Vishnu Purana (Taylor)

by McComas Taylor | 2021 | 157,710 words | ISBN-13: 9781760464400

The Vishnu Purana is an ancient Sanskrit text composed around 1500 years ago. The text details the universe's history, creation, and the essence of Hindu theology. It highlights the roles of gods, human origins, and ideals of Brahminical society. The Purana further narrates stories of devotion, cosmic battles, and Krishna’s famed romantic exploits....

11. Divine and semi-divine beings

The purāṇic thought-world includes a rich ecosystem of supernatural beings. At the apex are the deities or gods known as suras or devas. These are in general the old Vedic deities led by their king, Indra, and include the creator, Brahmā, the ‘grandsire of the world’; the generally destructive and unruly Śiva-Rudra; the heavenly twins known as the Aśvins; Varuṇa, god of oceans and waters; as well as the Agnis and Maruts, gods of fire and winds, respectively. A group of deities were the sons of a sage called Kaśyapa and his wife and are called Ādityas after her. Other frequently mentioned deities include the Sun, Moon and Earth and several undifferentiated hosts of gods known as the Viśvadevas, Vasus and Sādhyas. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, there are many mentions of the ‘thirteen great deities’ of whom Indra is the head, but the precise membership of this list varies. Many of these deities are said to have Indo-European precursors and may be ‘related’ to the gods of Greece and Rome.

The sage Kaśyapa, from whom the gods were descended, had another wife, Diti. She gave birth to the demonic demigods known as the Daityas. The Daityas are often mentioned in the same breath as the Dānavas, the offspring of Danu, another of Kaśyapa’s wives. These two tribes of half-brothers—asuras or ‘not-gods’—never got on with the suras and are locked in an eternal struggle with them for sovereignty over the universe. Usually the demigods seem to have the upper hand, and the gods are often reduced to seeking assistance from Viṣṇu. They supplicate the supreme being with effusive praise and he agrees to assist them. Granted some divine boon, the gods are thereby able to win the immediate battle, but the eternal war between good and evil drags on forever.

The demigods are in general much more interesting than their godly brothers. They are ‘deceitful, ignorant, impatient and unrestrained’ (3.17.18). They rage and fume, curse and swear, which makes their diction all the more lively. Demigods occasionally appear in the world of mortals. They all have supernatural powers, such as the ability to fly through the air and change shape at will. Most notable among the Daityas is the king Hiraṇyakaśipu, who had terrible trouble with his son Prahlāda. This demon lad betrayed his demonic roots and became enamoured of the divine ideology of Viṣṇu, his father’s nemesis (1.15–20).

There are several other species of less-important semi-divine beings. Siddhas are highly accomplished saints or sages who have acquired supernatural powers. They do not have much to do in our text but turn up occasionally to sing the praises of Viṣṇu–Kṛṣṇa. Gandharvas are described in many sources as ‘celestial musicians’. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa questionably claims that their name arises from the fact that they were born ‘drinking speech’ (1.5.46). They are handsome and, like the siddhas, their main function in our text is to sing the praises of the deity.

Apsarases are hosts of semi-divine female beings with supernatural powers and irresistible charms. If a deity ever needs to distract a sage from his meditation, he usually sends one of these beautiful females to do the job. Apart from seducing sages, the main role for apsarases in our text is to sing and dance in honour of the deities.

Nāgas are semi-divine serpent spirits that are neither particularly benevolent nor malevolent. We know from visual art that they resemble humans from the waist up, with a snake’s body and tail from the waist down. Among the most famous nāgas are Śeṣa, the benign many-headed serpent who forms a couch for Viṣṇu to recline on, and venomous Kāliya, whom Kṛṣṇa defeats in battle. Nāgas reside either in the waters or in the lower realms, where, like other Indo-European dragons to whom they are probably related, they hoard treasure. In our text, nāgas are described as ‘fork-tongued, resilient, cruel and bent on pleasure’ (3.17.23).

Supernatural yakṣas are generally innocuous but somewhat shadowy in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. They have frivolous hearts, lack discernment and hanker after sensual pleasures (3.17.19). Our text offers a fanciful etymology, claiming that they are named because of their desire for food (jakṣaṇa; 1.5.43). In other Sanskrit literature—notably Kālidāsa’s courtly poem Meghadūta—they are the attendants of Kubera, god of wealth.

Among the more malevolent beings are rākṣasas, guhyakas and paiśācas—all hideous night-ranging demons who feed on human flesh. Parāśara, the narrator of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, should know about these, as his own father was eaten by one. Described as ‘cruel, deceptive, fierce and dark’ (3.17.20), they continually strive to disrupt the sacrifices conducted by sages, in order to weaken the gods.

There are several other species of semi-divine being—some good and others bad—in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, but they are usually mentioned only in lists and play no active role in the narrative. These include celestial musicians known as cāraṇas and vidyādharas, and kiṃnaras and kimpuruṣas (both of which literally mean ‘What kind of person?!’) and disease-causing spirits known as kūṣmāṇḍas.

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