The Padma Purana

by N.A. Deshpande | 1951 | 1,261,945 words | ISBN-10: 8120838297 | ISBN-13: 9788120838291

This page describes preface to eighth part of the English translation of the Padma Purana, one of the largest Mahapuranas, detailling ancient Indian society, traditions, geography, as well as religious pilgrimages (yatra) to sacred places (tirthas).

Disclaimer: These are translations of Sanskrit texts and are not necessarily approved by everyone associated with the traditions connected to these texts. Consult the source and original scripture in case of doubt.

Preface to eighth part

We are happy to add one more to the already published forty-five volumes of the AITM series. The present one, being the eighth part of the Padma Purāṇa in English translation, comprises chapters 82-184 of the sixth, Uttarakhaṇḍa, Section which is big enough to occupy the next part and part of the tenth and last one.

As an analysis of the contents reveals, out of the 103 chapters of the Uttarakhaṇḍa included here as many as 42 deal with the Holy Places of the Jambū Dvīpa, highlighting their efficacy, with the help of illustrative stories, in the riddance of both major and minor sins, not only of a person who actually visits them with faith and takes a holy bath there but also of his forefathers of a varying number of previous generations. The reader will notice that each and every such place is praised as if it were the holiest of holy places—a tendency akin to what Max Müller has termed ‘henotheism’ in the case of the Vedic gods.

Next comes the devotion to god Viṣṇu, to which about 30 chapters are devoted narrating the various celebrations, festivals, rites, vows and modes of worship to be performed to propitiate the god. Devotion to Viṣṇu is said to be of three kinds, viz. Sāttvika, Rājasa and Tāmasa. In Sāttvikī Bhakti, which is the best of the three, the devotee merges his heart in Him, dedicates himself to Him, practices compassion and is always intent upon duties sacred to Viṣṇu; he worships the Lord three times a day and subsists on fruits, roots and water, and imprints his body with marks of a conch and a disc. The second type, i.e. Rājasī Bhakti, is the one motivated by a desire to get objects of sensuous enjoyment, glory and affluence. The Tāmasī Bhakti which is the most inferior of the three types, is characterized by egoism, hypocrisy, deceit and destructiveness. In the practice of meditation and devotion the deity with a form is preferred to a formless one, and this may be treated as an argument in favour of idol-worship. The Purāṇa argues: “How can a man go along a vacant path without a support?... The one (Lord) having a form is easily seen. The formless one is not seen. There is pleasure of service of the one having a form; no (such) pleasure in the case of serving a formless one” (ch. 132).

One of these chapters (ch. 90) contains the story of a demon Śaṅkha who, attributing the invincible power of gods to their possession of the Vedic hymns, snatches the Vedas from Satyaloka when Viṣṇu was asleep, how he was killed by the Lord assuming the form of a big fish and then how the Vedas were recovered from waters by the sages at the behest of the Lord. Several things are indicated by this mythical account, viz. mainly that though Brahmā, the god residing in the highest Satyaloka is the custodian of the Vedas, the real keeper of a vigil and the protector of them is Lord Viṣṇu; and that the sages who recovered the different portions of the Veda from water are the seers of their respective portions, not their authors. This account most probably points to the historical fact that the Vedas were at some time not known to recorded history thrown by some foreign invaders from across the seas into the sea and were later recovered and restored to their original shape by some brāhmaṇa sages. It may as well be surmised that in some remote antiquity a master copy of the Vedas was kept in the custody of a super-priest of Brahmā category, and was stolen by some heretics, but was fortunately recovered in time, and then started the practice of committing the Vedas to memory and passing them on through oral tradition only for security reasons.

Incidentally, chapter 88 of this part reiterates that Lord Kṛṣṇa had sixteen thousand wives, and recommends the gift of Tulāpuruṣa (articles equal to the weight of a person) for obtaining a husband like Kṛṣṇa from birth to birth.

The last ten chapters of this part praise the first ten chapters of the Gītā and show how a recitation of each wholly or partly, intentionally or accidentally elevates a wretch to the highest spiritual position. While praising chapter sixth for its efficacy the famous Chāndogya story of king Jānaśruti and sage Raikva is reproduced with a slight variation in these names making them Jñānaśruti and Raikya respectively.

Next comes the story of Jalandhara which has already been narrated in detail in chapters 3-18 of this Khaṇḍa (vide Pd. P., Part VII). Here it, very strangely, reappears in nine chapters, viz. 96-104 without any new feature at all. We have already hinted at the multiple authorship of this Purāṇa in our Preface to Part VII and may only add here that it was a sensless act on the part of the author of this repetition.

Lastly, one long chapter (122) is devoted to the details of Dīpāvalī celebration, which gives a sort of religious sanction to the practice of gambling during the festival. It is said that Pārvatī defeated Śiva in the game of dice and sent him away naked, and further that he who gets victory first (in gambling) passes the whole year happily.

Some more observations of the Purāṇa may be noted here:

In chapter 112 it has been stated that religious merit or sin of one person can pass to another person through contact, e.g. due to being paired together, going together, eating from the same pot etc., followed by a long list of what fraction of it passes under what circumstances. The arithmatic involved here, if not arbitrary, would pose a serious juridical problem for one wishing to find a rational basis for the calculation.

The Purāṇa has introduced two technical terms in chapter 114, viz. śuṣka for non-deliberate sin and ārdra for a deliberate one, and two more in chapter 132, viz. śukla dravya for money earned through performance of one’s duty, which is equivalent to the current term ‘white money’ earned through rightful means, and, by implication, kṛṣṇa dravya for ‘black money’.

In chapter 117 it has been declared that one having no faith, a sinful person, an atheist, one with a split mind and a disputant—these five do not get the benefit of a visit to a holy place.

At the time when this Purāṇa was composed very early marriage was in vogue, as is indicated by the injunction of the Purāṇa (vide ch. 118) that a man should marry his daughter before she has attained puberty, with this further remark that wise men recommend a girl’s marriage when she is eight years old.

Finally, the Purāṇa (ch. 126) gives a list of a few apparently good practices which become worthless under certain circumstances: e.g. religious practices accompanied by hypocrisy are worthless; penance becomes worthless by anger; knowledge without practical application is worthless; a gift given to a brāhmaṇa who is not learned in worthless, etc.

—G. P. Bhatt

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