Brihaddharma Purana
Encyclopedia
The Brihaddharma Purana is a Hindu
religious text, which classified itself (I.25.26) as the last of the 18 Upapurana
s. The extant text comprises three khaņḑas (parts): pūrvakhaņḑa, madhyakhaņḑa and uttarakhaņḑa. On the basis of its usage of Sanskrit words with unusual meaning and Sanskrit proverbs popular in Bengal
, a number of modern scholars believe that this text was written in Bengal. According to R. C. Hazra, a modern scholar, this text was composed in the second half of the 13th century. He classified it as a non-sectarian Upapurana.
. In 1894, the Vangavasi Press, Calcutta published another edition of this text along with a Bengali translation by Panchanan Tarkaratna, who edited it. In 1915, a free and abridged English translation by Syama Charan Banerji was published from Lucknow
by the Indian Commercial Press as the first volume of its Rambles in Scripture Land series.
, with Suta
reporting to the sages assembled there about Vyasa
's discourse to Jabali on dharma
and its constituent parts: satya, daya, shanti and ahimsa. In answer to Jabali's next question, Vyasa advises him about the gurus (teachers) in general and particularly the gurus occupying the highest position, one's parents. He illustrated his views on one's duty to his parents with a narrative of hunter Tuladhara and his advice to brahmin
Kritabodha. In chapters 5-30, Vyasa, in answer to another question of Jabali, describes the tirtha
s (sacred places), reporting it as a conversation between goddess Rudrani
and her two associates, Jaya and Vijaya. The description starts with a song of praise to Ganga and it includes the origin and sanctity of tulasi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) plant and the bilva (Aegle marmelos) tree. It also comprises descriptions on kalatirthas (auspicious times), which include auspicious times for Devi
worship and studying religious texts.
and his disciple Jaimini. The first chapter describes the creation as the yoga (union) of Brahma
and the prakriti of the three guṇa
s of Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva
. The second chapter has a brief description about Daksha
and his daughter Sati
. It is followed by a detailed narrative of Daksha, Shiva and Sati from the chapter 3 onwards, which ends in selection of Kamarupa as his abode by Shiva after Sati's yoni
fell there, when her body was cut to pieces by Vishnu. In chapter 11, Sati appears before Shiva, who was in a meeting with Brahma and Vishnu and predicts that she will reincarnate as Ganga and Uma. Chapters 12-28 deal with the narratives of Ganga from her birth as daughter of Himalaya and Mena. Chapter 14 describes about Narayana
's instruction of music to sage Narada
as a related story. These narratives related to Ganga are briefly interrupted in chapter 23, which describes the birth of Uma as the second daughter of Himalaya and Mena. Chapter 29 describes Manu
s and manvantara
s and the kings belonging to solar and lunar dynasties. The last chapter (chapter 30) narrates the story of birth of Ganesha
and his acquiring the head of an elephant.
. A general discussion on dharma followed by the specific dharmas to be followed by the people belonging to four varnas during their various stages of life (ashramas
). This discussion includes a passage supporting the practice of Sati
which mentions that it is the obligation of a widow to follow her husband in death (Chapter 8, 8-10). The following chapters deal with a number of vrata
s, hymns to the Navagraha
deities, the four yuga
s and the narrative of Vena which includes his creation of 36 mixed castes, whose members were later assigned specific trades by the Brahmins during the reign of Vena's son Prithu
.
The chapters 15-21, which are only found in the Vangavasi edition describes the story of Krishna
's birth and the role played by Devi in it. They also comprise a description of Kali Yuga
. The text ends with an eulogy of the Purana, describing it as a Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta shastra
(21.5).
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religious text, which classified itself (I.25.26) as the last of the 18 Upapurana
Upapurana
The Upapuranas are a genre of Hindu religious texts consisting of a large number of compilations differentiated from the Mahapuranas by styling them as secondary Puranas by using a disparaging prefix Upa...
s. The extant text comprises three khaņḑas (parts): pūrvakhaņḑa, madhyakhaņḑa and uttarakhaņḑa. On the basis of its usage of Sanskrit words with unusual meaning and Sanskrit proverbs popular in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, a number of modern scholars believe that this text was written in Bengal. According to R. C. Hazra, a modern scholar, this text was composed in the second half of the 13th century. He classified it as a non-sectarian Upapurana.
Editions and translations
The first printed edition of this text was published by The Asiatic Society, Calcutta (1888-97), as a part of their Bibliotheca Indica series. It was edited by Haraprasad ShastriHaraprasad Shastri
Haraprasad Shastri , also known as Haraprasad Bhattacharya, was an Indian academic, Sanskrit scholar, archivist and historian of Bengali literature...
. In 1894, the Vangavasi Press, Calcutta published another edition of this text along with a Bengali translation by Panchanan Tarkaratna, who edited it. In 1915, a free and abridged English translation by Syama Charan Banerji was published from Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
by the Indian Commercial Press as the first volume of its Rambles in Scripture Land series.
Contents
The pūrvakhaņḑa and madhyakhaņḑa of both the Asiatic Society and the Vangavasi edition have 30 chapters. While the uttarakhaņḑa of the Asiatic Society edition comprises 14 chapters, the Vangavasi edition comprises 21 chapters and R. C. Hazra considers these additional 7 chapters (15-21) as the essential part of the text.The pūrvakhaņḑa
The pūrvakhaņḑa begins at the Naimisha ForestNaimisha Forest
Naimisha Forest or Naimiṣāraṇya was an ancient forest mentioned in the epic Mahabharata and the Shiva Purana. It lay on the banks of the Gomati River . It lay between the Panchala Kingdom and the Kosala Kingdom...
, with Suta
Ugrasrava Sauti
Ugrashravas was the narrator of several Puranas, including Mahābhārata, Bhagavata Purana, Harivamsa, and Padma Purana, with the narrations typically taking place before the sages gathered in Naimisha Forest...
reporting to the sages assembled there about Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
's discourse to Jabali on dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
and its constituent parts: satya, daya, shanti and ahimsa. In answer to Jabali's next question, Vyasa advises him about the gurus (teachers) in general and particularly the gurus occupying the highest position, one's parents. He illustrated his views on one's duty to his parents with a narrative of hunter Tuladhara and his advice to brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
Kritabodha. In chapters 5-30, Vyasa, in answer to another question of Jabali, describes the tirtha
Tirtha
In Jainism, a tīrtha |ford]], a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is used to refer both to pilgrimage sites as well as to the four sections of the sangha...
s (sacred places), reporting it as a conversation between goddess Rudrani
Rudrani
The Shakti of Rudra, considered to preside over blood sacrifice in the Vedic Period. She later came to be identified as an incarnation of Durga.Rudrani is the divine will and sacrifice related to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.- Marriage :...
and her two associates, Jaya and Vijaya. The description starts with a song of praise to Ganga and it includes the origin and sanctity of tulasi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) plant and the bilva (Aegle marmelos) tree. It also comprises descriptions on kalatirthas (auspicious times), which include auspicious times for Devi
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
worship and studying religious texts.
The madhyakhaņḑa
The madhyakhaņḑa begins with Jabali's request for further information about Ganga. Vyasa answers his question in the form of a conversation between sage ŚukaSuka
The Suka was a unique fiddle that was played vertically, on the knee or hanging from a strap, and the strings were stopped at the side with the fingernails; similar to the Gadulka. The body of the instrument was very similar to the modern violin, but the neck was very wide, and the pegbox was crude...
and his disciple Jaimini. The first chapter describes the creation as the yoga (union) of Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
and the prakriti of the three guṇa
Guna
' means 'string' or 'a single thread or strand of a cord or twine'. In more abstract uses, it may mean 'a subdivision, species, kind, quality', or an operational principle or tendency....
s of Brahma, Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
and Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. The second chapter has a brief description about Daksha
Daksha
In Hinduism, Daksha, "the skilled one", is an ancient creator god, one of the Prajapatis, the Rishis and the Adityas. Daksha is said to be the son of Aditi and Brahma...
and his daughter Sati
Dakshayani
Dākshāyani or Satī is a Hindu Goddess of marital felicity and longevity. She is worshipped particularly by Hindu women to seek the long life of their husbands...
. It is followed by a detailed narrative of Daksha, Shiva and Sati from the chapter 3 onwards, which ends in selection of Kamarupa as his abode by Shiva after Sati's yoni
Yoni
Yoni is the Sanskrit word for the vagina. Its counterpart is the lingam as interpreted by some, the phallus.It is also the divine passage, womb or sacred temple...
fell there, when her body was cut to pieces by Vishnu. In chapter 11, Sati appears before Shiva, who was in a meeting with Brahma and Vishnu and predicts that she will reincarnate as Ganga and Uma. Chapters 12-28 deal with the narratives of Ganga from her birth as daughter of Himalaya and Mena. Chapter 14 describes about Narayana
Narayana
Narayana or Narayan or Naraina is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...
's instruction of music to sage Narada
Narada
Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
as a related story. These narratives related to Ganga are briefly interrupted in chapter 23, which describes the birth of Uma as the second daughter of Himalaya and Mena. Chapter 29 describes Manu
Manu (Hinduism)
In various Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the progenitor of mankind, and also the very first brahman king to rule this earth, who saved mankind from the universal flood. He was absolutely honest which was why he was initially known as "Satyavrata"...
s and manvantara
Manvantara
Manvantara or Manuvantara , or age of a Manu , the Hindu progenitor of mankind, is an astronomical period of time measurement. Manvantara is a Sanskrit sandhi, a combination of words manu and antara, manu-antara or manvantara, literally meaning the duration of a Manu, or his life span .Each...
s and the kings belonging to solar and lunar dynasties. The last chapter (chapter 30) narrates the story of birth of Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
and his acquiring the head of an elephant.
The uttarakhaņḑa
The uttarakhaņḑa starts with the discussion about dharmaDharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
. A general discussion on dharma followed by the specific dharmas to be followed by the people belonging to four varnas during their various stages of life (ashramas
Ashrama (stage)
An Ashrama in Hinduism is one of four stages in an age-based social system as laid out in the Manu Smrti and later Classical Sanskrit texts.-The Ashram system:...
). This discussion includes a passage supporting the practice of Sati
Sati (practice)
For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...
which mentions that it is the obligation of a widow to follow her husband in death (Chapter 8, 8-10). The following chapters deal with a number of vrata
Vrata
In the context of Hinduism and Hindu mythology, the term vrata denotes a religious practice to carry out certain obligations with a view to achieve divine blessing for fulfillment of one or several desires. Etymologically, vrata, a Sanskrit word , means to vow or to promise...
s, hymns to the Navagraha
Navagraha
Graha is a 'cosmic influencer' on the living beings of mother Bhumidevi . In Hindu astrology, the Navagraha are some of these major influencers.All the navagraha have relative movement with respect to the background of fixed stars in the zodiac...
deities, the four yuga
Yuga
Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is...
s and the narrative of Vena which includes his creation of 36 mixed castes, whose members were later assigned specific trades by the Brahmins during the reign of Vena's son Prithu
Prithu
According to Hindu mythology, Prithu is a sovereign , named in the Vedic scriptures and considered an Avatar of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called Pruthu, Prithi and Prithu Vainya, literally, Prithu — the son of Vena...
.
The chapters 15-21, which are only found in the Vangavasi edition describes the story of Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
's birth and the role played by Devi in it. They also comprise a description of Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
. The text ends with an eulogy of the Purana, describing it as a Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta shastra
Shastra
' is a Sanskrit term used to denote rules in a general sense. The word is generally used as a suffix in the context of technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice; e.g., Bhautika Shastra , Rasayana Shastra , Jeeva Shastra , Vastu Shastra , Shilpa Shastra , Artha Shastra ' is a...
(21.5).