asthadasa purana saramsha - from narada purana

7/23/2019 Asthadasa Purana Saramsha - From Narada Purana

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Over-view of Ashtaadasa (eighteen) Puranas

Brahma Maanasa Putra Maharshi Marichi approached Lord Brahma to describethe beeja (seed), lakshana (characteristic), pramaana (means of knowledge

contents), !akta ("char#a) and shrota ( the Listener) of the main line

Puranas which pro!ide the knowledge of the $haraachara %agat or the mo!eableand immo!eable &ni!erse' "mong all the alpas, there actuall# was stated to be

one ingle Purana comprising one hundred crore hlokas (stan*as) with the +our

Purusharthas of harma, "rtha, ama and Mokshas as the bijas- but Bhaga!an.ishnu created .#asa Muni in each /ugas and the latter in turn condensed the

ingle Purana with onl# four lakh hlokas and distributed it among 0ighteen

Puranas with !aried number of hlokas among these' 1n fact, it is stated that the

ingle Mother Purana continues to be in position in the e!a Lokas' 2he four3lakhshlokas are sub3di!ided among the 0ighteen Puranas !i*' Brahma Purana, Padma

Purana, .ishnu Purana, .a#u Purana, Bhaga!at Purana, 4arada Purana, Markand#a

Purana, "gni Purana, Bha!ish#a Purana, Brahma .ai!artha Purana, Linga Purana,

.araaha Purana, kanda Purana, .amana Purana, urma Purana, Mats#a Purana,5aruda Purana and Brahmaanda Purana'

Mahatma .#as first produced Brahma Puranawith the underl#ing message ofharma, "rtha, ama and Moksha and ten thousand hlokas' 2his Purana

described about the creation of e!atas, "suras and Prajapatis like aksha- about

the .amsa (clan) of Bhaga!an ur#a- the incarnation of Lord .ishnu !i*' hri6ama and of the 0pic of 6ama#ana- about $handra .amsa and of another

incarnation of .ishnu !i*' hri rishna- description of apta wipas as also of

Bhugola, the higher lokas and of the Lower Lokas of Pataala- about the acti!ities

in 4arakas- aksha /agna and Par!atis wedding with Maha e!a' 1n the &ttaraBhaaga of the Purana, 2irtha /atras were detailed with special reference to

Purushotthama shetra- "shrama harmas were highlighted and Principles of.aishna!a harma, /oga hankh#a iddhanta, and Brahma!aada igdarshanawere e7plained' 2he Puranas .akta was uta Maha Muni and the hrotawas

haunaka Muni' 1ts pramana and lakshanasare of Bhoga (8orldl# Pulls and

Pressures) while the principal objecti!e is Moksha' 0!en reading or listening tothe "nukramanikaor the $ontents of the Purana would result in the control of

1ndri#asor ph#sical and internal organs, while its reading or hearing of it on a

.aishakha Purnima b# honouring a Brahmana with Bhojan, and charities

especiall#of a cow and gold ornament would assure attainment of Brahma loka'

Padma Puranahas fi!e khandas s#mbolising Panchendri#aswherein Maharshi

Pulast#a delineated to Bhishma the details in rishti handaof $reation of

Brahma as well as b# Brahma of 0ight .asus, 0le!en 6udras, 2wel!e "dit#as,+ort# 4ine Maruganas, +ourteen Manus, apta 6ishis and Pitras and so on besides

of Pushkara and other 2irthas, Brahma /agna, .eda paath lakshanas, Pitraas and

hraaddha .idhana' 1n Bhumi handa, Pitru Bhakti and the illustration of hi!aharma were cited- .ritrraasura !adha- Prudhu .ena and unitas tales, the

interesting e7amples of 4ahuha, /a#ati, $h#a!ana Muni and Parrot unjal,

ignificancre of 2irthas etc' too were co!ered' warga handa, was about 2irtha

/atras especiall# to the neighbouring places of 4armada, urukshetra, alindi, and


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ashi, 1n Patalala hand, the highlights were of 6ama#ana and rishaa#ana,

while Bhaga!ad 5ita Mahatm#a and of the rest of "!ataaraas of .ishnu were

!i!idl# depicted in &ttara handa' .eneration of a Brahmana on a %#eshthaPurnima with Bhojan and daanaas bestows the fruits of reading, hearing and

meditating of Padma Purana'

Vishnu Purana comprising twent# three thousand hlokas is considered as ademolisher of past and present sins' 2he naarator of the Purana was hakti 4andan

Muni Parashara and the hrota was Maharshi Maitra#a' 1n the Poor!a Bhaaga,

si7 major "mshas or aspects were co!ered of which the +irst "msha concernedwith "di karana arga (Primar# $reation), e!otpatthi, amudra Madhana,

narrati!es of hru!a, Pruthu, Praachatesa, and Prahlada' 2he econd "msha

described the account of Pri#a!rata who demarcated the 0arth into apta wipas-

depiction of the under3sea worlds of Pataala etc' as also of e!en wargas- themo!ements of 5rahasPlanets), Bharata charitra, Mukti Marga 4idarshana etc'

2he third "msha referred to Man!ant#aras, importance of arma kanda, hraddhas

etc' Portra#al of ur#a !amsha and $handra .amsha ings was attempted in the

fourth "msha' 1n the +ifth "msha, !i!id accounts were gi!en on hri rishnaschildhood leelaas, #outhful acts of ushta ikshana and ishta 6akshana, his

weddings, o!ernight transfer of the residents of Mathura to warakaa etc' " pictureof ali /uga, four kinds of Prala#as and 5#anopadesha of Brahma 2atwa were the

underscores of the i7th "msha' 1n the &ttara Bhaga of .ishnu Purana, uta Maha

Muni ga!e narrations to hounaka Muni concerning !arious chronicles on harmatitled .ishnu harmottaraassuch as Pun#a .ratas, /ama34i#amas, harma

hastra, "rtha hastra, .edanta, %#otisha, .amsha .arna Prakarana, totras,

Mantras and all other adhanas(means)' 2his .ishnu Purana tries to co!er all

significant iddhantas of hastras which .eda .#asa considered fit for attainingMoksha' 2hose who read or hear the .ishnu Purana with re!erence and earnestness

would both secure the 1hika or 8orldl# and "mushmika or 9ther 8orld# desires

most certainl#' 1f a de!otee would write down or get it transcribed b# others anddonate a cow to a .ishnu Bhakta Brahmana on a Purnima of "shadha Month would

be readil# :ualified for .ishnu Loka after the end of hisher life;0!en a mere

perusal of the $ontents of .ishnu Purana would help with encouraging results'8ith twent# four thousand hlokas scripted into it b# .a#u e!a himself, the Vayu

Purana #ields the fruits of propitiousness b# its reading, or ha!ing it read'

$omprising two parts of Poor!a and &ttara, the Purana gi!es an effecti!e

delineation of the means of obtaining al!ation' 1n the Poor!a Bhagaa, the featuresof arga ($reation) are !i!idl# e7pressed, besides the descriptions of the different

Man!antaras and ingships especiall# of 5a#asura and of his e7termination' 2he

significance of Masaas has been discussed, declaring that the month of Maaghaas the best' aana harmas and 6aja harmas ha!e been dilated at length' "lso,

narrations about Prith!i, Pataal, ishas and "akaash ha!e been made in some detail

in the Poor!a Bhaaga'2he &ttara Bhaaga of the .a#u Purana contains hi!aamhita and is full# depicti!e of the acred 6i!er of 4armada and surroundings' 1t

is stated that this 6i!er was materialised from Bhaga!an hi!as Bod# and was the

confluence of Brahma and .ishnu too' 1t is further stated that the northern bank of

4armada comprised the de!otees of 6udra and the southern bank of the 6i!er b#


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.ishnu Bhakas' +rom the famed 9mkareshwara shetra towards the west leading

to the ea, there are as man# as thirt# fi!e angamas of which ele!en are

positioned on the nothern bank and twent# three on the southern bank- thethirt#fifth sangam is said to be at the Maha angam of 4armada and the ea' 1n

fact, there are as man# as four hundred 2irthas on either side of the banks including

those at the angamas, although there reall# were stated to ha!e e7isted si7t# croreand odd dotting along the 6i!er lines; 2hose who write the .a#u Purana in full and

donate a cow alongwith jagger# on ra!ana Purnima to a .edic Brahmana and his

famil# would reside in 6udra Loka during the ensuing fourteen 1ndrat!as'Brahma e!a informed Maricha Maha Muni about the e7cellence of Shrimad

Bhagavata Puranawhich had eighteen thousand hlokas and assured that it was

like a alpa .riksha with twel!e branches represented b# each kandaor

$hapter' .eda .#asa was the author of the Purana and shrotas or listeners werese!eral' 2he 9pening kanda, as reported b# uta Maha Muni to a congregation

headed b# hounaka Muni, dealt with ing Parithkshits re:uest to uka Muni, the

illustrious son of .eda .#asa, to preach as much knowledge of harma and

awareness of the upreme Power as possible within a weeks time since the ingwas cursed b# amika 6ishis son that Parikshit would die within a week due to

snake bite- the ing did the indescretion of hanging a dead serpent around the neckof the Muni who was in 2apas#a'2he second kanda e7plained the concept of the

5ross and Minute manifestations of Paramatma, the anal#sis of Maha 2atwas3 the

$auses of rishti($reation)' 2he third kanda described the dialogues between.idura of Maha Bharata fame and Maharshi Maitre#a about the procedure of

$reation b# Brahma as well as of apila Maharshis narrati!e of ankh#a /oga'

2he fourth kanda depicted the process of .isarga(econdar# $reation) and

referred to the tories of e!i ati and aksha /agna, of hru!a, ing Prutha all inthe conte7t of Manus and Prajapatis and happenings during these time3frames' 2he

fifth kanda co!ered the histor# of Prajapati Pri#a!rata and progen#, demarcation

of apta wipas, description of Planets and 4arakas etc'2he si7th kanda co!eredthe tor# of the illustrious Brahmana called "jamila, aksha Prajapatis creation,

the termination of .ritrasura and creation of Marudganas' Prahlada charitra and

!arnashrama dharma as also thedos and donts b# wa# of arma were discussedin the se!enth kanda' 5ajendra Moksha, amudra mathana, ing Bali and his

control through .ishnus "!atara as .amana and Mats#a!atara were described in

the "shtama kanda' 2he 4inth kanda dealt with ur#a !amsha and $handra

!amsha ings' 2he 2enth and 0le!enth kandas depicted the totalit# of rishnas"!atar co!ering the Bala Leelas, escapades of /outh, e7termination of "dharma and

re!i!al of harma,


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Narada Purana comprised twent# fi!e thousand hlokas based on Brihad alpa

atha' 4arrated b# uta Maha Muni to hounaka Muni, the Purana was basicall#

concei!ed b# Brahmarshi 4arada himself but preached b# anaka Brothers to4arada' 2he earlier part of the Purana dealt with Pra!ritti harma and the second

part was de!oted to Moksha harma' anandana described at length the i7

.edangaas as Moksha adhanas and about the illustration of uka e!a in thisconte7t' 2he 2hird Part ga!e &padeshas to 4arada b# anat umara about Pashu

paasha !imoksha and Mantras concerning major eities, iksha, Puja procedures,

totras etc' 2he fourth Part pro!ided details of tithi3wise and Maasa3wise .ratas asalso an 1nde7 of "shtadasha Puranas' 2he &ttara Bhaga of the Purana ga!e

details of 0kadasha .ratas, .asishtha3Mandhata am!ada, ing 6ukmanga and

Mohini, curse to Mohini, her re!i!al and her e7posure to 2irtha /atras' incere

stud# and shra!ana of the Purana on "shwin Purnima followed b# Puja to aBrahmana with daanas of se!en cows, clothing and so on would surel# pa!e the

wa# to al!ation'

Marandeya Purana has nine thousand hlokas and the !arious harma

andehas or doubts related to the practice of .irtue3oriented Principles raised b#the age %aimini to Mahatma Markande#a were referred b# the latter to


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Procedures- hanur !id#a, "#ur!eda, /oga and .edangas like .#akarana,

$hhandas, ahit#a, %#otisha etc' "gni Purana .achana, Pathana, Manana and

Lekhana3hearing, reading, cogitating, and writing3 on Margasirsha Purnima anddaana of pratimaas idols of golden lotus and cow with tilas would #ield the

Pun#ato secure fulfillment of desires in 1ham or the on3going life and Param

warga Prapti thereafter'Bhavishya Purana which contained fourteen thousand hlokas was originall#

recited b# Brahma to 4arada to .eda .#asa to his disciple age umantu' 2he

Purana is di!ided into fi!e Parts !i*' Brahma Par!a, .aishna!a Par!a, hai!aPar!a, oura Par!aand Prati arga Par!a'2he highlights of the Purana are

acred 6ites, .arnashrama harmas, .ratas including 5anesh $haturthi, 4aga

Panchami, kanda hashthi, 6atha aptami, ur#oraadhana, "gni


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paasha !imokshana or sal!ation of human bondage' 2he topics of hi!a .rata,

adaachara, pra#aschittaand hrishaila 2emple !isit were also co!ered' 2he

destruction "ndhakasura and %alandhara were described as also the "!ataras of.ishnu as .araha and 4risimha' 2he de!astation of aksha /ajna, the bla*ing of

Manmadha and the wedding of hi!a and Par!ati were co!ered' 2he sacred hi!a

ahasrtanaamaaswere rendered, besides description of 5anesha Mahatm#a andhi!a 2anda!a' 1n the &ttari#a Bhaga, the .ishnu and hi!a Mahatm#as were

gi!en' 2hen followed the co!erages of naana, /aaga, daana, hraaddha and hi!a

Puja Mahimas' Pratishthaapana mantras, "ghora kirtana, .ajresdwara Maha.id#a, 5a#atri Mahima, 2riambika Mahatm#a and such other topics too got

e7tensi!e co!erage'2hose hi!a Bhaktas who would read, reproduce, reflect and

render the most auspicious Linga Purana on an# da# but most certainl# on Phalguna

Purnima da# would certainl# #ield considerable returns' 1f these deeds areaccompanied b# charit# of tila dhenu (cow) either as a Pratima or better still in a

li!e form would definetel# accomplish hi!a a#uj#a'

Varaha Purana scripted b# .eda .#asa with twent# four thousand stan*as di!ided

into two Parts and was dominated b# high .ishnu3consciousness' 1nitiated with acon!ersation between Bhaga!an .araha and e!i Prith!i, the Purana co!ered the

e7emplar# de!otion displa#ed b# ings Pri#a!rata, "shwasira, and .asuas well asages like 6aibh#a and 5omukh' "fter hraddha alpa, accounts of concerned

eities go!erning specified da#s were described for instance "gni on Pratipada,

"swini umars on witi#a, e!i 5auri on 2ritee#a, 5anesha on $haturthi, 4agae!atas on Panchami, artike#a on hashthi, ur#a e!a on aptami, "shta

Matrikas on "shtami, urga on 4a!ami, asa ishas on ashami, wadasi on

.ishnu and ten incarnations, harma Purusha on 2ra#odasi, $haturdasi on 6udra

e!a, "ma!as#a on Pitaras, and Moon on Purnima' 2hen !arious .ratas,aanas, and 2irtha /atras Pun#a hestras were discussed in the Purana' 2he

portra#al of Bhu e!is rescue from the clutches of demon


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kanda Purana as scripted b# .eda .#asa and gift it to a deser!ing .edic Pandita

along a golden 2rishul(2rident) on a Magha Purnima da# should indeed be blessed

with hi!aloka prapti'$ontaining ten thousand hlokasVamana Puranawas originall# concei!ed b#

Maharshi Pulasth#a and ad!ised 4arada about it and the latter passed it on to .eda

.#asa, while .#asa imparted it to his disciple 6omaharshana with the instruction ofreciting it at the congregation of Munis at 4aimisharan#a headed b# Maha Muni

haunaka' 2his Purana has two Parts- the former Part opened with the co!erage of

slitting Brahmas fifth head, apala mochana and destruction of aksha /agna' 2hesubse:uent contents included Madana ahana, Prahlada34ara#ana battle, the big

conflict of e!as and ana!as, the tor# of ukeshi and ur#a, aam#a .rata,

urga $haritra, 2apati $haritra, urukshetra, the birth of Par!ati, the wedding of

2apati, the tories of 5auri, aushiki, umara, and %abala- i!as battle with andkilling of "ndhakasura and formers re:uest to hi!a to pro!ide him with full3

fledged Ganatwa;birth of Marudganaas- the tales of ing Bali, Lakshmi,

2ri!ikrama etc' 1n the &ttara Bhaaga, there are four amhitas pertaining to

Maaheswari, Bhaga!ati, ouri, and %naneswari' 1n the Maaheswariamhita, therewas a !i!id description of hri rishna and his de!otees' 1n the Bhaga!ati amhita,

%agadambas delineation was pro!ided, while in the ouri amhita, Bhaga!anur#as Mahatm#a was e7plained from the !iew point of destruction of sins' 1n the

5aneswari amhita, there were the significant e7planations about the e7traordinar#

powers of 5anesha and Bhaga!an hankara' 6eproduction of the te7t of .amanaPurana during harat kaala and perform ghrita dhenudaana would redeem

Pitrasfrom narakasto warga and the de!otee himself would reach

.ishnupadaafter his end of life'

"urma Purana with se!enteen thousand hlokasdi!ided into four amhitas wasessentiall# a .ishnu dominated 5randha of great significance' Brahma introduced

this Purana to Maharshi Marichi about se!eral Principles of .irtue targetting the

attainment of the +our Purusharthas of harma, "rtha, ama and Moksha' 1n thePoor!a Bhaagaof the Purana there were co!rages of Bhaga!an urma and

Maharshis con!ersation, .arnaashrama Principles, $reation of &ni!erse, outline of

the method of aala ankh#a, hankara $haritra, Par!ati ahasra naama, /oga,Bhrigu .amsha, $reation of wa#amshu Manu and lineage, ahsha /agna and its

destruction, aksha rishti, Muni ash#apa and progen#, "tri .amsha, hri

rishna3Markande#a am!ad (con!ersation), .#asa3Panda!a am!ad, /uga

dharmas, Mahatm#a of asi and Pra#aga, and the effecti!eness of .aidikahaakhaa or the +ollowing of .eda practioners'1n the &ttara Bhaagaof the

Purana, there were the 1shwari#a 5ita and .#asa35ita, and 1nstructions on harmic

Principles' 2his was followed b# Brahma amhita co!ering Prati argaor&ni!ersal estuction and 6enewal' 1n Bhaga!ati amhita, there are fi!e Parts, the

first four Parts being de!oted to the four .arnas of Brahmana, shatri#a, .aish#a

and hudras and their respecti!e duties- the fifth .arna !i*' of sankara or mi7edorigin was also prescribed of duties b# following so that the persons concerned

might be shifted to higher le!els in future births' 2he third amhita called ouri

amhita which teaches hat3karma bodha and the +ourth one entitled .aishna!i

amhita is a 5uide to accomplishing Moksha' 2his Purana is an e7cellent


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e7position of the established Principles of harma and a comprehensi!e 5uide to

the pure and de!out


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on wa#, Pretas features, sapindikarana, pretatwa mukti, the erstwhile deeds of

help rescuing the Preta from !arious torments, /ama loka !arnana, determination of

sins or good deeds, effecti!eness of follow3up deeds b# progen# performing therites after the death under reference, Madh#a shodasda shraaddha, proacti!e deeds

to enable swarga prapti of the deceased, sutaka dina sankh#aor the number of

"suchi depending on the relationship to the deceased, 4ara#ana bali karma,.rishotsarga Mahatm#a, 4ishidha karma t#aga, criteria for warga Prapti, etc' 2he

Purana also gi!es accounts of the se!en under worlds, fi!e upper worlds as also of

Brahmanda $haritra, Prala#as, e!er3repetiti!e c#cles of birth and deaths etc'6eading, writing, hearing, thinking and imagining of post3life e7periences of the

contents of Purana during .ishu!a /oga time along with charit# of a golden swan

to a Brahmana would help reduce the se!erit# of sins'

Brahmanda Puranawith twel!e thousand hlokas has four Parts titled Prakri#apaada, "nushanga paada, &podghata paada, and &pa samhaara paada' 2he first

two Paadaas are considered as Pur!i Bhaga and the latter two as &ttari Paada'

2he Prakri#a paada narrrates 1nstructions on uties, description of 4aimishaor the

popular +orest Place of the $ongregation of 6ishis, $reation of


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among them' 1n an# case, the contents of an# or all Puranas should not be preached

to a daambhik (!ainglorious), Paapaachari (sinful), unbearable of e!as, 5urus

and the .irtuous and to shath (stubborn) persons' 9nl# those who are self3controlled, matured, good3featured and 5od3fearing should be speciall# in!ited and

inspired to inculcate interest in the Puranas and their contents'

asthadasa purana saramsha - from narada purana

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