The Brahma Purana (critical study)

by Surabhi H. Trivedi | 1960 | 254,628 words

Hinduism Purana

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Summary: This is an English study of the Brahmapurana—one of the eighteen major Puranas. This text occupies an important place in the Pauranic literature. This study researches the rich an encyclopaedic material for social, religious, philosophical, mythological, political, geographical and literary study found in the Brahma-Purana. It also includes a linguistic and metrical analysis, a study of peculiar grammatical forms and a list of some difficult and obsolete words and Alamkaras. The study of Brahma-purana is very useful for comparative studies in mythology, religion, social condition and philosophy. It represents an important stage in showing liberal attitude regarding the mutual relations of Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

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Contents of this online book ( + / - )

The full text of the The Brahma Purana (critical study) in English is available here and publically accesible (free to read online). Of course, I would always recommend buying the book so you get the latest edition. You can see all this book’s content by visiting the pages in the below index:

Warning! This document has not been proofread. However, for each page you can (and should) verify the text with the original source PDF file.

Synopsis of the Thesis

+ Chapter 1 - Introduction

. 1. The Concept of Purana

. 2. Importance of Puranic Studies

. 3. Purana; Meaning, Definition and Characteristics

. 4. Need for Critical Edition

. 5. The Brahma Purana as a Purana, its Place etc.

. 6. Date of the Brahma Purana

. 7. Place of composition of the Brahma Purana

. 8. Saura-Purana: an Upapurana of the Brahma Purana

. 9. Introduction, part 2

. 10. Description of the Present Brahma Purana

. 11. The concept of Pancalaksanas

. 12. Geography in the Brahma Purana

. 13. Holy places in Orissa

. 14. The Gautami-mahatmya section of the Brahma Purana

. 15. The Krishna-caritra section of the Brahma Purana

. 16. Religion and Philosophy in the Brahma Purana

+ A summary of the Contents of Brahma-Purana

. Chapters 1-25

. Chapters 26-50

. Chapters 51-75

. Chapters 76-100

. Chapters 101-125

. Chapters 126-150

. Chapters 151-175

. Chapters 176-225

. Chapters 226-245

+ Social Structure

. 1. Introduction

. 2. Varna, Jati and Caste

. 3. Theory of the origin of the four social orders

. 4. Varna system (a): Brahmins

. 4. Varna system (b): Ksatriyas

. 4. Varna system (c): Vaisyas

. 4. Varna system (d): Sudras

. 5. Sub-castes and Occupations

. 6. Social Mobility

. 7. The system of the Asramas

. 8. The Stage of a Brahmacarin

. 9. The Stage of a Grhastha

. 10. The Stage of a Vanaprastha

. 11. The Stage of a Bhiksu or a Yati

. 12. System of Education

. 13. Position and duties of the Student

. 14. Position and importance of Teacher

. 15. Duration of the Course

. 16. Fees prescribed for the students

. 17. The Gurukula System

. 18. Courses of study, priestly and vocational

+ Marriage, Family and Position of Women

. 1. Introduction to Marriage

. 2. Terms to Denote the idea of Marriage

. 3. Purpose of Marriage

. 4. Qualifications of the Bride and the Bridegroom

. 5. Age of Marriage

. 6. Types of Marriage

. 7. Forms of Marriage

. 8. Limitations of Marriage-relationship

. 9. Marriage Ceremony

. 10. Marriage-Celebration

. 11. Inter-caste Marriages

. 12. The system of Niyoga

. 13. Illicit Unions

. 14. Kinds of Sons

. 15. Family (introduction)

. 16. Position of Son

. 17. Status and Position of the Father

. 18. Mother and daughter

. 20. Son-in-Law

. 21. The Position of Women (introduction)

. 22. Woman as Daughter

. 23. Woman as Wife

. 24. Pativrata

. 25. Woman as Mother

. 26. Position of a daughter-in-law

. 27. Position of a widow

. 28. The Custom of Sati

. 29. Prostitution

. 30. Women and their description, toilet etc.

. 31. Attitude towards women in general

. 32. Women and higher studies

. 33. Women and Religion

. 34. Women and Sudras

. 35. Women not to be killed

. 36. Women and Fighting

. 37. Seclusion of Women

. 38. Views about Women’s nature

. 39. Attitude towards Women captives

. 40. Woman’s share in Patrimony

+ Social and Economic Life

+ Mythology

. 1. Introduction (Mythology in the Brahma Purana)

. 2. Depiction of Visnu (introduction)

. 3. Visnu and other Gods

. 3. Visnu And Other Gods

. 4. The identity of Krsna and Vasudeva

. 5. The identity of Sesa and Balarama

. 7. Description of Siva

. 6. The identity of Balarama

. 8. Description of Kumara or Kartikeya

. 9. Description of Ganapati (Ganesa)

. 10. Description of Brahma (Prajapati)

. 11. Description of Indra

. 12. Description of Arjuna

. 13. Description of the Maruts

. 14. Description of Yama

. 15. Description of Agni

. 16. Description of Kamadeva

. 17. Description of Soma

. 18. Description of Visvakarma (Visvakarman)

. 19. Description of Tvastr

. 20. Description of the Asvins

. 21. Description of Sanaiscara

. 22. Description of Varuna

. 23. Description of Vayu

. 24. Description of Hanuman

. 25. Description of Nandi

. 26. Description of Kubera

. 27. Description of Sagara

. 28. Description of the Goddesses

. 29. Description of Laksmi

. 30. Description of Saraswati

. 31. Description of Yogamaya

. 32. Description of Subhadra

. 33. Description of Aditi

. 34. Description of Gayatri

. 35. Description of Viraja Mata

. 36. Description of Ksudha

. 37. Description of the Ausadhis

. 38. Description of the Matrs

. 39. Description of the Demons

. 40. Description of the Sages

+ Religion

. 1. Introduction (religion and worship)

. 2. Worship of lord Krsna, Balarama and Subhadra

. 3. Purusottama Worship

. 4. Nrsimha-Worship

. 5. Narayana-Worship

. 6. Mahadeva-Worship

. 7. Surya-Worship

. 8. Vata-puja (Tree worship)

. 9. The concept of Sacrifice

. 10. Sraddha and Ancestor Worship

. 11. Sraddhadhikarins

. 12. Time to Perform Sraddha

. 13. Placed enjoined and discarded for the performance of the Sraddhas

. 14. Persons to be invited and not to be invited

. 15. Persons not to be invited

. 16. Number of Invitees

. 17. Materials to be employed

. 18. Materials not to be employed

. 19. Classification of Sraddhas

. 20. Sraddha Ceremony

. 21. Rewards of Sraddha

. 23. Pilgrimage

. 24. Vrata

. 25. Samskaras (religious ceremony)

. 26. Dana (gifts)

. 27. Karmans and Rewards

. 28. Sins and their retribution

. 29. Heaven and Hell

. 1. Introduction (philosophy)

. 2. The concept of God in the Brahma Purana

. 3. The concept of Maya

. 4. Cosmogony and Cosmology

. 5. Cosmic-egg Theory and Samkhya Theory

. 6. Mythologico-Philosophical Theory

. 7. The concept of Samsara

. 8. Emancipation: Means and Types

. 9. The philosophy of Jnana

. 10. Types of Emancipation

. 11. The concept of Eschatology

. 12. The Concept of Time

. 13. The concept of Dharma

. 14. Doctrine of Truth

. 15. Philosophy of Life

+ Chapter 9 - Geography

. 1. Introduction (geography)

. 2. Brahma-purana: World Geography

. 3. The area of Plaksadvipa

. 4. The area of Salmaladvipa

. 5. The area of Kusadvipa

. 6. The area of Krauncadvipa

. 7. The area of Sakadvipa

. 8. The area of Puskaradvipa

. 9. The area of Bharata

. 10. Identification of Geographical Places

Chapter 10 - Ethnic Data in the Brahma Purana

+ Chapter 11 - Political Structure

. 1. Introduction (political structure)

. 2. Theory of Divine Origin of King

. 3. Nature of Kingship

. 4. Forms of Government

. 5. System of Administration

. 6. Coronation Ceremony

. 7. Ministry (or Council)

. 8. War and Weapons

. 9. Ethics of War

. 10. The Army (fourfold classification)

. 11. Practice of Warfare

. 12. Things obtained from the conquered region

. 13. Defensive Fortresses

. 14. Flags and Banners

. 15. List of Weapons

Chapter 12 - Dynastic Data

Appendix 1 - A list of Difficult and Obsolete Words in the Brahma Purana

Appendix 2 - Some Linguistic and Literary aspects

Appendix 3 - Metres used in the Brahmapurana

Appendix 4 - Metrical Analysis

Appendix 5 - A list of some Alamkaras

Appendix 7 - Flora and Fauna

Appendix 8 - Geographical and Ethnic Data

Appendix 9 - Chart of Ethnic Data provided by Various Puranas

Appendix 10 - Genealogical Tables

Appendix 11 - Alphabetical list of Hells

Appendix 12 - Verses Quoted from the Brahma Purana in Different Works

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Last Updated: 17 August, 2024

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