Narada Purana (English translation)
by G. V. Tagare | 1950 | 14,468 words | ISBN-10: 8120803477 | ISBN-13: 9788120803473
This page describes The Dialogue between Suta and the Sages (suta-rishi-samvada) which is chapter 1 of the English translation of the Narada Purana—an ancient Sanskrit text within Hindu literature categorized as one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It explores various aspects of cosmology, ethics, and rituals, compiling rich narratives that emphasize devotion to Vishnu and the concepts of Dharma (righteousness) and Bhakti (devotion). The Narada Purana also addresses Tantric practices, philosophical discourses on Yoga and self-realization.
Go directly to: Footnotes.
Chapter 1 - The Dialogue between Sūta and the Sages (sūta-ṛṣi-saṃvāda)
1. Om, obeisance to the holy preceptors. Om, bow to Lord Gaṇeśa.[2] Om, salutations to glorious Lord Vāsudeva.[3] Om, after making obeisance to Nārāyaṇa[4] as well as to Nara,[5] the most excellent among men, and also to goddess Sarasvatī,[6] one should begin the recitation of Jaya[7] (the Nārada Purāṇa).
Om, obeisance to Veda-Vyāsa.[8] I bow to Upendra (Lord Viṣṇu), who abides (permanently) in Vṛndāvana[9] and is the shrine of Bliss unto Indirā (goddess Lakṣmī); who abounds in compassion and is greater than the greatest and whose form constitutes the highest Bliss.
2. I worship that Supreme primordial Lord whose form is the purest Consciousness (cid-rūpa); who is the greatest (of all beings), and whose parts called Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa (Śiva) are (the deities) who accomplish (the cycle of creation, maintenance and destruction of) the world.[10]
3. Śaunaka[11] and other noble-souled sages, the expounders of the Brahman, performed a penance in the great forest named Naimiṣa,[12] with a desire to attain Final Liberation.
4. They had conquered their sense-organs; had full control over their diet; they were saintly persons of truthful exploits. With greatest devotion, they worshipped the eternal, primordial Viṣṇu.
5. They were above jealousy and were conversant with all holy rites. They were devoutly engaged in blessing the world and had no feeling of my-ness (sense of personal possession). They were devoid of egotism and their minds revelled in the transcendental Ātman.
6. They had renounced all passions and longings and were sinless; they were endowed with self-control and other good qualities. With matted hair and the hide of black-antelope as their upper garments, they led a celibate life (Lit. they observed the vow of celibacy),
7. They eulogised the Supreme Brahman, the eye of the universe. All of them were of equal prowess. They were the knowers of the meaning and reality of the sacred scriptures. They performed penance in the Naimiṣa forest.
8. Some of them worshipped the Lord of sacrifices by performance of sacrifices; others worshipped the Deity, the Embodiment of spiritual knowledge, by means of the path of knowledge; some worshipped Nārāyaṇa with devotion par excellence.
9. Desirous of understanding the means of righteousness, wealth, love and Final Beatitude (ṃe four Puruṣārthas), those excellent noble-minded (high-souled) sages met in a congregation.
10. The sages of sublimated sexuality numbered twenty-six thousand. It is impossible to enumerate the disciples and the pupils of their disciples.
11. Those sages of sanctified souls (through meditation), of great prowess, met together. Devoid of passion and jealousy, they desired to do (something) to bless the world.
12. (The questions that made them ponder were:) What are the sacred places of pilgrimage (kṣetra), and the shrines or holy places (near the banks of sacred rivers, lakes, etc.)—the tīrthas—? How is liberation (from Saṃsāra) achieved by men distressed in their minds by worldly miseries (of three kinds).
13. How is the devotion of men unswervingly directed towards Hari? By what means can one achieve the fruit of the three types of activities (viz. mental, verbal and physical)?
14. On seeing the sages eagerly intent on asking him (these questions) in this manner, the intelligent Śaunaka spoke these words with palms joined in reverence, and bowing down with humility.
Śaunaka said:
15. In the holy hermitage of Siddhāśrama,[13] there lives Sūta, the most excellent of all the Paurāṇikas (exponents of the Purāṇas). With different types of sacrifices, he worships Janārdana of universal form.
16. That great sage, the son of Romaharṣaṇa, the quiescent disciple of Vyāsa knows this completely. He is the propounder of the Purāṇa texts. So the tradition goes.
17. On seeing piety and religious rites being (progressively) reduced (in quantity and quality) from Yuga to Yuga (successively) the slayer of Madhu (Lord Viṣṇu), assuming the form of Veda-Vyāsa classifies the Vedas.
18. O Brāhmaṇas, we have heard that the sage Veda-Vyāsa is Nārāyaṇa himself. And Sūta has been initiated into all sacred texts directly by Vyāsa.
19. Sūta has been instructed and initiated by ṃat intelligent Veda-Vyāsa. He does know all the Purāṇas. There is none competent than he (in this respect) in this world.
20. In this world, he is the only knower of the import of all Purāṇas. He is intelligent, omniscient and quiescent. He knows the path of righteousness leading to final liberation as well as the entire corpus of (the theory and practice of) the paths of action and devotion.
21. O prominent sages, the sage Vyāsa has, for the benefit of the universe, expounded, in the Purāṇas all those topics that constitute the essence of the Vedas, the Vedāṅgas[14] (the ancillary subjects pertaining to Vedas) and the scriptures.
22. Sūta is indeed an ocean of knowledge. He proficiently knows the real nature of (and the exact truth about) everything. Hence, we shall ask him. So said Śaunaka to the sages.
23. Then all those delighted sages embraced Śaunaka, the most excellent of those conversant with the realm of speech. “Well-spoken. Well-advised”, said they (to express their approval).
24. Thereafter, those sages went to the holy Siddhāśrama in the forest. It abounded in groups of deer. It was graced with the residence of sages (living therein).
25. It was beautified with charming trees and creepers (full of abundant) flowers and fruits, and was spotted with lakes of crystalline water and was inhabited by persons warmly hospitable to guests (and strangers arriving there).
26. They (the sages of the Naimiṣa forest) saw the son of Romaharṣaṇa worshipping the infinite unvanquished Lord Nārāyaṇa, by means of the Agniṣṭoma[15] sacrifice.
27. Suitably honoured by Sūta, those sages of well-known powers, remained there in the hall of sacrifice, awaiting the concluding rites of ablution (Avabhṛtha).
28. Afterwards, when Sūta, the excellent-most of all Paurāṇikas completed the rites of Avabḥṛtha ablution, those residents of the Naimiṣa forest asked him, as he seated himself comfortably.
The sages said:
29. O strict observer of religious vows we who ought to be hospitable to you as hosts, have come here as your guests. However, be pleased to honour us duly by means of homage in the form of charitable gift of perfect knowledge.
30. Whereas the heaven-dwelling gods live by drinking the nectarine juice from the digits of the moon, the earthdwelling gods (the Brāhmaṇas) do so by drinking the nectarine juice of the perfect knowledge exuding from your mouth, O sage.
31.[16] (Who is that lord) by whom all this (the universe) was created, who is the support of all this, who is the Soul of all this, in whom, O dear one, everything is well established and in whom everything will get dissolved?
32. By what does Viṣṇu become propitiated? How is he worshipped by men? What is the code of conduct of life for the people in the various castes and walks of life? How is the guest to be worshipped?
33. What is that whereby the holy rites shall be fruitful? What is the means of salvation for men? What is achieved by men through devotion? And of what nature is devotion?
34. O Sūta, the most excellent of all sages, explain these things, dispelling every doubtful factor. Who is not keenly desirous to hear the nectarine words of yours?
Sūta said:
35. Listen ye all, O sages. I shall recount what is desired by you. This has been narrated to the noble-souled Nārada by those sages the chief of whom was Sanaka.[17]
36. This Purāṇa named after Nārada is on a par with the Vedas in regard to its import (artha). It is destructive of all sins It wards off the influence of all evil planets.
37. It is conducive to piety and destructive of the effects of evil dreams. It yields as fruits worldly pleasures as well as salvation. Containing narratives of Nārāyaṇa, it is the cause of everything blessed and auspicious.
38. It brings about piety, wealth, love and liberation.[18] It is highly efficacious as it yields unprecedented merit as its fruit. Listen to it with great concentration.
39. One may be defiled by great sins[19] or subsidiary ones.[20] But on hearing this divine Purāṇa pertaining to sages and ascetics, one shall regain purity.
40. On reading a single chapter of this Purāṇa one shall attain the benefit of (the performance of a) horse-sacrifice.[21] Similarly, on reading two chapters, one attains the spiritual rewards of performance of Rajasūya[22] sacrifice.
41-42. O Brahmins, by reading three chapters one attains the same merit as a man who takes bath in the waters of the Yamunā on the full-moon day in the month of Jyeṣṭha with the moon in the constellation Mūla, who observes fast with great purity, at Mathura and who duly worships Kṛṣṇa.
43-44. I shall explain (one thing more) very well. Even as I recount, listen well. A man who listens to ten chapters of this (Purāṇa) with feelings of earnest devotion, shall attain to the region of Brahmā and stay therein. He will be freed from sins accumulated in the course of ten thousand births. He shall be followed by a ten million members of his family.
45-48a. No doubt or hesitation need be entertained in this matter that he will attain the final beatitude. This is more blessed than the most blessed. It is pre-eminently the best of all sanctifying things. It is meritorious and destructive of (the effects of) evil dreams. O Brahmins, this must be listened to, assiduously. A man of faith who reads at least a verse or even half of a verse is immediately absolved of heaps of great sins. Since this is the secret of all secrets, it must be narrated only to good men. This must be made to be read in front of Viṣṇu, in the presence of Brahmins, in a holy place or shrine.
48b-49a: One shall not narrate this excellent Purāṇa to persons engaged in injuring the cause of Brāhmaṇas and ‘to those persons who are religious-hypocrites like (proverbial) cranes (which are supposed to pretend meditation till a fish comes within their reach).
49b-50. This, being the means to liberation from saṃsāra, should be recounted to those who are devoted to the pious course of life and whose mind (ātman), with lust and other noxious qualities eschewed out, revels in the devotion to Viṣṇu. For Viṣṇu comprises within himself all gods and destroys the agonies and applications of those who remember him.
51-52. He is favourably disposed towards his pious devotees, O Brāhmaṇas. He becomes pleased only with devotion and nothing else. A man is freed from sins if he glorifies or remembers Viṣṇu’s name even without faith. He attains to the Eternal region (Vaikuṇṭha) the unchanging region. Madhusūdana (the destroyer of the demon Madhu) is like the big forest conflagration unto the terrible jungle of worldly existence.
53. He quickly destroys all the sins of those who remember him, O excellent ones. This excellent Purāṇa which indicates that meaning and purpose should be listened to.
53a. By listening to it or reading it one is able to annihilate all sins.
53b-55. Only he who, with a devoted mind, is inclined to listen to this Purāṇa, has really accomplished his objects in life (Kṛta-kṛtya) and can be regarded as adept in understanding and interpreting all the scriptural precepts. O Brahmins, I consider that whatever merits are earned or austerities performed by him, are really fruitful.
56. (Unless one has a fund of merits) it is not possible for him to have devout inclination towards listening to God’s stories or Purāṇa. Those good men who are the benefactors of the universe, are engaged in stories about the Supreme Spirit.
57a. The wicked or evil persons are exclusively devoted to sinful activities and are engaged in censure and quarrels.
57b-58. O excellent Brahmins, the merits (if any) earned by those vilest of men who (i) attribute laudatory nature to Purāṇas (or) (ii) who allege that the Purāṇas are merely laudatory passages (Artha-vāda)[23] become exhausted. (For the Purāṇas are really the means of eradication of all binding actions.
59. A person who speaks of Purāṇas as being arthavāda, falls into hell.[24] O excellent Brahmins, men duly pursue and attain other objects of worldly pleasure.
60-61a. But persons who are deluded do not do the same for accomplishing the Purāṇas. O excellent Brahmins, Purāṇas must be listened to with great devout feelings by the person who desires to accumulate merits without strain (trouble or exertion).
61b-62. Undoubtedly the sins incurred earlier by that person who feels inclined to listen to the Purāṇas are destroyed. Even while the Purāṇas exist, if a person, compelled by sins, feels drawn towards other gāthās (folk songs and fables) and is attached to them, he faces downfall.
63. A man engaged in associating himself with the good, worshipping the deities, and narrating or listening to noble stories of God as well as in imparting beneficial instructions, goes to the highest region of Viṣṇu. After death, he attains a brilliance comparable to that of Acyuta.
64. Hence, O prominent Brāhmaṇas, listen to this holy meritorious Purāṇa named after Nārada. On hearing this, a man becomes free from old age, rebirth, etc. His mind becomes stabilised in Acyuta.
65. The Purāṇa is excellent and highly pre-eminent. It grants the desired boons. By its own lustre, it has sanctified all the worlds. By remembering the primordial Deity that bestows the cherished objects, a man attains the state of salvation.
66. O Brahmins, he creates, protects and annihilates the universe by assuming different bodies of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Īśa. By contemplating in one’s mind that primordial Lord the transcendental Ruler, one attains liberation.
67. He who is devoid of all such (varieties based on ignorance) and alternatives such as name, caste (birth), etc., who is the greatest among the great beings, who transcends the greatest, who is comprehensible only through the Vedānta and who reveals himself unto his devotees, is highly praised by all Purāṇas and Vedas.
68. Hence, that Lord of the worlds, the cause of liberation, the Eternal, Slayer of Mura[25] is competent to be worshipped. By remembering the great mystic secret, the cause of attainment of the Puruṣārthas (objectives) a man crosses the ocean of worldly existence.
69. This should be recited only to righteous persons, the faithful ones and to ascetics devoid of passion, and to persons seeking salvation.
70. It should be recited in a holy place, in good assembly, in the temples in sacred places and sacred spots (near the bank of a holy river or lake) and in the presence of the gods (or images of gods) and the Brahmins.
71. Those who relate this excellent narrative in a place defiled with crumbs and other remnants of food are cooked in the terrible hell [26] all the long while till the dissolution of the world.
72. He who though infatuated, hypocrite and devoid of devotion, falsely pretends to listen to this Purāṇa is also similarly cooked in the everlasting terrible hell.
73-74. The man who carried on conversation with others in the middle of a holy discourse (about the Lord), goes to the terrible hell. Hence, O leading Brahmins the narrator and the listener should pay single-minded attention. This is the eternal path of righteousness. One without concentration of the mind does not understand anything.
75. Hence, one shall imbibe the nectarine story of Hari with concentration of mind. How can a man of confused mind appreciate the holy story?
76-78. What happiness is achieved in the world by a man of confused intellect and mind? Hence, one shall eschew all desires which are the cause of misery and meditate on Lord Viṣṇu with the perfect concentration of the mind. If the eternal Lord Nārāyaṇa is somehow remembered even by a sinful person, he shall undoubtedly be delighted. Fruitful indeed is the life of that man who entertains highest devotion to Lord Nārāyaṇa, the eternal Lord of the universe. Salvation is as if just on the palm of his hand within his reach.
79. O excellent Brahmins, there is verily (absolutely) no doubt in this that the four objectives of human efforts, viz. Puruṣārthas of Virtue, Wealth, Love and Liberation are achieved by those who are devoutly attached to Hari.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Sūta:
This term signifies a caste-name as well as a profession. As a caste, sūta is the pratiloma offspring born of a Kṣattriya male and a Brahmin woman vide the Dharma Sūtras of Gautama (4.15), Baudhāyana (1.9.9), and Viṣṇu (16.6) and the Smṛtis of Manu (10.11) and Yājñavalkya (1.93). Kauṭilīya [Kauṭilya] Arthaśāstra, however, carefully distinguishes between the two.
It states:
kṣattriyāt sūtaḥ / paurāṇikas tvanyaḥ brahma-kṣattrād viśeṣaḥ / (3.7.28-29)
“The child born from a Kṣattriya man (and a Brāhmaṇa woman) is sūta. But Sūta—the reciter of purāṇas is different and is superior to Brāhmaṇas and Kṣattriyas.
According to Vāyu Purāṇa (1.60-61), god Brahmā compiled the Purāṇas before ‘breathing out’ the Vedas and the duty of preserving them (Purāṇas) was entrusted to Sūta who was mysteriously born out of the first sacrifice. As Vaṃśīdhara on Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.1,5 points out: as Sūta was born of fire (sacrificial fire) he was ipso fact a Brāhmaṇa. Sages like Śaunaka and others heard the Vedas in the form of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa because he was a Brāhmaṇa for “a Śāstra is not to be heard from a low caste. Such hear ing is unacceptable like drinking milk from a pot of dog’s hide”. This Sūta, the reciter of the Nārada Purāṇa is positively a Brāhmaṇa as can be gathered from his description as the performer of Vedic sacrifices and other details given in Nārada Purāṇa 1.1.15-28. The fact that Śaunaka along with other Brāhmaṇa sages approaches him for enlightenment, is an evidence of his being a Brāhmaṇa. This Sūta is a direct disciple of Vyāsa (sūtas tu vyāsa-śāsitaḥ / v. 18 & v. 19 later). This means that his name should be Romaharṣaṇa (Lomaharṣaṇa), most probably a title meaning “One who makes the hair of the members of his audience, stand on their ends, by the recitation of Purāṇas”:
Vāyu Purāṇa (1.1.16) states:
lomāni harṣayāñ cakre śrotṛṇām yat subhāṣitaiḥ /
karmaṇā prathitas tena loke smil-loma-harṣaṇaḥ //
The word Romaharṣaṇi if emended as Romaharṣaṇa gives appropriate sense and does not offend the metre here or in v. 25 below.
[2]:
Gaṇeśa:
Literally The lord or controller of gaṇas (which is variously interpreted as Pramatha-gaṇas or goblin attendants of god Śiva, or evil spirits presiding over troubles or hindrances). He is also known as Vighnarāja (the ruler over impediments or difficulties). Hence, he is always invoked with a prayer at the beginning of every work big or small and of any nature, be it the writing of a book or constructing a building. He is regarded as a son of god Śiva and Parvati or only of Pārvatī who created him of herself alone. His image is elephant-headed This is a substitute of his original head which was cut off by Śiva for not allowing him to see Pārvatī. Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa reports that Gaṇeśa was originally very beautiful and out of pride for her child, Pārvatī invited everyone to see him and Śani (the presiding deity of the planet Saturn) was
one of them. He was very unwilling to see, as he knew the consequences of his seeing. But not daring to displease goddess Pārvatī he looked at the child’s face through the corner of his left eye. And lo! The child’s head fell off and remorsefully Śani withdrew his glance immediately. As Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa puts it:
śaneś ca dṛṣṭi-mātreṇa ciccheda mastakam mune /
cakṣur nivārayāmāsa tasthau namrānanaḥ śaniḥ //
— Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa III Gaṇapati-khaṇḍa. 12.6
Viṣṇu killed an elephant with his discus Sudarśana and fixed his head on that of Pārvatī’s child (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa.III. 12.10-20) who subsequently became known as Gajānana ‘Elephant-headed god’. A cycle of legends has accumulated around the god Gaṇeśa which is treated not merely as a part (e.g. Gaṇapati khaṇḍa in Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa) of a Purāṇa, but there are two Upa-purāṇas on that God, viz. the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa and the Mudgala Purāṇa. There Gaṇeśa is the Para-Brahman himself who incarnates in this world for protection of the world as stated in BG. 4.7-8. The Gaṇeśa Gitā attributed to god Gaṇeśa (which forms a part of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa) reminds one of the BG. at every step. He is one of the five principal deities of Neo-Hinduism (the others being gods Śiva, Viṣṇu, Sūrya or the Sun-god and goddess Śakti or Pārvatī). There is a cult of this god known after him as Gāṇapatyas. Gaṇeśa images are found all over India and Greater India upto Japan and if Chaman Lal is correct (in his Hindu America) even in Central America. He is worshipped by Hindus both of the ‘right’ and ‘left’ form of worship and even by the Buddhists especially under the influence of Tantrism. Attempts are made to trace him to the Vedic period in the Brahmaṇaspati sūkta (RV. 2.23.1 also Tait. S. 2, 3, 14, 3). Though Brahmaṇas-pati and Gaṇapati are connected with speech, ‘elphant-headed-ness’ is not the characteristic of that Ṛg-vedic deity, though both have some names (e.g. Gaṇapati) common.
The elephant-headed god is expressly mentioned in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā (2.9.1) as follows:
tat-karaṭāya vidmahe, hasti-mukhāya dhīmahi /
tan no dantī pracodayāt //
Tomes have been written on this god. An encyclopaedic dictionary in many volumes called Gaṇeśa Kośa in Marathi is available. As he is the god of learning, he is invoked at the beginning of all literary productions. Even Vyāsa employed him as the writer of the Mahābhārata: (Mahābhārata Ādi. P. 1.75-79) Gaṇeśa is thus always saluted at the beginning of every Brahmanical literary work in ancient and mediaeval India.
[3]:
Vāsudeva:
The deity that pervades the universe. The word is derived from:
√vas + bāhulakāt uṇ—vāsu / vāsuś ca devaś ca /
The omnipresence of this deity is emphasised in many Purāṇas. e.g. V.P.
sarvatrāśau samastaśca vasatyatreti vai yataḥ /
tataḥ sa vāsudeveti cidvadbhiḥ pari-gīyate //
—V.P. 1.2.sarvāṇi tatra bhūtāni vasanti paramātmani /
bhūteṣvapi ca sarvātmā vāsudevas tataḥ smṛtaḥ //
So in Mahābhārata V.70.3:
vasanāt sarva-bhūtānām vasutvād deva-yonitaḥ /
vāsudevas tato vedyo bṛhatvād viṣṇur ucyate //
Many scholars hold the view that Vāsudeva, the Yādava hero, the cowherd boy Kṛṣṇa in Gokula, and the great philosopher exponent of the Bhagavad Gītā are one and the same person (Cf. K. M. Munshi: Glory that was Gurjara Deśa I. pp. 111-27) Historicity of Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa is generally agreed A comparison between the tenets of Ghora Aṅgirasa, the preceptor of Krṣṇa the son of Devakī in Chāndogya Upa. (3.16-19) and Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa’s in the BG., shows great affinity between the two. Vāsudeva Cult was in vogue at the time of Pāṇini, Megasṃenes and Aṛdha Māgadhi Jain canon. It was pro-Vedic and earlier than the non-Vedic Pañcarātra system of Nārāyaṇa, though ultimately they amalgamated into one: Bhāgavatism. But before doing that the Vāsudeva cult or Bhāgavatism had to accept the doctrine of Vyūhas (Emanations) and absorb it in its doctrine of Incarnation (avatāravāda), treat Viṣṇu Purāṇa as their own along with the Bhagavad Gitā and adopt the worship of Lakṣmī.
Bhāgavatism, however, sticks to its specific mantra:
om name bhagavate vāsudevāya
And does not accept the Pāñcarātra mantra:
om namo Nārāyaṇāya.
Hence all sacred texts of Bhāgavatism present obeisance to Lord Vāsudeva. For more details about Vāsudevism vide Intro, to the Bhāgavata Purāṇa Padma Purāṇa Uttara Khaṇḍa derives Vāsudeva from his father Vasudeva (vasudevasya jātosau vāsudevaḥ sanātanaḥ /) but generally most of the Purāṇas keep Vasudeva in the background. The identification of Vāsudeva and Nārāyaṇa was completed before the epic period. Thus K.P.I. 48.69 describes the sleeping Viṣṇu:
sa eva paramam brahma vāsudevaḥ sanātanaḥ /
śete nārāyaṇaḥ śrimān māyayā mohayan jagat //
[4]:
Nārāyaṇa:
The derivation: “A deity whose residence is (in) on the waters”. The standard quotation to support this is:
āpo nārā iti proktā āpo vai nara-sūnavaḥ /
cyanaṃ tasya tāḥ pūrvaṃ tena nārāyaṇaḥ smṛtaḥ //
—Manu 1.10
And many Purāṇas, also Mahābhārata Vana. 192.3. Here the word ‘Water’ (āpaḥ) is used in the sense of primeval matter out of which the universe is formed, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 6.1.1.9 states:
sā idaṃ sarvam āpnod yadidaṃ kiñ ca /
yad āpnot tasmād āpaḥ /
(As the chief deity of the Pāñcarātra system, Nārāyaṇa was out of Vedic fold. But the process of synthesis set in, and he was identified with Vāsudeva and Viṣṇu:
nārāyaṇāya vidmahe, vāsudevāya dhīmahi /
tan no viṣṇuḥ pracodayāt //
—Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā (ibid)
It is possible that he was the god of sea-faring people (probably of Dravidians). His being a sea-god is testified in the Buddhist Avadāna Śataka where a merchant’s wife goes to fulfil her pledge (about safe voyage) to the god Nārāyaṇa whose temple was on the sea shore. The four Emanations (Vyūhas) of Nārāyaṇa viz. Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha is the central concept of the Pañcarātrins. (Mahābhārata Purāṇa Śānti. 339.19-76) The anthropomorphic figure of Nārāyaṇa, the serpent coils that form his bed, and the waters on which this serpent floats, are triune manifestations of the single divine, imperishable cosmic energy underlying and inhabiting all the forms of life. In The Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata (e.g. 6.65.52) we are told that Viṣṇu sleeps on Śeṣa, Viṣṇu is Śeṣa, and Śeṣa is the form of the Supreme Being. Thus the fusion of Viṣṇu and Nārāyaṇa was complete long before the Epics.
In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.7.6 and Mahābhārata Śānti. 334-.9-12, he is the son of Dharma and Dakṣa’s daughter Mūrti and was the brother of Nara. The Mahābhārata Purāṇa adds that the Lord manifested Himself in four forms—Nara, Nārāyaṇa, Hari and Kṛṣṇa, out of them Nārāyaṇa and Nara practised penance in a gold chariot at Badarikāśrama:
kṛte yuge mahārāja purā svāyambhuventare /
naro nārāyanas' caiva hariḥ krṣṇaḥ svayambhuvaḥ //
teṣām nārāyaṇa-naran tapas-tepatur avyayau //
badaryāśramam āsādya śakaṭe kanakāmaye //
—Mahābhārata Śānti. 334.9.10.
Another derivation in Mahābhārata5.70.10 suggests that the god is called Nārāyaṇa as he is the resort of all people.
(narāṇām ayanāc cāpi tato nārāyaṇaḥ smṛtaḥ)
(For more details vide Introduction: The Viṣṇu concept)
[5]:
Nara:
An ancient sage, brother of Nārāyaṇa, performed penance for thousands of years at Badarikā (Mahābhārata Vaṇa. 40.1) Alongwith Nārāyaṇa he fought with Asuras on the side of Devas on the Amṛta issue and was entrusted with its protection (Mahābhārata Ādi. 19.19-31). Arjuna is said to be the Lord’s incarnation (vide Nārāyaṇa above). Devī Bhāgavata / IV. chs. 5 & 6. confirms the relation between Nara and Nārāyaṇa and their penance at Badarikāśrama for 1000 years, and adds that when Indra tried to disturb their penance by deputing heavenly damsels, Nārāyaṇa created Urvaśī and presented it to Indra. When despite that the damsels refused to return, Nārāyaṇa got enraged and was pacified by Nara by referring to the fight for Amṛta. He is an eternal associate of Nārāyaṇa. He represents the eternal spirit, the Supreme Man.
[6]:
The goddess of speech, always invoked at the beginning of every Purāṇa and in Mahābhārata also a tradition faithfully observed by later Indian writers down to modern times. She is evolved out of the Vedic minor deity Vāc. BN.P. Brahma-khaṇḍa 3.57 clearly identifies her with Vāc and she is the inspiring deity of poets and is of pure Sattva, by nature:
vāg-adhiṣṭhātṛ-devī sā kavīnām iṣṭa-devatā /
śuddha-sattva-svarūpā ca śānta-rūpā sarasvatī //
She is regarded as one of the five Potencies of the Lord at the beginning of the world (Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa Gaṇeśa-khaṇḍa 40.61.-7). In RV. X.125 she describes herself as a companion of all gods supporting gods like Indra, Agni, etc. and as bending Rudra’s bow against Asuras. In the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 3.2.4.3-6 she helps in the barter for Soma from Gandharvas where she outwits the Gandharvas after securing Soma from them. In Nighaṇṭu 5.5. she is a deity of the atmosphere and probably Yāska identifies thunder as the Vāc of the middle region (Nirukta 11.27). She is regarded as the embodiment of literature as her body consists of Om, vowels and consonants—at least, that form of Sarasvatī appeared before Yājñavalkya when he received the Veda from the Sun-god (Mahābhārata Śānti. 318.14). As Matsya Purāṇa states she is the deity to be propitiated for proper grasp of Vedas, all Śāstras, and arts like dancing, music, etc. Here this is the traditional invocation as per practice of all Purāṇas.
[7]:
Jaya:
Originally this verse was used at the beginning of the Mahābhārata where Jaya signifies the Mahābhārata. But after its adoption by all the Purāṇas, it comes to mean die Purāṇa which adopts it for the invocation of Nārāyaṇa and Nara. The Bhaviṣya Purāṇa states:
“Eighteen Mahāpurāṇas, Rāmāyaṇa, Dharma Śāstra works of Viṣṇu and others, the holy texts of Śiva-dharma and the fifth Veda Mahābhārata are called ‘Jaya).
aṣṭādaśa-purāṇāni rāmasya caritaṃ tathā /
viṣṇu-dharmādi-śāstrāṇi śiva-dharmaś ca bhārata //
kārṣṇyañ ca pañcamo vedo yan-mahā-bhārataṃ smṛtam /
jeyeti nāma eteṣām pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ //
—Bhaviṣya Purāṇa 1.5
[8]:
vedaṃ vya[?]yati-pṛthak karotī'ti / vi + *as + aṇ) Vyāsa.
The classifier of the Veda. His oṃer synonyms are: Dvaipāyana (The island-born-Satyavatī, his mother gave birth to him on an island in the river), Pārāśarya (Son of sage Parāśara), Vyāsa, Bādarāyaṇa (the author of the Śārīraka Sūtras of Vedānta, prob. from his place of residence).
Viṣṇu Purāṇa states that god Visṇu assumed the form of Vyāsa and classified the Vedas
vedam ekam catur-bhedaṃ kṛtvā śākhā-śatair vibhuḥ /
karoti bahulam bhūyo veda-vyāsa-svarūpa-dhṛk //
His life is closely associated with the Kaurava-Pāṇḍava family, first as the faṃer of their fathers and then in most of the important events in their lives. Vyāsavana (Mahābhārata Vana. 83.93), Vyāsasthalī (Mahābhārata Vana. 83.96-98) both places associated with his name are in and near Kurukṣetra. This shows that his major part of life was spent in that area.
Nārada Purāṇa I.1.17-18 confirm the belief that Vyāsa p God Viṣṇu himself who classified the Vedas for righteousness, progressively eroded as yugas passed. The Mahābhārata composed by him is the digest of all Vedas and Śāstras. (Mahābhārata Purāṇa Ādi I.17-21 and later vv. 54-74). Bhāgavata Purāṇa was the last work which, as advised by Nārada, gave him mental peace. All the Purāṇas, Mahābhārata and Brahma Sūtras are ascribed to him. He had written on all the subjects under the Sun. Vyāsocchiṣṭaṃ jagat sarvam is a well-deserved compliment to him.
[9]:
Vṛndāvana:
Still well-known by the same name. It is in U.P. A sacred place of all Hindus irrespective of Vaiṣṇavism. It is named after Vṛndā which according to Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa Kṛṣṇa-janma-khaṇḍa—Chapter 17, was the name of the daughter of King Kedāra. She was the incarnation of Lakṣmī. Sage Durvāsas gave her the Hari-mantra. She performed penance for 60,000 years and sought Viṣṇu as her husband.
The forest place where she performed the penance, came to be known as Vṛndāvana:
vṛndā yatra tapas tepe tat tu vṛndāvanaṃ smṛtam /
Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa Kṛṣṇa-janma-khaṇḍa // 17.204.
In the same chapter, Nārāyaṇa states that Vṛndā is one of the 16 synonyms of Rādhā:
kṛṣṇa vṛndāvanī vṛndā vṛndā-vana-vinodinī / ibid 17.21.b.
The forest of Rādhā (with Kṛṣṇa) came to be called Vṛndāvana.
In the Devī-bhāgavata 7.30.69, Vyāsa gives a list of Śakti-pīṭhas (Specially holy shrines of goddess Śakti) out of which Vṛndāvana is one and is associated wiṃ Rādhā.
rukmiṇī dvāravatyā tu rādhā vṛndāvane vane /
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa Skandha X gives many details of Vṛndāvana which are shown by guides to pilgrims today.
[10]:
When Kṛṣṇa is identified with Para-Brahman, the gods in charge of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe, naturally become his functionaries in carrying out the cycle of the creation etc. of the universe, and as such are called the servants (entrusted to accomplish the routine of this universe); and they are merely the rays of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
[11]:
Śaunaka:
According to Mahābhārata Ādi. 1.19 and Anuśāsana 30.65 he was the son of Śunaka of Bhṛgu clan. In Mahābhārata he is shown to be the performer of a sacrifice of 12 years duration in the Naimiṣa forest (see below), and the Sūta, Ugraśravas (son of Vyāsa’s disciple Romaharṣaṇa) came to visit him. In Nārada Purāṇa I.1.3-14, Śaunaka practised austerities in the Naimiṣa forest and when he was asked some problems of world-interests by sages, he led them to Sūta at Siddhāirama (see below Siddhāśrama).
[12]:
It is modern Nimsar at a distance of 20 miles from Sitapur and 45 miles to the North-West of Lucknow. Nimsar is a railway station on the former Ouḍh-Rohilkhanda Railway. It is so called because Lord Viṣṇu destroyed the Asura army there, within the twinkling of the eye (nimiṣa).
Sridhara on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.1.4 quotes from the VR.P. the etymology of this word as follows:
evam kṛtvā tato devo muniṃ gauramukhaṃ tadā /
uvāca nimi ṣeṇedaṃ nihatam dānavaṃ balam //
araṇyesmins tatas tvetam naimiṣāraṇya-sañjñitam /
bhaviṣyati yathārthaṃ vai brāhmaṇānām viśeṣakam / /
The other more popular spelling is Naimiśa as is explained as a place where the felly of the wheel mentally created by god Brahmā, fell off. He instructed ṃat to be a holy place where sacrifices, penance, etc., may be fruitfully performed.
Vāyu Purāṇa 1.2.8 states:
bhramato dharma-cakrasya yatra nemir aśīryata /
karmaṇā tena vikhyātaṃ naimiśam muni-pūjitam //
This is quoted verbatim in Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa 1.2.8. The Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.2.28-32 gives the same etymology and adds that Kali has no entry (i.e. influence) in that forest.
There seems to be another Naimiṣāraṇya (probably near the Kuru region) mentioned in Chāndogya Upa. 1.2.13, also in Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā 10.6, Tāṇḍya Mahābrāhmaṇa 25.6.4. But the Naimiṣāraṇya in Purāṇas was on the banks of the Gomati i.e. in U.P. which is Nimsar.
Rāma performed his horsesacrifice at that place:
yajña-vāṭaś 'ca sumahān gomatyā naimiśe vane /
|ājñāpyatām mahābāho tad hi puṇyam anantaram //
—V.R. 7.91.15.
It was also the place of Sītā’s second ordeal in which she disappeared in the earth. (V.R. 7. Sarga 97)
[13]:
Siddhāśrama:
Many places called Siddhāśrama are mentioned in the Purāṇas e.g. One near Buxar in Shahabad district is connected with god Vāmana (his birth-place); another in Gujarat near Dvārakā where Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā were reunited according to Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-janma-khaṇḍa, Ch. 124.2-8
aṃśena deva devībhī rukmiṇyādyābhir eva ca /
prayayau dvārakām ramyāṃ tasthau siddhāśrame svayam // etc.
But the Siddhāśrama in Nārada Purāṇa is significantly described as to be—
yuktaṃ sarobhir acchodaiḥ
(spotted with the lakes of crystalline, translucent water).
The specific mention of acchoda lake shows ṃat this Siddhāśrama must be on the bank of the Acchoda lake which is in Kashmir. It is now called Acchavata and is at a distance of 6 miles from Mārttaṇḍa.
[14]:
Veda-vedāṅga-śāstra-vit:
Though a common traditional adjective, it covers the entire syllabus of former eminent Pandits. Vedas are four: Ṛg, Sāman, Yajus and Atharvan. The Vedāṅgas are six:
(1). Śikṣā—“The science of proper articulation and pronunciation” of particular Veda,
(2) Kalpa— “The ceremonials and rituals pertaining to that Veda”,
(3) Chandas “The science of prosody”,
(4) Vyākaraṇa “Grammar”
(5) Nirukta “Etymological explanations of Vedic words”,
(6) Jyotiṣ ‘Astronomy’.
These are ancillary to Vedas for the correct pronunciation and interpretation of the text and the correct application of Mantras in the Vedic ceremonials, śāstra from √śās—to teach, to instruct’—Uṇādi 4.158 ṣṭran i.e.—stra, showing a manual or treatise teaching a subject systematically. According to Matsya Purāṇa 1.3.5 śāstras like Mīmāmsā, Nyāya etc. came out of Brahmā’s mouth after Veda, Vedāṅgas and Purāṇas.
But unorthodox Śāstras like Pāśupata, Nakulīśa, Bhairava (Tantra), being outside the Vedic fold should not be studied (A.P.)
vāmaṃ pāśupataṃ yogaṃ nakulaṃ caiva bhairavam /
asevyam etat kathitaṃ veda-bāhyaṃ tathetarat //
[15]:
Agniṣṭoma:
It is a kind of Soma sacrifice. This was regarded as beṃg born out of the first mouth of god Brahmā:
gāyatrīṃ ca ṛcaṃ caiva trivṛt-soma-rathāntare /
agniṣṭomam ca yajñānāṃ nirmame prathamān mukhāt //
Vāyu Purāṇa 2.9.49 reads:
agniṣṭomaṃ ca ya jñānām nirvame prathamān mukhāt /
It is a part of Jyotiṣṭoma. It is to be performed in the Spring. Study of the Vedas and being an agnihotrin are the two pre-conditions of eligibility to perform this sacrifice. The main material is Soma and the deities invoked are Indra, Vāyu, etc.
[16]:
Better if 31 and 32 are taken together. This (31) verse then becomes a sort of an adjectival clause describing Viṣṇu in the next verse).
[17]:
Sanaka-mukhyaistu:
By the four mentally-created sons of Brahmā viz., Sanaka, Sananda (Sanandana), Sanātana and Sanatkumāra, of which Sanaka was the first to be enumerated. In Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.12. 4, 5 god Brahmā created these sons and ordered them to procreate. They transcended the path of karma and were perpetually celibate. They disobeyed Brahmā and followed the path of Liberation from Saṃsāra. Time had no power over them. They looked five years old. This child-like appearance deceived Jaya and Vijaya, Viṣṇu’s attendants who did not allow them to see Viṣṇu. Being enraged they cursed them to be demons but assured them that Lord Viṣṇu will redeem them and they will rejoin their previous posts. Thus they were born as Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiraṇyakaśipu and Lord Viṣṇu had to incarnate as Varāha and Nṛsiṃha to relieve them from their demonic birth. It is worth noting that in the Mahābhārata, it is Sanatkumāra who is more active in propagating Vaiṣṇavism and not Sanaka. Even in Nārada Purāṇa I.2.1 sages ask Sūta where Nārada met Sanatkumāra, in spite of the seniority of Sanaka as mentioned here. They are always found in each others’ company and are sometimes called collectively ‘Kumāras’ (Boy-sages). In Kāśī-khaṇḍa we are told that they generally live in Janaloka. More description about them is given in the next chapter (w. 3-5).
[18]:
Principal objectives or goals in human life. Madhava defines them as puruṣair arthyate iti (that after which men aspire (sarvadarśana-saṅgraha). They are four in number:
1. dharma—righteous behaviour,
2. artha— wealth,
3. kāma (Desires or love not superseding righteousness or dharma— BG.7.11),
4. mokṣa—Liberation from Saṃsāra.
To this mediaeval Vaiṣṇavas added Bhakti (Devotion unto the Lord) as the fifth puruṣārtha. Manu advises all to strive for these energetically;
etac caturvidhaṃ vidyāt puruṣārtha-prayojanam /
asya nityam anuṣṭhānaṃ samyak kuryād atandritaḥ //
—Manu Saṃhitā 7.100
An advice endorsed by all Smṛti-writers and Purāṇa-compilers.
[19]:
Smṛti-writers regard the commission of the following acts as very heinous crimes, viz., Murder of a Brāhmaṇa, liquor-drinking, theft, adultery with one’s preceptor’s wife and complicity in these acts:
brahma-hatyā, surā-pānaṃ steyaṃ gurvāṅganāgamaḥ /
mahānti pātakānyāhus tat-saṃsargaś ca taiḥ saha //
—Manu 11.54
Also vide Yājñavalkya 3.227, Viṣṇu-dharma-sūtra 35.
The rigour about saṃsarga (association) with a sinner is modified by later Nibandhakāras. (Kane—Hist. Dh. Śāstra III.944).
[20]:
upa-pātakas (Minor sins):
Smṛtis differ as to which are minor sins, and hence their lists differ in details. Manu and other writers give about 49 acts as p sins. Most of them are anti-social in nature, e.g. abandoning one’s parents or preceptor, adultery or incest, selling of one’s wife or children, etc. The Smṛtis have provided different types of atonements (prāyaścittas) for these sins. The prāyaścittādhyāya is a common feature between Smṛtis and many Purāṇas.
[21]:
It is a sort of a Soma-yāga for absolute victory and only kings could perform it. It is the “king of sacrifices” as Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 13.2.2.1 puts it. Its spiritual description [om uṣā va aśvasya medhyasya śiraḥ / etc.] is very famous, but is a later sublimation. Originally, even in the time of RV., the horse was killed for the sacrifice. Hence its name aśvamedha. But the orgy that was later associated with it in later Vedas, is absent in RV. It appears to be an Indo-European rite as Romans had their “October horse” similar in many details to ours. The Upaniṣads have spiritualised sacrifices, of which the spiritualization of the horse-sacrifice is quoted above. It appears that since the Aśvamedha of the Pāṇḍavas, this sacrifice was going out of vogue. Pali and Ardha Magadhi canons do not mention any Horse-sacrifice at the time of Buddha or Mahāvīra. It is after the revival of Hinduism that Hindu kings like Puṣyamitra (180 b.c.), Vākāṭaka Pravarasena I, etc, took fancy to perform this sacrifice. Muslim invasions from the 10th century became an effective check on the imperial sacrifices like Aśvamedha and Rājasūya.
[22]:
Rājasūya:
A great sacrifice to be performed by a universal monarch (wiṃ the participation of tributary princes) at the time of his coronation, as a mark of his undisputed sovereignty [as Śatapatha puts it]:
It is described in details in the Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā Adhyāya 9, kāṇḍikas 35 to Adhyāya 10. Kāṇḍikās 30. Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya is described in Mahābhārata Sabhā Chs. 35-45 (In fact it starts with the expression of his desire for the great sacrifice fit to be performed by uncontested sovereigns Mahābhārata Sabhā. 13.30). In it abhiṣecanīya is the principal rite. In it the king is bathed with waters brought from seventeen sources in seventeen vessels of udumbara wood. It also fell in disuse. But curiously enough the Jain king Khārvela is credited to have performed a Rājasūya sacrifice (E.I. Vol.XX.79).
[23]:
arthavāda:
It is a statement usually recommending a vidhi or ritual by stating the good arising from proper observance and evils befalling by its omission, and also adds historical instances to support its view. The Mīmāṃsakas have been discussing this topic of arthavāda ‘Declamatory texts’ for many generations. Thus Gadādhara in Śaktivāda states that according to Prabhākara the Arthavāda texts cannot be regarded as trustworthy. This view is accepted by Nārada Purāṇa and hence its denunciation of those persons who regard Purāṇas as Arthavāda. But on this question of reliability of artha-vāda its trustworthy and useful character has been established (vide—Ganganath Jha—Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā in its Sources, pp. 179-81.
[24]:
A place where retribution for sins is suffered. The number of such places is different. According to Śaṅkara Br. Sūtra 3.1.15, the hells are 7 in number. Manu 4.88-90 and Yājñavalkya believe in 21 hells, but their names differ. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5,26 enumerates 28 hells. Accorcding to RV. 4.5.5. and 7.104.3, a hell is a subterranean dark pit. Atharva Veda believes hell to be inhabited by ogresses and dissolute women. The list of sinners to be sent for a particular sin to a particular hell differs from Purāṇa to Purāṇa, e.g. Padma Purāṇa Svarga-khaṇḍa 34, Pātāka-khaṇḍa 48, Vp.2.6.7.32 Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa Prakṛti-khaṇḍa chapters 27 & 28. The descriptions in the Garuḍa, Mārkaṇḍeya (12.3-39) are terrible and are meant as deterrents against sinful acts.
[25]:
Mura was the name of demon in charge of protecting the border of king Bhaumāsura (Naraka) of Prāgjyotiṣa-pura. He screened Bhaumāsura’s kingdom by planting 6000 nooses around that border. But Kṛṣṇa cut them all with his discus Sudarśana and killed the demon Mura (Mahābhārata Sabhā. 38.29 ff). According to Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.59.4-H, Mura was a demon of five heads who feeling secure about the defence of Naraka’s capital, was deeply asleep in water. Kṛṣṇa cut the wire-defence by his sword, roused the demon from sleep by blowing his conch and severed his heads by his discus Sudarśana. Hence, he came to be known as Murāri.