Preface to fifth part

This is Part V of the voluminous Padma Purāṇa and Volume 43 in the series of Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology. It comprises the whole of section IV named Brahmakhaṇḍa (chapters 1-26) and part of Section V named Pātālakhaṇḍa (chapters 1-67).

Let us here give a brief outline of the contents of this part.

The Brahmakhaṇḍa deals mainly with various aspects of Viṣṇu Bhakti or devotion to god Viṣṇu. Out of its 26 chapters as many as 19 preach devotion to Viṣṇu directly in most and indirectly in a few, strengthening it with the help of short anecdotes and stories.

Devotion to Viṣṇu is recommended as the quickest and surest way to liberation in this Kali age. No pilgrimage, no bathing in Gaṅgā, in short, nothing else need be done by such a devotee. The characteristics of a devotee of Viṣṇu are described in vv. 21-32 of chapter 1. The story of a thief named Daṇḍaka shows how a solitary and insignificant act performed once destroyed even his gravest sins committed in the past, and the one of a pious brāhmaṇa Vaikuṇṭha and a rat shows how an accidental act of brightening the flame of a lamp burning in a Viṣṇu temple on the part of the rat liberated it.

Observing a fast on a Jayantī day is strongly advised. The merits thereof and awful results incurred by its non-observance are described in detail. Six meritorious Jayantīs are mentioned, Kṛṣṇajanmāṣṭamī and Rādhāṣṭamī being the two most prominent ones.

Ekādaśī is said to be Viṣṇu’s day and importance of fasting on this day is greatly emphasized. Various means of winning the favour of god Viṣṇu are described in chapter 16.

Worship of Tulasī plant, offering its leaves to the deity, wearing a rosary of Tulasī wood round one’s neck and a garland of Tulasī leaves are praised as highly efficacious in destroying one’s sins and freeing oneself from the clutches of Yama’s messengers. Uttering Viṣṇu’s name is regarded highly meritorious and leading to Vaikuṇṭha.

Some minor themes of this Section include deeds responsible for sonlessness, birth of a daughter, of a good son, and for stillbirth; churning of the ocean as initiated by a curse of sage Durvāsa who is reputed to become furious for very flimsy reasons; protection offered to a brāhmaṇa as highly meritorious, illustrated by the story of sage Viśvāmitra and how he averted a tragedy by offering himself as a victim in a Naramedha sacrifice in place of a brāhmaṇa boy; purificatory acts recommended for saving oneself from sins incurred by indulging in illicit intercourse and eating feces, drinking urine, sipping wine etc.; and importance of keeping a promise.

The Pātālakhaṇḍa devotes its first 68 chapters to the ever well-known Rāmāyaṇa story, out of which all but the last are included in this Part. This is a Vaiṣṇava theme par excellence, as Rāma was an incarnation of Viṣṇu born for the divine purpose of eliminating the demons headed by Rāvaṇa.

Most of these chapters from Eight onwards describe Rāma’s Horse Sacrifice. Chapters 12-53 narrate a number of interesting episodes associated with the Horse’s journey over the whole of the earth, including the various thrilling battles that Śatrughna’s army had to fight to free the Horse from the rival kings who for some reason came to challenge the supremacy of Rāma. In chapter 54 the ascetic boy Lava binds the Horse, and chapters 60-66 describe the crushing defeat suffered by Śatrughna’s army at the hands of the two ascetic brothers Kuśa and Lava.

Incidentally, chapters 55-59 describe the washerman’s scandalous talk about Sītā heard and reported to Rāma by the spies and the consequent banishment of Sītā and birth of Kuśa and Lava in the hermitage of sage Vālmīki under his own loving care, who at an appropriate moment discloses the identity of the two sons of Sītā to Rāma who then owns them as his heirs. Sītā after a lot of persuasion returns to Rāma and the Horse Sacrifice is happily concluded even without the victim who miraculously gives up his equine form at Rāma’s touch and assumes a divine form.

Acknowledgements

It is our pleasant duty to put on record our sincere thanks to Dr. R.N. Dandekar and the UNESCO authorities for their kind encouragement and valuable help which render this work more useful than it would otherwise have been. We are extremely grateful to Dr. N.A. Deshpande for translating the text. We are also thankful to all those who have been helpful in our project.

—Editor