Puranas

The Puranas were composed during the Epic Period. 500B.C. to 200 A.D.

All these Puranas describe five subjects. The Amarkhosa* describes the Puranas as follows:

sargas cha pratisarga cha
vamsa manvantarani cha
vamsanu charitam chapi
puranam panca laksanam

*Amarakosha is a Sanskrit thesaurus written by Amarasinha. One of the nine famous scholars (navaratna) along with Kalidasa in Vikramaditya's court (in about 380 AD) Vikramaditya was originally known as Chandra Gupta II. He is well known for developing the independent calendar, widely recognized in India as Vikram Samvat.

A Purana describes:

1) Sarga (The creation of the universe) 2) Pratisarga (Its destruction and renovation) 3) Vamsa (The genealogy of gods and patriarchs) 4) Manvantara (periods of Manu) 5) Vamsanucharita (geneology of kings)

No one purana can be described as exhibiting in fine (or even coarse) detail all five of these distinguishing traits, but sometimes the Vishnu Purana is thought to most closely resemble the traditional definition. Around the time when the puranas first began to be composed, the belief in particular deities had become established as one of the principal marks of the Hindu faith, and to some degree the puranas can be described as a form of sectarian literature. Some puranas exhibit devotion to Shiva; in others, the devotion to Vishnu predominates.

There are eighteen major puranas, as well as a similar number of minor or subordinate puranas. One method of the classification of puranas deploys the traditional tripartite division of the gunas or qualities which are 1)Purity (Sattva), 2)Impurity or Ignorance (Tamas), and 3) Passion (Rajas). Thus, there are those puranas where the quality of Sattva is said to predominate, and these are six in number: Vishnu; Narada; Bhagavata; Garuda; Padma; and Varaha. According to another scheme of classification, these are also the puranas in which Vishnu appears as the Supreme Being. A second set of puranas, also six in number, are described as exhibiting qualities of ignorance or impurity (Tamas), and in these Shiva is the God to whom devotion is rendered: Matsya; Kurma; Linga; Shiva; Skanda; and Agni. In the third set of six puranas, the quality of Rajas or blind passion supposedly prevails: Brahma; Bramanda; Brahmavaivarta; Markandeya; Bhavishya; and Vamana. The list of eighteen is sometimes enlarged to twenty, to include the Vayu Purana and the Harivamsa.

Westerners (almost all earlier historians) used this classification (Sattva, Tamas, Rajas) to propose that the original European Aryans brought in the Vishnu Culture into the Dravidian Shiva culture of Indians thats why the powerful Aryans make fun of Shiva in all the literature... which is not true.. because the idea of this literature is to enlighten the reader not push him to towards ignorance... and neither does it say that Shiva is an ignorant or impure god... They wanted to impose the Aryan/Dravidian theory on us.. and created a system where it could be propagated easily... we'll about how systematically they acheived it.. towards the end of the discussion on Education.

What they didn't know is that its not just the puranas, even our diet is divided into 3 categories... Sattva, Tamas, Rajas.

Tamasic food is considered the worst. The food that is left over and contaminated is usually categorized as Tamasic (Impure). (With no refrigeration in a tropical country, I guess its sensible)

Food that consists of meat of animals, Onions, Garlic, Hot peppers, pickles and other similar ingredients is considered Rajasic (Passion). Later on several interpretations came on why these food are classified as Rajasic... These foods are supposed to produce activity and strong emotional qualities. Which later was misinterpreted as foods that increase virility... Apparently because of this reason... there are some north Indian cultures where only men eat meat in the family while the women don't....

Sattvic (Pure) foods are foods that do not agitate your stomach at all.Much of the sattvic food consists of fruits, nuts and vegetables. These foods are supposed to produce calmness and nobility. Basically our ancestors had a good idea about foods and their effect on our body.

Now, nowhere is it said that eating meat is a sin. The concept of vegetarianism came much after Vedas, Upanishads etc. During the peak opf buddhism. I know this won't go well with a lot of people out there... but.. let the truth be told...

Gautama Buddha himself was not a vegetarian (We all know he was a ksatriya) It is said that his last meal contained pork. Nonetheless, given the Buddhist emphasis on ahimsa, vegetarianism received much impetus. Buddha’s slightly older contemporary, Mahavira, the founder of the religion that would come to be known as Jainism, took the precepts of ahimsa much further, and it is the complete reverence for all forms of life that made it impossible for those who embraced Jainism to practice agriculture (farming) That could be a reason why you see only Jain traders etc.. (I'm yet to come across a Jain Farmer).... The Hindu upper castes, who found members of their community deserting the "Hindu" fold for Buddhism or Jainism, increasingly came to adopt vegetarianism. Much like the case of new hindu philosphical literature, during the rise of Buddhism & Jainism.... Vegetarianism in Hindus also came as a result of the need for defending the religion.. You have to remember.. it didn't happen in a day.. it percolated over years... later on this was used to maintain race superiority and was also stated to maintain race purity... by the upper castes...

Someone wisely said.....Where substantive differences are minimal, and certainly subservient to common cultural practices, symbols are the preeminent way in which differences are exaggerated in order to permit the drawing of boundaries...

(I sound like a Dalit Sena writer :-) There are lot of people out there who'll say this is Marxist History..... I'd then suggest people to read Jain History instead of Hindu History.. BTW, RamaKrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda were not Vegetarians either :-) I'm not trying to advocate Non-vegetarianism... all these days I was thinking that Veggie stuff came with Hinduism... thought its interesting to know that it isn't.

sorry about the digression in this digression... going back to the puranas...

1) Visnu Purana - The theme is the ten incarnations of MahaVishnu. Stories of various devotees; a description of varnasrama; the six angas of the Veda; a description of the age of Kali; description of Sveta Varaha Kalpa, Visnu dharmotara.

2) Narada Purana - This purana is divided into 2 parts. The first part contains four chapters which include dialogue between Suta and Shaunak, origin of the universe, salvation, birth of Shukadev, training of the mantras, worship rituals, provisions and the results of the various fasts observed on particular days in particular months, Origin and importance of river Ganga. (This tells us that by this time river saraswati is dried up and partially diverted towards the gangetic plain) The second part contains beautiful tales related to various incarnations of Lord Vishnu, depiction and significance of pilgrimage centers and performing pilgrimage.........Jagannatha Puri, Dwaraka, Badrinatha, etc.

3) Padma Purana - Padma Puran consists of five sections.

a)Shrishti-Khand - sage Pulastya explains the essence of religion to Bheeshma

b)Bhumi-Khand - description of the earth

c)Swarg Khand - contains tales of creation as well as geographical description of India.

d)Patal Khand - Fourth part describes the life of Lord Rama

e)Uttam-Khand - essential knowledge of religion has been discussed in dialogue style between Lord Shiva and Parvati.

4) Garuda Purana - In Garuda Purana, Lord Vishnu preaches his vehicle, Garuda about the subtleties of religion and life. Besides, trivial tales related to religion and moral, this Purana also contains description of diamond like jewels and the ways to identify best kind of jewels.

5) Varaha Purana - It contains the tale of rescue of the earth by ‘Varaha’ avtaar (boar incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. Describes the court of Yama and his appearance. Describes the rituals pertainign to last rites. And describes about 20 different vratas.

6) Bhagavata Purana - Also known as Bhagavatam is considered as the supreme work of Krishna devotional literature.

7) Brahmanda Purana - Contains Adhyatma Ramayana Describes the vedangas and Adi Kalpa.

8) Brahmavaivarta Purana - Contains 4 parts

a) Brahma khand: Creation of the universe. Origin of Narayana from the body of Shri Krishna. Origin of Radha in Rasamandal. Origin of Gopas, Gopis and cows from the bodies of Radha and Krishna. Creation of all other animate-inanimate world.

b) Prakriti khand: Greatness of Durga, Radha, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Savitri in the creation of the world. Tales of Savitri-Satyavaan, Surabhi, Swaha and Swadha. Description of the clan of Surath. Tale of Ganga. Tales from Ramayana. Curse of Durvasa on Indra. Worship of Lakshmi.

c) Ganesh khand: Mainly discusses about the greatness of Lord Ganesh. Also contains tales of Jamadagni, Karteveerya, Parashurama etc.

d) Shri Krishna khand: Describes the life and plays of Lord Shri Krishna, under the heads of Braj leela, Mathura leela, reunion of Radha and Krishna. Migration of the residents of Gokul to Gokula.

9) Markandeya Purana -Stories of Rama and Krishna.

10) Bhavisya Purana - Contains the glories of devotional service; prediction of Lord Caitanya.

11) Vamana Purana - Contains the story of Lord Trivikrama. Keralites celebrate "Onam" based on this.

12) Brahma Purana - On Lord Brahma

13) Matsya Purana - Temple construction; describes Vamana and Varaha Kalpas.

14) Kurma Purana - Contains the conversation between Krishna and the Sun-god (mentioned in Bhagavad-gita); Danvantari; Describes the Laksmi Kalpa.

15) Linga Purana - consists of 5 parts...

a) Description of the creation. Origin of Ling and its worship. Yagya by Daksha. Immolation of Madan (Kamadev). Wedding of Lord Shiva. Tale of Varaha. Tale of Narasimha. Description of Surya and Soma vansh.

b) Greatness of Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma becomes the creator,Incarnations Of Shiva During Various Dwapar Yugas ,Dadhichi Subjugates The Sages and Shilad's Impossible Demand

c) Manifestation Of Lord Nandishwar ,Kaliyuga ,The Seven Island ,The Meru Mountain,The Prominent Mountains ,Lord Brahma Assigns Lordships To The Deities and The Radiance Of Surya.

d) Dhruva - The Supreme Devotee ,The Origin Of Deities,The Lineage Of Aaditya,Yadu Dynasty, Appointment Of Andhak As The Lord Of Ganas,The Liberation Of Earth ,Killing Of Jalandhar and The Origin Of Lord Ganesh.

e)Story Of Upamanyu, Greatness Of Dwadakshar Mantra ,Greatness Of Shadakshar Mantra, The Majestic Lord Maheshwar,The Sun Manifestation Of Shiva's Power, Importance Of Guru ,Installation Of Shiva Linga ,Vajreshwari Vidya And Different Types Of Yoga is covered in Fifth Part.

16) Siva Purana - Contains the glory of Lord Narsimhadeva; Janardhana; the story of Ambarisa; the glories of Gayatri.


17) Skanda Purana - The theme is the slaughter of the demon Tarakdsura by Skanda (Subrahmanya).


18) Agni Purana - Distinct from other Puranas this book deals with arts and science like Kavyalankaranatakas (Poems, dramas, figures of speech), Jyotish shastra (Astronomy) and Shilpakala (architecture).



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