA.
In this manner , all creatures , great or small , proceeded from his l imbs . The great progenitor of the
parts of virtue,puri ty
,l iberal i ty
,piety
,and tru th ; the orders of
l ife,and their institu tes and d ifferent rel igious ri tes and pro
fessions and the sciences of logic, ethics,and pol i ty . T he mystic
words and monosyl lable proceeded from his heart ; the metreU shmh ,
from the hairs of his body ; Gayatri , from his sk in ;T rishtubh ,
from his flesh ; Anushtubh , from his tendons ; Jagati,from his bones ; Pank ti , from his marrow ; Br1 hati , from hi s breath.
T he Consonants were his l ife ; the vowels his body ; the sibi lants,his senses ; the sem i-vowels , his v igour. This mysticism ,
al
though, perhaps, expanded and ampl ified by thePauraniks,appears
to originate wi th the Vedas ; as in the textW‘The
metre was of the tendons .
’ T he d ifferent portions of the Vedasspecified in the text are yet, for the most part
,uninvestigated .
Bhagavata—purana , III .,
8
13, 37-41 and 44-47
1 13 1 : v an?
faan an?an: «a mié‘
xfaW e ?
éé éé éé éé'
éé éé éé éé dé i é
88 Vi sman PURANA
from the will to create, and assisted by the natural andessential faculty of the object to be created .
m a m mmw fzs n
W ant
{
W e 3a :
As, in every season, multifarious tokens are, in turn, beheld thereof , so,at the beginnings of the Yugas, it is with their products . Possessed of the
desire and of the power to create, and impelled by the potencies of whatis to be created , again and again does he, at the outset of a Kalpa, putforth a similar creation.
The writer may have had in mind a stanza of the Manava-dharma
sastra : 30 .
CHAPTER V I .
Orig in of the four cas tes : their prim i t ive s tate . Progress of
society . D ifferent k inds of gra in. Efficacy of sacrifice . Du tiesof men : reg ions assigned them after death .
MAITREYA .—Th0 u h ast briefly noticed
,illustrious
sage,the creation termed Arvaksrotas
,or that of man
kind . Now explain to me more fully how Brahmaaccomplished it ; how he created the four d ifferentcastes ; what duties he assigned to the Brahmans and
the rest . 1
PARA SARA .—Form erly
,0 best of Brahmans
, whenthe truth-meditating? Brahmawas desirous of creatingthe world, there sprang
,from his mouth ,
beings especially endowed with the quality of goodness ; others
,
from his breast , pervaded by the quality of foulness :
others, from histhighs, in'
whom foulness and darkness
prevailed ; and others, from his feet, in whom the quality of darkness predom inated . These were , in suc
cession, beings of the several castes,+Brahmans, Ksha
triyas, Vai syas, and Sudras ; produced from the mouth,
1 T he creat ion of mank ind here described is rather out of its
place,as i t precedes the birth of the Prajapatis
,or their pro
geni tors . But thi s want of method is common to the Puranas,
and is evidence of their being compilations from various sources .
Add “and with what qualities tram
1 S atgabhidhayin,“ true to his will .”“
The commentator here , for the
second time , explains it by satya- sanka lpa . See my second note in
p. 73, supra.
90 vra U PURA’ NA .
the breast, the thighs, and the feet, of Brahma.
1 Thesehe created for the performance of sacrifices ; the fourcastes being the fit instruments of their celebration .
By sacrifices, O thou who knowest the truth, the godsare nourished ; and
,by the rain which they bestow
,
mankind are supported : 2 and thus sacrifices, the sourceof happiness, are performed by piou s men, attached totheir duties , attentive to prescribed obligations
,and
walking in the paths of v irtue . Men acquire (by them)heavenly fru ition, or final fel icity : they go, after death,to whatever sphere they aspire to, as the consequenceof their human nature . The beings who were createdby Brahma
,of these four castes, were, at first, endowed
with righteousness and perfect faith ; they abode wherever they pleased, unchecked by any impediment ; theirhearts were free from guile ; they were pure, made freefrom soil
,by observance of sacred institutes . In their
sanctified m inds Hari dwelt ; and they were filled withperfect wisdom ,
by which they contemplated the glory
1 This original of the four castes is given in Mann y} and in
most of the Puranas . W e shal l see, however, that the d istinctionsare subsequently ascribed to voluntary election
,to accident
,or
to posi tive insti tutions .
2 Accord ing to Manu oblations ascend to and nourish the
sun ; whence the rain fal ls upon earth,and causes the growth of
corn . 1 Burnt-offerings are,therefore
,the final causes of the support
of mank ind .
See Original S anskrit Tex ts, Part I., pp . 2 1 and 22 .
1 In the Mdnava-d/zarma-s‘astra ,
I 3 1 , the Kshatriya is said to haveproceeded from the arms of Brahma . And so state the Purusha-Sakta.
of the Rig-veda, &c.
I l ll dnava- dharma-sastra, III ., 76 .
92 vrsHNU PUBAr'
IA .
being enfeebled, and sin gaining strength,mortals were
afflicted with pain ,arising from susceptibility to con
trasts, (as heat and cold , and the T hey thereforeconstructed places of refuge
,protected by trees
,by
mountains , or by water ; surrounded them by a ditchor a wall
,and formed v illages and cities ; and in them
erected appropriate dwellings , as defences against thesun and the cold .
1 Having thus prov ided security
though obscurely , in the Vayu, and are partly specified in the
Markandeya Puranas ?In the other three Puranas
,in which this legend has been
found,the d ifferent k inds of inhabi ted places are specified and
introduced by a series of land measures . Thus,the Markandeya i
states that 1 0 Paramanus = 1 Parasukshma ; 1 0 Parasfikshmas =
1 T rasareriu ; 1 0 T rasarerius = 1 particle of dust or Mahirajas ;
W W W : W : n
W W $§I fa‘tfim are Wa it? 1
w as B W lfifiiTSee Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I. , pp . 22 and 23 .
1 XLIX. , 1 8 , et seq. XLIX. , 36-40
BOOK CHAP . VI. 93
against the weather, men next began to employ themselves in manual labour
,as a means of l ivelihood , (and
1 0 Mahiraj asas 1 Balagra, ‘ha ir’
s po int’ ; 1 0 Balagras 1 Likhya;
1 0 Likhyas 1 Y iika; 1 0 Yakas 1 heart of barley (Yavodara) ;1 0 Yavo
‘
daras = 1 grain of barley of m idd le si ze ; 1 0 barley-
grains1 finger, or inch ; 6 fingers a Pada or foo t (the breadth of i t) ;
2 Padas 1 Vitasti or span ; 2 spans = 1 Hasta or cubi t ; 4 Hastas
a Dhanus ,-
a Darida or staff,or 2 Nadikas ; 2000 Dhanusas
a Gavyii ti ; 4 Gavy iitis a Yojana . The measurement of the
Brahmanda is le ss detai led . A span from the thumb to the firstfinger is a Pradesa ; to the m idd le finger ,
a Tala ; * to the thirdfinger ,
a Gokarria ; and,to the l i ttle finger , a Vitasti
,which is
equal to twelve Angu las or fingers ; understand ing ,thereby
,ao
cord ing to the Vayu , a jo int of the finger According to other au thori ties
,i t is the bread th of the thumb at the tip .
For this passage, I have used manuscripts , in preference to the Calcu ttaedition of the Markandeya
-
purana . According to my text, the measuresnoted are as follows :A paramana is a para su
’
kskma , u ltimate minimum ; or the sense
may be
8 paramana 1 para Saks/m a .
8 para su’
kshma 1 trasarenu .
8 trasaren'
a
2 1 hasta,long cubit .
4 hasta 1 dhanurdanda, bow-staff .2 dlianardana’a
2000 dhanus
2 krosa 1 gavyuti .
4 gavyi iti 1 yoj ana .
Compare Colebrooke ,Asiatic Researches , Vol . V. , pp. 1 03 and 1 04 .
Corrected from Professor Wilson’
s .
“ Nala
94 VISBNU PURAr'
IA
cultivated) the seventeen kinds of useful grain—ricebarley
, wheat , m illet , sesamum,panic
,
*and various
(A . R.,Vol . T heVayu
, g iving similar measurements,~
l~
uponthe authori ty of Manu i (H
'
Ffizi‘rfirW ) , al though such a
statement does not occur in the Mann Samh i ta, adds,that 2 1
fingers= 1 Ratni ; 24 fingers : 1 Hasta or cubi t ; 2 Ratnis= 1 Kishku ;
4 Bastas 1 Dhama s ; 2000 Dhanusas 1 Gavyi'
i ti ; and 8000 Dha
nusas : 1 Yojana . Durgas or stronghold are of four k inds ; threeof whi ch are natural
,from their s i tuation in mountains
,amidst
water,or in o ther inaccessible spots. T he fourth is the artificial
defences of a v il lage (Grama) , a hamlet (Khetaka) , or a ci ty(Pura or Nagara) , which are
,several ly
,half the s ize of the nex t
in the series. T he best k ind of ci ty is one which is abou t a m i lelong by half a m i le broad , bu i l t in the form of a paral lelogram ,
facing the north- east,and surrounded by a high wal l and d itch.
A hamlet shou ld be a Yojana d istant from a ci ty ; a vi l lage, halfa Yojana from a hamlet. T he roads lead ing to the card inal po intsfrom a city shou ld be twenty Dhanusas (above 1 00 feet) broad
“Millet and “ panic mi“ and prigangu.
1 In one of the four MSS . of the Vdga—purana that I have consulted,
the verses quoted m the last note are introduced by a stanza and a half,at the beginning of which are the wordsw i flfi
‘W But
these words mean nothing ; and there is no reference to Manu . W e here
simply have a clerical error, in place of the opening words of the passagecited, in p. 92 , from the Markandeya-
p urana . The forementioned MS . of
the d a-
purana must have been transcribed from a somewhat ancientcopy, or from one in the Bengal i character.
96 VISHNU BURANA .
cultivated or wild ,are the fourteen grains that were
produced for purposes of offering in sacrifice ; and
sacrifice (the cause of rain) is their origin also. They,
again ,with sacrifice
,are the great cause -
Of the per
petuation of the human race ; as those understand whocan d iscrim inate cause and effect . Thence sacrificeswere offered daily ; the performance of which , 0 bestof Munis is of essential serv ice to mankind
,and ex
piates the offences of those by whom they are observed .
Those,however , in whose hearts the drop of sin de
rived from Time (Kala) was still m ore developed ,as
sented not to sacrifices , but rev iled both them and all
that resu lted from them , the gods , and the followersof the Vedas . Those abusers of the Vedas
,of ev il
d isposition and conduct , and seceders from the pathof enjo ined duties, were plunged in wickedness .
The means of subsistence hav ing been prov ided forthe beings he had created , Brahma prescribed lawssu ited to their station and faculties
,the duties of the
several castes and orders,
2and the regions of those of
1 This allusion to the sects hosti le to the Vedas—Buddhists or
Jainas—does not occur in the paral lel passages of the Vayu and
Markarideya Puranas.
2 T he Vayu goes further than this , and states that the casteswere now first d iv ided accord ing - to the ir occupations ; having,indeed
,prev iously stated that there was no such d istinction in
the Kri ta age
W m a am am :
Brahma now appo inted those who were robust and violent to beKshatriyas
,to protect the rest ; those who were pure and pious he
made Brahmans ; those who were of less power, bu t industrious,
See Original Sanskr it Tex ts, Part p . 23.
BOOK CHAP. VI.
the different castes who were observant of their duties .
*
The heaven of the P itri s is the region of devout Brahmans ; the sphere of Indra , of Kshatriyas who fly not
from the field . T he region of the wind s is assigned tothe Vai syas who are d iligent in their occupations ; and
subm issive Sudras are elevated to the sphere of the
Gandharvas . Those Brahmans who lead religious lives
go to the world of the eighty- eight thousand saints ;and that of the seven Rishis is the seat of pious an
chorets and herm its . The world of ancestors is thatof respectable householders ; and the region of Brahma
and add icted to,cul tivate the ground , he made Va isyas ; whi lst
the feeble and poor of Spiri t were consti tu ted Sadras. And be
assigned them their severa l occupations,to prevent that inter
ference wi th one ano ther whi ch had occurred as long as they re
cognized no du ties pecul iar to castes .
~
l~
See Origina l S anskrit Texts Part I. , p . 23 . The originalpati in place of “Brahma Orders renders ds
’
rama.
Jr {fi atm am-
aims a ffi rmW urs t
-eu 3 m3 mash finimm u 11
metBarw as ge e-
ch m ug: a3 stra tum a“ ?s51 i strum : ll
For another translation of this passage , and several various readings,see Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I.
, pp . 30 and 3 1 .
98 VISHNU PURAr'
IA .
is the asylum of religious mendicants .
”i The imperishable region of the Yogins is the highest seat of Vishnu,where they perpetually meditate upon the supreme
being ? with m inds intent on him alone . The spherewhere they reside the gods themselves cannot behold :The sun ,
the moon,the planets ,§shall repeatedly be
and cease to be ; but those who internally repeat themystic adoration of the div inity shallnever know decay .
These worlds , some of which wil l be more parti cularlydescribed in a d ifferent section
,are the seven Lokas or spheres
above the earth : 1 . Prajapatya or P i tri- loka : 2 . Indra- loka or
Swarga : 3 . Maru l- loka or D iva- loka,heaven : 4. Gandharva- loka
,
the region of celestial spiri ts ; also cal led Mahar- loka : 5 . Janaloka or the sphere of saints . Some copies read eighteen thousand ;o thers as in the text
, which is also the read ing of the PadmaPurana : 6 . Tapo - loka , theworld of the seven sages : and 7 . Brahma
loka or Satya- loka,the world of infini te wisdom and tru th. T he
eighth, or high world of Vishnu,w : trt q
'
m is a sectarialadd i tion , which ,
in the Bhagavata ,is called Vaikuritha ,
and,in
the Brahma Vaivarta , Go- loka ; both , apparently , and , most certainly, the last, modern inventions.
“Heaven of the Pitr'is” and “ world of ancestors in the originalPrajapatya.
“ Region of the winds and “sphere of the Gandharvas
Maruta and Gaindharva.
’
“Brahmans who lead religious lives guruvasin ;
which the commentator explains as meaning conventuals abiding for lifewith a spiri tual guide, and devoted to theology. They are said to inheritthe region of the Valikhilyas and other high saints .
“Pious anchoretsand hermits vanaukas ; the same as vanaprastha .
“ Religious mendicants nyasin ; one with san
'
inya'
sin. The original leaves “householdersunqual ified.
j Brahma, in the Sanskrit .Such MSS . as I have consulted exhibit the read ing
as W sua W W m :“ The sun , the moon , and other planets .
”The original is in the
note following.
CHAP TER VII.
Crea tion continued . Production of the mind-born Sons of Brahma;o f the Prajapatis ; of Sanandana and o thers ; of Rudra and the
eleven Rudras ; of the Mann Swayambhuva and his wife Satari
'
i pa; o f their chi ldren. T he daughters of Daksha, and the ir
marriage to Dharma and others . The progeny of Dharma and
Adharma . T he perpetual succession of worlds , and d ifferentmodes of mundane d issolution.
PARA SARA .—From Brahma
,continu ing to meditate,
were born m ind- engendered progeny ,with forms and
faculties derived from his corporeal nature ; embodiedspirits, produced from theperson
*of that all-wisej
' deity .
All these beings, from the god s to inanimate things, ap
peared as I have related to you ;1 being the abode of the
three qualities . But,as they did notmultiply them selves,
Brahma created other m ind -born sons , like himself;namely : Bhr1gu ,
Pulastya , Pulaha , Kratu ,Angiras,
Marichi , Daksha , Atri , and Vasishtha . These are the
nine Brahmas (or Brahmarshis) celebrated in the Pu
ranaszi Sanandana and the other sons of Brahma§
I t is not clear which of the previous narratives is here re
ferred to ; but i t seems most probable that the account in pp . 70-72
is intended .
9 Considerable variety prevails in this l ist of Prajapatis , Brahmaputras , Brahmas ,
or Brahmarshis ; bu t the variations are of
Literally, “ limbs gatra.
1 Dkimat.
See Origina l S anskr it Tex ts, Part I. , pp. 24, 2 5, and 80 .
Vedhas , in the Sanskrit .
BOOKL, CHAP. vn . 1 0 1
were prev iously created byhim . But they were withoutdesire or passion, inspired with holywisdom ,
estranged
the nature of add i tions made to an apparently Original enumera
tion of but seven , whose names general ly recur. Thus,in the
Mahabharata,Moksha Dharma
,we have
,in one place
,Marichi
,
A tri,Augiras, Pulastya , Pulaha, Kratu , and Vasishtha :
am as aW Haima W W‘the seven high m inded sons of the self-born Brahma.
’ In ano therplace of the same , however , we have Daksha substi tu ted forVasishtha
W rasse-
start 11+‘Brahma then created m ind-begotten sons
,.of whom Daksha was
the seventh, wi th Marichi ’ , &c. These seven sons of Brahmaare
also identified wi th the seven Rishis ; as in the Vayu1331 : Em i rate
“
swat : em : 1
can ma fi a Gran-
a await
al though , wi th palpable incons istency ,eight are immed iately
enumerated ; or : Bhr1 gu, Marichi,A tri
,Angiras, Pulastya , Pulaha
Kra tu,and Vasishtha . T he Uttara Kharida of the Padma Purana
substitutes Kardama for Vasishtha . The Bhagavata includesDaksha
,enumerating nine : T he Matsya agrees wi th Manu
,in
adding Narada to the l ist of our text . T he Karma Purana adds
Dharma and Sankalpa. T he Linga ,Brahmanda ,
and Vayu Puranas also add them
,and extend the l ist to Adharma and Ruchi .
T he Hari Vamsa,in one place
,inserts Gau tama
,and , in another,
Mann . A l together, therefore, we have seventeen, instead of seven .
But the accounts given of the origin of several of these show
that they were not, orig inally , included amongst the Manasaputrasor sons of Brahma s mind ; for even Daksha , who finds a placein al l the l ists except one of those given in the Mahabharata ,
“
is
Santi-parvan , 7569, 7570 : and see 1 3075 .
1 Ibid . , 7534.
The Bhagavata-
purana , III . , 1 2 , 22 , includes Daksha and Narada ;thus enumerating ten.
1 02 VISHNU PUBAr'
IA .
from the universe , and undesirous of progeny . Thiswhen Brahma perceived , he was filled with wrath
uniformly said to have sprung from Brahma s thumb : and the
same patriarch,as wel l as Dharma, is included , in . some accounts
,
as in the Bhagavata and Matsya Puranas,amongst a d ifferent
series of Brahma s progeny , or virtues and vi ces ; or : Daksha
(dexteri ty) , Dharma (virtue) , Kama (desire) , Krodha (passion) ,Lohba (covetousness) Moha ( infatuation) , Mada (insani ty) , Pramoda (pleasure) , Mr1 tyu (death) , and Angaja ( lust) . These are
severally derived from d ifferent parts of Brahma 8 body ; and theBhagavata ,
add ing Kardama (soi l , or sin) to this enumeration,
makes him spring from Brahma s shadow. The s imple statementthat the first Prajapatis sprang from the m ind
,or wi ll
,of Brahma
,
has not contented the depraved taste of the mystics ; and , in some
of the Puranas,as the Bhagavata ,
Linga , and Vayu ,they a lso
are derived from the body of their progeni tor ; or : Bhr1 gu ,from
his sk in ; Marichi,from his mind ; A tri , from his eyes ; Aug iras,
from his mou th ; Pulastya, from his ear ; Pulaha , from his navel ;Kratu, from his hand ; Vasishtha, from his breath ; Daksha, fromhis thumb ; and Narada, from his hip . They do not exactly agree,
however , in the places whence these be ings proceed ; as,for in
stance,accord ing to the L inga ,
Marich i springs from Brahma seyes
,not A tri
,who
,there
,proceeds , instead of Pulastya ,
fromhis ears. T he Vayu has , also
,another account of their origin,
and states them to have Sprung from the fires of a sacrifice offered
by Brahma; an allegorical mode of expressing t heir probableoriginal ,—considering them to be
,in some degree, real persons
,
from the Brahmanical ri tual,of which they were the first institu
tors and observers . The Vayu Purana also states,that
,besides
the seven primi tive Rishis,the Prajapatis are numerous
,and
Specifies Kardama,Kas'yapa
, Sesha V ikranta,Suéravas
,Bahu
pu tra Kumara,Vivaswat , Suchi sravas , Prachetasa (Daksha ),
Arisht-anemi,Bahula. These and many o thers were PrajapatisW sfi sfu am fl an :
In the beginning of the Mahabharata (Ad i Parvan), we have, again,a d ifferent orig in ; and , first, Daksha, the son of the Prachetasas, i t
1 04 vrsnuu PURANA .
and of Vast bulk, and of a figure which was half male,half female . Separate yourself
,Brahma said to him
,
and, hav ing so spoken, disappeared ; obed ient to whichcommand , Rudra became twofold
,disjoining his male
and female natures . His male being he again div idedinto eleven persons , of whom some were agreeable
,
some hideous ; some fierce, some m ild .
*And he mu lti
plied his female nature manifold,of complexions black
or white “?
Then Brahma? created,himself, the Mann Swayam
Accord ing to the Vayu ,the female became
,first
,twofold
,
or one half wh i te,and the o ther
,black ; and each of these
,again,
becomes manifold,being the various energies or Saktis of Maha
deva,as s tated by the Karma
,after the words aw : fifi :
which are those of our tex tat 3 fear fem fawn: math afar 1
T he Linga and Vayu specify many o f the ir names. Those of
the whi te complexion, or m i ld nature , include Lakshmi, Saraswati ,Gauri , Uma, &c. ; those of the dark hue
,and fierce d isposi tion
,
Durga, Kal i , Chandi, Maharatri, and o thers .
2 Brahma,after detaching from himself the property of anger,
in the form of Rudra,converted himself into two persons
,the
first male ; or the Mann Swayambhuva ,and the first woman
,or
Satarupa. So ,in the Vedas : qam 3 33}m | I
‘So
h imself was indeed (his) son.
’ The commencement of productionthrough sexual agency is here described with sufficient d istinctness ; but the subject has been rendered obscure by a more com
According to the commentator, “fierce and “mild are exepegetical
of “agreeable and “hideous1 See Origina l S anskr it Tex ts, Part IV. , p . 33 1 .
This quotation requ ires to be slightly al tered . The commentator,after citing W from the Vishnu-
purana , proceeds : W 3
W tfiifi l sat These words , ending with W ,
from the Satapatka-brahmana , XIV , 9, 4 , 26 .
BOOK CHAP. vn . 1 05
bhuVa , born of,and identical with ,
his original self,
for the protection of created beings : and the female
plicated succession of agents, and,especial ly
,by the introduction
o f a person o f a mythi c or mystical character,Viraj . T he not ion
is thus expressed in Manu :“ Hav ing d ivided his own subs tance
,
the mighty power Brahma became half male and ha lf female ;and from that female he produced Viraj . Know me to be tha tperson whom the male V iraj produced by himself.” I . 32
,
W e have,therefore
, a series of Brahma, Viraj , and Manu,instead
o f Brahma and Manu only ; also the generation of progeny byBrahma
,bego tten on Satarupa,
instead of her being ,as in our
text,the wife o f Manu . T he idea seems to have originated w i th
the' Vedas
,as Kul luka Bhatta quo tes a text : an} fat rg arrqa
‘Then (or thence) V iraj was born ’. T he procreation of progeny
by Brahma,however
,is at variance wi th the whole system
,
which ,almos t invariably
,refers his creation to
' the operation of
his w i l l : and the express ion,in Mann
, a‘
gri'
a farming“‘he created Viraj in her ’
,does not necessari ly imply sexual inter
course . Viraj also creates,no t begets , Manu . And i n nei ther
instance does the name of Satarupa occur. T he commentator on
Manu,however
,understands the expression A sr' ijat to imply the
procreation of Viraj : whim and the same interpretationis given by the Matsya Pararia
,in whi ch the incestuous pass ion
of Brahma for Satarupa, -his daughter ,in one sense his sister
,
in another,—i s described ; and by her he begets V iraj , who there
is cal led,not the progeni tor of Manu
,but Manu himself
an: 351 317 1 wearBen: ashram : 1
W e {Fe E FT?"e W efi a : area 11 7‘
This,therefore
,agrees wi th our text
,as far as i t makes Manu
the son of Brahma,though not as to the nature of the connexion.
ram paw-«F1 i sfi a gustswad 1
wife mi t suit a fat fi wgm : 11
m a rgins a erst sash 1°6 1t 1
am’
fam e: tri erHerrfirawan-u : 111 Matsya
s
purana, III 49, 50 .
VISHNU PURANA .
portion of himself he constituted Satarupa, whomausterity purified from the sin (of forbidden nuptials) ,
T he read ing of the Agni and Padma Puranas is that of the
Vishnu : and the Bhagavata agrees wi th i t, in one p lace ; stating,d istinctly
,that the male half of Brahma was Manu
,the other
half, Satarupa
as“
(fa W fi sm : w as : em : 1labW W arm new :
Bhagavata, III . , 1 2, 53, 54 : and , al though the production of Viraj
is elsewhere described,i t is nei ther as the son of Brahma nor
the father of Manu . T he original and simple idea ,therefore
,
appears to be,the identi ty ofMann wi th the male half of Brahma
and his being ,thence
,regarded as his son . T he Karma Purana
gives the same account as Manu,and in the same words . T he
Linga Purana and Vayu Purana describe the orig in of Viraj and
Satarupa from Brahma; and they intimate the union of Satariipa
wi th Purusha or Viraj , the male portion of Brahma,in the first
instance,and , in the second
,. with Mann
,who is termed Vairaj a,
or the son of Viraj : BU T-fig W 1 QR : T he Brahma Puraiia,
the words of whi ch are repeated in the Hari Van'
ns'
a,introduces
a new element of perplexi ty,in a new name
,that of Apava.
Ac cord ing to the commentator ,this is a name of the Prajapati
Vasishtha : mqfi e‘ifi mm : y am?”A s
,however ,
he
performs the office of Brahma,he shou ld be regarded as that
d ivini ty . B ut this is not exactly the case,al though i t has been
so rendered by the French translator. Apava becomes twofold ,and
,in the capaci ty of his male half
,begets o ffspring by the fe
male . Again ,it is said Vishnu created V iraj , and Viraj created
the male , which -is Vairaj a or Manu ; who was,thus
,the second
interval (Antara) or stage in creation . That is,accord ing to the
commentator,the first stage was the creation of Apava , or Va
sishiba , or V iraj.
,by Vishnu
,through the agency of Hirariyagarbha
or Brahma; and the nex t was that o f the creation of Manu byViraj . Satarupa appears as
,first , the bride of Apava , and then
as the wife o f Manu. This account,therefore
,al though obscurely
expressed,appears to be essentially the same wi th that of Manu ;
1 08 VISHNU PUBANA .
U ttanapada,1and two daughters , named Prasuti and
Aki’
iti,graced w ith lovel iness and exalted merit .
2 Pra
suti he gave to Daksha ,after giv ing Aki
’
i ti to the pa
triarch Ruchi,
3 who espoused her.
* Akuti bore toRuchi twins , Yajna and Dakshina
,
4who afterwards
Of mul tiform metamorphosis : W m fi | T he MatsyaPurana has a l i ttle al legory of i ts own
,on the subject of Brahma s
intercourse wi th Satarupa; for i t explains the former to mean the
Vedas,and the latter
,the savi tri or holy prayer
,whi ch is ‘ their
ch ief text ; and in their cohabitation there is , therefore, no evi l :
l1 iT he
'
Brahma Purana has a d ifferent order,and makes Vira
the son of the first pair , who has U ttanapada ,&c. by Kawya.
The commentator on the Hari Van'néa quotes the Vayu for a
confirmation of this account. But the passage there i sW ‘
QW W I
fw arfim esrgsfi gaaui afi
‘Satarupa bore to the male Vairaj a (Manu ) two Viras ’ ,heroes
,or hero i c sons
,U ttanapada and Priyavrata . I t looks as if
the compi ler of the Brahma Purana had made some very un
accountable blunder, and invented ,
upon i t,a new couple , Vira
and Kamya. N o such person as the former occurs in any o therPurana ; nor does Kamya, as his wife .
2 T he Bhagavata a dds a third daughter , Devahuti ; for the
purpose,apparently
,Of introducing a long legend of the Rish i
Kardama,to whom she is married , and of their son Kapila : a
legend not met w i th anywhere else .
3 Ruch i is reckoned amongst the Prajapatis , by the Lingaand Vayu Puranas .
4 These descendants of Swayambhuva are,all
,evidently, alle
gorical . Thus , Yajna (W ) is‘sacrifice ’, and Dakshina (gfw ) ,
donation to Brahmans .
See Origina l S anskrit Tex ts, Part I., p . 25 .
1 Matsya-
purana , IV 1 0 , 1 1 .
BOOK CHAP . vu . 1 09
became husband and wife , and had twelve sons , the
deities called Yamas,
1 in the Manwantara of Swayambhuva.
The patriarch Daksha had , by Prasuti , twenty- fourdaughters .
2 Hear from me their names : Sraddha(faith),Lakshm i (prosperity) ,t
‘iti (stead iness) , T usht 1 (resignation) , Pusht1 ( thriv ing ) , Medha ( intelligence) ,Kriya (action ,
devotion ) , Buddhi ( intellect) , Lajja
(modesty) , Vapus (body) , Semi (expiation) , Siddhi(perfection), Kirtti (fame) . These thirteen daughters ofDaksha
,Dharma ( righteousness ) took to wife . The
other eleven bright-eyed and younger daughters of thepatriarch were : Khyati (celebrity) , Sati (truth) , Sambhuti (fitness ) , Smr iti (memory ) , Priti ( affection),Kshama (patience) , Samnati (hum il ity), Anasuya (charity) , Urj a (energy), with Swaha(offering) , and Swadha
(oblation) . These m aidens were respectively weddedto the Munis Bhrigu, Bhava, Marichi
,Angiras, Pulastya
Pu laha ,Kratu, Atri , and Vasishtha , to Fire (Valm i),and to thePitris (progenitors) .
3
1‘
T he Bhagavata ( b . IV . 0 . 1 ) says the T ushitas : but theyare the d iv ini ties of the second
,not of
“
the firs t,Manwantara ; as
appears also in ano ther part o f the same, where the Yamas are
l ikewise referred to the Swayambhuva Manwantara .
2 These twenty - four daughters are of much less universa loccurrence in the Puranas than the more extensive series of fiftyor sixty
, wh ich is subsequently described ,and which appears to
be the more ancient legend .
3 T he twenty- four daughters of Daksha are sim i larly named
For Vahni’
s wife, Swaha, and for other allegorical females here mentioned , as originating from particles of p rakriti , see the Brahmavaivarta
purana , in' Prof. Aufr‘echt’s Catalog . Cod . Manuscrip t ,
“
&c. , p.
'
23 .
1“ See Origina l Sanskrit Texts, Part IV., p . 324.
1 1 0 vi snuu PURANA .
The progeny of Dharma,by the daughters ofDaksha,
were as follows : by Sraddha,he had Kama (desire) ;
by Lakshm l,Darpa (pride) ; by Dhr1 ti , Niyama (pre
cept) ; by Tushti, Santosha(content) ; by Pusht1 , Lobha
( cup idity ) ; by Medha, Sruta ( sacred tradition) ; byKriya, Danda , Naya ,
and Vinaya (correction ,polity,
and prudence) ; by Buddhi, Bodha (understanding) ; byLajja, Vinaya (good behav iour) ; by Vapus, Vyavasaya
(perseverance) . Sena gave birth to Kshema (prosperity) Siddhi , to Sukha (enjoyment) ; and Kirtti , to
and d isposed of in most of the Purarias whi ch notice them . T he
Bhagavata, having introduced a third daughter of Swayarf
ibhuva,
has a rather d ifferent enumeration,in order to assign some of
them, , the wives of the Prajapatis
,to Kardama and Devahuti .
Daksha had , therefore , i t is there said ( b . IV. c . sixteendaughters , thirteen of whom were married to Dharma
,named
Sraddha,Mai tri (friendship) , Daya ( clemency ) , Santi Tashti ,
Pushti,Kriya,
Unnati (elevation), Buddhi , Medha,T 1 t1ksha (pa
tience) , Hri (modesty) , Murti (form) ; and three, Sati Swaha,
and Swadha, married,as in our text . Some of the daughters of
Devahiiti repeat these appel lations ; but that is Of sl ight consideration. They are : Kala ( a moment ) , married to Marichi ;Anasuya
,to Atri ; Sraddha, to Augiras ; Havirbhu (oblation-born) ,
to Pulastya ; Gati (movement ) , to Pulaha ; Kriya, to Kratu ;Khyati , to Bhr1gu ; Arundhati, to Vasishtha ; and Santi , toAtharvans } In al l these instances , the persons are
,manifestly , a l le
gorical , being personifications of intel l igences and v irtues and
rel igious ri tes, and being, therefore, appropriately wedded to the
probable au thors of the H indu code of rel igi on and morals , or
to the equally al legorical representation of that code,Dharma,
moral and rel igious duty.
In the original , Chala1 The Bkdgavata-
pnrana , in the texts that I have examined , pairsUrja with Vasishtha, and Chi tti with Atharvan.
1 1 2 vrsnr’
mPURANA .
twins to them , two daughters,Maya(deceit) and-
Ve
dana ( torture) , who became their wives . The son of
Bhaya and Mayawas the destroyer of l iv ing creatures,oe ityu (death) ; andDuhkha (pain) was the offspringof Naraka * and Vedana. The children ofMr1tyu were :
Vyadhi (d isease) , Jara (decay) , Soka (sorrow), Tf'ishna
(greed iness), and Krodha . (wrath) . These are all calledthe inflictors of m isery
,and are characterized as the
progeny of’
Vice '
l'
(Adharma) : They are all withoutwives , without posterity , without the faculty to procreate . They are the terrific forms Of Vishnu ,
and
perpetually operate as causes of the destruction of thisworld . On the contrary, Daksha and the other Rishis,§the elders of mankind ,
tend perpetually to influenceits renovation ; whilst the Manus and the
heroes endowed with m ighty power , and treading inthe path of truth
,as constantly contribute to its pre
servation .
MAITREYA .—Tell me
,Brahman, what is the essential
nature of these revolutions , perpetual preservation,perpetual creation
,and perpetual destruction .
PARA SARA .—Madhusudana
, whose essence is incom~
prehensible , in the forms of these (patriarchs and
Manus), is the author of the uninterrupted v icissitudesof creation, preservation, and destruction. The d issolu
Raurava, in the original .‘
l' W m essentially vicious The commentator saysm a n: H ier rrfi iwmam : 1 m m 1
I For some addi tions , including Nirfiti and Alakshmi , see the Ma
kaiic'
leya-
purana, L. , 33 , et seq.
Four are named in ' theSanskrit : Daksha , Mar‘ ichi , A tri, and Bhfi
'
gu .
HAn epithet is here omitted : blinp a, “kings
BOOKL , CHAP . vi i . 1 1 3
tion of all things is of four kinds : Naimittika ,ée ‘Occa
sional’
; Prakritika ,
‘elemental ’ ; Atyantika,
‘absolute ’
;
Nitya,‘perpetual ’ . 1 The first, also termed the Brahma
T he three firs t of these are more parti cularly described inthe last book . T he last
,the N itya or constant , is d ifferently
described by Colonel Vans Kennedy (Researches into the Natureand A ffini ty of Ancient and Hindu Mythology, p . 224
,no te) . “ In
the seventh chapter,however”, he Observes , “
of the first part ofthe Vishnu Purana , i t is said that the na im‘
i ttika, p rdkri tika, a
’
tgan
tika , and ni iya are the four k inds of pra laya to whi ch createdthings are subject . T he na imi ttika takes place when Brahmaslumbers ; the p rdkri tika , when this universe returns to its originalnature ; a'tg/antika proceeds from d ivine knowledge , and consequentidentification wi th the supreme Spiri t ; and nitya i s the extinctionof l ife
,l ike the extinction of a lamp , in sleep at night .” For this
last characteristic , however , our text furn ishes no warrant . N or
can i t be explained to signify , that the N itya Pralaya means no
more than a man’
s fall ing into sound sleep at night”. A l l thecopies consul ted on the present occasion concur in read ing :
fast : ( i s sum-vi i at fauna? femfi ua 1
as rendered above. T he commentator supplies the i l lustration,
{31 1m‘l ike the flame of a lamp ’
; but he also wri tes3 1 1 3 77 11 f qarfiiri
“eff fat
-
fl u : a fi rst : 1‘That which is the
destruction of al l that are born,n ight and day ,
is the N itya or
constant. ’ Again ,in a verse presently fol lowing , we have the
N itya Sarga ,‘constant or perpetual creation ’
,as Opposed to con
stant d issolution :
i nmates as amfi sternum : 1
fi rst: mi : u a that : wmfifm fi : 11‘That in which
,0 excel lent sages , be ings are dai ly horn, is termed
constant creation,by those learned in the Puranas .
’ T he commentator explains this : w m gfgw
‘
a fi’fi ffl ’l {retain‘T he constant flow or succession of the creation of ourselves ando ther creatures is the N itya or constant creation . This is the
See the editor's note in p. 52 , supra.
1 1 4 VISHNU PURANA .
dissolution , occurs when the sovereign of the worldreclines in sleep . In the second
,the mundane egg
resolves into the primary element, from whence it wasderived . Absolute non-existence of the world is theabsorption of the sage
,through knowledge
,into su
preme spirit . Perpetual destruction is the constantd isappearance, day and night
,of all that are born . The
productions of Prakf iti form the creation that is termed
the elemental (Prakri ta) . That which ensues after a
m inor d issolution : is called ephemeral creation ; and
the daily generation of l iv ing things is termed , by thosewho are versed. in the Puranas , constant creation . In
this manner,the m ighty Vishnu, whose essence is the
elements , abides in all bodies,and brings about pro
duction,existence , and d issolution ? The faculties Of
Vishnu,to create
,to preserve, and to destroy, operate
successively,Maitreya
,
“
in all corporeal beings, and at
all seasons ; and he who frees him self from the influenceof these three faculties, which are essentially composedof the three qual ities (goodness, foulness, and darkness) ,goes to the supreme sphere , from whence he never
again returns .
meaning of the text. ’ I t is obv ious, therefore, tha t the al ternationintended is that of l ife and death
,not of wak ing and sleep .
1 S an'
iyama.
1 1 6 VISHNU FURAr'
IA
the boy still wept seven times ; and Brahma thereforegave to him seven other denom inations : and to theseeight persons regions and wives and posterity belong .
The eight manifestations,then
,are
‘
named Rudra,Bhava
,Sarva, Isana, Pas
’
upati,Bhima
,Ugra
,and Maha
deva,which were given to them by their great pro
genitor.
*He also assigned to them their respective
stations , the sun, water , earth
,air
,fire ,
°
l‘ether , the
m inistrant Brahman,and the moon for these are their
several forms .
1 The wives of the sun and the other
The Vayu detai ls the appl ication of each name several ly .
These e ight Rudras are , therefore , but one,under as many ap
pel lations , and in as many types. The Padma,Markarideya,
Karma,L inga , and vayu agree wi th our text in the nomenclature
o f the Rudras , and their types,their wives , and progeny . T he
types are those whi ch are enumerated in the Nandi or openingbened ictory verse of Sakuntala; and the passage of the VishnuPurana was found
,by M . Chezy
,on the envelope of his copy.
He has justly corrected Sir W i ll iam Jones ’s version of the termM ,
‘the sacrifice is performed wi th solemni ty ’
; as the word
means,
‘Brahmane'
officiant ’, W m :
‘the Brahman
who is qual ified,by ini tiation (D iksha) , to conduct the ri te .
’ Theseare considered as the bod ies
,or visible forms
,of those modifica
tions of Rudra which are variously named,and whi ch ,
be ingpraised i n them
,severally abstain from harming them : 33
W mar: W w m vayu Purana .
T he Bhagavata ,III.
,1 2
,1 1 - 1 3
,has a d ifferent scheme
,as
u sual ; but i t confounds the notion of the eleven Rudras,to
whom the text subsequently adverts , wi th that of the e ight
See an almost identical passage, from the Mdrkafideya-
p urana , LIL, 2 ,
et seq., translated in Origina l S anskrit Tex ts, Part IV. , p . 286 .
”f In most
‘MSS . seen by me the order is “ fire, air”; and so in other
Furarias than the Vishi'
iu.
BOOK CHAP . vm . 1 1 7
manifestations , termed Rudra and the rest,were
,re
spectively : Suvarchala,Usha,
*Vikes 1 , S iva, Swaha,
Dis’ as , Diksha, and Rohir'
i i . Now hear an account oftheir progeny ,
by whose successive generations thisworld has been peopled . Their sons, then, were, seve~
rally : Sanai schara (Saturn) , Sukra (Venus) , the fierybodied '
l‘
(Mars ) , Manojava (Hanumat i ) , Skanda,
Swarga,§Santana, and Budha (Mercury) .
It was the Rudra of this description that married
Sati , who abandoned her corporeal existence in con
sequence of the d ispleasure of Daksha .
1 She after
here specified . These eleven it terms Manyu,Manu
,Mahinasa
,
Mahat,Siva ,
Bitadhwaja ,HUgraretas , Bhava ,Kala
,vamadeva
,
and Dhri tavrata ; their wives are Dhi,Dhri ti
,Basaloma
,N iyut,
Sarpifil Ila, Ambika, Iravati , Swadha, Diksha, Rudrari i ; and theirplaces are the heart
,senses
,breath
,ether
,air
,fire
,water
,earth
,
sun,moon
,and tapas or asceti c devotion. The same al legory or
mystification characterizes both accounts.
See the story of Daksha ’s sacrifice at the end of the chap ter.
Several of the MSS . inspected by me have Swavarchala and Uma.
The Mdrkafideya-
pum na , LIL, 9, has Uma.
1 Lohitdnga .
The commentator says that Manoj ava is a certain wind Hanu
mat is called,-however, Ani latmaja , Pavanatanaya , vayuputra, &c.,
“ Son
of the W ind and Marutwat.
Some MSS . have Sarga ; and so has the Mdrkayic’
leya-
pumna , LIL , 1 1 .
HThe Bombay editions of the Bhagavata-
purana. have Kratudhwaja.
Dhi , t iti,Us’ana, Uma, Niyut, Sarpi , Ila, Ambika, Iravati, Sudha,
and Diksha, the Rudrai'i is , are thy wives , Rudra.
Vritti is a variant , of common occurrence , for Dhr’ iti . “Basaloma
and “Swadha are not found in any MS . that I have seen. Sh
arpi mustbe feminine. Sarpis would be neuter.
1 . 1 8 Vi smi wrURANA .
wards was the daughter of Himavat (the snowy mount
ains) byMona and,in that character
,as the onlyUma, the
m ightyBhava again married The d'
ivinitiet at-ri
and Vidhatri were born to Bhr1gu by Khyati ; as was adaughter, Sri , the wife of Narayana,the god of gods .
2
MA ITREYA .
- It it commonly said that the goddessSri was born from the sea of m ilk, when .it was churned
for ambrosia . How then , can you say that she was
the daughter of Bhr1gu by Khyati ?PARAS
'
ARA .—Sr1'
, thebride of Vishnu,the mother of
the world, is eternal , imperishable . In l ike manner as
he is all-pervading,so also is she, 0 best of Brahmans,
omnipresent . Vishnu is meaning ; she is speech . Hariis pol ity (Naya ) ; she is prudence (Niti ) . Vishnu isunderstand ing ; she is intellect. He is righteousness ;she is devotion . He is the creator ; she is creation .
slot is the earth ; Hari , the support of it. The deity iscontent ; the eternal Lakshm i is resignation . He is
desire ; Sri is wish . He is sacrifice ; she is sacrificialdonation The goddess is the invocationwhich attends the oblationyl
’ J anardana is the obla
The story of Uma s birth and marriage occurs in the SivaPurana
,and in the Kasi Khal ida of the Skanda Purana : i t is
no ticed briefly, and wi th some variation from the Puranas, in the
Ramayaria , first book : i t is also given , in detail , in the KumaraSambhava of Kal idasa.
2 T he fami ly of Bhr1gu is more particularly described in the
tenth chapter. I t is here mentioned merely to introduce the storyof the birth of the goddess of prosperi ty
, Sri .
See Origina l Sanskrit Tex ts, Part IV.,p. 324 .
1 For“ the invocation which attends the oblation read “the oblation
of clarified butter aj ya'
ltuti, not aj yahiiti.
1 20 EXTRACT FROM THE VAYU PURAfiA
is the host of heaven (Devasena) ; thedeity of war, herlord ,
is Hari . The wielder of the'
mace is resistance ;the power to oppose is Sri . Lakshm i is the Kashthaand the Kala; Hari
,the Nimesha and the Muhurta .
Lakshm i is the light ; and Hari, Who is all
,
’
and lord of
all , the lamp . She , the m other of the world , is thecreeping v ine ; and Vishnu ,
the t ree round which she
clings . She is the night ; the god who is armed withthe mace and discus is the day . He , the bestower of
blessings, is the bridegroom ; the lotos-throned goddessis the bride . The god is one with all male
,the goddess
one with all female, rivers . The lotos-eyed deity is thestandard ' the goddess seated on a lotos , the banner.
Lakshm i i s cupidity ; Narayar'
1 a, the master of theworld ,
is covetou sness . O thou who knowest what righteousness is
,Gov inda is love ; and Lakshm i
, his gentlespouse
,
*is pleasurexl
' But why thus diffusely ename
rate their presence? It is enough to say ,in a word
,
that,of gods
,animals
,and men
,Hari is all that is called
male ; Lakshm i is all that is termed female. There isnothing else than they .
SACR IF I CE OF DAK SHA .
(From the Vayu Parana.)“There was formerly a peakof Meru
,named sav itra
,
abound ingwith gem s,rad iant as the sun
,and celebrated
T he sacrifice o f Daksha is a legend o f some interest , fromi ts historica l and archaeolog ical relations . I t is
,obvi ously
,intended
There is nothing, in the MSS . I have seen, answering to “ his gentlespouse 1 Ra
'
ga ,“ love rati,
“pleasure
SACRIFICE OF DAKSHA . 1 21
throughout'
the'
three worlds ; of immense extent,and
d ifficult of access, and an object of universal veneration .
Upon that glorious em inence,rich with m ineral trea
sures, as upon a splend id couch, the deity S iva reclined ,accompanied by the daughter of the sovereign of
mountains , and attended by the m ighty Ad ityas , thepowerful Vasus , and by the heavenly physicians , the
to intimate a struggle between the worshippers of Siva and of
Vishnu ,in whi ch
,at first
,the latter
,but
,final ly
,the former
,
acqu ired the ascendancy . I t is,also
,a favouri te subject of Hindu
sculpture ,at least wi th the H indus of the Sa iva d ivision ,
and
mak es a conspicuous figure bo th at Elephanta and Ellora . A re
presentation of the d ispersion and mu tilation of the gods and
sages by .Virabhadra ,at the former
,i s publ ished in the Archaeo
logia ,Vol . VII .
,326
,where i t is described as the Judgment of
Solomon ! A figure of Virabhadra is‘
given by N iebuhr, Vol .tab. 1 0 ; and the entire group , in the Bombay Transactions, Vol . L
,
p . 220 . It is described,p . 229 : bu t Mr. Ersk ine has not verified
the subject , al though i t canno t admi t of doubt. T he group described , p . 224
,probably represents the introductory detai ls given
in our text . Of the Ellora sculptures,a strik ing one occurs in
what Sir C . Malet cal ls the Doemar Leyna cave, where is
“ VeerBudder
,wi th eight hands . In one is suspended the slain Rajah
Dutz .
” A . R . Vol . VI .,396 . And there i s also a representation
of ‘Ehr Budr’ in one of the colonnades of Ka i las ; being, in fact,the same figure as that at Elephanta . Bombay T r.
,Vo l . III .
,287 .
T he legend of Daksha,therefore
,was popular when those cavern
temples were excavated . T he story is told in much more deta i li n several o ther Puranas
,and wi th some variations
,whi ch w i l l
be noti ced : but the above has been selected as a specimen of the
s tyle of the Vayu Purana ,and as being a narration which
,from
its inartificial,obscure
,tauto log ical , and uncircumstantial con
s truction ,is
,probably , of an ancient date . T he same legend , in
the samel
words , is given in the Brahma Furaria.
1 22 EXTRACT FROM THE VAYU PURANA .
sons of As'
wini ; by Kubera,eesurrounded by his train
of Guhyakas , the lord of the Yakshas, who dwells on
Kailasa . There also was the great Muni Us'
anas : therewere Rishis of the first order , with Sanatkumara at
their head ; d iv ine Rishis, preceded by Angiras ; Vi swavasu
, with his hands of heavenly choristers ; the sagesNarada and Parvata ; and innumerable troops of ce
lestial nymphs . The breeze blew upon the mountain,bland , pure , and fragrant ; and the trees were decoratedwith flowers that blossomed in every season . The
Vidyadharas and Siddhas, affluent in devotion , waitedupon Mahadeva ,
the lord of l iv ing creaturesrl'
and
many other beings , of various forms, d id him homage .
Rakshasas of terrific semblance,and P is
'
achas of greatstrength ,
of d ifferent shapes and features, armed withvarious weapons , and blazing like fire, were del ightedto be present
,as the followers of the god . There stood
the royal Nand in , 1 high in the favour of his lord , armed
with a fiery trident,§shin ing with inherent lustre ; andthere the -b est of rivers , Ganga, the assemblage of all
holy waters,“stood adoring the m ighty deity . Thusworshipped by all the most excellent of sages and Ofgods , abode the omnipotent and all-glorious
‘llMahadeva .
In former times Daksha commenced a holy sacrifice on the side of Himavat, at the sacred spot Ganga
In the original , Vais'
ravai'
i a.
1 ' Pasupati : rather, “ lord of sacrificial animals and so in p . 1 25 , l . 3 .
I In the Sanskrit , Nandiéwara.
S’
ti la ,a pike and so wherever “ trident occurs in the present
extract from the Vayu-
purana .
IIThe more literal rendering would be “rising from the water of al l holy
places situate on streams m mfl] Instead of “
omnipotent and all -glorious read “ divine bhagavat.
EXTRACT FROM THE VAYU PURANA .
Beholding them thus assembled , the sage Dadhicha
was filled with indignation,and observed : ‘The man
who worships what Ought not to be Worshipped , or
pays not reverence where veneration is due,is guilty
,
m ost assuredly,of heinous sin.
’ Then , addressingDaksha, he said to him :
‘Why do you not Offer homageto the god who is the lord of l ifeDaksha spake : ‘I have already many Rudras present
,
armed w ith tridents,wearing braided hair
,and ex isting
in eleven form s . I recognize no other Mahadeva .
’
Dadhicha spake : ‘The invocation that is not addressed toIs
’
a is,for all
,but a sol itary (and imperfect) summons .
Inasmuch as I behold no other d iv inity who is superiorto Sankara , this sacrifi ce of Daksha will not be com
pleted“? Daksha spake : ‘I offer
,in a golden cup , this
entire oblation ,which has been consecrated by many
prayers , as an Offering ever due to the unequalledVishnu
, 1 the sovereign lord of all .
T he Karma Purana g ives also this d iscuss ion betweenDadhicha and Daksha ; and their d ialogue contains some curiousmatter . Daksha
,for instance
,state s that no portion of a sacrifice
i s ever al lotted to Siva , and no prayers are d irected to be addres
sed to him,or to his bride
Rather, “ the guardian of animals fit for sacrifice1“ W W W 3 W W : I
was new {fie-i mat um fir2am I
w m fm afi sfi a nfi wfi l
For the text , from the Mahabharata ,of a passage nearly identical
with that in which these verses occur , accompanied by a very differentrendering from that given above, see Origina l Sanskrit Tex ts , Part IVpp . 3 1 4 , et seg.
The epithet makkesa , “ lord of sacrifice is here omitted.
SACRIFICE OE DAKSHA . 1 25
“In the meanwhile the v irtuous daughter of the
mountain king,Observ ing the departure of the d iv ini
ties,addressed her lord ,
the god of l iv ing beings , and
said—Uma spake—‘Whither , O lord , have the god s,preceded by Indra, this day departed ? Tell me truly
,
W fs afifl a mm 1 112
1 1 1 1511 1 1 :
a nm m ma m 1 11 1 1 1 1
Dadhicha apparently evades the 0bj ection, . and claims a share for
Rudra,consisting of the triad o f gods, as one wi th the sun
,who
is,
undoubtedly,hymned by the several m inistering priests o f
the Vedas :
( g 1 1mt
11
Daksha replies that the twelve Ad i tyas receive special oblations ;that they are al l the suns ; and that he knows of no othei . T he
Munis,who overhear the d ispu te
,concur in his sentiments
1 1 1 1 1 1 ya fiw m w fimz l
fi fi i fi fim a afi‘rfawfi ( fa : 11
1 1 1 1131 1 3 1 1 1 11 1 : “ 1 1 11 3 1 11 151 1 1 . 1
awfm gas—ezar 1 111 1 mam amfimz
These notions seem to have been exchanged for others,
days of the Padma Purana and Bhagavata ; as they place Daksh‘
a’
s
neglect of Siva to the latter’s fil thy practices, .
—his go ing naked,
smearing himself wi th ashes,carrying a sku l l
,and behav ing as if
he were drunk or crazed ; al lud ing ,no doubt
,to the practices of
Sa iva mend icants , who seem to have abounded in the days of
Sankara Acharya,and since . There i s no discussion in the Bha
gavata ; but Rudra i s described as present at a former assembly,when his father-in- law censured him before the guests , and ,
In
consequence,he departed in a rage . H is fol lower Nandin i curses
the company ; and Bhi‘igu retorts in language descrip tive of the
Vamacharins or left hand worshippers of Siva .
“May al l those”,
original .J
r Nandis’
wara.
1 26 EXTRACT FROM THE VAYU PURARA .
O thou who . knowest all truth ; for a great doubt per
plexes me. Mahes'
wara spake : ‘Illustrious g oddess,the excellent patriarch Daksha celebrates the sacrificeof a horse ; and thither the gods repair.
’ Devi spake :‘Why , then, m ost m ighty god , dost then also not pro
ceed to this solemnity ? By what hinderance is thyprogress thither impeded ?’ Mahes
'
wara spake : ‘Thisis the contrivance, m ighty queen, of all the gods, that,in all sacrifices , no portion should be assigned to m e.
In consequence of an arrangement formerly dev ised,the gods allow me
,of right, no participation of sacrificial
offerings .
’ Dev i spake : ‘The lord god lives in all bod ilyform s ;
*and his m ight is em inent through his superior
faculties . He is unsurpassable, he is unapproachable, insplendour and glory and power. That such as he shou ld
be excluded from his share of oblations fills me withdeep sorrow ; and a trembling
,O sinless , seizes upon
he says yl‘ “ who adopt the worship of Bhava (Siva) , al l those
who fol low the practices of his worshippers,become hereti cs
,and
Oppugners of holy doctrines . May they neglect the Observanceso f purification ; may they be of infirm intel lects
,wearing clotted
hair,and ornamenting themselves wi th ashes and bones ; and may
they enter the Saiva ini tiat ion ,in which spir i tuous l iquor is the
l ibation .
”
Professor W ilson doubtless t the MSS . which Ihave consulted give fi g ,
1: Bhagavata
-
p urana, IV , 2 , 28—29
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 13 1 11 1 :
This passage will be found translated in Orig inal Sanskrit Texts,
Part IV., p . 32 1 .
1 28 EXTRACT FROM THE VAYU PURANA .
with Mahendra and all the three worlds , utterly con
founded . In my sacrifice, those who worship me repeatmy praises, and chant the Rathantara song of theSama
Veda . My priests worship me in the sacrifice Of truewisdom
, where no OfficiatingBrahman is needed ; and,in this, they Offer me my portion . Dev i spake : ‘Thelord is the root Of allyl
'
and,assuredly
,in every a ssem
blage of the female worl d,praises or hides him self at
will . ’ Mahadeva spake : ‘Queen of the gods , I praisenot myself. Approach
,and behold whom I shall create
for the purpose Of claim ing my share of the rite .
’
Hav ing thus spoken to his beloved spouse , them ighty Maheswara created ,
from his mouth ,a being
like the fire of fate ; I a divine being,with a thousand
heads,a thousand eyes , a thousand feet ; wielding a
thousand clubs , a thousand shafts ; holding the shell,the d iscus
,the mace
, and bearing a blazing bow and
battle-ax e ;§fierce and terrific , shining with dreadful
splendour , and decorated with the crescent moon ;
clothed in a tiger’s skin dripping with blood , hav ing a
capacious stomach ,and a vast mouth armed with for
m idable tusks . His ears were erect ; his lips were p endulous ; his tongue was lightning ; his hand brandishedthe thunder bolt ; flames streamed from his hair ; a
necklace of pearls wound round his neck ; a garland Offlame descended on his breast . Radiant with lustre,he looked like the final fire that consumes the world .
Four tremendous tusks projected from a mouth which
See Original Sanskrit Tex ts, Part IV. ,p . 3 1 6 , note 28 1 .
1 Suprdkr‘ita .
Kalagni . Some MSS . have Ar odhdgni ,“ the fire of wrath
Add “sword”, asi .
SACRIFICE OF DAKSHA . 1 29
extended from ear to ear.
“ He was Of vast bulk , vast
strength, a mighty male and lord, the destroyer of the
universe ,“
and l ike a large fig - tree in circumference ;Shining like a hundred moons at once ; fierce as the
fire of love ; hav ing four heads, sharp white teeth, and
of m ighty fierceness , v igour , activ ity ,and courage ;
glowing with the blaze Of a thousand fiery suns at the
end of the world ; l ike a thousand undimmed m oons ;
in bulk,like Himadri, Kailasa, or Sumera , or Mandara
,
with all its gleaming herbs ; bright as the sun of de
struction at the end Of ages ; of irresistible prowess
and beautiful aspect ; irascible, with lowering eyes, and
a countenance burning like fire“
; clothed in the hide of
the elephant and lion ,and girt round with snakes ;
Wearing a turban on his head , a m oon on his brow ;sometimes savage , sometimes m ild ; hav ing a chapletof .many flowers on his head ,
anointed with variousunguents, adorned with d ifferent ornaments and many
sorts Of jewels , wearing a garland of heavenly Karn ikara flowers, and rolling his eyes with rage . Sometim es
he danced ; sometim es he laughed aloud ; sometimes
he stood wrapt in m editation ; sometimes he trampledupon the earth ; sometimes he sang ; sometimes he
wept repeatedly . And he was endowed with the faculties Of wisdom ,
d ispassion,power ,
penance , truth ,en
durance,fortitude
,dom inion
,and self—knowledge .
This being then knelt down upon the ground , and ,raising his hands respectfully to his head , said
‘
to
Mahadeva : ‘Sovereign Of the god s , command what it
The original , in the MSS . known to me,isW fl m ,
in
the accusative. That is to say , there is no mention of “ the elephant
1 30 EXTRACT FROM THE VAYU FURARA .
is that I mu st do for thee’ ; to which Mahes'
wara re
plied : ‘Spo il the sacrifice Of Daksha .
’ Then the m ightyVirabhadra , hav ing heard the
“
pleasure Of his lord,
bowed down his head to the feet of and,
starting l ike a- l ion loosed from bonds
,despoiled the
sacrifice of Daksha ; knowing that he had been createdby the d ispleasure Of Dev i . She
,tOO , in her wrath
,as
the fearful goddess Rudrakali,accompanied him , with
all her train,to witness his deeds . Virabhadra ,
the
fierce,abid ing in the region Of ghosts
,is the m inister
Of the anger Of Devi . And he then created,from the
pores of his Skin ,powerful dem igods ,? the m ighty
attendants upon Rudra,Of equal valour and strength,
who started,by hundred s and thousand s, into existence .
Then a loud and confused clam our filled all the ex
panse Of ether , and inspired the denizens of heavenwi th dread . The mountains tottered , and earth shook ;the wind s roared
, and the depths Of the sea were d is
turbed ; the fires lost their radiance, and the sun grewpale ; the planets of the firmament shone not
,neither
did the stars give light ; the Rishis ceased their hymns,and gods and demons were mute :
and thick darknesscl ipsed the chariots of the skiesThen. from the gloom emerged fearful and numer
ous forms , shouting the cry of battle ; who instantly
The description Of Virabhadra and his followers is given inother Puranas
,in the same s tra in
,but wi th less detail .
In the original , Umapati .T The original calls them Baumas
fitsgaf mw “
51 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Hereabouts the translation is somewhat free.
1 32 EXTRACT FROM THE vAYU FURANA .
cut Off his vast head , after he had mounted into thesky .
1 Daksha , the patriarch ,his sacrifice being de
stroyed ,overcome with terror , and ut terly broken in
spirit,fell, then, upon the ground, where his head was
spurned by the feet of the cruel Virabhadra .
2 The
thirty scores* of sacred div inities were all presently
This is also mentioned in the Linga and in the Hari Vamsa :
and the latter thus accounts for the origin of the constellationMrigaSIras ; Yajna, wi th the head of a deer, being elevated to theplanetary reg ion, by Brahma.
2 A s he prays to Siva presently , i t could not wel l he meant,here
,that Daksha was decapi tated ,
al though that is the story inother places . T he Linga and Bhagavata bo th state that Virabhadra cut Off Daksha ’s head
,and threw i t into the fire . A fter
the fray,therefore
,when Siva restored the dead to l ife and the
mu tilated to their l imbs,Daksha ’
s head was not forthcoming . Itwas
,therefore
,replaced by the head of a goat , or
,accord ing to
the KaSi Kharida ,that of a ram . N o noti ce is taken ,
in our
text,of the conflict elsewhere described between Virabhadra and
Vishnu . In the Linga ,the latter is beheaded ; and his head is
blown,by the wind
,into the fire . T he Karma
,though a Saiva
Purana,is less irreverent towards Vishnu
,and
,after describing
a contest in which bo th parties occas ional ly preva i l , makesBrahma interpose
,and separate the combatants . T he Kas' i
Khai ida of the Skanda Furaria describes Vishnu as defeated,and
at the mercy of Virabhadra ,who is prohibi ted
,by a vo i ce from
heaven, from destroying his antagonis t ; whi lst, in the Hari Van'
i s'
a,
Vishriu compels Siva to fly,after “ tak ing him by the throat and
nearly strangl ing him . T he blackness of Siva’s neck arose fromth is thro ttl ing, and not
,as elsewhere described
,from his drink ing
the po ison produced at the churning of the ocean.
“ Three hundred and thirty millions The original is
W mfi efi1 1 1 11 11 11 1 1 11 111 1 11”swarm 1
51 11 1 11 1 1 1 11
SACRIFICE OF DAKSHA . 1 33
bound,with a band Of fire, by their l ion- like foe ; and
they all then addressed him,crying : ‘O Rudra , have
mercy upon thy servants ! 0 lord , d ismiss thine anger !Thus spake Brahma, and the other gods
,and the pa
triarch Daksha ; and , raising their hands,they said :
‘Declare , m ighty being , who thou art.’
Virabhadra
said : ‘I am not a god ,nor an Ad itya ; nor am I come
hither for enjoyment, nor curious to behold the chiefsOf the d iv inities . Know that I am come to destroythe sacrifice of Daksha, and that I am called Virabhadra
,the issue of the wrath Of Rudra . Bhadrakal i
,also,
who has sprung,from the anger OfDevi , is sent here , by
the god Of gods, to destroy this rite . Take refuge, kingOf kings,
‘
with him who is the lord Of Uma. For betteris the anger OfRudra than the blessings Of other gods .
’
“Hav ing heard the words Of Virabhadra,the right
eons Daksha propitiated the m ighty god , the holderof the trident , Mahes
'
wara . The hearth Of sacrifice,
deserted by the Brahmans,had been consum ed ; Yajna
had been m etamorphosed to an antelope ; the fires OfRudra’s wrath had been kindled ; the attendants ,wounded by the tridents Of the servants Of the god,were groaning with pain ; the pieces Of the uprootedsacrificial posts were scattered here and there ; and
the fragments Of the meat - offerings were carried Off
by flights Of hungry v ultures and herds Of howlingjackals . . Suppressing his v ital airs , and taking up a
posture Of med itation,the many- sighted v ictor of his
foes , Daksha , fixed his eyes “
everywhere upon his
thoughts . Then the god of gods appeared from the
altar, resplendent as a thou sand suns, and sm il ed uponhim ,
and said : ‘Daksha, thy sacrifice has been destroyed
1 34 EXTRACT FROM THE vAYU PURANA .
through sacred knowledge . I am Well pleased withthee .
’
And then he sm iled again,and said : ‘What shall
I do for thee ? Declare , together with the preceptorof the gods .
“ThenDaksha ,frightened , alarmed
,and agitated ,
his eyes suffused with tears, raised his hands reverem
tially to his brow,and said : ‘If, lord , thou art pleased :
if I have found favour in thy sight ; if I am to be the
object of thy benevolence ; if thou wilt confer uponme a boon
,this is the blessing I solicit , that al l these
prov isions for the solemn sacrifice , which have beencollected with much trouble , and during a lOng timeand which have now been eaten
,drunk ,
devoured,
burnt,broken
, scattered abroad , may not have beenprepared in vain .
’ ‘SO let it be ’
,replied Hara
,the sub
duer Of Indra . And thereupon Daksha knelt downupon the earth
,and praised
,gratefully ,
the author Of
righteousness, the three-eyed god Mahadeva, repeatingthe eight thousand names Of the deity whose emblemis a bull .
Bhaganetra is here used , in the Sanskrit , for “ Indra See the
article GEE ]? in Professor W ilson’
s S anskri t Dictionary.
1 36 V ISHNU PURAHA.
bowing to him reverentially , immed iately presentedit to him . He
,as one frantic
,placed the chaplet upon
his-
brow,and
,thus decorated
,resumed -his path ; when
he beheld (Indra) the husband of Sachi,the ruler of
the three worlds , approach ,seated on his infuriated
elephant,Airavata ,
and attended by the gods . The
phrensied sage,taking from his head the garland of
flowers,am idst which the bees collected ambrosia
,
threw it to the king of the gods,who caught it
,and
suspended it on the brow of Airavata,where it shone
like the river Jahnav i , glittering on the dark summ itof
“
the mountain Kailasa . The elephant,whose eyes
were dim with inebriety ,and attracted by the smell
,
took hold of the garland with his trunk, and cast it onthe earth . That chief of sages , Durvasas
,was highly
incensed at this d isrespectful treatment of his gift, andthus angrily addressed the sovereign of the immortals :“ Inflated with the intoxication of power
,Vasava,
v ile of spirit , thou art an id iot not to respect the garland I presented to thee
,which was the dwell ing Of
Fortune (Sri) . Thou hast not acknowledged it as a
largess ; thou hast not bowed thyself before me ; thouhast not placed the wreath upon thy head , with thycountenance expand ing with delight . Now
,fool
,for
that thou hast not infinitely prized the garland that Igave thee, thy sovereignity Oy er the three worlds Shal lbe subverted . Thou confoundest me
,Sakra
,with other
Brahmans ; and hence I have suffered disrespect from
The original is simply
BOOKI.
,CHAP. 1 x . 1 37
thy arrogance . But,in like manner as thou hast cast
the garland I gave thee down on the ground,SO shal l
thy dom inion over the universe be whelmed in ruin .
Thou hast offended one whose wrath is dreaded byall created things, king of the god s
,even me
,by thine
excessive pride .
”
Descending hastily from his elephant , Mahendra
endeavoured to appease the sinless Durvasas . But,to
the excuses and prostrations of the thousand-eyed,the
Muni answered : “ I am not Of a compassionate heart,
nor is forgiveness congenial to my nature. OtherMunismay relent ; but know me
,Sakra
,to be Durvasas . Thou
hast in vain been rendered insolent by Gautama and
others ; for know me,Indra
,to be Durvasas , whose
nature is a stranger to remorse . Thou hast been flattored by Vasishtha and other tender - hearted saints,whose loud praises have made thee SO arrogant thatthou hast insulted m e . But who is there in the uni
verse that can behold my countenance , dark withfrowns
,and surrounded
n
by my blazing hair , and not
tremble ? What need of words ? I will not forgivewhatever semblance Of hum il ity thou mayest assume .
Hav ing thus spoken,the Brahman went his way
and the king Of the gods , remounting his elephant,returned to his capital
,Amaravati . Thenceforward ,
Maitreya,the three world s and Sakra lost their v igour ;
and all vegetable products ,“
plants, and herbs were
withered and died ; sacrifices were no longer Offered ;devout exercises no longer practised ; men were no
m ore add icted to charity,or any moral or religious
See Origina l Sanskrit Texts, Part. I., p , 95, note.
1 38 VISHRU PURANA .
obligation ; all beings became devo id of steadiness ;1
al l the faculties of sense were Obstructed by cupid ity ;and m en
’
s desires were excited by frivolous Objects .
Where there is energy there is prosperity ; and uponprosperity energy depends . How can those”abandonedby prosperity be possessed Of energy? And withoutenergy where is excellence ? Without excellence therecan be no v igour or heroism amongst men . He who
has neither courage nor strength will be spurned byall ; and he who is universally treated with disgracemust suffer abasement of his intellectual faculties .
The three regions being thus wholly divested of
prosperity ,and deprived Of energy , the
'
Danavas and
sons Of D iti,the enem ies Of the gods
,who were in
capable Of stead iness , and agitated by ambition , put
forth their strength against the god s . They engagedin war with the feeble and unfortunate d iv inities ; andIndra and the rest , being overcome in fight
,fled
,for
refuge,to Brahma
,preceded by the god Of flame
(Hutasana) . When the great father of the universehad heard all that had come to pass
,he said to the
deities : “Repair,for protection
,to the god of high and
low ; the tamer Of the dem ons ; the causeless cause of
creation, preservation, and destruction ; the progenitorof theprogenitors ; the immortal unconquerableVishr
'
Iu ;
the cause Of matter and sp i ri t , of his unengenderedproducts ; the remover of the grief Of all who humblethemselves before him . He will give you aid . Having
1 They became (fi ifi ) , N ih'
sattwa ; and Sattwa is explained ,throughou t, by Dhairya ‘
stead iness ’,
‘forti tude ’.
Here and below, this represents sattwa.
1 40 VISHNU PURARA .
of the cause ; the cause Of them all : to him I bow. To
him who is the enjoyer and thing to be enjoyed ; thecreator and thing to be created ; who is .
'the agent andthe effect : to that supreme being I bow. The infinitenature Of Vishnu is pure
,intelligent
,perpetual, unborn,
undecayable , inexhaustible , inscrutable, immutable ; itis neither gross nor subtile , nor
"
capable of being defined : to that ever holy nature Of Vishnu I bow. To
him whose faculty to create the universe abides in buta part of but the ten-m ill ionth part Of him ; to him whois one with the inexhaustible supreme spirit , I bow :
and to the glorious nature of the supreme Vishnu ,which nor gods , _
nor sages,nor I
,nor Sankara appre
hend ; that nature which the Yogins,after incessant
effort , effacing both moral merit and d emerit , beholdto be contemplated in the mystical monosyllable Om :
the supreme glory of Vishnu ,who is the first Of all ;
of whom,one only god , the triple energy is the same
with Brahma, Vishnu ,and S iva : O lord of all
, greatsoul Of all, asylum Of all
,undecayable
,have pity upon
thy servants ! O Vishnu, be manifest unto us .
Parasara continued —The gods , having heard thisprayer uttered by Brahma
,bowed down
,and cried :
Be favourable to us ! Be present to our Sight . We
degree is Ahan'
i kara ; in the fourth,or the effect of the effect
(Ahan'
nkara) of the effect (Mahat) of the effect (Prakr1 ti) , is ele
mentary substance ,or Bhata . Vishnu is each and al l . So ,
in
the succeed ing ascend ing scale , Brahma is the cause of mortall ife ; the cause of Brahma is the egg ,
or aggregate elementarymatter ; i ts cause is , therefore ,
elementary matter ; the cause of
whi ch is subti le or rud imental matter,which originates from
Ahamkara ; and so on. Vishnu is,al so, each and al l of these .
BOOK CHAP. IX . 1 4 1
bow down to that glorious nature which the mightyBrahma does not know ; that which is thy nature , Oimperishable ,
in whom the universe abides . Then,
the gods hav ing ended, Br1haspati and the d ivine
Rishis thus prayed : “We bow down to the being en
titled to adoration ; who is the first object of sacrifice ;who was before the first Of things ; the creator of the
creator of the world ; the undefinable . O lord of all
that has been or is to be ; imperishable type of sacrifice ;have pity upon thy worshippers ! Appear to them prostrate before thee . Here is Brahma; here is Tri lochana
( the three—eyed S iva ) , with the Rudras ; Pashan (thesun) , with the Ad ityas ; and Fire , with all the m ightylum inaries . Here are the sons of As
’
wini ( the twoASwini Kumaras) , the Vasus and all the wind s
,the
sadhyas , the Vi swadevas , and Indra,the king of the
gods ; al l of whom bow lowly before thee . All the
tribes of the immortals,vanqu ished by the demon host
,
have fled to thee for su ccour.
Thus prayed to,the supreme deity
,the m ighty
holder of the conch and d iscus, showed himself to them ;and
,behold ing the lord Of gods, bearing a shell
,a d is
cus, and a mace,the assemblage Of primeval form
,and
rad iant with embodied light,Pitamaha and the other
deities,their eyes m oistened with rapture
,first paid
him homage,and then thus addressed him :
“Repeatedsalutation to thee, who art indefinable ! Thou art Brahma; thou art the w1elder of the Pinaka bow (S iva) ;thou art Indra ; thou art fire
,air
,the god of watersyl
'
“ Fire, with al l its forms 1 11 1 1 151 1 1 1 Hatfi fii t l‘
i‘ Varuri a, in the original .
1 42 VISHNU PURANA .
the sun,the king Of death (Yama) , the Vasus , the
Maruts ( the winds ) , the Sadhyas , and Vis’
wadevas .
This assembly Of d iv inities,that now has come before
thee,thou art ; for , the creator of the world
,thou art
everywhere . Thou art the sacrifice,the prayer Of oh
lation j‘
the mystic syllable Om , the sovereign of all
creatures. Thou art all that is to be known,or to be
unknown . O universal soul , the whole world consistsOf thee . We , d iscomfited by the Daityas, have fled to
thee,O Vishnu
,for refuge . Spirit of all
, 1 have com
passion upon us ! Defend u s with thy m igh ty power.
There will be affliction,desire, trouble, and grief, until
thy protection is obtained : but thou art the remover
of all sins . DO thou,then
,0 pure of spirit
,Show favour
unto us,who have fled to thee ! O lord of all , protect
us with thy great power , in union with the goddess
who is thy strength .
”1§Hari
,the creator of the uni
verse, being thus prayed to by the prostrate div inities,sm iled ,
and thus spake : “With renovated energy ,0
gods,I will restore your strength .
~DO you act as Ienjo in . Let all the gods
,associated with the Asuras,
cast all sorts of med icinal herbs into the sea of m ilk ;and then
,taking the mountain Mandara for the churn
ing—stick , the serpent vasuki for the rope , churn the
W i th thy Sakti , or the goddess Sri or Lakshmi .
In the Sanskrit, Savitri .Vasliatkdra ,
“ the exclamation at a sacrificeThese words , and “
universal soul just above , are to render sar
vatman.
“ Lord of al l energies , make us , by thy power, to prosper1 1 1 11 11 1 11 1 1 1 11 1 11 6 1W 151 1
1 44 VISHRU FURAHA .
he sustained the serpent-king , and , with another , infused v igour into the gods .
From the ocean,thus churned by ‘
the gods and
Danavas first uprose the cow Surabhi ,'
the fountainof m ilk and curds
,worshipped by the divinities , and
beheld by them and their associates with m inds d isturbed and eyes glistening with del ight . Then, as theholy S iddhas in . the Sky wondered what this could be,appeared the goddess Varun i (the deity of wine) , hereyes rolling with intoxication . Next
,from the whirl
pOOl of the deep , sprang the celestial Parijata tree, thedelight Of the nymphs of heaven ; perfum ing the worldwith its blossoms. The troop of Apsarasas (the nymphsof heaven),were then produced, Of surprising loveliness,endowed with beauty and with taste . The cool-rayedmoon next rose
,and was seized by Mahadeva ; and
then po ison was engendered from the sea,of which
the snake-gods (Nagas ) took possession . Dhanwantari
,robed in white
,and bearing in his hand the cup
of Amr1 ta,next came forth ; beholding which , the sons
of D iti - and of Danu,as wel l as the Munis
,were filled
with satisfaction and delight . Then , seated on a fullblown lotos
,and holding a water- lily in her hand
,the
goddess Sri , rad iant with beauty, rose from the waves .
The great sages,enraptured , hymned her with the
song dedicated to her praise!“ eV1 swavasu and other
Or wi th the Siikta ,or hymn of the Vedas
,commencing,
Hirariyavarnan'
n”,&c.
“ The song ded icated to her praise translates Sri-su'kta . For the
hymn so called, with its commentary, edited by me, see Mii ller’s Rig-veda ,
Vol . IV. , Varietas Lectionis, pp. 5 , cl seq.
BOOK CHAP. IX. 1 45
heavenly qu iristers sang,
and Ghritachi and other
celestial nymphs danced before her. Ganga and otherholy stream s attended for her ablutions ; and the ele
phants of the skies,taking up their pure waters in
vases Of gold , poured them over the goddess,the queen
Of the universal world . The sea Of m ilk,in person
,
presented her with a“
wreath of never-fading flowers ;and the artist of the god s (V1 swakarman ) decoratedher person with heavenly ornam ents . Thus bathedattn ed and adorned ,
the . goddess , in thev iew of thecelestials , cast hei self upon the breast Of Hari
,and
,
there reclining,turned her eyes upon the deities, who
were inspired with rapture - by her gaze . Not so the
Daityas , who ,w ith Viprachitti at their head
, were
filled with ind ignation,as Vishnu turned away f rom
them : and they were abandoned by the goddess of
prosperity (Lakshm i) .
The powerful and indignant Daityas then forciblyseized the Amrita- cup ,
that was in the hand Of Dhanwantari . ButVishnu
,assum ing a female form
,fascinated
and deluded them,and
,recovering the Amrita from
them ,del ivered it to the god s . Sakra and the other
deities quaffed the ambrosia . The incensed demons,
grasping their weapons,fell upon them . But the god s
,
into whom the ambrosial draught had infused new
v igour, defeated and put their host to flight ; and theyfled through the regions of space , and plunged intothe subterraneous realm s Of Patala . The gods thereatgreatly rejo iced
,did homage to the holder of the d is
cus and mace,and resumed their reign in heaven . The
sun shone with renovated splendour,and again d is
charged his appointed task ; and the celestial lum inaries
1 4 6 VISHNU FURANA
again circled , 0 best Of Munis,in their respective orbits .
Fire once more blazed aloft,beautiful in splendour ;
and the m ind s of all beings were animated by devotion .
The three worlds again were rendered happy by pros
perity ; and Indra ,the chief Of the gods,
’
was restoredto power.
1 Seated upon his throne,and once m ore in
T he churning of the ocean does not occur '
i h several of thePuranas
,and is but cursori ly al luded to in the Siva ,
Linga, and
Karma Puranas . T he Vayu and Padma have much the same
narrative as that of our text ; and so have the Agni and Bhagavata
,except tha t they refer only briefly to the anger of Durvasas
,
wi thout narrating the circumstances ; ind icating theirbeing posterior
,therefore
,to t he orig inal tale . T he part
,however, assigned
to Durvasas appears to be an embel l ishment added to the ori
ginal ; for no mention Of him occurs in the Matsya Purana or
even in the Hari Vamsa . Nei ther does i t occur in wha t may be
considered the Oldes t extant versions of the story, those Of theRamayari a and Mahabhara ta . Bo th these ascribe the occurrenceto the desire Of the gods and Daityas to become immortal . T he
Matsya assigns a simi lar motive to the gods , instigated by oh
serving that the Daityas sla in by them in battle were restored tol i fe, by Sukra, wi th the Sanj ivini or herb Of immortal i ty
,whi ch
he had d iscovered . T he account in the Hari Van'IS'a is brief andObscure
,and is expla ined
,by the commentator
,as an a llegory,
in whi ch the churn ing o f the Ocean typifies asceti c penance ,and
the ambros ia is final l ibera tion. But this i s mere mystification.
T he legend Of the Ramayana is transla ted ,Vo l . I.
,p . 41 0
,of the
Serampore ed i tion, and that of the Mahabhara ta
,by S ir C . W i l
k ins,in the no tes to his translation o f the Bhagavad G ita. See ,
also,the original text , Ca lcu tta ed i tion
,p . 40. I t has been pre
sented to general readers, in a more attractive form, by my friend ,H . M. Parker
,in his Draught of Immortal i ty, printed , wi th o ther
poems,London
,1 827 . T he Matsya Furaria has many o f the
s tanzas o f the Mahabharata interspersed wi th o thers . There issome varie ty in the order and number Of articles produced from
1 48 Vi sHnU FURANA .
I bow down to Sri,the mother of all beings, seated
on her lotos -throne,with eyes like full-blown lotoses
,
reclining on the breast of Vishnu . Thou art Siddhi
(s uperhuman power) ; thou art Swadha and Swaha;
thou art ambrosia (Sudha) , the purifier of the universe ;thou art evening , night , and dawn ; thou art power
,
intellect,faith ;
* thou art the goddess Of letters (Saraswati) . Thou
,beautiful goddess , art knowledge of de
votion,great knowledge, mystic knowledge, and spiri
tual knowledge,
1which confers eternal l iberation .
Thou art the science of reasoning ? the three Vedas,the arts and sciences ;
2 thou art moral and political
the gods, and obta ining a portion of the Amri ta . Being beheaded,for this
,by Vishnu
,the head became immortal
,in consequence
of the AmrIta having reached the throat, and was transferred,as
a constel lation,to the Sk ies : and
,as the sun and moon detected
his presence amongst the gods Rahu pursues them with implacable hatred
,and his efforts to se ize them are the causes of
ecl ipses ; Rahu typifying the as cend ing and descend ing nodes .
This seems to be the s implest and oldes t form Of the legend .
T he equal immortal i ty of the body,under the name Ketu
,and
his be ing the Cause of meteori cal phenomena,seems to have been
an afterthought . In the Padma and Bhagavata ,Rahu and Ketu
are the sons of Simhika,the wi fe of the Danava Viprachitti .
T he four Vidyas or branches of knowledge are said to be :Yajna-v idya
,knowledge or performance of rel igious ri tes ; Maha
vidya, great knowledge, theworship of the female principle, or Tan
trikaworship ; Guhya-vidya, knowledge ofmantras
,mystical prayers
,
and incantations ; andAtma-v idya,knowledge of sou l , truew isdom .
2 Or Vartta, explained to mean the Silpa -sas tra , mechanics ,sculpture
,and archi tecture ; Ayur-veda
,med i cine ; &c.
Bli ii ti , med/1d , and sraddha.
1" Anviksltiki .
BOOK I.,CHAP. IX . 49
sciences}: The
‘
world is peopled,by thee, with pleasing .
or d ispleasing form s . Who else than thou , O goddess,is seated on that person of the god Of god s
,the wielder
Of the mace , which is made up of sacrifice , and con
templated by holy ascetics ? Abandoned by thee , thethree worlds were on the brink Of ruin : but they havebeen rean im ated by thee . From thy propitious gaze,O m ighty goddess, m en Obtain wives , children, dwellings
,friends , harvests , wealth . Health and strength,
power,v ictory
,happiness are easy of attainment to
those upon whom thou sm ilest . Thou art the motherOf all beings ; as the god Of gods
,Hari
,is theirfather :
and this world , whether animate or inanimate,is per
vaded by thee and Vishnu . O thou who purifiest allthings
,forsake not our treasures , our granaries
,our
dwell ings,our dependants
,our persons , our wives .
Abandon not our children,our friends, our lineage, our
jewels , O thou who abidest on the bosom Of the godOf god s . They whom thou desertest are forsaken bytruth
,by purity
,and goodness
,by every am iable and
excellent quality ; whilst the base and worthless uponwhom thou lookest favourably become immed iatelyendowed with all excellent qual ifications, with fam ilies,and with power. He on whom thy countenance isturned is honourable , am iable
,prosperous , wise , and
of exalted birth,a hero of irresistible prowess . But all
his merits and his advantages are converted into worthlessness ‘
,from whom
,beloved of Vishnu ,
mother o f
the world,then avertest thy face . The tongues of
Brahma are unequal to celebrate thy excellence . Be
1 Dandaniti.
1 50 V ISHNU PURANA .
propitious to m e,O goddess
,lotos-eyed ; and never
forsake me more .
Being thus praised,the gratified Sri , abiding in all
creatures , and heard by all beings , replied to the godof a hundred rites (Satakratu) :
“I am pleased , monarchof the god s , by thine adoration . Demand
-
from me
what thou des irest . I have come to fulfil thy wishes .
If,goddess ,
replied Indra,
“ thou wilt grant myprayers ; if I am worthy of thy bounty ; be this myfirst request
,—that the three worlds may never again
be d eprived of thy presence . My second supplication,daughter of Ocean
,is , that thou wilt not forsake him
who shall celebrate thy praises in the words I haveaddressed to thee .
” “I wil l not abandon the goddessanswered,
“the three worlds again . This thy first boon
is granted : for I am gratified by thy praises . And ,
further , I will never turn my face away from thatmortal who
,m orning and even ing
, shall repeat thehymn wi th which thou hast addressed me .
Parasara proceeded —Thus , Maitreya , in formertimes the goddess Sri conferred these boons upon theking of the god s
,being pleased by his adorations . But
her first birth was the daughter of Bhr1gu by Khyati .It was at a subsequent period that she was producedfrom the sea
,at the churning of the ocean , by the
demons and the god s,to obtain ambrosia .
1 For,in
T he cause of this,however
,is left unexplained . T he Padma
Purana inserts a legend to account for the temporary separa tionof Lakshm i from Vishnu
,whi ch appears to be pecu l iar to tha t
W ork . Bhr1 gu was lord of Lakshm ipura,a ci ty on the Narmada,
given him by Brahma. H is daughter Lakshmi instigated her
husband to request its being conceded to her,which offend ing
CHAP TER X.
T he descendants of the daughters of Daksha married to the Rishis .
MAIT REYA .—Thou hast narrated to me
,great Muni
,
all that I asked of thee . Now resume the account ofthe creation sub sequently to Bhr1gu .
PARA SARA .—Lakshm i
,the bride of Vishnu
,was the
daughter of Bhrigu byKhyati . They had also two sons,
Dhatri and Vidhatri,who married the two daughters
of the illustrious Meru,Ayati and Niyati , and had , by
them ,each
,a son, named Prana and Mrikanda . The
son of the latter was Markar’ideya ,from whom Veda
S 1 ras was born .
1 The son of Prana was named Byati
1 T he commentator interprets the text H‘
fl’fW W S lfi to
refer to Prana : mm M a“ Rafi‘Vedas
’
iras was born the
son of Prana . So the Bhagavata ? has :mm mama: m fnn gfir:
T he L inga ,the Vayu
,and Markari deya ,
however,confirm our
read ing of the text ; mak ing Vedasn‘as the son of Markandeya .
Prana ,or
,as read in the two former
,Pandu
, was married toPuridarika
,and had
,by her
,Dyutimat , whose sons were Sfij a
vana and A s'
ruta or Asrutavrana . Mri ka rida (also read Mri kaxidu)married Manaswini
,and had Markaii deya ,
whose son,by Mur
dhanya,was VedaSJras . He married Pivari
,and had many
chi ldren,who consti tu ted the fami ly or Brahmanical tribe of the
Bhargavas , sons o f Bhr1gu , T he mos t celebrated of these wasU s
'
anas,the preceptor of the Daityas, who , accord ing to the Bha
gavata, was the son of Vedasn as . But the Vayu makes him the
son of Bhr1gu by Paulomi , and born at a d ifferent period .
Al l the MSS . seen by me have Mr'
ikaiidu.
4; 1v. , 1 , 45.
BOOK CHAP . x . 1 53
m at and his son was RaJavat ; after whom the race of
Bhr1gu became infinitely multipl ied .
Sambhi ’i ti, the wife of Marichi,gave birth to Baarna
masa,whose sons were Virajas and Sarvaga . I shal l
hereafter notice his other descendants , when I give a
more particul ar account of the race of Marichi . 1
The wife of Angiras Smri ti,bore daughters named
Sinivali , Kuhu,Raka
, and Anumati (phases of the
m oon)? Anasuya
,the wife of Atri
,was the mother
A l lud ing especially to Kas'yapa, the son of Marichi,of whose
posteri ty a fu ll deta i l is subsequently g iven. T he Bhagavata adds
a daughter, Devakulya; and the Veiyu and Linga, four daughters ,T ushti , Pushti , T wisha,
and Apachi ti . T he latter inserts the
grandsons of Paurriamasa . Virajas ,married to Gauri
,has Su
dhaman,a Lokapala
,or ruler of the east quarter ; and Parvasa
(quas i Sarvaga) has , by Parvasa, Y ajnavama and Kas'
ya ta ,* who
were , both ,founders of Gotras or famil iesx l T he names of al l
these occur in d ifferent forms i in d ifferent MSS .
T he Bhagavata adds,that
,in the Swarochisha Manwantara
,
Professor Wilson had “ Parva5 1 Instead of his “ Kas'
yata I find ,in MSS . ,
Kasyapa : and there is a gotra named after the latter. And
see my next note .
1 The words pf the d a -
purana , in the MSS . within my reach , are
we : eém fifi afar-r: a 1 1 3mm : I
train : new a 51m m 5 ea?1 1 3 3 1 1 ?a sham?gr?mmu
’
fia a n
33? a? and ufifwfmfi nThe first l ine of this quotation is , in some MSS . that I have seen,
m 1 Féflm fl'
fi lmt &c. ; and one MS . has , instead of Hfi lW'
nfi g‘ Al l those MSS . have i f 31 3 1 21 51 ? or
“
a HETW L But,
without conjectural mending , the l ine in question yields no sense .
Professor W ilson’
s quas i Sarvaga seems to imply that the MS . ,or
MSS . , which he followed had some such lection as fi n {at
These names and forms of names—and so throughout the notes tothis work—are very numerous ; and a fully satisfactory account of them,
in the absence of critical editions of the Puranas, is impracticable.
1 54 VISHNU PURANA . .
of three sinless sons : Soma (the moon),Durvasas,and
the ascetic Dattatreya .
1Balastya had ,
by,
Priti,a
son,called
,in a former birth
,or in the
'
SwayambhuvaManwantara
,Dattol i
, l‘ who is now known as the sage.
Agastya .
2 Kshama,the w ife of the patri arch Pulaha,
was the mother of three sons : Karmas’
a, 1 Arvarivat,§
the sages U tathya and Brihaspati were also sons of Angiras ;
and the Vayu,&c . specify Agni and Kirttimat as the sons of the
patriarch,in the first Manwantara . Agni , married to Sadwati
,
has Parjanya,married to Marichi ; and their son is H irariyaroman,
a Lokapala . Kirttimat has , by Dhenuka, two sons,Charishriu
and Dhritimat.
T he Bhagavata g ives an account of Atri ’s penance,by wh ich
the three gods , Brahma, Vishnu , and Siva,were propitiated
,. and
became,in portions o f themselves , several ly his sons , Soma
,
Datta,and Durvasas . T he Vayu has. a total ly d ifferent series
,
or five sons : Satyanetra ,Havya ,
Apomii rti , Sani , and Soma ;
and one daughter, Sruti , who became the wife of Kardama .
2 T he tex t. would seem to imply that he was cal led Agastyain a former Manwantara : but the commentator explains i t as
above.H T he Bhagavata calls the w ife of Pulas tya ,Havirbhii ,
whose sons were the Muni Agastya ,cal led
,in a former birth
,
Dahragni ( or J atharzigni ) and Vis'
ravas . T he latter had,by
Idavida ,the dei ty of weal th
,Kubera
,and
,by Kesm i
,the Rat
kshasas Bavaria,Kumbhakarna
,and Vibhishana . T he Vetyu
1: Variants of this name are Dattal i , Dattotti , Dattotri , Dattobhri,
Dambhobhi , and Dambhol i .
Kardama seems to be a more common reading than “Karmasa
Also wri tten Avarivat, and Arvariyat.ii The text is as follows :
m ea n
And the commentator observes :m afi zfi fa zem a zgaw u
1 56 V ISHNU PURANA .
born of Brahma, had , by Swaha, three sons of surpassing brilliancy : Pavaka , Bavamana ,
and Suchi,who
drinks up water. They had forty-five sons,who
,with
the original son of Brahma,and his three descendants
,
constitute the forty-nine fires .
1The progenitors (Pitris) ,
who,as I have mentioned
,were created by
-Brahma,
were the Agnishwattas and Barhishads ; the former
being devoid of,and the latter possessed of
,fires .
2 By
T he eldes t son of Brahma, accord ing to the commentator,
upon the authori ty of theVedas : aam‘
fifi fifiszfifi M W! fiffi l $3 : T he Vayu Purana enters into a very long detai lo f the names and places o f the whole forty-nine fires . Accord ingto that also
,Pavaka is electri c or Vaidyu ta fire ; Pavamana is
that produced by fri ction,
or N irmathya ; and Such i is solar(Saura) fire . Pavamana was the parent of Kavyavahana, the fire
of the Pitris ; Sti ch i , of Havyavahana ,the fire of the
' gods ; and
Pavamana,of Saharaksha ,
the fire of the Asuras . T he Bhagavata explains these d ifferent fires to be so many appellations of
fire employed in the invocations wi th whi ch d ifferent oblationsto fire are offered in the ri tual of the Vedas :
W ait i nfirmwamfira‘eiai fqfii : I
mam{s i ft f i rW SWexplained
,by the commentator ; fif’qfii Efififm
‘ ‘
fl'
fi.‘vfi
’mmuffirfi-fi am n fi fem fififi a Q
'
fiwri’
ra rfi'
fifi i z I
9 A ccord ing to the commentator,this d istinction is derived
from the Vedas . T he firs t class , or Agnishwattas , consists of
those househo lders who,when al ive
,d id not maintain their do
mestic fires,nor offer burnt- sacrifices ; the second ,
o f those whokept up the household flame
,and presented oblations wi th fire .
Mann-
i cal ls these Agnidagdhas and the reverse,which Sir W i l l iam
Jones renders ‘consumable by fire ’
,&c. Kul l iika Bhat ta g ives
no explanation of them . T he Bhagavata adds other classes of
Blzdgavam-
p urana, IV., 1 , 6 1 . 1 III 1 99.
BOOK CHAP . x . 1 57
them Swadha had two daughters , Mena and Dharini,
who were, both, acquainted with theological truth, andboth add icted to rel igious meditation , both aecom
plished in perfect wisdom ,and adorned with all esti
mable qualities .
1 Thus has been explained the progenyof the daughters of Daksha ?
i
He who,with faith
,re
capitulates the account shall never want offspring .
Pitfis ; or, the Ajyapas, ‘drink ers o f gheej, and Somapas,‘drinkers
of the acid ju ice .
’ T he commentator,explaining the meaning of
the terms Saigu i and Anagni , has : “ m 3
W : lW W W : which m ight be understood to s ignifythat the Pi tf is who are
‘wi thou t fire ’are those to whom oblations
are not offered,and those ‘wi th fire ’
are they to whom obla tionsare presented .
1 T he Vaiyu carries this genea logy forward . Dharini was
married to Meru,and had , by him,
Mandara and three daughters ,N iyati , Ayati , and Vela. T he two first were married to Dhatfiand Vidhatri (p . Vela was the w ife of Samudra
,by whom
she had Saimudri,married to Prachinabarhis
,and the mother o f
the ten Prachetasas,the fa thers of Daksha
,as subsequently nar
rated . Mena was married to H imava t,and was the mo ther o f
Mainaka,and of Ganga
’
,and of Parva ti or Uma.
2 N o no tice is here taken of Sa ti,married to Bhava ,
as is
intimated in c . 8 (pp . 1 1 7 , when describing the Rudras . Of
these genealog ies the ful lest and,apparently
,the oldes t account
is given in the Vayu Purana . As far as tha t of our text extends ,the two nearly agree ; al lowing for
,
d ifferences o f appellation,
originatingm m accurate transcription ; the names frequently varyingin d ifferent copies of the same work
,leav ing i t doubtful whi ch
read ing should be preferred . The Bhagava ta , as observed above(p . 1 09 no te has crea ted some further perplex i ty by substitu
ting ,as the wives of the patriarchs
,the daughters of Kardama
,
for those of Daksha . O f the general s tatement i t may be observed ,that
,al though ,
in some respects,allegori cal , as in the names o f
the wives of the Rishis (p .“and
,in o thers
,astronom ical , as
1 5 8 vra n PURANA .
‘
in the denominations o f the daughters of Augiras (p . yet i tseems probable that i t is not al together fabulous , but tha t thepersons
,in some instances , had a real existence ; the genealog ies
orig inating in imperfectly preserved trad i tions of the fam i l ies of
the firs t teachers of the Hindu rel ig ion ,and of the descen t of
ind ividualswho took an active share in its propagation .
1 60 V ISHNU PURANA .
have not given'
you birth . This regal throne,the seat
of the king of kings , is su ited to my son only . Whyshould you aspire to its occupation? Why id ly cherishsuch lofty ambition
,as if you were my son ? Do you
forget that you are but the offspring of Suniti ?”
The boy, hav ing heard the speech of his step-m other,
quitted his father,and repaired
,in a passion ,
to theapartment of his own m other ; who ,
behold ing .him
vexed,took him upon her lap ,
and,gently sm iling
,
asked him what was the cause of his anger,who had
displeased him ,and if any one , forgetting the respect
due to his father, had behaved 111 to him . Dhruva , inreply
,repeated to her all that the arrogant Suruchi had
said to him ,in the presence of the king . Deeply dis
tressed by the narrativ e of the boy, the humble Suniti,her eyes d immed with tears
,sighed , and said : “Suruchi
has rightly spoken . Thine,child
,is an unhappy fate .
Those who are born to fortune are not liable to theinsults of their rivals.Yet be not afflicted
,my child .
For who shall efface what thou hast formerly done, or
shall assign to thee what thou hast left undone ? Theregal throne, the umbrella of royalty
,horses, and ele
phants are his whose v irtues have deserved them .
Remember this , my son,and be consoled . That the
king favours Suruchi is the reward of her merits in a
former existence . The name of wife alone belongs to
such as I , who have not equal m erit . Her son i s the
progeny of accumulated piety,and is born as Uttama.
Mine has been born as Dhruva,of inferior moral worth .
Therefore,my son
,it is not proper for you to grieve .
A wise man will be contented with that degree whichappertains to him . But
,if you continue to feel .hurt
BOOK CHAP. x 1 . 1 6 1
at the words of Suruchi,endeavour to augment that
religious merit which bestows all good . Be am iable ;be pious ; be friendly ; be assiduous in benevolence toall l iv ing creatures . For prosperity descends uponmodest worth, as water flows toward s low ground .
Dhruva answered : “Mother,the word s that you
have addressed to me,for my consolation, find no place
in a heart that contumely has broken . I will exertmyself to obtain such elevated rank
,that it shall be
revered by the whole world . Though I be not bornof Suruchi , the beloved of the king
, you shall beholdmy glory, who am your son . Let Uttama
, my brother,her child
,possess the throne given to him by my father.
I wish for no other honours than such as my own
actions shall acqu ire , such as even my father has notenjoyed .
Hav ing thus spoken ,Dhruva went forth from his
mother’s dwell ing . He qu itted the city ,and entered
an adjoining thicket , where he beheld seven Munis,
sitting upon hides of the black antelope,which they
had taken from off their persons,and spread over the
holy Kus’
a grass . Saluting them reverentially, and bowing humbly before them ,
the prince said : “Behold , inme
, venerable m en,the son of Uttanapada , born of
Suniti . D issatisfied with the world ,I appear before
you . The Rishis replied : “The son of a king,and
but four or five years of age , there can be no reason,
child,why you should be d issatisfied with life . You
cannot be in want of anything,whilst the king, your
father, reigns . We cannot imagine that you suffer the
pain of separation from the object of your affections ;I.
1 62 vra U PURANA.
nor do we observe, in your person, any sign of d isease .
What is the cause of your d iscontent ? Tell us,if it is
known to yourself.Dhruva then repeated to the Rishis what Sarachi
had spoken to him ; and,when they had heard his
story,they said to one another : “How surprising is
the vehem ence of the Kshatriya nature,that resent
ment is cherished even by a child,and he cannot efface
from his m ind the harsh speeches of a step-mother !Son of a Kshatriya
,tell us
,if it be agreeable to thee
,
what thou hast proposed , through d issatisfaction wi ththe world ,
-to accomplish . If thou wishest our aid in
what thouhast to do , declare it freely : for we perceive“
that thou art desirous to speak .
Dhruva said : “Excellent sages,I wish not for riches ;
neither do I want dom inion . I aspire to such a stationas no one before me has attained . Tell m e what Imustdo
,to effect this object ; how I may reach an elevation
superior to all other d ignities . (The Rishis severallythus replied .) Marichi said : “The best of stations isnot within the reach of men who fail to propitiate Grov inda . Do thou
,prince
, worship the undecaying
(Achyuta ) . Atri said : “He wi th whom the first of
spirits , Janardana , is pleased , obtains imperishabled ignity . I declare unto you the truth . Angiras said :“If you desire an exalted station
, worship that Gov indain
“
whom ,immutable and undecaying
,all that is exists .
Pulastya said : “He who adores the d iv ine Hari,the
supreme soul,supreme glory
,who is the supreme
Brahma,obtains what is difficult of attainment
,eternal
l iberation .
” “When that Janardana observed Kratu,who , in sacrifices
,is the soul of sacrifice, and who, in
1 64 vrsur’
m PURANA .
scrutable, or is m anifest as Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva !’ 1
This prayer , which was formerly uttered by yourgrand sire
,theMann Swayan
'
ibhuva, and propitiated bywhich ,
Vishnu conferred upon him the prosperity hedesired, and which was unequalled in the three worlds,is to be recited by thee . Do thou constantly repeatthis prayer
,for the gratification of Gov inda .
The instructions of the Rishis amount to the performanceof the Yoga . External impressions are
,first
,to be obv iated by
particular posi tions,modes of breathing ,
&c. T he m ind mustthen be fixed on the object of med i tation : this is Dhara ii a . Nextcomes the med i tation or Dhyana ; and then the Japa or inaud iblerepeti tion of a Mantra or short prayer : as in the text . The sub
jcet of the Yoga is more ful ly deta i led in a subsequent book .
‘
a'
fi“
own3 1 52-3 1 1 1 : m a fi a?! ll
Om ! Glory to Vasudeva, has the form of Hiranyagarbha, and
of soul , and of pradlzdna when not yet evolved ,and who possesses the
nature of pure intelligence ! ’ Manu,the holy son of the Self-existent
Brahma, muttered this prayer. Janardana, thy grandsire, of yore, propitiated , bestowed on him wealth to his wish , such as is hard to be
acquired in the three worlds . Therefore , daily muttering this p rayer,do thou , too, propitiate Govinda.
For Hirafiyagarbha and pradlzdna , see pp . 1 3 , 20, 39, and 40, sup ra .
CHAPTER XII.
Dhruva commences a course of rel igious austeri ties . Unsuccessfu lattempts of Indra and his m inisters to d istract Dhruva ’
s attention : they appeal “ to Vishnu
,who al lays their fears
,and appears
to Dhruva . Dhruva praises Vishnu,and is raised to the sk ies
as the pole-s tar.
THE prince , having received these instructions , respectfully saluted the sages , and departed from the
forest , fully confiding in the accomplishment of his
purposes . He repaired to the holy place, on the banksof the Yamuna
, called Madhu orMadhuvana, (the groveof Madhu) , after the demon of that name, who formerlyabided there . Satrughna (theyounger brother of Rama)hav ing slain the Rakshasa Lavar'i a
,the son of Madhu
,
founded a city on the spot, which was named Mathura.
At this holy shrine—the purifier from all sin ,which
enjoyed the presence of the sanctifying god of godsDhruva performed penance
,as enjoined by Marichi
and the sages . He contemplated Vishnu , the sovereign
of all the god s , seated in him self. Wh il st his m ind
was wholly absorbed in med itation,the m ighty Hari,
identical with all beings and with all nature'
s , ( tookpossession of his heart) . Vishnu being thus presentin his m ind , the earth
,the supporter of elemental life,
could not sustain the weight of the ascetic . A s he
stood upon his left foot, one hem isphere bent beneath
him ; and , when he stood upon his right, the other half
of the earth sank down . When he touched the earth
with his toes, it shook, with all its mountains ; and the
1 66 VISHNU PURANA .
rivers and the seas were troubled ; and the god s partook of the universal agitation .
The celestials called Yamas being excessivelyalarmed
,then took counsel with Indra
,how they should
interrupt the devout exercises of Dhruva ; and the
d iv ine beings termed Kushmandas,in company with
their king,commenced anxious efforts to d istract his
meditations . One , assum ing the semblance of his
mother,Suniti
,stood weeping beforehim
,and calling
in tender accents : “My son ,my son ,
desist from de
stroying thy strength by this fearful penance . I havegained thee
,_my son ,
after much anxious h0 pe . Thoucanst not have the cruelty to qu it m e
,helpless , alone,
and unprotected,on account of the unkindness of my
rival . Thou art my only refuge . I have no hope butthou . What hast thou
,a child but fiv e y ears old , to
do with rigorous penance? Desist from such fearfulpractices , that yield no beneficial “fruit . First comes
the season of youthful pastime ; and, when that is over,
it is the time for study . Then succeeds the period of
world ly enjoyment ; and ,lastly ,
that of austere devotion . This is thy season of pastime
,my child . Hast
thou engaged in these practices to put an end to thineexistence? Thy chief duty is love for m e . D uties are
according to time of life . Lose not thyself in bewildering error. Desist from such unrighteous actions . Ifnot
,if thou wilt not desist from these austerities, I will
term inate my l ife before thee .
But Dhruva,being wholly intent on seeing Vishnu ,
beheld not his m other weeping in his presence , and
calling upon him ; and the il lusion ,crying out
,
“Fly,
fly , my chil d : the hideous spirits of ill are crowding
1 68 vrsnr'
m PURANA
distressed by the austerities of Dhruva, we -have cometo thee for protection . As the moon increases in hisorb day by day , so this youth advances i ncessantlytoward s superhuman power, by his devotions . Terrifiedby the ascetic practices of the son of U ttanapada , we
have come to thee for succour. Do thou allay the
fervour of his meditations . We know not to what
station he aspires—to the throne of Indra,the regency
of the solar or lunar sphere , or to the sovereignty of
riches or of the deep . Have compass ion on us, lord :remove this affliction from our breasts . Divert theson of Uttanapada from persevering in his penance.
Vishnu replied to the god s : “The lad desireth neitherthe rank of Indra
,nor the solar orb
,nor the sover
eignty of wealth or of the ocean . All that he solicitsI will grant . Return ,
therefore,deities
,to yourman
sions , as ye list ; and , be no more alarmed . I will putan end to the penance of the boy ,
whose m ind is im
mersed in deep contemplation .
The gods,being thus pacified by the supreme
,saluted
him respectfully ,and retired
,and
,preceded by Indra,
returned to their habitations . But Hari,who is all
things,assum ing a shape with four arms
,proceeded
to Dhruva , being pleased with his identity of nature,
and thus addressed him :“Son of Uttanapada, be pros
perons . Contented with thy devotions, I, the giver of
boons, am present . Demand what boon thou desirest .In that thou hast wholly d isregarded external objects,and fix ed thy thoughts on me
,I am well pleased wi th
thee . Ask ,therefore ,
a su itable reward . The boy,
hearing these words of the god of gods , opened hiseyes , and , beholding that Hari
, whom he had before
BOOK CHAP. x i 1 . 1 69
seen in his meditations, actually in his presence, bearing , in his hands , the shell , the discus , the mace
,the
bow and scimetar , and crowned with a diadem,he
bowed his head down to earth : the hair stood erecton his brow
,and his heart was depressed with awe .
He reflected how best he should offer thanks to the
god of gods, what he could say in his adoration, whatwords were capable of expressing his praise ; and , beingoverwhelmed with perplexity
,he had recourse
,for
consolation ,to the deity .
“ If”,he exclaimed
,
“ the
lord is contented with my devotions , let this be myreward, —that I may know how to praise him as I wish .
HOw can I, a child , pronounce his praises, whose abodeis n nknown to Brahma and to others learned in theVedas? My heart is overflowing with devotion to
thee. O lord, grant me the faculty worthily to lay m ineadorations at thy feet .
’
Whilst lowly bowing, with his hands uplifted to hisforehead, Gov inda, the lord of the world
,tou ched the
son of Uttanapada with the tip of his conch- shell . Andimmed iately the royal youth, with a countenance sparkling with delight, praised respectfully the imperishableprotector of l iv ing beings .
“I venerate exclaimedDhruva , “him whose forms are earth
,water ,
'
fire, air,
ether , m ind , intellect , the first e lement * (Ahamkara) ,primeval nature , and the pure , subtile
,all -pervading
soul , that surpasses natures l' Salutation to that spirit
that is vo id of qualities ; that is supreme over all the
elements “
and all the objects of sense , over intellect,
Bhutddz'
. See my first note in p . 33, supra .
i Here, and in the next sentence, nature is for pradlza’
na . See my
first note in p . 20 , supra .
1 70 VISHNU PUBABA .
‘
over nature and spirit . I have taken refuge with thatpure form of thine
,O supreme
, which is one withBrahma
,which is spirit
,which transcends all the world .
Salutation to that . form which,pervading and support
ing all,is d esignated Brahma
,unchangeable
,and con
templated by rel igious sages . Thou art the male witha thousand heads
,a thousand eyes , a thou sand feet,
who traversest the universe , and passest ten inchesbeyond its contact . 1 Whatever has been ,
or is to be
that,Purushottama
,thou art . From thee sprang Viraj ,
Swaraj , Samraj , and Adhipurusha .
2 The lower , and
upper,and m iddle parts -
of the earth are not independent of thee . From thee is all this universe , all
that has been,and that shall be ; and all this world is
in thee,assum ing this universal form .
3 From thee is
T he commentator understands this passage to imply merely,that the supreme pervades bo th substance and space ; being infini tely vas t
,and wi thou t lim i t . ‘Having a thousand heads ’
,&c.
denotes only infini te extens ion ; and the ‘ten inches beyond thecontact of the un iverse ’
expresses merely non-restri ction by i tsboundaries . I wa
’
tsuuvl : I msume
2 Expla ined,severally
,the Brahmanda or materia l universe ;
Brahma,the creator ; Manu , the ruler of the period ; and supreme
or presid ing spiri t .3 So the inscription upon the temple of Sais : T ye) siy t f l ow
yeyovdg, x a i . ii i»,x a i So the Orph ic verse
,ci ted
by Eusebius,beginning :
u
E 11 JG de’
y a g fiaor’
l u ov é’u (p
‘
1 oidE n a'
w a xux l ei tm , z . 1 . 21 .
‘One regal body in which a ll things are comprehended ( viz .
,
Viraj ) , fire ,and water
,and earth
,and air
,and night , and day,
and Intell igence (viz .,Mahat), the first generator, and d ivine love :
for al l these does Jupi ter include in his expans ive form.
’ It proceeds
,also
,precisely in the Pauranik strain
, _
to describe the mem
1 72 vrsuNU PUBANA .
thee , as one with all existence. But the sources of
pleasure and of pain,singly
,or blended
,do not exist
in thee,who art exempt from all qual ities .
1 Salutationto thee, the subtile rud iment
,which
,being single , be
comes manifold . Salutation to thee,soul ’
of existentthings
,identical with the great elements . T hou
,im
perishable , art beheld , in spiritual knowledge , as perceptible objects
,as nature , as spirit
,as the world
, as
Brahma,as Manu , by internal contemplation .
*But
thou art in all,the element of all : thou art all
,assum ing
every form : all is from thee ; and thou art from thyself.I salute thee, universal soul . Glory be to thee ! Thouart one with all things . O lord of all
,thou art present
1 In l ife,or l iving beings , perception depends not
,accord ing
to Hindu metaphysics ,upon the ex ternal senses ; but the im
pressions made upon them are communicated to the mental organor sense
,and by the m ind to the understand ing—Samvid (W )
in the text—by whi ch they are d istingu ished as pleasurable,pain
ful,or m ixed . But pleasure depends upon the qual i ty of good
ness ; pain ,on that of darkness ; and their m ixture
,on tha t o f
fou lness,inherent in the understand ing . properties belonging to
Jives'wara,or god as one w i th l ife
,or to embod ied spiri t
,but not
as Parameéwara or supreme spiri t .
Thou art regarded , in mental action ,as the evolved , as pradha
'
na ,
as spirit ; as uz’
ra'
j , samra] , and swam] ; as , among souls, the imperishablesou l.
”
For pradlzaua , the same as see my first note in p . 1 8 , and
the first in p . 20 , supra . It is alzafizlca'
ra , &c. that is meant by “ the
evolved visa, pradhana Pradhana , unqualified , is here to be taken as
unevolved . Viraj , t ummy , and aware; are well-known technicalities of
the Vedanta philosophy.
The Supreme, under various aspects, is described in this couplet.
BOOK CHAP. x 1 1 . 1 73
in all things . What'
can I say unto thee? Thou knowestall that is in the heart
, 0 soul of all, sovereign lord of
all creatures , origin of all things . Thou,who art all
beings,knowest the desires of all creatures . The desire
that I cherished has been grat ified, lord, by thee . Mydevotions have been crowned with su ccess , in that Ihave seen thee .
Vishnu said to Dhruva : “The object of thy devotionshas
,in truth
,been attained
,in that thou hast seen me :
for the sight ofme,young prince, is never unproductive .
Ask,therefore
,of me what boon thou desirest : for
men in whose sight I appear obtain all their wishes .
To this,Dhruva answered : “Lord god of all creatures
,
who abidest in the hearts of all,how shou ld the
wish that I cherish be unknown to thee? I will confessunto thee the hope that my
- presumptuous heart hasentertained ; a hope that it would be d ifficu lt to gratify
,
but that nothing is d ifficult,when thou , creator of the
world,art pleased . Through thy favour, Indra
*reigns
over the three worlds . The sister-queen of my motherhas said to me
,loudly and arrogantly : ‘The royal
throne is not for one who is not born ofme ’
: and Inow solicit of the support of the universe an exaltedstation
,superior to all others, and one that shall endure
for ever. Vishnu said to him z“The station that thou
askest thou shalt obtain : for I was satisfied with thee,of old
, in a prior existence . Thou wast, formerly, aBrahman
, whose thoughts were ever devoted to me,
ever dutiful to thy parents, and observant of thy duties.
In course of time,a prince became thy friend, who was
Maghavat, in the original.
1 74 VISHNU PURANA .
in the period of youth, ind ulged in all sensual pleasures,and was of handsome appearance and elegant form .
Behold ing, in consequence of associating with him,his
affluence , you formed the desire that you m ight besubsequently born as the son of a king ; and
’
,according
to your wish, you obtained a princely birth
,in the
illustrious mansion of Uttanapada . But that whichwould have been thought a great boon by others, birthin the race of Swayambhuva , you have not so con
sidered,and
,therefore, have prop itiated m e. The man
Who worships m e obtains speedy liberation from life .
What is heaven to one whose m ind is fixed on me ?
A station shall be assigned to thee,Dhruva
,above the
three worlds ;1one in which thou shalt su stain the stars
and the planets ; a Station above those of the sun, the
moon,Mars
,the son of Soma (Mercury) , Venus , the
son of Sti rya (Saturn) , and all the other constellations ;above the regions of the seven Rishis and the div inities
T he station or sphere i s tha t of the north p ole , or of the
po lar star . In the former case , the star is considered to be
Suniti,the mo ther of Dhruva . T he legend , al though ,
as i t isrelated in our text, i t d iffers, in its circumstances, from the storyto ld
,by Ovid, of Cal l isto and her son Areas, whom Jove
Imposu i t caelo vicinaque s idera feci t,
suggests some suspicion of an original identi ty . In nei ther of the
authori ties have we ,perhaps , the prim i tive fable . It is ev ident,
from the quotation, that presently follows in the text, of a stanzaby U s'anas ,
that the Purana has not the o ldest version of the
legend ; and Ovid ’ s representation of i t is after a fashion of his
own. A l l that has been reta ined Of the original is the conf orm i tyof the characters and of the ma in incident , the translation of a
mo ther and her son to the heavens , as constel lations , in whichthe pole—star is the most CODSpiCll O ll S lum inary .
1 76 VISHNU PURANA .
(Swarga Khanda), Agni, and Narad iya, mu ch to the same purport,and partly in the same words, as our text. T he Brahma, and its
double , the Hari Vamsa ,the Matsya , and Vayu , merely al lude
to Dhruva’
s having been transferred, by Brahma, to the sk ies, inreward of his austeri ties . The story of his religious penanceand adoration of Vishnu seems to be an embel l ishment interpolated by the Vaishnava Puranas ; Dhruva being adopted
,as a
sa int, by their sect . T he al lus ion to Sanu ta, in our tex t, concurswi th the form of the story as i t appears elsewhere , to indicatethe priori ty of the more simple legend .
CHAP TER XI I I .
Posteri ty of Dhruva . Legend of Vena : his impiety : he is pu t todeath by the Rishis . Anarchy ensues . The production of
Nishada and Pr1 thu : the latte1 , the firs t k ing . T he originof Suta and Magadha : they enumerate the duties of k ings .
Pri thu compels Earth to acknowledge his au thori ty : he levelsi t : introdu ces cu l tivation -z erects ci ties . Earth “called , after him,
Prl thivi : typified as a cow.
PARA SABA .—The sons of Dhruva, by hiswife Sam
bhu ,were Bhavya and Slishti . Suchchhaya, the wife
of the latter , was the mother of five v irtuous sons ;
Ripu,Ripunjaya , Vipra , Vrikala, and Vr1katejas . The
son of Ripu,byBrihati
,was the illustrious.Chakshusha,
who beget theMann Chakshusha on Pushkarin i , of thefam ily of Varuna
,the daughter of the venerable patri
arch Anaranya . The Manu had,by his wife Nadvala,
the daughter of the patriarch Vairaja , ten noble sons :
Uru, Purud
’ Satadyumna,Tapaswin, Satyavacl1 , Kavi,
Agnishtoma,Atiratra
,Sudyumna ,
and Abhimanyu .
=T he wife of Uru,Agney1
’
,bore six excellent sons :
.Anga, Sumanas, Swati, Kratu, Augiras, and S iva . Anga
had , by his wife Sunitha, only one son ,named Vena
,
whose right arm was rubbed,by the Rishis , for the
purpose of producing from it progeny . From the arm
of Vena , thus rubbed, sprang a celebrated monarch
,
Professor W ilson inadvertently put “ Navala1 Pdru 1 5 the older form of this word ,
as , for instance , in the Rigveda, Sakunta la, &c.
I .
1 78 vrsnuu BuRAr'
IA .
named Pr1 thu,by whom
,in olden time
,the earth was
m ilked for the advantage of mankind .
1
The descent of Pr1 thu from Dhruva is sim i larly traced inthe Matsya Parana
,but wi th some variety of nomenclature. Thus,
the wife of Dhruva is named Dhanya, and the eldest son of the
Mann, Taru . The Vayu introduces another generation ; mak ingthe eldest son of Sl ishti,—or, as there termed, Pushti,—father of
U daradhi , and the latter,the father of Ripu
,the father of Cha
k shusha,the father of the Marin. The Bhagavata”has an almost
entirely'
different set of names , having converted the fam i ly of
Dhruva into personifications of d ivisions o f time and of day and
night . T he account there g iven is : Dhruva had ,by his wife
Bhrami ( revo lving) , the daughter of Sl sumara(the sphere), Kalpaand Vatsara . T he latter married Swarvithi
, and had six sons :
Pushparria, T igmaketu, Isha, Urja, Vasu, Jaya . T he first marriedPrabha and Dosha
,and had ,
by the former , PratasMadhyandina (n oon ) , and Saya ( evening ) , and , by the latter
,
Pradosha,
“
N is'
itha,and Vyushfa ,
or the beginning , m idd le , and
end of night . T he last has ,by Pushkarini
,Chakshus
,married
to Akati,and the fa ther of Chakshusha Manu . He has twelve sons
Puru, Ku tsa, Tri ta, Dyumna, Satyavat, Bi taj ' Vrata,Agnishtoma,
A tiratra , Pradyumna , Sibi , and U lmuka . T he last is the fatherof six sons
,named as in our text, except the last
,who is cal led
Gaya . 1 The eldest,Anga ,
is the father of Vena ,the father o f
Pri thu . These add i tions are, ev idently, the creatures of the au thor’simagination. T he Brahma Purai ia and Hari Vamsa have the
same genealogy as the Vishnu ; read ing , as do the Matsya and
Vayu,Pushkariri i or Viram ,
the daughter of Viraria ,instead of
Varuna. They, as wel l as Copies of the text,present several
IV. , 1 0 and 1 3.
1‘ Professor Wilson had
“Rita and “Dhr'
ita instead of
Kutsa, Trita, and Rita.
I.The Bhagavata
-
puraria also has Khyati , instead of Swati. And see
my second note in the next page.
1 80 vrsufiu PUBAt’
IA .
tion of the fruit of which will revert'
to you .
1 Vishnu ,the god of oblations ,
* being propitiated with sacrificeby us, will grant you, O king, all your d esires . Thoseprinces have all their wishes gratified
,in whose realms
Hari the lord of sacrifice , is adored with sacrificialrites . Who excla imed
.
Vena,is superior to me ?
Who besides me is entitled to worship ? Who is thisHari
,whom y ou style the lord of sacrifice? Brahma,
J anardana,Sambhu ,
Indra,Vayu
,Yama
,Rav i ( the
sun) , Hutabhuj (fire ) , Varuna , Dhati‘i,Pashan (the
sun) , Bhum i (earth) , the lord of night (the moon),all these, and whatever other gods there be who listento our vows
,—all these are present in the person of a
king . The essence of a sovereign is all that is d ivinef j'
.
Conscious of this , I have issued my commands : andlook that you obey them . You are not to sacrifice, notto offer oblations , not to give alm s . As the first dutyOf women is obedience to their lord s
,so observance
“
of my orders is incumbent,holy men
,on you .
” “Givecommand
,great king ,
r eplied the Rishis,
“ that pietym ay suffer no decrease . All this world is but a trans
That is,the land w i l l be ferti le in proportion as the gods
are propi tiated ; and the k ing wi l l benefit accord ingly , as a sixthpart o f the meri t and of the produce wil l be his . So the com
mentator explains the word ‘portion ’: W : Hfi W 3
Yaj nap urusha . See my note in p . 1 63, supra.
1.
A N
3mmW ren :In place of “ whatever other go 11 to our vows
read “ whatever other gods bestow curses or bIessings .
The end of the stanza signifies , literally : “A king is made up of al l
that is divine .
BOOK CHAP. xm . 1 8 1
mutation of oblations ; and , if devotion be suppressedthe world is at an end . But Vena was entreated invain ; and , although this request was repeated by thesages
,he refused to give the order they suggested .
Then those pious Munis were filled with wrath,and
cried out to each other : “Let this wicked wretch'
be
slain . The impious man who has reviled the god of
sacrifice,
*who is without beginning or end
,is not fit
to reign over the earth . And they fell upon the king,
and beat him with blades of holy grass , consecratedby prayer
,and slew him ,
who had first been destroyedby his impiety towards god .
“
Afterwards the Munis beheld a great dust arise ; andthey said to the people who were nigh : “What is this ?”
And the people answered and said : “Now that thekingdom is without a king
,the dishonest m en have
begun to seize the p roperty of their neighbours . The
great dust that you behold , excel lent Mun is , is raisedby troops of clustering robbers
,hastening to fall upon
their prey . y The sages,hearing this , consulted , and
together rubbed the thigh of the king ,who had left
no offspring, to produce a son .
’
From the thigh,thus
rubbed,came fOrth a being of the complexion of a
charred stake ,with flattened features (like a negro) ,
and of dWarfish stature .
“What am I to do ?” criedhe eagerly to the Munis .
“Sit down (nishida) , saidthey : and thence his name was Nishada . His descendants
,the inhabitants of the Vindhya mountain , great
Muni,are still called Nishadas, and are characterized by
Yaj napurusha .
1' There is here considerable compression in the translation.
1 8 2 vrsur'
wPUBANA .
the exterior tokens of deprav ity .
‘ By this means thewickedness of Venawas expelled ; those Nishadas being
1 T he Matsya says there were born ou tcast or’ barbarous races,
Mlechchhas (W as black as collyrium . T he Bhagavatadescribes an ind ividual of dwarfish stature , wi th short arms and
legs , of a complex ion as black as a crow,wi th projecting chin,
broad flat nose , red eyes,and
“
tawny hair ; whose descendantswere mountaineers and foresters .
* T he Padma (Bh1'
1mi Khanda)has a s im i lar description ; add ing to the dwarfish stature and blackcomplexion
,a w ide mou th
,large ears
,and a protuberant bel ly .
I t also parti cularizes his posteri ty as N ishadas , Kiratas Bhi l las,
Bahanakas,Bhrahmaras , Pul indas
,and o ther barbarians or
Mlechchhas,l iving in woods and on mountains . These passages
intend,and do not
'
much exaggerate ,the uncou th appearance of
the Gonds,Koles
,
’
Bhils , and o ther uncivi l ized tribes,scattered
along the forests and mountains of central Ind ia,from Behar to
Bhagavata-
purana , IV. ,1 4
,43 46
fafifi rfim fi tanner 1 131 1 13 : 1W am
“
am at : n
m amasfi lga rsfim ama
E xam ( straw s :
3 afirm 313 fat afi fiifir3 1 13 3 1 1fi f tmgw a u fl urry
-
raw “m aim 3 11 13 1 W IT: 1
Burnouf’
s translation is in these wordsAyant pris cette résolution, les Bichis secouerent rapidement la cuisse
du roi qu’
i ls avaient tué, et i l en sortit nu nainNoir comme un corbeau , ayant le corps d ’
une extreme petitesse, lesbras courts , les machoires grandes , les pieds petits , - le nez enfoncé , lesyeux rouges et l es cheveux cuivrés .
Prosterné devant eux ,l e pauvre nain s ecria : Que faut-il que je
fasse? Et les Brahmanes lui répondirent : Assieds - toi , ami . De 1 a lui
vint le nom de Nichada.
“ C ’
est de sa race que sont sortis les Na1chadas qui habitent les caverneset les montagnes ; car c ’est lui dont la naissance effaca la faute terriblede Vena.
1 84 vrsm'
tn PUBABA .
The m ighty Pr1 thu ,the son of Vena, being thus ih
vested with universal dom inion by those who wereskilled in the rite, soon removed the grievances of thepeople whom his father had oppressed ; and, from winning their affections he derived the title’
of Raja or
king .
1 The waters becam e solid,when he traversed
the ocean : the mountains opened him a path : his ban;
ne'
r passed unbroken (through the forests) : the earthneeded not cultivation ; and ,
at a thought,food was
prepared : all kine were l ike the cow of plenty : honeywas stored in every flower. At the sacrifice of the
birth of Prithu, which was performed by Brahma, theintelligent
'
Suta (herald or hard) was produced , in theju ice of the m oon-plant
,on the very birth-day .
2 At
that great sacrifice also was produced the accomplish -
ed
Magadha . And the holy sages said to these two per
sons :“Praise ye the king Prithu ,
the ill ustrious son
ofVena. For this is your especial function, and here isa fit subject for your praise . But they respectfullyreplied to the Brahmans :
“We know not the acts of
the new - born king of the earth . His merits are not
understood by us : his fame is not spread abroad . In
form u s upon what subject we may dil ate in his praise .
Praise the king said the Rishis , “ for the acts this
From Raga (m ) , passion ’or
‘affection .
’ But the more
Obvious etymology is Raj (fl i t) ,‘to shine ’
or‘be splend id .
’
9 The birth of Pr1 thu is to be cons idered as the sacrifice,o f
whi ch Brahma, the creator,was the performer. But
,in o ther
places, as in the Padma,i t is considered that an actual sacrificial
ri te was celebrated,at which the first encom iasts were produced .
The Bhagava ta does not account for their a ppearance.
BOOK CHAP. mm 1 85
heroic monarch will perform : praise him for the v irtueshe will display .
The king , hearing these words , was much pleased,
and reflected , that persons acqu ire commendation byv irtuous actions
,and that
,consequently
,his v irtuous
conduct would be the theme of the eul ogium whichthe bards were about to pronounce . Whatever merits,then
,they should panegyrize , in their encom ium ,
he
determ ined that he would endeavour to acquire ; and ,if they should point out what faults ought to be avo ided ,he would try to shun them . He
,therefore
,listened
attentively,as the sweet-vo iced encom iasts celebrated
the future v irtues ofPrithu , the enlightened son of Vena .
Theking is a speaker of truth,bounteou s
,an oh
server of his prom ises . He is wise,benevolent
,patient,
valiant,and a terror to the wicked . He knows his
duties ; he acknowledges serv ices ; he is compassionateand kind- spoken. He respects the venerable ; he performs sacrifices ; he reverences the Brahmans . He
cherishes the good,and , in adm inistering j ustice
,is
indifferent to friend or foe .
The v irtues thus celebrated by the S1’
1 ta and the
Magadha were cherished in the remembrance of the
Raja, :and practised , ,by him ,
when occasion arose . Pro
teeting this earth,the m onarch performed many great
sacrificial ceremonies,accompanied by liberal dona
tions . His subjects soon approached him,suffering
from the fam ine by which they were afflicted ; as . all
the e d ible plants had perished d uring the season of
anarchy . In reply to his question of the cause of theircom ing ,
they told him that, in the interval in which
the earth was without a king , all vegetable products
1 -86 VISHr'
IU PURAfiA .
had been withheld, and that, consequently, the peoplehad perished .
“Thou said they,
art the .bestowerof subsistence to u s : thou art appointed,by the creator,the protector of the people .
“ Grant us vegetables,the
support of the l ives of thy subjects,who are perishing
with hunger .
On hearing this, Pr1 thu took up his div ine bowAjagava
,and his celestial arrows
,and
,in great wrath ,
, m arched forth to assail the Earth . Earth,assum ing
the figure of a cow,fled hastily fromihim ,and traversed,
through fear of the king,the regions of Brahma and
the heavenly spheres . But,wherever“
went the sup
porter of l iv ing things , there she beheld -Vainya withuplifted weapons .
- At last, trembling (with terror) , andanxious to escape his arrows , the Earth addressedPrithu
,the hero of resistless prowess .
“Know you
not, king
“
of m en said the Earth ,
“ the sin of kil l inga female
,that you thus perseveringly seek to slay me
The prince repl ied :“When the happiness of many i s
secured by the destruction of one malignant being, thedeath of that being is an act of virtue .
” “But saidthe Earth
,
“ if,in order to promote theW elfare of your
subjects, you put an end to me,whence , best of mon
archs, will thy people derive their support?
” “Dis
obed ient to my rule”, rejoined Pr1 thu,
“ if I destroythee
,I wil l support my people by the efficacy of my
own devotions . Then the Earth ,overcome with ap
prehension,and trembling in every limb ,
respectfullysaluted the king , and thus spake : “All undertakingsare successful
,if su itable means of effecting them are
employed . I will impart to you means of success,which you can make u se of
, if you please . All vege
1 88 vxsauu PURANA .
ceived the m ilk into his own hand,for the benefit of
mankind . Thence proceeded all kinds of corn and
vegetables upon which people subsist now and per
petually . By granting life to the Earth ,Pr1 thu was
as her father ; and she thence derived the’
patronymic
appellation Prithivi ( the daughter of Prithu ) . Thenthe god s
,the sages
,the demons
,the Rakshasas
,the
Gandharvas, Yakshas, Pitri s, serpents, mountains,and
trees,took a m ilking vessel suited to their kind , and
m ilked the earth of appropriate m ilk . And the m ilkerand the calf were both p eculiar to their own species .
T he Matsya, Brahma ,
Bhagavata ,and Padma enter into a
greater detai l of this -m ilking ,Specifiy ing, typical ly , the calf , the
m i lker,the m i lk
,and the vessel . Thus
,accord ing to the Matsya,
the Rishis m ilked the earth through Br1 haspati ; their cal f was
Soma ; the Vedas Were the vessel ; and the mi lk was devo tion .
W hen the gods m ilked the earth,the m ilker was Mitra (the sun) ;
Indra was the calf ; superhuman power was the produce . T he
gods had a gold ,the P i tri s
,a si lver
,v essel : and for the latter,
the mi lker was Antaka (death) ; Yama was the calf ; the m ilkwas Swadha or obla tion . T he Nagas or snake-
gods had a gourd
for their pai l ; their calf was Takshaka ; t itarasht'
ra (the serpent)was their m i lker ; and their m ilk was po ison . For the Asuras,Maya was the m i lk ; Virochana ,
the son of Prahlada , was the
calf ; the mi lker was Dwimurdhan ; and the .vessel was of iron.
The Yakshas made Va l sravana their calf ; their . vessel was of
unbaked earth ; the m i lk was the power of d isappearing . T he
Rakshasas and o thers employed Raupyanabha as the m ilker ;their calf was Sumal in ; and their mi lk was blood . Chitraratha
was the calf,Vasuruchi
,the m i lker, of the Gandharvas and nymphs,
who m i lked fragrant odours into a cup of lotos- leaves . On behalfof the mountains
,Meru was the m ilker ; H imavat , the calf ; the
pai l was of crys tal ; and the m i lk was of herbs and gems . T he
trees extracted sap in a vessel of the Palasa ; the Sai l being the
BOOK CHAP. mm.
This Earth—the mother,the nurse , the receptacle
,
and nourisher, of all existent things—wasproduced from
mi lker ,and the Plak sha
,the cal f. T he descriptions that occur
in the Bhagava ta , Padma, and Brahma Puranas are,occasionally
,
sl ightly varied ; but they are,for the most part
,in the same
words as that of the Matsya . These mystifications are,
al l,
probably,subsequent mod ifications o f the orig inal simple a llegory ,
which typified the earth as a cow,who yielded to every class o f
beings the m i lk they des ired , or the object of their w ishes .
The account gi ven in the Bhdgavata-
pumha—IV.,1 8 , 1 2
-27—is inthese words :
rfii firfi fe‘
ci afi sf gam mwfi n
m gm ufimmagmj fi mfi : 1:mm a 1 1673 airmen gm : 1
Fame : H “ Tami g i g : ggmrram uf f ggwfi fnfizm m 1
ammam am 1 wa
g—{ma af t?
m m W Wfm m ufi mé’lmfisfi “
a? 1m :
W W W W W l
W e? 1 1m:tna 5mmm q rfi sgfi
‘
nfi tram”: 1 1 1 1 : I
3 15 fies tas am 1 11 3 13 W W Ware ffiafi swm w fi rm s n
m m 1 13 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 13 1 1 1 8 11 3 31 11 1 1 : 11n eware
"clifil
’
i l fig? d am mifiafats mite fire-1 1
°
1 1 aHfam tmwi t a mfififi wm w um gawammtnan—warea a s sum ed
-
41 u
w a rts mnfi rfimfim fifi rmufl :
153111 3 3 11 1 333 : $1 1 13 1 1 1 15 11 1 1 3 1 1 11
m en? any “: 1 1 th mm ; Wtam are ggf fi am
'
é firstw : u
VISHNU PURANA .
the sole of the foot of Vishnu . And thu s was bornthe m ighty Prithu
,the hero ic son of Vena , who was
m ums :maim fw m a a n
m am “ : gnaw-
a im I
fimfi tw een W m «ama?w as? é é fl
a
w :
W 5 3 1 1 1 33 53 3 : M mnew : W 131 : g amma
:
fi sm m m g nBurnouf
’
s translation of this passage is as follows“ Se conformant au conseil amical et utile de la terre, le roi lui donna
pour veau le Manu,et se mettant a la traire de sa main ,
i l en tiratoutes les plantes annuelles .
“ C ’
est ainsi que d ’autres sages ont su , comme ce roi , retirer de tou teschoses une substance précieuse ; les autres étres vinrent
'
également traire,selon leurs désirs, 1a terre soumise par Pfithu .
Les Richis, 6 sage excellent, lui donnant Brihaspati pour veau , vinrentaussi traire 1a vache divine ; leurs organes étaient lo vase dans lequelils recurent le pur lait des chants sacrés .
Les troupes des Suras , lui amenant Indra comme veau , en tirerent
lo Soma, ce lait qui donue la force, l energie, la vigueur, et le recurentdans nu vase d
’
or.
“Les Daityas et les Danavas, prenant comme veau Prahrada, chef desAsuras , vi nrent la traire , et recurent dans nu vase de fer l e lait desliqueurs spiritueuses et des sucs fermentés .
“ Les Gandharvas et les Apsaras , p renant nu lotus pour vase, vinrentaussi traire la vache ; Vicvavasu fut le veau ; le lait fut 1a douceur dela voix et la beau té des Gandharvas .
Les Pitris , dont Aryaman était ls veau ,eurent pour lait l ’ofi'rande
qu’
on présente aux Manes ; les Divinités des funérailles, 6 grand sage, 1a
recueillirent avec foi dans un vase d’
argile crue.
“Kapila Tut le veau des S iddhas et' des Vidyadharas ; l s ciel fat 1 6vase dans lequel ils recurent Ies charmes et la puissance surnaturellequi consiste dans l ’acte seul de la volonté .
“D’
autres Dieux livrés a la magie, prenant Maya pour veau, recurent
la Maya, simple acte de la réfiex ion, que connaissent les étres merveilleuxqui peuvent disparaitre a leur gré.
Les Yakchas, les Rakchasas , les Bhfitas , les Picatchas et les Demons
qui se nourrissent de chair , prirent pour veau le chef des Bhfitas , et
recurent dans un crane le sang dont ils s’
enivrent.
CHAPTER XIV.
Descendants of Pr1 thu . Legend of th e Prachetasas : they are d esired
,by the ir father
,to mul tiply mank ind
, by worshippingVishnu z
‘
they plunge into th e sea , and m editate on and praisehim : he appears, and grants the ir wishes .
PliITHU had two valiant sons,Antardhi and Pal in .
The son of Antardhana,by his wife Sikhandini
,was
Havirdhana,to whom Dhishana
,a princess of the race
of Agn i , bore six son s : Prachinabarhis , Sukra , Gaya,
The text of the Vayu and Brahma (or Hari Vamsa) read,
l ik e that of the Vishnu :
32h : 3a? "F i fi ? fi ffia fifufi fi l
M. Langlo is * understands the two last words as a compoundepithe t : “ E t jou irent da pouvo ir d e se rendre invisibles .
~ Theconstruction wou ld adm i t of such a sense z
'
l' but i t se ems more
probabl e that th ey are intend ed for names .
“ The l ineage of Pr1 thui s immed iate ly continu ed through one of them
,Antardhana
,which
is th e sam e as Antardhi ; as the commentator states,with regard
to that app e l lation : m gr?“ and as the commentatoron th e Hari Vamsa remarks
,of the succeed ing nam e : an a
e
m
W |‘One
'
of the brothers b eing cal l ed Antardhanaer Antardhi ’ l eaves no other sense for Pal in but that of a prop ername . Th e Bhagavata : gives Pr1 thu five sons : Vij itaswa, Dhumra‘kesa
,Haryaksha, Dravm a
,and Vr1ka ; and adds,§that the e lder
was also named Antardhana,in consequ ence of having obtained,
from Indra, the power of mak ing himself invisibl e
Vol . I., p . 1 0 .
"
l The al ternative sense implies , rather , that they had the dispositionto render themselves invisible .
IV. , 22 , 54 .
IV. , 24, 3 .
BOOK CHAP . x rv .
Kri shna,Vraj a , and Aj ina.
‘ The first of these was am ighty prince and patriarch
,by whom mankind was
multipl ied after the death of Havirdhana . He wascalled Prachinabarhis, from his placing upon the earththe sacred grass
,pointing to the east .
2 At the termina
Th e Bhagava ta, as usual,m od ifies th is genealogy . Antar
dhana has,by Sikharidini , thre e sons ,
who were the thre e fires,
Pavaka,Pavamana
,and Suchi , cond emned , by a curse o fVasishtha
,
to be born aga in . By anoth er w ife,Nabhaswati
,he has Havir
dhana,whose sons are th e sam e -l as thos e o f the text ; only
giving ano th er nam e,Barhishad ,
as wel l as Prachinabarhis,to
the first. A ccording to the Mahabharata (Moksha Dharma), whi chhas
.
b e en fo llowed by the Padma Purana,Prachinabarhis was
born in the fami ly o f A tri :fl aw mgmfi aren
'flfi'
f : new : I
ma’twaféi inam u
2 Th e text is,
3mm gfimmm w
Kusa or Barhis is, prop erly, ‘sacrificial grass ’
(Poa) ; and Prachinagra
,l i teral ly
,
‘having i ts tips towards th e east ’ ; th e directionin wh ich i t shou ld b e placed upon th e ground
,as a seat for the
gods,on occasion of offerings made to th em . The name
,th ere
fore,intimates e i ther tha t the practice originat ed wi th him
,or
,
as the commentator explains i t , tha t he was exceed ingly d evout,off ering sacrifices
,or invoking th e gods
,everywhere : g ala um
3m Th e Hari Van'ns'a i adds a vers e to that o f our tex t,
reading :m i nim : gum
—teruraa u
’
mafia—m1
W fifim firfiinw rfim:
Bkdgavata-
pumna , IV. ,24 , 4 . At IV.
,1, 59 ,
they are spoken of
as sons of Agni by Swaha And see pp . 1 55 and 1 56 , supra .
1 The Bha'
gavata purana , IV , 8 , gives their names as follows :Barhishad , Gaya , Sukla, Ki
'
ishna, Satya, and J itavrata.
Stanza 8 5 .
1 94 VISHNU PURAIi A .
tion of a rigid penance,he married SaVarna, the daugh
ter of the ocean , who had been previously betrothed
which M. Langlois * has rendered : ‘Quand i l marchai t sur la
terre,les pointes d e cousa éta i ent courbe'es vers l ’orient ’ ; which
h e supposes to m ean,
‘que ce prince ava i t tourné ses pensées et
porté sa dom ination v ers l ’est z” a supposition that migh t haveb e en obviated by a l ittl e further consideration of th e vers e of
Manu‘l to which he refers : “ If h e have si tten on cu lms o f kus
'
a,
with th eir points toward the eas t, and b e purified by rubbing thatholy grass on both his hands
,and b e further prepared by thre e
suppressions of breath,each equa l, in time
,to five short vowels, h e
then may fitly pronounc e cm . The commentary explains th epassage as above
,referring ufwfim fiw : to wW t , not to
1 19 1 : as : EfW H‘
Q W flI’IT: gm : W 113 :
wa n tara : W W W W IHH : 1 1 1 1 1 1 13 1 1a 1‘He was call ed Prachinabarhis ,
b ecause his sacred grass , pointing east, was going upon the very earth
,or was Spread over the
whole T he text of the Bhagavata”also explains cl earlywhat is m eant
‘By whose sacred grass,po inting to the east , as h e performed
sacrifice after sacrifice,the whol e earth , his sacrificial ground ,
was overspread .
"ll
1- I I .
,75
mm tfih : 1 15 3 133 tnfim :
m mmfia fw: 1 1m 3 11mThis rendering, which is that of Sir W il l iam Jones , is not altogether
in keeping with the commentary of Kull iika Bhatta .
Rather : “ On his land the sacred grass , pointing towards the east,was forthcoming on the face of the earth , as it were , that is to say,
was filling the entire c ircuit of the earth .
'
Hence he was ca l led Pra
chinabarhis .
I] IV.
, 24 , 1 0 .
1 1 Burnouf—Vol . IL , Preface , p . II I. , note—renders thus : “ C’est lui
qui, faisant succéder les sacrifices aux sacrifices, couvrit de tiges de Kuca
1 96 V ISHNU PURANA .
of the human race,if you wish to succeed . The eternal
Purushottama is to be propitiated by him who wishesfor virtue
,wealth
,enjoyment
,or l iberation . Adore
him,the imperishable
,by whom
,when propitiated
,the
world was first created and mankind will assuredlybe multiplied .
Thus instructed by their father,the ten Prachetasas
pl unged into the dep ths of the ocean , and, with mindswholly devoted to Narayana
,the sovere ign of the
un iverse , who is beyond all worlds , were engrossedby religious austerity for ten thousand years . Remaining there
,they
,with fixed thoughts
,praised Hari
,who
,
when propitiated,confers on those who praise him all
that they desire .
MAI'
I‘
REYA .
—The excellent praises that the Frachetasas addressed to Vishnu
,whilst they stood inthe
deep , you , 0 best of Mun is,are qualified to repeat
to me .
BARASABA .—Hear
,Maitreya
,the hymn which the
Prachetasas,as they stood in the waters of the sea
,
sang ,of old
,to Govinda
,their nature being identified
with him“We bow to him whose glory is the perpetual theme
of every speech ; him first,him last ; the supreme lord
of the boundless world ; who is primeval light ; who iswithout his like ; indiv isible and infinite ; the origin of
all existent things,movable or stationary . To that
supreme being who is one with time,whose first forms
,
though he be without. form,are day an d evening and
n ight,be adoration ! Glory to him
,the life of all l iving
things,who is the same with the moon
,the receptacle
of ambrosia,drunk daily by the gods and progen itors ;
BOOK CHAP . x 1 v. 1 97
to him who is one with the sun,the cause Of heat and
cold and rain, who dissipates the gloom,and ill uminates
the sky with his radiance ; to him who is one withearth
,all-pervading, and the asylum of smell and other
Obj ects of sense , supporting the whole world by itssolidity ! We adore that form of the deity Hari whichis water
,the womb of the world
, the seed of all livingbeings . Glory to the mouth of the gods
,the eater of
the Havya ; to the eater of the Kavya,the mouth of
the progen itors ; to Vishnu , who i s identical with fire ;to him who is one with air
,the origin of ether, existing
as the five vital airs in the body,causing constant vital
action ; to him who is identical with the atmosphere,pure , ill imitable , shapeless , separating all creatures !Glory to Kr i shna
,who is Brahma in the ‘
form of sensible obj ects ; who is ever the direction of the facultiesof sense ! We offer salutation to that supreme Hariwho is one with the senses
,both subtile and substantial
,
the recipient of all impression s,the root of all know
ledge ; to the un iversal soul , who , as internal intellect,del ivers the impressions
,rece ived by the senses
,to soul ;
to him who has the properties of Prakri ti ; in whom ,
without end,rest
.
all things ; from whom all things proceed ; and who is that into which all things resolve .
We worship that Purushottoma, the god who is p urespirit
,and who
,
'
without qualities , is ignorantly con
sidered as endowed with qualities . We adore thatsupreme Brahma
,the ultimate condition of Vishnu
,
unproductive, unborn , pure, void of qualities, and freefrom accidents ; who i s neither high nor low,
neitherbulky nor minute
,has ne ither shape
,nor colour
,nor
shadow , nor substance , nor ,affection ,nor body; who
1 98 V ISHNU PURANA .
i s neither ethereal nor susceptible of contact,smell
,or
taste ; who has neither eyes, nor ears, nor motion , norspeech, nor breath, nor mind, nor name, nor race, norenj oyment, nor splendour ; who is without cause, without fear , without error , without fault , 1 undecaying,
immortal , free from passion,without sound
,impercep
tible, inactive , independent of place or time , detachedfrom all investing properties but (ill usively) exercisingirresistible might
,and identified with all beings
,de
pendent upon none . Glory to that nature of Vishnu,
which tongue cannot tell,nor has eye beheld !”
Thus glorifying Vishnu,and intent in meditation on
him , the Prachetasas passed ten thousand years ofausterity in the vast ocean ; on which
,Hari
,being
pleased with them,appeared to them amidst the waters
,
of the complexion of the full-blown loto s—leaf . Beholding him mounted on the king of birds , (Garuda) , thePrachetasas bowed down their heads in devout homage ; when Vishnu said to them :
“Receive the boonyou have desired ; for I, the giver of good, am contentwith you ,
and am present . The Prachetasas repliedto him with reverence
,and told him that the cause of
their devotions was the command of their father toeffect the multiplication of mankind . The god
,having
,
accordingly,granted to them the obj ect of their prayers,
disappeared ; and they came'
up from the water.
200 CORRIGE NDA , &c.
fem : 1 1 1 11 31 1 : 1 1 1 1 3 11 1 11 1 1 : E fl fi fifi flt
am : 1 1 13 3‘
cri 'éisafifiaa 1 1 911 11 W é am fii 31311 1 :1 1 1 11 13 5155 1 was {fit 1 1 1 11 : 1 11 111 1 a 1
51 1 1 : 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 . See and
tru er, &c .
, quoted at p . 45 . 311 1 1 1 3 m 13 2 11 3 11 131 71 3fi a t fnm fg : 1 3 1 1 1 1 amm
‘afa fas efi
'
sgst 1 11 1 111 3 1 1 1R
3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1“
{fa 1 1 1 6 1 : 1 1 1m 1 fi fumw mfifdfimfi ENsuffi a awm afi : aamaafi rmwma z
U mfzrfsnwmm fi eawwfi“
sat—ci 1 1 1 1 1 1 1m
1 1mmfa areas: massage 1 1 1 3 11 1 1 75 1 1 1 1 1 1a 1 1 1 1 1 13sga s v
’
fia it aggmaaww fs a farm?! i f?! 13 1t11 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 3 11 1 1 1 1 3 11 .&c.
,quoted M 11 45 . 1 11 11 11 arse: 1 161 1 1 1 1 1 1
auzgam erg-
fi e“
1 1 1 1 13 1 1 1 11 1 1 gram 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 11 1 1 11 11 311 1
isn‘t: 1 1 1 11 11 11 1 1 11 171 1 1 mmguufi tfm vi :
The passage thus annotated wi l l be found translated in Origina l
Sanskrit Tex ts, Part IV. , p . 3 1,foot -note .
56, Read Narafi
69 , notes, 1 . 1 2 . Read I-am-ness .
8 5 , notes , 1 . 6 . Referring to thi s place, Professor W i lson has written :M. Burnouf renders s
‘astra , les prieres [menta lcs] gut sont comme la
glaive ; and ,in a. note in the Vishnu Parana , l have translated the
same expression of the Bhagavata , ‘the unuttered incantation ’
. But
it may be doubted i f th is is quite correct. The d ifference betweenéastra and stoma seems to be ,
that one i s rec ited ,whether audibly
Or inaudibly ; the other,sung .
’
T ranslation of the Rig-veda, Vol . I. ,
p . 2 2 , note .8 6
, notes , 1 . 1 6 . Read amigzmm . L . 97 . For arfirreadmfr
‘
h.
1 1 0 , notes , 1 . 2 ab inf ra . The passage to which I refer is IV.
, 1 , 40
and 42 . A t III . , 24, 2 3 and 24, as Professor W i lson says,Arundhati
i s married to Vasishtha, and Santi , to Atharvan.
1 1 1, notes, 1 . 4 . Read Dharma’
s .
1 24 , notes , 1 . 6 ah inf ra . Read fi g .
1 25 , notes , I. 3 ab inf ra . Read Vamacharins .
1 35 , notes , 1 . 3 ah inf ra . Read fi1 36 , 1 . 4 . Read Sachi.1 42 , l . 2 . Read Maruts . Notes, 1 . 6 ah infra . Read Savitfi .1 52 , notes , 1 . 6 ab infra . W hat is real ly stated is , that Pra1'1 a hadtwo sons , Vedas
'
iras and Kavi ; and th e latter was father of Us'
anas .
See Burpouf‘s Bhagavata
-
purana , Vol . II Preface , pp . VI- IX .
1 55 , notes, 1 . 1 3 . Read Pm’
i ya.
1 64, notes, 1 . 4 . Read Dharai'
ia.
1 70, notes, 1 . 6 . Read - T-r|
"
B e rl in , p rinted by U n g e r b roth ers , Pr inte rs to the K ing.
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IMPORTANT WORKS IN ALL DEPARTMENTS OFLITERATURE AND SCIENCE
PUBLISHED BY
TRUBNER CC . , 60, PATERNOSTER ROW .
Poetry,Novels,BellesLettres,FineArts, &c.Ba rl ow . IL GRAN RIFIUTO, WHAT 1 TW AS
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[In the Press .
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Masterp ieces of sat irical humour , they areentitled as such , to a permanent place in Ame
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T he book undoubted ly owed i ts first vog ueto party feel ing bu t i t i s impossibl e to ascribeto that cause on ly . so w ide and enduring a. 11 0pu l ari ty as i t has now.
"—Sp ecta tor .
S econd S e r i es (Au tho r is edEdit ion) . Part I . conta ining Bi rdofred om Saw in ,
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Pr ice each part l s .
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G oo roo S im p l e (THE VENERABLE) ,(StrangeSurprising Ad ventures of ) and hisFiveDi sciples, N ood le, Dood le, Wi seacre,Zany und Foozle ; ado rn edwith Fifty Illu st rat ions , d rawn on wood, by ALFREDCROW QU ILL. A Comp an ion Vo lum e toMunchaus en”and Ow lg lass, bas ed
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W ithout such a specimen as th is it wou ldot be poss ib le to have a cl ear idea of thehei h t towhich the Ind ians carry the i r humour,
an how much they revel in wagger and burlesque. It i s a CAPITAL CHRISTM AS OOK , witheng raving s worthy of the fun i t portrays .
"
Lond on Review.
I t is a col lection ot'ei ght ex trava gan th/f unnyta les , appropriately i l lustrated wi th fifty drawi h s on wood , by Alfred Crow
au i l l . T he volume
is i anrlsomely got u p , and wi l be found worthyof c lose compan ionship wi th the A d rentures ofM a s ter Owlg lass , ’ produ ced by the same publi shers .
"- S ecta tor .
O ther t an q ua int, Alfred Crow u i l l can
scarce ly be. In some of h is heads,too , e seems
to have caught with spirit the H indoo character.”—A tIcencenm.The humou r of these r id icu l ous ad ventu res
i s thorough ly genu ine . and very often qu ite i rres ist ib le . A more amusing v o lume, indeed , israre ly to be met with , wh i le the notes in theAppend ix d isp lay considerabl e eru f l i tion andresearch . In short , whoso wou ld k eep up thegood o ld k indly practice ot‘makm g Christmaspresents to one’ s friends and re latives , ma y g ofar afield and never f a l l in, wi th a g if t so a ccep table as a copy of the “ S tra ng e. S u rp r is ing A dventures of the Venerable GooruoA l len‘s I ad zan Ma i l .
A po u lar satire on the Brahmm s cu rrentin severa parts of Ind ia . The excel lent introdu ction to the story or col l ection of incidents ,and the notes and gl ossar a t the c lose of thevo lume , w i l l a fford a goo c lue to the varioushabits and predi l ections of the Brahmi ns,wh ich
Ca ta logue of Imp ortant Works .
the narrative so k eenl y satirises. Most tell ingand characteristic i l lustra tions , from the p enc i lof Al fred Crowqu i l l , are lav ish l y sprink l edthroughou t the volume , and the whol e gettingu p en titl es i t to rank as a
lig if t book wor thy of
specia l noti'ce ."—E u l ish C a rchman .The publ ic, to t e ir sorrow. have not seen
mu ch of A lfred Crow uil l l ately but we are
g l ad to find him in t e field aga in , with thestory of the Gooroo S imp le . ’ The book is
most excel lent fool ing, but conta ins , bes ides , am ine of recond ite Orien tal l ore , necessitatineven the add ition of notes and a. g l ossa ry an
moreover. there i s a vein of qu iet p hi losop hyr unning through l t very p leasant to p erus e.”I l lus tra ted London N ews .The story is i rresistibly funny , and is aidedby fifty il lustrations b A l fred CrOWQu i l l . Thebook Is got up w ith t at luxu ry of paper andtype wh ich i s of i tsel f , and in itsel f, a p leasu reto look u ou .
"—Globe.The 0 0k i s amusin and is , moreover, adm irably i l lustrated b t e gentl eman known a s
A lfred Crowqui l l wi t 1 no fewer than fifty comicwoodcuts. I t i s no l ess adm irab ly got u p , andbeau tiful ly bound , and itwil l be mos t a ccep tableto a la rg e p o r tio n of the p ubl ic .”—observer .G roves . JOHN GROVES . A Tale o f theWar. By S . E . De M 1 2mo .
Pp . 1 6, sew ed , 1 846 . 6d .
G u n d ero d e . CORRESPONDENCE or
FRA ULE INGUNDERODE and BETT INA VONARNIM . Cr. 8vo . Pp . 356 . c loth . 6 3 .
H a g en . N ORIcA ; or, Tales from_
the O lden Time . Trans lat ed from the
German of Augu st Hag en . Fcp . 8vo .
,ornam ental binding , su itable fo r p rescu tat i on . Pp . x iv. and 374 . 5 8 .This pl easant volume i s got up in that styl eof im itation of the book s of a cen tu ry ago,wh 1 ch
has of l ate become so mu ch the vogue. Thetypograph ical and m echan ica l departments of
t e volume speak l oud l y for the taste and enterprise bestowed u pon i t . S impl e in i ts sty l e ,pithy , reasonably pungent—the book smack sstrongly of the picturesqu e ol d day s Of wh ich ittreats . A lon study of the art-antiqu ities ofN um ber an a. profound acquaintance withthe recor s , l etters , and memoirs. sti l l preserved ,of the t imes of Al bert Durer and h i s g reat brother artists. have enabl ed the au thor to l aybefore us a forcibl -drawn and h igh ly -fin i shedpictu re of art and ousehol d l ife in thatwonderfu l l art-practisin
g‘aud art-reverencing ol d c ityof ermeny.
“ -A t s.A del icious l itt le book . It i s fu l l of a quaintgarru l ity , and characterised by an ea rnest simp l ic ity of thought and di ction , which adm irablyconveys to the reader the hou sehold and art ist i cGerman l ife of the t imes of Maxim i l ian , A lbertDu rer, and Hans Sachs , the ce lebrated cobbl eran d master singer , ’ as we l l as most of the art istcel ebrities of N urnberg in the l 6th centu ry . Arti s the chief end and a im of this l ittl e h istory . Iti s l and ed and praised with a sort of unostentat ious d evotion ,which expla ins the rel i ious passion of the early moulders of the idea and thebeautifu l ; and . perhaps , t l’ m
gh a consequentdeeper concentration of thoug
their su ccess .
" Weekly D isp a tch.
A volume fu l l Of interest for the l over ofol d t imes ; wh i l e the form in wh ich i t is presentedto us may incite many to think of art and l ookinto i ts many wondrou s influences with a cu riOu s earnestness unknown to them before . Itpoints a mora l a lso . in the knowl edge that a
peo le may be brou nh t to tak e interest in what1 8 c aste and beau til ‘u l as in what i s coarse anddegrad ing . Manches ter Ft aminer .
H ea rt s i n M ortm a i n , an d C or .
n e l i a . Two N ove ls . Post 8 y o . Pp . 458 ,c lo th , 5s . 1 5 50 .
t, the secret of
To come to such wr iting as Hearts in Mortmain , and Cornel ia ’ after the anxieties androughness of ourworl d l y ‘strug le , is l ik e bath
In
gl in fresh waters after the net and heat of
bo Ily exertion To a ecu l iar andattractive race they j oin considera le dramat icpower, an one or two of the cha racters are conceived and execu ted with real geni us."- Prosp ectz
'
ve Review.Both sto r ies conta in matter of thought andreflection wh ich wou ld set up a dozen commonpl ace circu l ating~ l ibrary productions .
" -E z am iner.
It is not often now-a-davs that two work s ofsuch a rare deg ree of excel lence in the ir c lassare to be found in one volume ; i t i s ra rer stil l tofind two work s , each of wh ich con ta ins matterfor two vo lumes , bound up in these t imes in onecover ." Observer. book .
“ The abov e is an extremely p leasinThe story is written in the anti quated orm ofl etters, but i ts simpl ic ity and good taster edeemi t from the ted iousness and ap earance ofegotism which eneral l y attend t at ~style ofcom osition .
"conomis t.
el l written and interesting .-D a il N ews .
T wo very l easing and el egant nove 3 . Somepassages d isp ay descriptive powers of a h ighorder—Bri tann ia .
H e i ne . SELECTIONS FROM THE POETRYOF HENRIOH H E INE . Translat ed byJOHN ACKERLOS . l 2mo . Pp . vi ii . and6 6 . st i ff cove r . 1 8 54 . 1 s .
PICTURES or TRAVE L. Trans lat edfrom th e German of HENRY_
H E INE .
By CHARLES G . LELAND . Crown 8y o . ,
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”—Christtan E xaminer .H orrock s . ZENO . A Tale of the
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H umb o l d t (ALEX . VON ). LETT ERS T oVARNHAGEN VON ENSE . Au thor is edEng l ish T rans lat ion ,with Ex p lanato ry
N otes , ‘
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l t sel dom occurs that th importance ndvalue o f a great man’s thoughts are so immed iately attes ted as these have been , by the unequ ivoca l ( l isap p robu tinn of the s i l ly at theirpubl ication.
”—Cou rt Circu la r.
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P res co t t (MISS . Sm Rou AN'
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,neatly
ha lf-bound m orocco , g ilt tep , u ncu ted es, Rox burgh style, price 1 8 3 .e transla tion of Mr. A rno l d has beene ld more t ru ly to represen t the spiri t of
Gothe’ s great poem than any other version ofthe l egend .There is no novelty, ex cept to purchasers ofCh ristmas book s , in Kau lbach ’s adm irable i ll ustr ations of the world - famous Reyna rd theFox ,
’
Amon v a ll the Engl ish transla tion s Mr. T . J .
A. id hold s at lea st h is own , and we do notknow that th is ed i tion , publ ished by T rii bner,wi th the Kau lbach engravings , reduced andfa i thfu l ly rendered on wood , does not s tand inthe very fi rst rank of the series we are commen ting upon . Mr. H arr i son W e ir is a good artist ,bu t in true com ic power he is far infer ior toK au lbaci-i . W e do not see how th is vo lume can ,in i ts way
zbe ex ce l led.” -S a turd ay Review.
Gethe s ‘Rez’
ncclce F uchs is a marvel ofgen ius and octic art [ fey/nan ! the Fox ismore blesse than A lex ander : h is st0 ry h asbeen wri tten by one of the grea test of thehuman race , and another of in im i table gen iushas added to the poe t's narrative the aux i l iaryl igh t of the pain ter ’ s sk i l l . Perhaps no artistnot even our own Landseer, nor the FrenchGavarn i—e ver ex cel led K au l bach in the art ofefusing a human ex pression in to the count nan ces and a ttribu tes of brutes ; and th ismarve l lous sk i l l he h as ex erted in the h ighestd eg ree in the i l lustra tion s to the book beforeas.”- I l lustra ted N ews of the Wor ld .
The i l lustration s are unrival l ed for thei rhumour and ma stery ofex pression and deta il .”
Of al l the numerous Ch ristmas work swh ich have been la tely u bl ished , th is i s l ikelto be the mos t accep tab e , not on ly as regar sthe bind ino
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i ' i
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“Tha t VVinck elmanu was wel l fi tted for theask of writing a H istorv of Anc ien t A rt , no onecan deny who i s acquain ted w i th his profoundlearn ing and gen ius . H e undoubtedl ypossessed , in the ;h ighest dec ree , the power ofappreciating art istic sk i l l wherever i t was metwi th , but never more so than when seen in thegarb of an tiqu ity . The work i s ofno .common order ,' and a carefu l study Of thegreat principles embod ied in i t must necessa ri lytend to form a pure , correct , and e leva ted tas te .- E c lcc!w Ren ew.The work is throughou t luc id , and free fromthe pedan try of techn ica l i ty. Its c leam ess con-osti tutcs i ts grea t charm . I t does not d iscussany one subj ec t a t great leng th . but a ims at aflutera l v iew o f A rt, with a tten t ion to its m inu teevelopments. It is , if we may use the phrase.
a Grammar of Greek A rt , a s ine qua mm. to a l lwho wou ld thoroughl y investiga te i ts languageof form." L iterary World .
Trubner ( 13; Ca , 60, Paternoster Row.
VVinck elmann is a standardwri ter, to whommost studen ts of art have been more or less ihd ebted . H e possessed extensive informa tion , arefined taste , and great zea l . H i s style is pla in ,d i rec t, and specific, so tha t you are never at aloss for hi s mean ing. Some very good ou tl ines,representing fine types of A nci en t Greek A rt,Illustrate the text, and the volume is got up in as tyle worth of i ts subject."—Specta tor .
“ T o al l overs of art, this volume wi ll ffurn ish the mos t necessary and safe gu id e in stu dyi ng the pure principles of nature and beau ty i ncrea tive art. W e cannot wish betterto Engl ish art than for a wid e circu la t ion of thisin va luab le work—S tand ard of Freedom.
T he m ixture of the philosopher and artistin W i nckelmann ’s mind gave i t at once an ele
fiance, penetration , and knowledge .which fittedrm to a marvel for the task he und ertook.S uch a work ought to be in the l ibrary of everyartist and man of taste
,and even the mos tgenera l read er wi ll find in i t much to instruct,
and much to interest him.”—A ttas .
W i se, CAPTA IN BRAND,o f the Centip ed e ; a Pirat e of Em in ence in the
W es t Ind ies : H is Loves and Explo its,tog e the r with som e Accou n t o f the Sin
gu lar Mann er in wh ich he d epartedthis Life . By Lieu t . H . A . W i se, U .S .N .
1 2mo . Pp . 304 . GS .
Geography, Travels, etc .B a rk er. A Sho rt H isto r ical Accou ntof th e Cr im ea, fr om the Earl iest Agesto the Russian Occupation : and a
Descriptio n of th e Geog raphical Featu res of t he Cou n t ry, and of th e Mann e rs , Custom s, etc of i ts I nhabi tants .
w i th Append ix . Compil ed from thebes t au thor ities, by W . BURCKH ARDTBARKER, Esq .
,A u thor of
Lar es and Pe nates , th e Tu rkishReadi ng Book ,” Tu rkish Grammarand m any years r es id ent in Tu rk ey, inan
official capacity . Map . Fcp . 8ve .
as . 6
B en i s ch . TRAVELs ofRABBI PET Acm A
o f RA TISBON : who, in th e lat t er end o fth e tw e l fth ce ntu ry, v is it ed Poland ,Ru ss ia,Littl e Tar tary, the Crim ea , A r
m en ia , A ssyr ia , Syr ia , the H oly Land ,and Gre ece . Translated fr om the Heb rew
,and published , tog ethe r with th e
o r ig ina l o n oppo si t e pag es . By Dr . A .
BEN I SCH ; with Explanato ry No tes, byth e Translator and W ILLIAM F . A INs
W ORTH ,Esq . ,
i 2mo . pp . v i ii . and 1 06 . 5 8 .
B o l l a ert (W ILLIAM ) .Antiquar ian , Ethnolog icai , and othe r Researches , in N ewGranad a , Eq uad or, Pe ru ,
and Ch il i ;w i th Obs e rva t io ns on the Pre-Incarial,I ncarial, and othe r Monum en ts of Peru vian N at ions . W ith num e r ous Plates .
Gm . 1 58 .
a l k ener (EDW ARD) . A Description ofsom e Im pertan t Theatr es and oth e rRemains in Cre t e , from a MS . H istoryo f Cand ia , by ONORIO BELLI, in 1 5 8 6 .
Be ing a Suppl em en t to the Mu s eumof Classica l Ant iqu i ties .
” I llu stration sand
Sin e Plates . Pp . 32 , r0ya1 8vo cloth .
5 s . 6
Gol ov i n ( IVAN) . The Caucasus . In
one vo l . 8 vo . clo th .
The N ations of Russ ia andTu rkey, and their Destiny . Pp . 370 ,8vo , clo th . 9 8 .
K oh l . TRAVELS IN CANADA ,
THROU GH TH E STATES OF N EW YORKAND PENNSYLVANIA . By I . J . KOHL .T ransla ted by Ma s . PERCY S INNETT.Revised by the Au th or . Two vols .
,pos t 8vo . Pp . x iv . and 794, c loth , 2 1 8 .
1 86 1 .
L an g-e . THE UPPER RH INE : Illus
trati ng i ts fi nest Ci t ies , Cas tl es , Ru in s ,and Land scap es .
' Fr om Draw ing s byMess rs . ROHBOCK , Lom s and J ULIUs
LANGE . Eng raved by the m ost d istingu ished A rt ists . W i th a H is tory andTopographical Tex t . Ed it ed by Dr .GA SPEY .
‘ 8vo . Pp . 494 . 1 34 Plates .
Lond on,1 859 . £2 25 .
K ra p f . TRAVELS .RESEARCHES, and M ISS IONARY LABOURS, du r ing an Eighte e nY ears ’ Res id ence on th e Eas te r n Coas tof A frica . By th e Re v . Dr . J . LEW I SKRAPF , lat e M issionary in th e s e rv ic eo f the Chu rch Miss iona ry Society inEaster n and Equa tor ial Africa ; towhichi s pr efix ed a concise Accou nt of Geograp h ical Discov ery in East er n A frica , u pto the pr esent tim e , by J. E . R AVENSTEIN , In d emy 8vo w ith aPor t rai t, two Maps, and twe lve Plates,p r ice 2 i s .
, cloth .
Dr. K rapf and h is col leagues have largelycontr ibu ted to the most importan t eog raph i ea l
d iscovery of mod ern times—name y . tha t thecentre ofA frica i s not occupied , as was formerlythought b I a chain ot’moun ta ins , bu t by a seriesof great In and lakes , some ofwhich arehund red sofmi les in length . H ard ly any one d iscovery hasthrow nso much l ight on the forma tion of theearth’ s su rface as this." Rev iew.
Dr. K rap f’s work is superior in interest toto the we ll-known narra tive ofMofi
'
att : in someparts , i t i s e ua l in novel ty to the most a ttractivechapters of arth and L ivingstone . Dr. Kra ftravels well and writes as a trave l ler shouldwri te,and seldom cla ims any ind ulgence from thereader ." A the-izwum .
Scarcely any ages in L ivi ngstone exceed ininterest sinus of r . Krap f’s adventures. T he
whole volume , so fu ll of interest , wi ll wel l repaythe most carefu l perusa l ."—t era ry Gazette.
Ca ta logue of Imp ortant Works .
P a t on . RESEARCHES ON THE DA NUBEAND THE ADR IATIC ; o r , Con tribu tionsto th e Mod ern H is tory of Hu ngary andTransylvan ia, Dalma t ia and Croatia ,S e rvia and Bu lgar ia . By A . A . PATON
,
In 2 vols . i 2m o . Pp . 830 ,clo th , pr ice 1 2s .
W e never came across a work which moreconscientiously and accura tely d oes exactlywhat i t professes to do .
"—8 cotu tor .
“ T he i nterest of these vo umes l ies partly inthe narrat ive of travel they conta in , and partlyin the stores of inform a tion on a l l k ind s ot' subjects
.
with which th ey abound . "—~ Sa turda y.R emcw .
T he work i s wri tten in a pleasan t and readahle style, and wi ll be a necessary compan ionfor travel lers through the coun tries of which i ttreats .
”—L i terary Gazet te.R aven st ei n . THE RDSSIANS ON THE
AMUR ; its D iscovery, Conqu est , and
Colon ization ,-'with a Description of th eCou n t ry , its Inhabitants , P rod uc ti ons,and Comm ercial Capabilit ies , and Pe rsonal A ccou n ts of Russ ian Travell ers .
By E . G . RAVENSTE IN, Corr espond ent F.G .S . Frank fu r t,with an
Append ix on the Navigation of th eGu lf of the Amu r . By CAPTA IN PRUTZ .In one v olum e , pp . of Le t terP ress, 4 tinted Lithog raphs , and 3Maps, hand som e ly bou nd . Pr ice 1 5s .,in clo th .
T his is awork of real and erm anent valu e .M r . Ravenstein has set h imsc f a wei h ty task ,and h as performed i t wel l . I t is. we t ink , impossible to name any su b‘eet bearing upon theAmu r. which is not c6nsi ered in th i s vo lume."—E cmzom is t.M r. Ravenstein’s work i s worthy of high
commend ation . It throws much ad di tiona l andinteresting light on a coun try but comparativelyli ttle known .
”—J{orning A Jvcr tzlser .I t is a perfec t hand book of the Amur , andwil l be consu l ted by the hi storian , the o l i tician ,the geographer , the naturalist , the et no logistthe merchant and the genera l read er , wi th equ ainterest and profit .
"—Co lbu rn’s N ew Monthly
JJIa a zme.he mos t complete and comprehensive workon the Amur that we have seen .
"—A ew Quarter ly Review.
T he expectat ions excited by the announcement of thi s pregnant volume are amply fu lfi lledby i ts execu tion . T he book bears evid encein every page of the toi l and conscien tiousnessof the au thor. I t is packed fu ll with valuableinformation . T here Is not a word thrown away ;and the carewithwhich the fac ts are marshal led ,a ttests the grea t pa ins and consid era tion tha thave been bes towed upon the plan of thework .
"—H ome N ews.
It is a thoroughly
conscientious work , andfurn ishes very fu l l in orm ation on al l poin ts ofinterest. T he i l lustrations are extremely good ;the maps are excel lent.”—The Press .
“ Mr. Ravenste in's book contains the fu l lestand latest accounts of Ru ss ia '
s annexations inorienta l quarters, and is , therefore , a highlyva luable and usefu l addi tion to E ngl ish knowled e thereof."—Dublin N a tion .r. Ravenstein has roduced a work of sol idinformation—a capital ook of reference—ou a
subj ect concern ing whi ch Engl ishmen wi l l . before long , d esire a l l the trustworthy informationtheycan get ."—Glube.n conclusion , we mu st complimen t Mr.
Ravenstein on the sk i l l which he has shown as a
S a rt or i u s MEx Ico . Land scap esand Popul ar Sketches . Ed i ted by Dr .,GASPEY, with Eng rav ing s by d is t ingu ished A rtists , from or igi nal Sketch es .
By MORITZ RUGENDAS . 4to . clo th gi lt.1 8 8 .
S ch l a g i ntwc i t . RESULTS OF A SCI
EN T IFIC M ISSION T o IND IA and UPPERA SIA . By H ERMANN, ADOLPHUS, andROBERT DE ScuLAOIN TW EIT . Und e rtake n be tw e e n 1 8 54 and 1 8 58 , by ord e rof th e H on ou rabl e East Ind ia Com
compiler. H e himself has never Vi si ted theAmur and has composed hiswork entirelyfromthe accoun ts of previou s travel lers . But he hasd one i t so well , that few read ers except thosewhose bu siness i t is to be su spiciou s , wou ld havefound i t ou t. if i t had not been acknowledged inthe reface."—Li tera ry Budget.he book has, of course , no pretensions tothe freshness Of a narra tive of personal exploration and adventure. but i t is by no means unpleasant readj ng , even from ) thi s po in t of view,
while for thosewho are possessed of a geographical tas te , which is in some d egree a thi n apart, i twi ll have a high d egree of interest.’ p ecta ror .
T his book i s a good honest book—a book tha twas
‘
needed , and tha t m ay be referred to as a rel iable source Of informa t i on .
"—A thenceum .
T he work before us is fu ll Of important andaccurate informa tion .
"—Lnnd on Review .
“ H is book i s by far the most comprehensivereview of a l l that has_been observed and ascer
tained of a li ttle-known portion of A sia .
"
Gua rd ian .
T here is a bread th and massiveness abou t thework which mark i t off very d istinctly from thel ight books of travel or historywhich arewrittento amu se a rai lroad traveller, or a subscriber toMud ie’s .
"—China Teleg rap h .
T he volume d es erves a carefu l peru sa l , andi t wi l l be found exceed ingly instructive. "Observer .
“ T he aim ofMr. Ravenstein has been to makeh is book one Of au thori ty , and in this he hascerta inly been most successfu l.”—Bel l ’s M es
senger .
W e are fortunate , too , in our opportun ity ,for i t wou ld be hard to find a more carefu l ortr ustworthy gu id e than Mr. Ravei i stein , whohas not on ly ava i led himself of a l l accessiblepu blications on the subject , bu t h as also enj oyedthe immense advantage Of hold ing persona lcommun ica tion with Russian Officers who hadserved on the Amu r."—A llen’
s I Ma i l .T he book towhichwe are ind ebted l’ot our information i s a perfect magaz ine Of knowledge ,
and must become thestandard work on the Amur .I t d oes not aff ect liveliness or bri ll iancy , butis constant ] perspicuous , interesting , and com
p lete. W e ave never opened a more satisfactory and wel l—arranged col lection of a l l that isknown on an given subject, than Bavei i stcin ’
s
Russ ians on t e Amur .”—Liverp ool D a i ly Pos t.
A wel l-written work." - Jll urni ng Pos t .
T he accoun t by Mr. Ravenstein of the irlon a—continued efforts and recent success , i s oneof the most complete books we have ever metW i th—i t i s an exhaustive monograph of the pol it ical hi story and natu ral resources of a countryof which bu t l i ttle was before known in E u rope ,and tha t l ittle had to be extracted from obscuresou rces . T his labou r has been most conscientiously performed by the au thor . T he variou sjourneys of Ru ssian explorers , the early p’red ato incursions , the narra tives of m issionaries ,an the accoun ts of the Chinese themse lves ,are brou ht together wi th great sk il l and suc
cess.
”estmmster Review.
Ca ta logue'
of Imp ortant War/cs.
C on st i t u t i on o f t h e U n i t ed
S ta t es , w i th an I nd ex t o each articl eand section . By A CITIZEN OF WA SHINGTON . 8vo . Pp . 64, sewed , l s . 1 8 60.
D el i b era t i on or D eci s i on ? being3. Translatio n from th e Dan ish , of theReply g iven by H e rr Raaslo ff t o th eaccu sations prefe rr ed against h im onthe part o f th e Dan ish Cabin et ; tog e the r w ith an Introductory A rt iclefrom th e Cop enhag e n “ Dagblad et,
”
and Explanato ry N otes . 8vo . Pp . 40.
s ewed,I S . 1 86 1 .
D ewey . AMER ICAN MORALS AND MAN
NERS . By ORVILLE DEW EY, D .D . SYO .Pp. 32, s ewed , IS . 1 844 .
D i r c k i n c k -J l o l m f e l d . ATTICTRA CTS ON DANISH AND GERMAN MA T
TERS . By BARON C . D IRCKIN CK-H OLMFELD . 8vo. Pp . 1 1 6, s ewed , Is . 1 86 1 .
E m er son . THE YOUNG AMER ICAN . A
Lec tu re . By RALPH WALDO EMERSON .
8vo . Pp . 24 , l s . 1 844 .
REPRESENT ATIVE MEN . Sev en Lectu res . By R . W . EMERSON .Post 8vo . Pp . 2 1 5 , cloth . 5 S . 1 850 .
E m p eror o f A u s tr i a ver su s
L o u i s K o ssu t h . A few word s ofComm on S ens e . By A N H UNGAR IAN .
8vo . Pp . 28 , l s . 1 8 6 1 .
E veret t . THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY .
An A dd r ess . By EDW ARD EVERETT .Royal 8vo . Pp . 46, Is . 6d . 1 86 1 .
SELF GOVERNMENT IN “
THE
UNITED STATES . By th e HON . EDW ARDEVERETT. svo . Pp . 44, sewed , l s . 1 860 .
Fi l i p p o M al in con tr i ; o r, STUDENTLIFE IN VENETIA . An Au tobiog raphy .Ed ited by G IROLAMO VOLPE . Transla t edfr om the u npublish ed I talian MS . byC . B . CAYLEY, B .A . Two vols ., post8vo . Pp . x x . and 646 , 1 8 5 . 1 8 6 1 .
Fu rd oonj ee . THE CIVIL ADM INISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY . ByNOW ROZJ EE FU RDOON J EE , fou rth Tran sla to r and Interprete r to Her Maj esty ’sSupr em e Cou rt , and Mem b e r of theBombay A ssociation . Publish ed inEng land at th e r equ est of th e BombayA ssociat ion . 8vo . Pp . v ii i. and 88 ,sewed , 2S . 1 8 53.
G erm any an d I t a l y . Answ er toMazzin i 's “ I taly and Germany .
” ByRODEERTU S , DE BERG, and L . BUCHER .
8vo . Pp . 20, sewed , l s . 1 86 1 .
H erb ert . THE SANITARY COND ITION OFT H E A RMY . By th e Right H on orabl eS IDNEY H ERBERT, M .P. 8 vo Pp . 48 .
s ewed . Lond on . 1 859 . l s . 6d ,
H erz en . LE MONDE RUSSE ET LA REVOLUTION . Mém o ires d e A . H ERZEN .
Tradu it par H . DELAV EA u. TrOiSvolum es in 8vo. , broché . 5 8 . each .
H erz en . DU DEV ELOPPEMEN T d es Id écsRevolu t ionnaires . e n Ru ssie , par IsCANDER . 2s . 6d .
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’
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FRANCE OR ENGLAND ? 6d .
MEMOIRES DE L’
IMPER ATRICECATH ERINE I I . E crits par e ll e-mem o.et precedes d
'
un e preface , par A . H ERZEN . S econd e Ed iti on . Revu e et augm entee , d e hu it Le t tr es d e Pie rre II I . ,et d
’
un e Le ttre d e Ca th e rin e 1 1 . an
Com te Pon iatowsk y . 8vo . Pp . x v i . and370 . 1 08 . 6d .
MEMOIRS OF TH E EMPRESSCA TH ER INE writte n by H e rs e lf .W ith 3. Pr eface by A . HERZEN. Translat ed from the Fre nch . 1 2mo . cloth .
7S . 6d .
fi i g g i n son . W OMAN AND H ER W ISHES .An Essay . By TH OMAS W ENTWORTHH IGGINSON . Post 8vo . , sewed , l s . 1 854 .
R o l e . LECTURES ON SOC IAL SCIENCEAND THE ORGANIZATION OF LABOUR. ByJAMES H OLE . 8vo . Pp . x i. and 1 8 2 ,sewed . 2s . 6d . 1 8 5 1 .
H l i m b o ] (i t . LETTERS OFW ILLIAM VONH UMBOLDT To A FEMALE FR IEND . Acomp let e Ed ition . Transla t ed from theS econd German Ed ition by CATHER INEM . A . COUPER, w i th a B iog raph icalN otice of the Write r . Two vols . Crownsvo . Pp . x x vi i i .and 592, cloth . 1 05 . 1 849 .
W e cordi al l recommend these volumes tothe attent ion 0 our read ers T hework is in ‘
every way worthy of the charac ter andfiercperience of Its d i stingu ished au thor."—Da i lyews .
“ These adm irable letters were . we bel ieve ,first introd uced to notice in England by theA thenaeum ; and perhaps no renter boon wasever conferred upon the E nglis read er than inthe publ ica tion of the two volumes which conta in this excel lent transla tion of W i ll iam H umbold t
’
s portion of a lengthened correspond encewi th h i s female friend .
" Wes tm inster and I 0reign Qucwter ly Review.
T he beau tifu l series of W . von Humbold t‘sletters , now for the first t ime translated andpublished complete , possess not only high intrinsic interest. but an interest arising from thevery strik ing c ircumstances in whi ch they originated . W e wish we had space toverify our remarks. But we shou ld not knowwhere to begin . or where to en d ; we have therefore nO a lterna tive bu t to recommend the entirebook to a carefu l perusa l , and to promise a cont inuance Of occasiona l extracts into our columnsfrom the beau ties of thought and feel ing wi thwhich i t abound s.
“—Manchcstcr ; E zamincr a ndT imes .I t i s the only complete col lection of theseremarkable letters . which has yet been publ ished in Eng l ish ,
and the transla tion i s s ingul arly perfect ; we have seld om read such a rend ering of German thoughts into the Englishtongue ."—Cr~itic.
Tri ibner db Co. , 60, Paternoster Row.
H um b ol d t . THE SPHERE AND DUTIESOF GOVERNMENT . Translated from the
German of BARON W ILHELM VON H UM
BOLD ’
I‘, by JOSEPH COULTHARD , J un.Pos t 8 ro . 5s .
“ W e have warm] to thank Mr. Cou lthardfor ad d ing to En fl l is li tera tu r ,e in so fa ithfu l afOIm , so valuable a means of extendi ng therange and elevating the character of our pol iti0a 1 Investigation . Wes tm ivzs tei Revi ew.
l l u t ton . MODERN WARFARE i ts po
s it ive The ory and Tru e Po licy . W i than applicat ion t o th e Russ ian War. ByH ENRY DIX H UTTON . 8 vo . Pp . 74 ,sewed . l s . 1 855 .
J a y . THE AMER ICAN REBELLION : itsH istory, i ts A im s , and ;the Reasons whyi t mu st be '
suppr ess ed . An A dd ress .By JOHN J AY . Pos t 8vo . Pp . 50 , s ewed ,I S . 1 86 1 .
THE GREAT CONSPIRACY . An Ad
d r ess . By JOHN J AY . 8vo . Pp . 50, IS .1 86 1 .
J on es . P et er . AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY .
S tag e the FiI st . 1 2mo . Pp. 220 , cloth .
K o ssu t h . Speeches of Lou is Kossu thin Am er ica . Ed i t ed , with h is sanction ,by F. W . N EWMAN . Pp . 388, post 8 vo,board s . 53 .
Sh effi e ld and N ottinghamEven ing Spe ech es . Ed ited by h ims elf.2d .
Glasg ow Speeches . Ed itedby h im s elf. 2d .
L an g ford . ENGLISH DEMOCRACY ; i tsH istory and Principl es . By JOHNALFRED LANGFORD . Fcp . 8vo .
, s t iffcove r . Pp . 8 8 . l s . 6d . 1 854 .
L et t er to Lord P a lm er st on ,con
cer n ing the Qu estion of Schl esw igH olste in . 8vo. s ewed . Pp . 32 . 1 850 . IS .
M a rt i n ea u . LETTERS FROM IRELAND .
. By HARR IET MARTINEAU . Reprintedfrom the Da i ly N ews. Post 8 vo . Pp .v ii i . and 220, cloth , 6s . 6d . 1 852 .
E very one of these letters conta ins passagesworthy of atten tion. T he republ i cation of M iss M artineau '
5 Letters, as a v er lated escription Of Ireland , wi l l be un iversa l y accep table) - E conomi st.
W e entertain no d oubt, then , thatour read ers wi l l rejoice with us in havi ng thesecontribu tions brought together and presentedaga in to their notice in a compact and inv i tingform.—Inqui re1
A H ISTORY OF THE AMERICAN COMPROM ISES. Reprinted with add i tions from the Da i ly N ews . ByH ARRIET MARTINEAU . 8 vo . Pp . 35 ,s ewed , i s. 1 8 56 .
M em o i res d e l a C ou r d ’E sp a g neSOUS LE REGNE D E CHARLES 1 678
1 682 . Par ls Ma u is DE V ILLAR S . 8 vo,pp . x x x ix . and 380. Lond res , 1 8 6 1£1 1 08 .
M i ch el . LES ECOSSA IS EN FRANCE ETLES FRANgAIS EN ECOSSE . Par FRANCISQUE M ICHEL. Two vols . ofm or e thanpag es , w i th num er ou s Wood cu ts .
Hand som ely bound in appropriates tyl e , £ 1 1 28 . A ls o a Spl end id Ed itionin 4 to ., with red bord ers, and fou rPlat es, in add i t ion to the W ood cu tI llustrations . This Ed i tion is print edin 1 00 copies on ly, and wil l contain alist of Subscr ibe rs . Bound in hal fMorocco . Pr ice £3 38 .
M i ss i on (t h e ) o f S ou t h C a ro l i nat o V i rg i n i a . From De Bow’
s Review,Decem be r , 1 860. 8vo. Pp . 34, sewed ,1 s 1 8 6 1
N ea l e (Re v . ERSKINE, Recto r of Kirton ) .MY COMRADE A ND M Y COLOURS ; o r,Men who kn ow not wh en they are
Beat en . 1 2mo s ewed . l s
01 ,
ou r N ort h -W est Fron t i er . W ithMap . 8 vo . Pp . 20 . l s . 1 85 6 .
P a rtn ersh i p , w i t h L im i t edL i ab i l i t y . Reprinted w ith ad d it ions , fr om The Westminster Review.
N ew S eries, N o . v i ii . , Octobe r, 1 853 .Post 8vo .,sewed , Is . 1 8 54.
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QUESTION ROMA INE d e M . ED . ABOUT .8vo . Pp . x v . and 364 .
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s t a n d i ng s .
” A Key to the Budg e tD ispu te . svo . Pp . 74, s ewed , l s . 1 8 6 1 .
P o p e’s R i g h t s a n d W ron g s . An
H is torica
hSk etch . 1 2mo . Pp . x iv . and
97 . 2s . 6
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M oren t i n (MANUEL MARTINEZ DE ) .RULERS AN D PEOPLE ; o r , Thoughtsupon Governm e n t and Constitu t iona lF r e ed om . An Essay. 1 2m o . Pp . 50 . 2s .
M o t l ey . CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR INAMER ICA . By JOHN LOTH ROP MOTLEY,LL.D . Repri nted from the Times . 8vo .Pp . 30 sew ed , IS . 1 86 1
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T he most able and instructive book , whichexhibits , we think , no less moral than economica l wisdom .
" P rosp ective R ev iew.
THE CR IMES OF THE H OUSEOF H APSBURG AGA INST IT S OWN LIEGESUBJ ECTS. By F . W . N EWMAN . svc .Pp . 60. s ewed , Is . 1 853 .
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OGAREFF . I2mo. Pp . 1 50, stitch ed 3s .
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g raphy, translated from the German .
2 vols . Pp . xvii . and 465, pape r incover, 78 . 1 845 .
S ch imm el fenn i g‘. THE WAR BE
TW EEN TURKEY A ND RUSSIA . A M il itary Ske tch . By A . SCH IMMELFENN IG .
8vo . ,2s .
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THE COUP-d’
ET AT . By VICTOR SCHOELCHER, Repr es e ntat ive O f the Pe op l e .Pp . 1 90, 1 2mo . , s ewed , 2S .
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s ewed , 6d .
Sm i t h . LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT ANDCENTRALIZATION . Th e Characte r ist icsof each ; and its Practica l Tend enciesas aff ecting Social, Mora l , and Politica lW el far e and Prog ress . Includ ing Compr eh ensive Ou t lines of the Eng lishConstitu tion . W ith cop ious Ind ex . ByJ . TOULM IN SM ITH ,
E SQ . , Barriste r-atLaw . Post Svo. Pp . v ii i. and 409,cloth, 5s . 1 85 1 .
T his i s a valuable . becau se a thoughtfulca tise u pon one of the general subjects ofheoretica l and ractical pol i tics. N 0 one in a l lprobabi li ty wi l ive an absolu te assen t to a l l i tsconclusions , bu t t e read er ot’Mr . Smi th ’s volumewi l l in any case be ind uced to gi ve more weightto the importan t principle insisted onn
’f a i t'
s
Magaz ine.“Embracing , with a vast ran e of consti tu
tional learn ing , used in a sin u arly a ttractiveform, an elabora te review 0 a l l the leading
qu estions of our d ay .
"—Eeleeti c Rev iew.
T hi s i s a book , therefore , of immed ia te interest and onewel l worthy of the most studi ousconsideration of every reformer ; bu t i t is a lsothe on l complete and correct exposition wehave 0 our pol i tica l system and we m istakemuch if i t d oes not take i ts pl ace in l i tera tureas our standard text-book of the consti tu tion .
"
“ T he specia l chapters on loca l self over nmen t and centra lization wil l be found c Iaptersof the sound est practical ph i loso by ; every pagebearing the marks of profonn and practica lthou ht.he chapters on the crown , and on commonl aw, and sta tu te law, d isplay a thorough kn owled ge Of consti tu tiona l l aw and history , and avast body of learn ing i s brought forward forpo u lar Information wi thou t the least parad e orpe antr
Mr. ou lm in Sm ith has mad e a most valuable contribu tion to Engl ish li terature 3
.for hehas given the people a tru e account of then onceglori ous consti tu tion ; more than that, he hasgiven them a book replete wi th the sound estand most practica l Vi ews of poli tica l phi losophs
'fi Weekly N ews .here i s much research . sound principle. andgood log ic in this book : and we can recommendIt to the perusa l of al l who wish to a ttain a
competen t kn owledge of the broad and las tingbasis of English constitu tiona l l aw and p ract ice."—Mom iag A dvertiser.
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”
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T hi s work i s the red uction of a thoughtfu lm ud and of an ar cu t and earnest spiri t. and1 s wefl deserving of a peru sa l in extem o by a l lthose who reflect on SO solemn and important atheme as the fu tu re d estiny of thei r nativecountry ."—Morning Chron icle.
A work ofwhose meri ts we can hard ly speaktoo hi Naif—L iterary Gaz ette.
T i s ook has awakened in us many painfulthoughts and in tense feeli n s . I t i s fea rfu ll ytrue—passionate in i ts upbrai gs , unsparin ini ts exposures—yet fu l l of wisdom , and perv edbry‘
an earnest. loving spiri t. The au thor seest
_
Ings a s they are—too sad and too rea l forS i lence—and courageou sly tel ls of them wi thstem and honest tru th. W e receivewi th pleasure a work so free from pol ite l ispings,pretty theoriz ings , and canting pro ession ism s ;speak in g , as i t d oes. earnest trut fearlessly ,but in love ."—Nomonj 0rmis t.
Greater than any Law W riter of whichugland can boas t S i nce the d ays of Blackone."—Lord Campbel l , in the H ome of Lords ,
Apr i l 7, 1 843 .
W e look in vain over the legal li terature ‘ofEngland for names to pu t in comparison wi ththose of Livingstone , K ent , and S tory .A fter readi n h is (Jud ge Story 's) Life and M iscel laneous ri tings. there can be no di fficu l tyin acm unting for his persona l influence andpopu lari ty ." Edi nbu rgh Review.
T he biogra hy before us , wri tten by hi s son ,
i s adm irably “gested , and wri tten in a stylewh ich susta ins the a tten tion to the las t , and occasiona l ly rises to tru e and strik ing eloqu ence."—E clect ic Rev iew.
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Professor N ewman has kind ly permi tted Mr.
ghfipman to pr int the fol lowing letter ad dressed
0 Im“ Mr . l .eigh Hun t ’s l i ttle book has been very
acceptable to me . I think there i s in i t al l thattend erness of wisdom which i s the pecu l iar possession and honou r of advanced years . I presum e he regard s his book as only a contribu ti onto the Church of the Fu tu re. and the L iturgi ca lpart Of it as a mere sample . I feel wi th h im“
that we cannot afford to abandon the Old princi ple of a ‘publi c recogn ition of common rel igiou s sen timents and I rejoice tha t one l ik eim has taken the lead in po in ting out the di rcetion in whi ch we mu st look .
(S igned ) F . W . N EWMAN .
"
T O the class of thinkerswho are feelers a lso,to those whose sou l i s larger than mere logic cancompass , and who habitua lly end eavou r, on thewings Of Imagination , to soar into regions whi chtranscend reason , this beau tifu l book i s ad
d ressed It cannot be read even as a book(and not acce ting it as a r itual) wi thou t hum aniz ing an en larging the read er's m ind .
"
Lea d er .
T he Rel igion Of the H ear t’ is a manual ofaspira tion , fa ith , and du ty , conceived in thespi ri t Of natura l piety I t i s the ob ect ofthe book to su p l y one of those need s O f t e popu lar m ind w ch the specu la tive rationali sm isapt to nea lect , to aid in the cu ltu re of soundhabits and3 of reasonable rel igious affections . Ifthe time has not yet arrived for the maturedri tua l Of natu ra l religion , the present end eavourwil l at leas t be regard ed as a
fi
suggestion andhelp in that d irecti on." Wes tmins ter Revi ew.
"T his volume d eserves to be read bymany to
whom ,on other ground s , i t may per aps rovel i ttle acceptable for the ave and thong i fnlmatter i t conta ins , eppes ing to the heart ofevery tru thfu l person . K ind l emotions and
a pu re mora l ity , a tru e sense Of t e beneficenceOf God and Of the beau ty Of creation , a heighttened sensibi lity tha t shuns a l l contact wi ththeolo y , and shrinks onlywith too mu ch dreadfrom t e hard d ogmas Of the pu l i t.—make u pthe substance of this book , of w nch the stylethrou vhou t is exqu isitely gentle and refinedMr. Ifunt never, on any occas ion , d i scred i ts, byhis manner of stating h i s bel iefs, the com rehensive chari ty which susta ins them . T e Inostrig idl orthodoxmay read h is book , and , passingover '
versi ties ofOpini on , expressed a lways in
Cata logue of Imp ortant Works.ri al for reflection . Mr . T ayler regards a l l partiesin tu rn from an equ i table point of view, is to lerant toward s into lerance , and adm ires zea l andexcuses fana ticism wherever he sees h onesty .N ay . he open l asserts tha t the rel igion of merereason is not t e relig ion to prod uce a prac tica lefl
‘
ect on a people and therefore regard s h isOwn clas s onl as one e lement in a better p r incip le chu rch . he clear and comprehensive graspwi th which he marsha ls h is fac ts , is even lessadmirable than the im artia l ity , nay ,more thanthat , the genera l kin l iness wi th which he reflects upon them .
" -E zammer.
Philosophy.
An E x p o s i t i on o f S p i ri tu a l i smcompris ing two S eries o f Let ters , anda Re view of the Spiri tual Magazin e ,No . 20 . As publish ed in the S tar andDia W ith I nt rod uct ion , N o tes , andAppend ix . By SOEPT IO. 8 vo . Pp . 330,cloth , o‘s .
A t k in son an d M a rt i neau . LETTERS ON THE LAW S OF MAN ’S NATUREAND DEVELOPMENT . By HENRY GEORGEATKINSON, and HARR IET MAR
T INEAU . Post 8 vo . Pp . x n . and 390,cloth . 1 85 1 . 5 3 .
O f the many remarkable facts rela ted in thisbook we can say little now. W hat ra therstrik es u s i s the eleva ting influ ence of an ac
knowled ment ofm s terg i n an form at a l l . Inspite Of a 1 that We ave sa id , t Iere i s a tone inMr. A tkinson‘s thoughts far above those of mos tof us who live in slavery to d a i ly experience .T he world is a u l to him—tru th is sacred .
H owever Wild lyhe .has Wand ered in search ofi t
,tru th is al l or whi ch he cares to l ive. If he
is d ogmatic , he i s not va in if he i s drying upthe founta in of l ife, yet to him l ife is he y. H e
does not care for fame , for wea lth, for rank , forrepu tat ion , for an th in rr except to find tru thand to l ive beau ti u l ly by i t ; and al l this because he feels the unknown and terrible forceswhich are busy at the war p and woof of themarvellous existence."—Fraser '
s Mag a zine .“ A book , from the reasonings and conclus ionsof which, we are bound to express our entire
di ssent , but to which it i s impossible to d eny therare meri t of str ictest honesty of purpose , as aninvest igation into a sub'
ect of the hi ghest importance, upon whi ch t e wisest of us Is a lmostentirely ignorant , begun with a sincere d esire topenetra te the mystery and ascertain the tru th ,pu rsued wi th a brave resolve to shrink from noresu lts to which tha t inqu iry m ight lead , and tos ta te them . wha tever recept i on they m ight havefrom the world .
"—Cr i tic.
A curious and va luable contribu tion. to
psychologica l science , and we re ard i t W i thInterest, as conta ining the best an fu llest d evelopment Of the new theor ies of mesmerism ,
clairvoyance, and the k ind red hypotheses . T hebook is replete with rofound reflections thrownou t incid ental ly, is istingu ished by a peculiare lea ance of sty le ,and , in the'
hand s Of a ca lm and
phfiosoph ical theologian may serve as a u sefu lp roofs of the most form id able d ifficulties he hasto contend aga inst in the present d ay .
" Weekly»N ews .
T he letters are remarkable for the analytica lpowers which characterise them , and W i l l beea erly read by a l l those who apprecia te theva me of the assertion , tha t the proper study ofmank ind i s man .
’ T he range Of read in whichthey embody is no less extensive than t i e sin
ceri ty as we l as d epth of thought and earnest
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ectation orpeda ntry , faul ts arrived at by so easy a trans ition , they are marked by simplicity of .d iction ,
h an ease and grace of language and expressiont at give to a subject, for the most part intricateand er lexing. an inexpressible charm .
"
Week y isp a fch .
Awa s'
l H i n d or , a Voice from th eGang es . Be ing a S olu tion O f the tru eSou rce of Chris t ian i ty . By an
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“ A work of p ro oua d science , marked withgreat acu teness of reasoning , and conspicuous forthe highest a ttribu tes of inte l lectua l power .E d inburgh Revi ew.
T he ‘Cours de Philosophie Pos itive' i s atonce a compend iou s c cloi i aad ia of science and anexhibition of scienti 0 method . I t d efines rigorously the characteristics of the severa l ord ers ofphenomena wi th which the particu lar sciencesare concerned , arran fl es them in an ascendi ngscale of complexity and special ity, beginningwi th mathema tics and end ing with socia l physics or sociolo cr
y , and assigns to each science Itsproper metho in accord ance with the natu re Ofthe phenomena to be investiga ted Becausei t is not merely a cyclopae d ia Of scientific facts ,but an ex hibition of the method s of humanknowledge and Of the relations between i ts d i fferea t branches , M . Comte ca lls h is work philosophy and because it lim its itself to wha t canbe proved , he terms i t pos it ive ph i losophy."Sp ecta tor .
T he world at l arrre has reason to begratefu lto al l concerned in this publication of t Ie op us
magnum of our century . M iss Martineauhas confined herself rigorously to the task oftrans lating freely and cond ens ing the work ,ad d ing nothing of i l lustration or cri ticism , sothat the reader has Comte ’s views presented as
Trubner do 60, Paternoster Row.
Comte romu lga ted them . In the wholerange 0 phi losop ii y we know of no such successfu l abridgment ."—Leader .
“ A wond erfu l monum ent of ratiocin ativeski l l .”—S cotsma n.
“M iss Martineau's book, as we ex ected i t
wou ld be , is an eloqu ent exposition of Comte'sdoctrin es,"—E conom is t.C ou s i n (VICTOR) . ELEMENT S OF PSY
CHOLOGY includ ed in a Cri tical E xam inat ion oi Locke ’s Essay on th e HumanUnd erstand ing , and in ad d itional pieces .
T ranslated from th e Fre nch, with anIn tr od uct ion and N otes,by CALEB S .
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ON THE NATURE OF THE SCHOLAR,
AND ITS MAN IFESTATIONS. By J OHANNGOTTLIEB FICHTE . Translated from the
Germ an by W ILLIAM SM ITH . S econdEd ition . Post 8vo. Pp . vii . and 1 3 1 ,cloth, 3S . 1 848 .
W i th great satisfaction wewelcome thi s firstEngli sh translation of an au thor who occupiesthe most exa lted position as a profound andorig ina l thinker ; as an irresistible ora tor in thecause of W ha t he believed to be the truth ; as 8.thoroughly honest and heroic man . T heappearance Of any of hi s works in our lan agei s , we bel ieve , a perfect novelty . heseorations are admirably fitted for the ir purpose ;so
cgrand is the position taken by the lecturer,an so irresistible their eloquence."—E a:am iner .
T his work must inevitably a rrest the attent ion of the scientific physici an , by the grandspir i tu ali ty of its doctrines, and the pure moral i ty i t teaches . Sha l l we be presumptuou sif we recommend these vi ews to Our professional
brethren or if we say to the enl ightened , thethoughtfu l , the serious , T his—if you be truescho lars—i s your Voca tion W e know not ahigher mora l i ty than th is , or more noble princ iples than these : they are fu ll of tru th —Bri t isha nd Forei gn Med ico-Chiru rg ica l Revzew.
A s a majestic and most stirring u tterancefrom the l ips of the res tes t German prophet,we trust tha t the boo wi l l find a response inmany an En
glish sou l , and potently .
he lp to t egenerate Eng ”
sh society."—The Crmc.
F i ch t e . THE CHARACTER ISTICS OF THEPRESENT AGE . By JOHANN GOTTLIEBFICHTE . T rans lated from the Germanby W ILLIAM SM ITH . Post 8vo . Pp . x i .and 2 71 , clo th , 6s . 1 847.
A noble and most notable acqu isition to thel i terature of England . D oug las J errold ’s
Weekly Pap er .
W e accept these lectures as a true and mostadmirable d el inea tion of the present age ; andon this ground a lone we shou ld best-ow on themour hear tiest recommend ation ; bu t i t is becausethey teach u s how we m ay rise above the age,tha t we bestow on them our mos t emphaticpra i se.
H e makes u s think , and perhaps more subl imely than we have ever formerly thought, buti t i s only in ord er that we may the more nobly
TH E VOCATION OF A SCHOLAR .
By JOHANN GOTTLIEB FICHTE . Translated from the German by W ILLIAMSM ITH . Post 8vo . Pp . 78 , sewed , 1 s . 6d .
,
clo th,23 . 1 8 47 .
T he Vocation of a Scholar isd istingui shed by the same high moral tone , andmanly , vigorou s expression ’ which characterizea l l F iehte
’
s works in the German , and is nothi nglost in Mr . Sm ith's clear , u nembarrassed , andthoron h ly English translation ."—D oug las J errold
’s ewsp ap er .
W e are g lad to see this excel len t translationof one of the bes t of Fichte‘s works presented tothe ubl ic in a very neat form . NO c lassnee s an earnest and sincere spir it more thanthe li terary class : and therefore the Vocation ofthe Scholar , ’ the ‘Gui d e of the Human Race ,‘written in F ichte'
s most earnest, most command ing temper, wi l l be welcomed in i tsE ngl ish dress by public writers , and be benefic ial to the cau se of tru th ."—E conom is t.
THE VOCATION OF MAN . ByJ OHANN GOTTLIEB FICHTE . T ranslatedfrom the German by. W ILLIAM SM ITH .
‘Post 8vo. Pp . x u . and 1 98 , cloth, 4S .
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In the prOgress of my presen t work , I havetaken a d eeper glance in to rel ig ion than ever Id id before. In me the emotions of the hear tproceed only from perfect intel lect nal clearness ;It cannot be but the clearness I 'h ave now at
ta ined on thi s subj ect sha l l also take possessionof m heart.”—c hte'
s Corresp ond ence.
f‘ he Vocation of M an
’ i s. as F ichte tru lysays, intel l i ible to al l readers who are rea l lyable to nu erstand a book at al l ; and as thehi story of the m ind in its various phases ofd oubt , knowledge, and fai th, i t i s of interest toa l l . A book of th is stamp is sure to teach youmuch , becau se i t exci tes thought . If it rousesyou to comba t hi s conclus ions , i t has d one agood work ; for in that very efi'
ort you are stirredto a cons id eration of points which have hither toescaped our ind ol ent —ForeignQua r ter 31 .
Ca ta logue of Imp ortant War/cs.
Th is is Fich te’s_most p o ul ar work , and i sever
yway remarkable ."—A tt appears to us the bold est and most empha tic a ttempt that has yet been mad e to explain to man his restless and unconquerable de
sire to wi n the T ru e and the E ternal .”—Sentinel .F i ch t e. THE WAY TOWARDS A BLESSEDLIFE ; or, the Doctrin e of Religi on . ByJ OHANN GOTTLIEB FICHTE . Trans latedby W ILLIAM SM ITH . Post 8vo . Pp . v i ii .and 22 1 , clo th , 5s . 1 849 .MEMOIR OF J OHANN GOTTLIEBFICHTE . By W ILLIAM SM ITH . S econdEd it ion . Post 8 vo .
' Pp. 1 68 , clo th, 4s ,1 848
A L ife of Fichte, fu l l of noblenessand Instruction . of grand purpose , tend er fee ling, and brave effort ! the compilationof whi ch i s execu ted wi th great judgm ent andfid eliiéy
.—Prospecti_veR ev iew.e state Fich te‘s character as i t is known
and adm i tted by men of a l l parties among theGermans when we say tha t so robust an in tellect, a soul so ca lm , so lofty , mas sive , and immoveable, has not m ingled in h i losophical d iscussion since the time of Lut er Fichte'sOpin ions may be tru e or fa lse ; but his characteras a thinker can be slightly valued onl by suchas know i t i l l ; and as a man , 9. proved y ac tionand suffering , in hi s l ife an In hi s d eath, heranks wi th a class of men who were commononly in better a
ges than ours .
"—S : a te of GermanLi tera ture, by homas Ca r ly le.Fox t on . POPULAR CHR ISTIANITY ; itsT ransi ti on State , and Probabl e Development . By FREDER ICK J . FOXTON,A .B . , form e rly of Pembr oke Coll eg e ,Oxf ord , and Perp e tu al Cu rat e of S tokePrior and Docklow ,H er eford shir e . Pos t8 vo . Pp ix . and 226, clo th . 1 8 49 . 58 .
Fewwr i ters are bold er , but hi s manner i ssingu larly consid erate toward s the very Opin ionstha t he combats—hi s languag e s ingul arly ca lmand measured . He i s evi d ently a m an who hashi s purpose sincerely at hea rt, and ind ul es inno wri ting for effect. Bu t W ha t most “
stingui shes him from many wi th whom he may becompared i s, the positiveness of h i s d octr ine. Aprototyp e for hi s volume m ay be found in tha tOf the American , T heod ore Parker—the “ D iscourse of Rel igion.” T here is a grea t coincid ence in the tra in of id eas. Parker i s more copious and eloqu ent , but Foxton is far moreexpli ci t, d efini te , and comprehensible in hi smeaning .”—Sp ecta tor.
He has a penetration into the spiritua l d e~sires and wants of the age ossible only to onewho partakes of '
them , and e has u ttered themost prophetic fact of our religious condi tibn ,
wi th a force of conviction , which itself g ivesconfid ence , that the fact i s as he sees It . Hi sbook appears to u s .to contain many just andprofound views of the reli giou s character of thepresent age, and i ts indi cations of progress .
H eoften touches a d ee and fru itfu l tru th W i th apower and fu lness t at leave nothi ng to be des ired .
”—P rosp ective Rev iew, N ar . ,1 8 19 .
It con ta ins many passages that show a warmappreciation of the mora l beau ty Of Chri stiani ty,wri tten wi th consid erable power."—Inqui rer.
wi th earnestness and eloquence ."W e must refer our read ers to the worki tself, wh ich is most ably W ri tten , and ev inces a
spiri t at once earnest , enlightened . and l ibera l ;in a sma l l compass he presen ts a most lucid exposi tion of views , many of them Original , andsupported by arguments which cannot fai l tocrea te a d eep sensation in the reli giouswor ld .
Observer.
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ggest tothem works bearing upon i t , which ot erwi se
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' reced es before the tid e of c ivil ization.Dr. Lud ewig and Prof .T urnerhavem‘ad e most d il igent use of the public and private collections inAmerica , access to a ll of which was most liberallygranted to them . T his has placed at their dispOsa lthe labours of the American M issionar ies , so littleknown on thi s sid e of the A tlantic that they m aybe looked upOn almost in the light of untrod d enground . But English and Continenta l librarieshave also been rans acked and Dr. Lud ewig keptup a cons tant and active correspond ence withscholars of the Fatherland ,
”as w ell as wi th menof simil ar ta stes and pursuits in France, Spai n , and
H olland , d etermined to leave no stOne unturned torend er his labou rs as cemplete as possible. T hevolume, perfect in itself, is the first of an en] ededi tion of Va ter's n ua rum totias orbis n
d ex .
" T he work has been noticed by the press ofboth Contin ents , and we m ay be permitted to referparticularly to the followingOPINIONS or THE PRESS.This work, mai nly the prod uct ion of the late
H err Lud ewig , a German ,natu raliz ed in Am erica ,
is d evoted to an account of the litera ture of theaboriginal langua
ges of that country . It g ives an
alphabetical list 0 the various tribes ofwhose languag es any record remai ns, and refers to theworks ,papers , or manuscripts , in whi ch such info rmati onm ay be found . T he work has evi d ently been alabour of love and as no pai ns seem to have beenspared by the edi tors , Prof. T urner and Mr. T rubner, in rend ering the work as accurate and COm
p lete as poss ible , those who are most inte rested ini ts contents wi ll be best able to judge of the labourand assid uity bestowed upon it by a uthor, ed i tors ,and ubli sher.
"—A themeum , 5th April , 1 858 .
hi s is the first insta lment Of a work whichwi ll be of the grea test value to philolog'is ts and is
a compendi um of the aboriginal languages of theAmerican contin ents , and a d igest of al l th e knownlitera ture bearing upon those languages. M r.
T rlibner's hand has been engaged p assem,
and inhis preface he lays claim to abou t one-sixth oi the
Ca ta log ue of Imp ortant Works.Cette compilati on savan te est sans contred it, l etravail bibliographique le
plus importan t que notre
eq ue ai t vu surgir sur es nati ons ind igenes d el Amérique .
"—N ouvelles A nna lee d es Voyag es ,Avril , 1 859 .
La Bibliotheca Glottica , d ont M . N icolasT rii bner, a commencé la publication , est un d esl ivres les plus
,u ti les g l l l aient jamais été rédigés
our facil iter l ’étud e d e la philo log ie comparée,premier tOm e d e cette grand bibliographie lingui stique comprend la liste textuelle d e toutes l esgramn i aires ,
'
d e tous les di ctionnaires et d es vocabulaires m eme les moins étend us qu i Ont été imprimés dans l es difi‘érents di alectes d es d eux Amériques ; en outre, i l fa it connai tre les ouvragesn ianuscri ts d e la meme nature renfermés d ans lesprincipa les bibl iotheques publiques et part icul ieres .
Ce travail a du nécessiter d e longues et patient-esrecherches aus si mérite-t-i l d ’
attirer tou t partien~
l ierem en t 1’attention d es philologues . Puissent l es
au tres volumes d e cette bibliotheque é tre rédi gésaVec i s meme soin et se trouver bientot entre lesmains d e tous les savants auxquels i l s peuventrendre d es services inappréciables."—Revue A mer ica ine et Or ienta ls , N o. O ct . 1 858 .
T o ev fresh ad d ition to the bibliography oflanguage, 0 wh ich we have a most admirable sp ecimen in thi s work , the thoughtful linguist willever
, as the great problem of the un i of humanspeech approaches toward s i ts fu ll so u tiOn , turnwith increas ing satisfaction and hope.
But Mr . N icolas ’
I‘rubner, however, h as perhaps , On the whole , d one the hi ghes t service of a l lto the phi lologer, by the publi cation of T he L i
terature ofAmerican A borigina l Languages ,” H e
has , with the ai d ofProfessor T urner. greatly eularg ed , and at the same time most skilfu lly ed ited ,the va luable material s acqui red by his d eceasedfriend H . Lud ewig. W e d o not, ind eed , at thismoment
,know any sim i lar work d eserving of fu l l
comparison with it. In its ample enumeration ofim portant works of reference, and careful w eedof the most recent facts in the literature of i ts subjcet, it, as might have been expected , greatly surpasses J ulg ’
s Vater, ’ Va luable and trustworthythough that learned German's W ork und oubted lyis .
”—N or th Br i tish Review, N o . 69 , February,1 8 6 9 .
T he Ed i tor has also received most kind and en
couragin
életters res eating the work, from S ir
George rey, the hevali er Bunsen, Dr. T h .
Gol d s t ilck er, Mr. W atts (of the Museum) , Pro
f essm A . Fr. Pott (of H all e) , Dr. Jul ius Petzho l t(ofDresd en) Hofrath Dr . Grasse (ofDresd en) , M .
F . F . d e la riman iére (of L isbon) , E. Edward s (ofManchester) , br. Max M ii l ler (of Oxford ) , Dr .
Buschmann (of Berlin) , Dr . J li lg (ofCracow) , andother lingu is tic scholars .
T ru b n er (N i conas) . Ta iiBNER’
s BIB
LIOGRAPHICAL Gum s'ro AMER ICAN L1
TERA'I‘U RE : a Class ed List of Bookspu blish ed in the Un i t ed S tates of Am e
r ica, from 1 8 1 7 to 1 857 . W ith Bibl iographical I nt rod uc t ion , N otes , and A lphabetical Ind ex . Compil ed and Ed ited byN ICOLAS TR uBN ER . In One vo l . 8 y o, of750 pag es , ha lf-bou nd , pr ic e 1 8 5 .
T his work ,it is believed , is the first attempt to
arshal the Literature of the United States ofAmerica d uring the las t forty years , accord ing tothe genera lly received bibliographica l canons .
T he L ibrarian will W elcome it, no d oubt, as a
compani on volume to Brunet, Lowndes , and
E bert whils t, to the bookseller, it w ill be a fa ithfi i l guid e to the American branch of Engli sh Literature—a branch which , on account of its rapid increase and ris ing impOrtance , begi ns to fOrce itselfd aily mare and mere upon h is a ttention. N orwi ll
the werk be of less interest to the nian of lettersinasmuch as it comprises complete T ables of Centents to al l the mere prominent Collections of theAmen cans , to the J Ourna ls , Memoirs Proceed ings ,and Transactions of their learned Societies—andthus furnishes an intel li gible k ey to a d epartmentof Am erican scientific acti vity hi therto but imperfectly known and und erstood in Europe.
“ 8
Orrmons or T HE PRESS.It has been reserved ,f or a fore igner to havecom
lp i led , for the benefit of European read ers , areal y trustworthy gu id e to A nglo-Americanl i teratu re . T his honourable d is tinction has beenfa irly won 1) Mr. N icholas T riibner. th e intel l igent and we l -known publisher in Pa ternoster
row. T ha t en t leman has succeed ed in mak inoa very va uable ad d iton to bibliographicalknowledge , in a quarter where i t was muchwanted .
”Universa l Review, J an . , 1 859.
T rubner‘s Bibl iographica l Gu id e to Ameri
Can Literature‘d eserves praise for the great carewith which it is prepared , and the wond erfu lamount of information contained in i ts pages .I t is compiled and ed i ted by Mr. N icholasT rhbner, the publisher , of Paternoster Row. I tcom rises a classified l ist of books publ ished inthe n i ted S tates du ring the las t forty yearswith Bibliovraph ica l Introduction , N otes, andA lphabetical Ind ex . T he introd uction is verelaborate and fu l l of facts, and mu st be the W orof a gentleman who has 9 ared no pa ins inmak ing himselfmaster of al l) that is importan tin connection wi th American l i terature . I t certa in ly supplies much information not genera llylineman in E urope .
”—Morning S tar , January s 1 st ,“ Mr . T ri ibner d eserves much cred i t for beingthe firs t to arranc e bibl iogra hy accordi ng to t hereceived ru les of : the art . li e began the labou rin 1 855 , and the first volume was publi shed intha t year ; consti tu tin a
,in fact, the earliest
attempt, on thi s sid e of the A tlantic, to catalogue American books . T he present volume , ofcou rse , is en larged , and is more perfect in everres set . T he method of class ification is ex ceeing
r clear and usefu l .short , it presents the actu al state of l iterature , as wel l as the course of its d evelopment .
from the beg inn in Into the sub ' eet—ma tter oithis section we sha l have to look ereafter ; weare now simply exp l a inin the compos ition ofMr . T rubner
‘s most va lu ab e and usefu l book."
- Sp ecta tor , February 5 , 1 859 .
Mr . T riibner‘s book is by far the most com
plete American bibliography that has yet appeered and d isp la s an amoun t of p atience andresearch that d oeshim infin ite cred i t . W e havetested the accuracy of the work upon severa lpoints demand in fy much care and inqu iry , andthe resu lt has always been satisfactory. OurAmerican brethren cannot fa i l to feel compl imented by the production of this vo lume , whichin quanti ty a lm ost e na ls our own London catalogue.”- Tll e Boo l
'
se er, February 24 , 1 859 .
T o say of thi s volume tha t it entirely fu lfilsthe prom ise of i ts ti tle-page , i s possibly thehighest and mos t tru thfu l commendation tha tcan be award ed to it . .Mr. T rii bner d eserves ,however, something beyond genera l pra ise forthe pa tient and intél li u ent labour wi th whcih hehas elaborated the earlier forms of the work intotha t which it now bears . \Vhat was once bu t ascanty volume, has nowbecome magn ified . un d erh is care , to one of cons id erable size ; and wha twas once l ittle better than a d ry catalov ue , maynow take rank as a bibliograph i ca l work offirstrate importance . H is position as an Americanl iterary agent has, d oubtless , been very favourable to M r.
'
l‘rubner, by throwing matter in h is
way ; and he confesses , in his preface, tha t i t isto this source tha t he is mainly ind ebted for themateria ls which have enabled him to constructthe work before us . Mr. T r‘
ubner'
s obj ect in com
Trubner dé Co.,60, Paternoster Row.
pil ing this-book is , he states, two-fold On theone hand , to suigest the necessity of a more perfeet work of its i nd by an American , surround
ed , as he necessari ly wou ld be , with the need fu lappliances and on the other, to supply toE u ropeans a u i e to A nglo -American li tera tu re7-8. branch w ich by i ts rapid r ise and
_
inereasi ng importance , begins to force i tselfmore andmore on our a ttention .
’ It is very mod est inMr.
T rubner thu s to treat h is work as a mere suggestion for others . It i s much more than thi si t is an example which those who attempt to doan thingmore complete cannot d o better than tofol ow a mod el , which they wi l l do wel l tocop if they wou ld combine fu lness of materia lwi t that admi rable ord er and arrangementwhich so facil itates reference , and withou t whi cha work of this sort is a l l bu t useless.
A l l honour, then , to the l iterature ofYoungAmerica—for young she sti ll is , and let herthank her stars for i t—and a l l honou r , also, toMr. T rubner, for tak ing so much pa ins to make11
85
9
acquainted with i t ."—Tke Cri tic, March 1 9 ,
6
T hi s is not only a very u sefu l , because wel lexecu ted7bibliographica lwork—i t is a lso a workofmuch i nterest to a l l who are connected wi thlitera ture . T he bu lk of it consists of a class ifiedl i st, with date of pu blication , siz e , and p rice , of
a l l the works , origina l or translated , wh i ch haveappeared in the U n ited S tates d uring the lastforty years ; and an a lphabetical ind ex faci lita tes reference to any particu lar work or au thor .On the meri ts of this portion of thework we cannot , of course , be expected to form a ju dgment .I t wou ld requ ire something of the specia l erud ition of M r. T rubner himself, to say how far hehas succeed ed or fa llen short of his und ertak ing-7-how few, or how many , have been his om is
srons . T here is one ind i cation , however, ofh iscarefu l minu teness , which suggests the amoun tof labour tha t must have been bestowed on thework—namely , the fu l l enumeration of al l thecontents of the var ious T ransactions and Scient ific Journa ls. T hu s , the T ransactions of theAmerican Philosophica l Society , ’ from the year1 769 to 1 857 -no ind ex to which has yet appearedin America - are in thi s work mad e easy of reference , every paper of every volume being ment ioned seriatim . T he natu ralist , who W ishes toknow what papers have appeared in the BostonJou rna l of N atu ra l H istory d ur ing the lasttwenty years , tha t i s , from i ts commencement ,has on ly to glance over the five closely-printedpages of this gu id e to satisfy himself at once ."7 he Sa turda y Review, A pri l 2 , 1 859.
W e have never seen a work on the nationall i terature of a people more carefu ll compi ledthan the present, and the bibl iograp ica l role~gomena d eserves attentive peru sa l b al whowou ld study ei ther the pol itica l or t e li teraryhistory of the greatest republic of the W est."The Lead er , M arch 26 , 1 859 .
T he subject ofmy letter to-day ma seem tobe of a purely li terary character , bu t I eel ju stified to claim a more genera l interest for i t. T hatsubject i s connected with the 0 0 d repu ta tion ofthe U ni ted "
S tates abroad , t i s li kewise connected with the genera l to
pic of my two formerletters . I have spoken of t e friend s and the an
ta g on ists of the U n ited S ta tes among E uropeannations. and among thedi fferent classes of European society . I have stated tha t the antagon istsare chiefly to be found amon the aristocracy ,no t on ly of birth , but ‘of m in as i t has beenca l led—likewise not on ly amon the priv i legedc lasses , and those connected wit the Government interests , but among those who live in thesphere of literature and art , and look d own wi thcontempt upon a societ
yin which u til itarianmotives are bel ieved to eflparamount . And Ihave as serted that , these d i erences in the opin ions of cerqain classes left asid e , the Germans ,
as a whol e , take a more l ively and a deeper interest in Amer ican ad‘a irs than any other nation.N ow,
I am going to speak of a book ju st ready toleave the press of a Lond on publisher , wh i ch ,whi le it is a remarkable instance of the tru th ofmy as sert ion in reference to the Germans , mustbe consid ered as serving the interests of theU ni ted States
,by promoti ng the good repu tationofAmerican l i fe in an uncommon d egree .
The London book trad e h as a firm , T riibnerCo . , ofwhose business transactions Americanli terature, as wel l as l itera ture on America, form
a. principa l branch . I t i s the firm who havelately published the bibliography of Americanlanguages . Mr. N icolas T rubner is a German ,who has never inhabited the Un ited S tates , andyet he risks his time, '
1 abou r, and money, in literary publications , forwhich even va in end eavours{vo
lpl d have been mad e to find an Am erican pub
1 8 er .T he new publication of Mr. T rubner, to
which I have referred ,i s a l ar e 8vo . volume
of 800 pages , un d er the title of ibl iographicalGui d e to American L iterature . A classified L ist ofBooks published in the Un ited States ofAmerica ,from 1 8 1 7 to 1 857. W ith Bibl iographica l I ntrod uction , N otes , and A lphabetical Ind ex . Compiled and ed ited by N ieolas T rtibner.
T his last remark has but too much tru th ini t . T he Un ited Sta tes , in the Opin ion of thegreat mass of even the wel l- educa ted people ofE urope
, is a country inhabited by a na tion lostin the pu rsu i t of materia l interest , a country inwhich the technical ly applicable branches ofsome sciences m ay be cu l tivated to a certaind egree , but a country essentially1 wi thou t literature and art , a countr not wi t ou t newspapers—so much the worse or i t—but a lmost W i thou tbooks . N ow here , Mr. T rubner, a German ,comes out wi tha l ist of American books, fi llinga thick vo lume , though contain ing Americanubl ications on ly . upward from the year 1 8 1 7,rom which time he d ates the period of a more
(
Slieid ed li terary ind epend ence of the Un ited
8 . es .
S ince no native-born , and even no adopted ,Arnerican has taken the trouble of com
gi l ing , arranging , di gestin
g), ed i ting, and publ is ing such
a work , who else u t a German cou ld und ertakei t who else among the Eu ropean na tions wou ldhave thought Am er ican l iterature worth thelabou r,the time , and the money and , let me
ad d , that a sma ller work of a sim i lar character,
T he L i terature ofAmerican Loca l H istory , ’ bythe late Dr . H ermann Lud ewig was the work ofa German , l ikewise. May be that the majorityof the Am erican public wi l l ascribe bu t an inferior d egree of interest to works of this k ind .
T he maj ori ty of the pubi ie of other nations wi l ldo the same , as i t cannot be everybod ’
s businessto un d erstand the u sefu lness of bi l iooraphy ,
and of books containing nothin tr bu t t e enumeration and d escription of boo s. One thing ,however
,must be apparen t the d eep interesttaken b some foreigners in some of the morei deal sp eres ofAmerican l ife ; and if i t is tru e ,that the clear historica l insight into its own d e
velopment , id eal as wel l asmoterial , is one of themost va lu able acqui sitions of a nation , fu tureAmerican generatsons wi ll ack nowledge the goodserv ices of those foreigners, who , by their li teraryap l ication , contr ibu ted to avert the na tiona lca am i ty of the origin of the l iterary independence ofAmerica becom ing vei led in d arkness.
”
N ew York Da i ly T r ibune, December, 1 858 .
I t i s remarkable and noteworthy tha t themost valu able manua l of American l itera tu reshou ld ap ear in London , and be ubl ished byan Engli s house . T rubner
'
s Bi li ograp h icalGu id e to American L iteratu re i s a work of extraord inary sk i l l and . perseverance , g ivi ng anind ex to al l the publications of the Americanress for the last forty years.
” H a rp er ’s
eck ly , March 26th , 1 859.
30 Ca tal og ue of Imp ortant War/cs .
Mr. T rubner d eserves al l praise for havingproduced a work every way sati sfactory . N o onewho takes an interest in the subj ect ofwhi ch i ttreats can dis
pense with i t ; and we have no
d oubt that boo sellers in thi s country W i l l learnto consid er i t necessary to them as a shopmanual ,and onl y second in im ortance , for the purposesof their trad e, to the ndon Catalogu e i tself.T hat a foreigner, and a Lond on booksel ler,shou ld have accomplished wha tAmericans themselves have fai led to do , is most cred i table to thecompiler . T he volume conta ins 1 49 ages of introd ucto matter, containi ng by ar the bestrecord Am erican l iterary hi story at publi shed ; and 52 1 pages of classed l ists of ook s , towhich an alphabeti cal ind ex of 33 pages i s ad d ed .
T hi s a lphabetica l ind ex a lone may claimto beone of the most va luable aid s for enabli ng thestud ent of li terary history .to fi rm a j ust andperfect estimate of the great and ri sing importance of Anglo-Am er ican li terature , theyoungest and most untrammelled of a l l whi chi ll ustra te the ad ual d evelopment of the humanmi nd .
"—The ress, Phi la d elp hia , Oct . 1 1 , 1 858 .
“
.
W e do not so much express thewi sh by thisnoti ce , that Mr. T rubner may not find a publi cun
glrateful for hi s 'labour , as congratu late, espe
C i a y American Bibl iophi les. u pon the advantage with in their reach , by the acqui sition anduse of what Mr . T rubner has so opportunelysu pplied .
"—Washing ton N a tiona l Intel l ig encer ,March 22nd , 1 8 59 .
T his volume conta ins awel l-cl assified li st ofbooks published in the U ni ted S tates ofAm eri cad ur ing the las t forty years , preced ed by a tolet ably fu l l survey of Amer ican li terary enterpri se d ur in
glthe first ha lf of the ni neteenth
century . ’1 e valu e of such a guid e, in itselftolerably evi d ent , becomes more so upon gl an c
i ng over the five hundred and forty pages ofclose rint which d isplay the li terar ac tivi typerva
’
ng the country of Prescott an Mottley ,of Irving and Hawthorne,of Poe and Longfel lowof S tory and W l i eaton , of Moses S tuart andChann ing. T his volume wi l l be u sefu l to thescholar, bu t to the l ibrarian i t i s ind ispensable.”—D a i ly N ews , March 2 1 , 1 859 .
T here are hund reds of men of mod erateseholarshi who woul d gladl y s tand on somehi gher an more assured point. T hey feel thatthey have acqui red much informa tion , but theya lso feel the need of that subtle di sciplin e, li teraryed ucation , wi thou twhich al l mere learni ng
i s t i e rud is ind iges ta moles , as much of a stumbling-block as an ai d . T o those in such a cond ition , works on bibl iograph
ly are invaluable.
For d irection in cl assify in ai readi ng, whetherEngli sh or Am er ican, A ibone’s D ictionary isadmi rable bu t , for particu lar information as tothe American sid e of the hou se, the recentlyubl ished Bibliographi ca l Gu id e to Americani terature , by N icolas T rubner ofLondon , maybe conscientiou sly commend e A carefu l e
rusal of this trnl remarkable work cannot i lto g ive any inte i cu t person a clear and com
p lete id ea of the w ole state of Amer ican bookmak ing, not only in i ts literary aspect, bu t in i tshistorical , and , add ed to this , i n i ts most mechani ca l d etai ls.
"—Phi ladelp ha E vening Bu l letinMarch 5 th , 1 859 .
But the bestwork on American bibliogra byyet published has come to us from Lon on ,where i t has been com i led by the wel l-knownbibliophile , T rubner. he work is remarkablefor cond ensation and accu racy, thoug h we havenoted a few errors and omissions , upon whi chweshou ld l ike to comment , had we new space to doso .
"—N ew York T imes , March 26th , 1 859.Some of our read ers, whose atten ti on hasbeen part icul arly called to scientific and l iterarymatters, may remember meeting, some years
S ince, in thi s country , a most i ntel ligen t foreigner, who visited the Un ited S tates for thepurpose of extend ing h is business connections,
an d mak in a personal investigation in to thecond i tion 0 literature in the N ew W orld . Mr .
N icholas T rubner—the ent leman to whom wehave mad e ref erence a though by birth a German , and by education and profession a Lond onbookseller , coul d hard ly be called a stranger inAmerica , ’ for he had sent before him a mostva luable ‘letter of introduction , ’ in the shape ofa carefu lly compiled re '
ster ofAm erican booksand au thors, enti tled Bibli ographical Guid eto American Li terature,’ &c., p . xxx1 i .
, 1 08 .
T hi s manua l was the germ o the im ortantubl ication,
the title of whi ch the re er wi l l(1 at the commencement of thi s article .
Now, in consequ ence of Mr. T rfibner’s admirable class ificati on and minu te index the inquirer after knowledge has nothing to do bu tcopy from the Bibl iographi cal Gu id e the titles ofthe American books whi ch he wishes to consu l td espatch them to hi s l ibrary by a messenger, andin a few minu tes he has before him the covetedvolumes through whose mean s he hopes toenlarge hi s acqu i sitions . U ndoubted l i t wou ldbe a cau se ofwel l-found ed reproac h , 0 d eepmort ification to every intell igent Am erican , if theard uous labours of the learned edi tor and compiler of thi s volum e (whom we almost h esi tate tocal l a foreigner) , shou ld fai l to be appreciated ina coun try
'
to which he h as , by the reparation ofthis va lu ab le work , proved bim se so eminent abenefactor " Pennsy lvani a E nqui rer , March26 th , 1 859 .
T he ed i tor of thi s vo lume has acquired aknowledge of the productions of the Am ericanpress wh i ch is rar ely exhibited on the other s id eof the A tlantic, and whi ch must comm and theadm iration of the best informed stud ents of thesubj ect in this coun try. H is former work onAmerican biblio raphy ,
though makin no pretens ions to com eteness , was a val uab e ind exto various branc es of learn ing that had beensu ccessfu ll y cu ltivated by our scholars ; but ,nei ther in comprehensiveness of plan nor thoroughness of ex ecu tion , can it be compared to theelaborate and mi nu te record of American li terature contained in thi s volum e . T he du t ofthe ed itor requ ired extensive research , vigi antd iscrim ination , and untirin g d i ligence ; and inthe performance ofhi s task we are no less struckwi th the accuracy of d etai l than wi th the exten tof hi s information . T he period to which thevolume i s d evoted , comprises onl y the lastforty ears ; bu t wi thin that t im e the l iteraturc o th is coun tr has received its most efficient impul ses, an been wi del unfold ed in thevarious d epartmen ts of inte ectual activi ty'If we were perm itted to speak in behalf ofAmerican scholars,we shou ld not fai l to congretu late Mr. T ri lbner on the eminent success wi thwhich he has aecom l ished his plan , and theample and im part ia justicewi th which he hasregi stered the productions of our na tive au thorshi p . A fter a carefu l exami nat ion of his vo lum ewe are bound to express our high appreciation ofthe intel ligence, fai rness ,and indu stry which areconspicuous in i ts pages for exac tness and precision i t is no less remarkable , than for extent ofresearch ; few, i f any important ubl icationsare omi tted on i ts cata oc u e, and al t ough, as isinevi table in a work of this nature. an erroneousletter has sometfl es crept into a name, or anerroneou s figure into a d ate, no one can consu l tit habitua lly wi thou t learn ing to rely on i tstru stworthiness, as we ll as i ts completeness .
”
Ha i
ger
's Magaz ine, A ri l, 1 859 .or i s the book a catalogue onl y of thenames and con tents of the pu bli cations of Ame~rica . Prefix ed to it are valu able bibliographi calprolegomena instructive to the antiqu ary, as
well as usefu to the phi lolo '
st . In thi s portionof the work, Mr. T ri ibner ad the assistance ofthe la te Dr. Lud ewig, whose early d eath was agreat loss to phi lologica l science . Mr. Moranthe ass istan t-secretary to the American Legation, has add ed to the volume a hi storical sum ,
mary of the li terature of America ; and Mr.
Ca ta logue of Important Worles.
R owan . MED ITATIONS ON DEATH AN DETERNITY. Translated from the German(by command ) by FREDERICA ROW AN.Published by H er Maj es ty’s Graciousp e rm ission . I n one volum e , cr own 8vo . ,
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P a t on . A H ISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANREVOLUTION, from th e Per iod o f theMam e lukes to the Death of Mohamm edAl i from A rab and Eu r op ean Mem o irs ,Oral Trad i tion , and Local Res earch ,By A . A . PATON, Au thor ofResearches on the“ Danube and th eAd riatic .
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