Preface. 1. The Brahm'a Pur'ana
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"The Vishnu Purana", translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840],
1. The Brahm Purna
1. Brahm Purna. "That, the whole of which was formerly repeated by Brahm to Marchi, is called the Brhma Purna, and contains ten thousand stanzas 33." In all the lists of the Purnas, the Brhma is placed at the head of the series, and is thence sometimes also entitled the di or 'first' Purna. It is also designated as the Saura, as it is in great part appropriated to the worship of Srya, 'the sun.' There are, however, works bearing these names which belong to the class of Upa-purnas, and which are not to be confounded with the Brhma. 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 concluding section called the Brahmottara Purna, and which is different from a portion of the Sknda called the Brahmottara Khanda, which contains about three thousand stanzas more; but there is every reason to conclude that this is a distinct and unconnected work.
The immediate narrator of the Brahm Purna is Lomaharshana, who communicates it to the Rishis or sages assembled at Naimishranya, as it was originally revealed by Brahm, not to Marchi, as the Matsya affirms, but to Daksha, another of the patriarchs: hence its denomination of the Brahm Purna.
p. xvii
The early chapters of this work give a description of the creation, an account of the Manwantaras, and the history of the solar and lunar dynasties to the time of Krishna, in a summary manner, and in words which are common to it and several other Purnas: a brief description of the universe succeeds; and then come a number of chapters relating to the holiness of Orissa, with its temples and sacred groves dedicated to the sun, to iva, and Jagannth, the latter especially. These chapters are characteristic of this Purna, and shew its main object to be the promotion of the worship of Krishna as Jagannth 34. To these particulars succeeds a life of Krishna, which is word for word the same as that of the Vishnu Purna; and the compilation terminates with a particular detail of the mode in which Yoga, or contemplative devotion, the object of which is still Vishnu, is to be performed. There is little in this which corresponds with the definition of a Pancha-lakshana Purna; and the mention of the temples of Orissa, the date of the original construction of which is recorded 35, shews that it could not have been compiled earlier than the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
The Uttara Khanda of the Brhma P. bears still more entirely the character of a Mhtmya, or local legend, being intended to celebrate the sanctity of the Balaj river, conjectured to be the same as the Bans in Marwar. There is no clue to its date, but it is clearly modern, grafting personages and fictions of its own invention on a few hints from older authorities 36.
Footnotes
xvi:33
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xvii:34 Col. Vans Kennedy objects to this character of the Brhma P., and observes that it contains only two short descriptions of pagodas, the one of Konditya, the other of Jagannth. In that case, his copy must differ considerably from those I have met with; for in them the description of Purushottama Kshetra, the holy land of Orissa, runs through forty chapters, or one-third of the work. The description, it is true, is interspersed, in the usual rambling strain of the Purnas, with a variety of legends, some ancient, some modern; but they are intended to illustrate some local circumstance, and are therefore not incompatible with the main design, the celebration of the glories of Purushottama Kshetra. The specification of the temple of Jagannth, however, is of itself sufficient, in my opinion, to determine the character and era of the compilation.
xvii:35 See Account of Orissa proper, or Cuttack, by A. Stirling, Esq.: Asiatic Res. vol. XV. p. 305.
xvii:36 See Analysis of the Brhma Purna: Journ. Royal As. Soc, vol. V. p. 65.
"The Vishnu Purana", translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840],
1. The Brahm Purna
1. Brahm Purna. "That, the whole of which was formerly repeated by Brahm to Marchi, is called the Brhma Purna, and contains ten thousand stanzas 33." In all the lists of the Purnas, the Brhma is placed at the head of the series, and is thence sometimes also entitled the di or 'first' Purna. It is also designated as the Saura, as it is in great part appropriated to the worship of Srya, 'the sun.' There are, however, works bearing these names which belong to the class of Upa-purnas, and which are not to be confounded with the Brhma. 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 concluding section called the Brahmottara Purna, and which is different from a portion of the Sknda called the Brahmottara Khanda, which contains about three thousand stanzas more; but there is every reason to conclude that this is a distinct and unconnected work.
The immediate narrator of the Brahm Purna is Lomaharshana, who communicates it to the Rishis or sages assembled at Naimishranya, as it was originally revealed by Brahm, not to Marchi, as the Matsya affirms, but to Daksha, another of the patriarchs: hence its denomination of the Brahm Purna.
p. xvii
The early chapters of this work give a description of the creation, an account of the Manwantaras, and the history of the solar and lunar dynasties to the time of Krishna, in a summary manner, and in words which are common to it and several other Purnas: a brief description of the universe succeeds; and then come a number of chapters relating to the holiness of Orissa, with its temples and sacred groves dedicated to the sun, to iva, and Jagannth, the latter especially. These chapters are characteristic of this Purna, and shew its main object to be the promotion of the worship of Krishna as Jagannth 34. To these particulars succeeds a life of Krishna, which is word for word the same as that of the Vishnu Purna; and the compilation terminates with a particular detail of the mode in which Yoga, or contemplative devotion, the object of which is still Vishnu, is to be performed. There is little in this which corresponds with the definition of a Pancha-lakshana Purna; and the mention of the temples of Orissa, the date of the original construction of which is recorded 35, shews that it could not have been compiled earlier than the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
The Uttara Khanda of the Brhma P. bears still more entirely the character of a Mhtmya, or local legend, being intended to celebrate the sanctity of the Balaj river, conjectured to be the same as the Bans in Marwar. There is no clue to its date, but it is clearly modern, grafting personages and fictions of its own invention on a few hints from older authorities 36.
Footnotes
xvi:33
Click to view
xvii:34 Col. Vans Kennedy objects to this character of the Brhma P., and observes that it contains only two short descriptions of pagodas, the one of Konditya, the other of Jagannth. In that case, his copy must differ considerably from those I have met with; for in them the description of Purushottama Kshetra, the holy land of Orissa, runs through forty chapters, or one-third of the work. The description, it is true, is interspersed, in the usual rambling strain of the Purnas, with a variety of legends, some ancient, some modern; but they are intended to illustrate some local circumstance, and are therefore not incompatible with the main design, the celebration of the glories of Purushottama Kshetra. The specification of the temple of Jagannth, however, is of itself sufficient, in my opinion, to determine the character and era of the compilation.
xvii:35 See Account of Orissa proper, or Cuttack, by A. Stirling, Esq.: Asiatic Res. vol. XV. p. 305.
xvii:36 See Analysis of the Brhma Purna: Journ. Royal As. Soc, vol. V. p. 65.
