The Matsya Purana (critical study)

by Kushal Kalita | 2018 | 74,766 words | ISBN-13: 9788171103058

This page relates ‘Introduction to Puranas’ of the English study on the Matsya-purana: a Sanskrit text preserving ancient Indian traditions and legends written in over 14,000 metrical verses. In this study, the background and content of the Matsyapurana is outlined against the cultural history of ancient India in terms of religion, politics, geography and architectural aspects. It shows how the encyclopedic character causes the text to deal with almost all the aspects of human civilization.

Part 1 - An Introduction to Purāṇas

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The structure of Indian civilization stands on the footing formed by the Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the two epics, viz., the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas. Indian religion, philosophy, literature, culture have achieved their present glorious status only because of such enriched sources.

In The Cultural Heritage of India, it is rightly mentioned,

“The Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, and the eighteen Purāṇas form the massive basement on which stands the magnificent edifice of Indian religion and thought, culture and literature.”^[1]

Among these, the Vedas were accessible only to three upper classes of the society as they were only permitted to study the Vedas. Even women were deprived from the benefits of enjoying the Vedic rites, mantras etc. On the other hand, the Upaniṣads were hard nut for common people to crack. They were only accessible by the philosophers and scholars. These religious and spiritual deprivations were compensated by supplying the Vedic material in a simple form in the epics and Purāṇas which would be easily accessible by the śūdras and others. In such conditions the epics and the Purāṇas were regarded as the real Veda for the common people as they were the main sources of knowledge for them.

Hence, the epics and the Purāṇas have played a special role in uplifting the Indian civilization up to this stage.

It is rightly said by Nilmadhav Sen in The Cultural Heritage of India,

“It was the epics and the Purāṇas that became the real Vedas for the common masses for the last two thousand years. There is hardly any other work whose influence on all aspects of life in India has been so profound, lasting and continuous as that of the epics and the Purāṇas.”^[2]

In his forward note in the book Studies in the Epics and Purāṇas, K.M.Munshi writes:

“The Purāṇas occupy a unique position in Indian literature, both sacred and secular. After the Mahābhārata they have been the main source of inspiration in the life of our people for over 1500 years.”^[3]

In the history of religion and literature of India the Purāṇas with their antiquity and sacredness occupy a unique place. The Chāndogyopaniṣad termed the Purāṇas as the ‘Fifth Veda’.^[4] They bear the great value providing plentiful information of all aspects of Hinduism -personal, social and political as also philosophy and religion. From the view point of their contents the Purāṇas can be said as an encyclopaedia.

F. E. Pargiter also observes,

“...taken collectively, they may be described as a popular encyclopaedia of ancient and medieval Hinduism, religious, philosophical, historical, personal, social and political.”^[5]

The term purāṇa basically denotes old narrative or ancient legend.^[6] There had been different explanations regarding the term purāṇa. Yāska in his Nirukta has explained the word purāṇa as purāpi navaṃ bhavati, which means, that which is old at present and will be in new form in future.^[7] The Vāyupurāṇa has defined it as yasmātpurā hyanatīdaṃ purāṇam tena smṛtam.^[8] Thus, it is called Purāṇa as it breaths (anati) in the past (purā). In the Matsyapurāṇa also the term purāṇa is explained as purātanasya kalpasya purāṇāni vidurbudhāḥ.^[9] It means that the text which gives us the substantiation of very old happenings is Purāṇa. In the Brāhmaṇas, Upaniṣads and some other ancient texts, the word purāṇa is found in connection with Itihāsa.^[10] In the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya, the term purāṇa is enumerated as belonging to the contents of Itihāsa.¹¹ In the Sūtra literature the existence of Purāṇa text is clearly mentioned.^[11] In the Gautama Dharmasūtra, it is said that the king should take authorities on the administration of justice, the Veda, the law books, the Vedāṅgas and the Purāṇas.^[12] M.

Winternitz opines,

“…there must have been even at the early period works resembling our Purāṇas. It is indeed likely enough that our Purāṇas are only recasts of older works of the same species, namely, of works of religious didactic contents, in which were collected ancient traditions of the Creation, the deeds of the gods, heroes, saints and ancient ancestors of the human race, the beginnings of the famous royal families and so on.”^[13]

The existence of the Purāṇas is mystic in character as one cannot definitely say about the beginning of these texts.

The Vāyupurāṇa says,

prathamaṃ sarvaśāstrāṇāṃ purāṇaṃ brahmaṇā smṛtam/
anantaraṃ ca vaktrebhyo vedastasya vinisṛtaḥ// ^[14]

which means that Brahmā among all Śāstras first revealed the Purāṇa and there after the Vedas. It shows that the term purāṇa was in use long before its compilation. The Atharvaveda,^[15] the Śatapathabrāhmaṇa,^[16] the Gopathabrāhmaṇa,^[17] the Chāndogyopaniṣad,^[18] the Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad,^[19] the Taittirīya Āraṇyaka^[20] and some other Vedic works have mentioned about the Purāṇa in various contexts. Along with the four Vedas, the Brāhmaṇas and the Kalpasūtras, the Itihāsa-Purāṇa were included in the study of sacred lore by the Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra.^[21] The Rāmāyaṇa^[22] and the Mahābhārata^[23] also contain the term in the sense of legends of kings and sages.

The Atharvaveda which contains the earliest mention of the word purāṇa says thus:

ṛcaḥ sāmāni chandāṃsi purāṇaṃ yajuṣā saha ucchiṣṭājjajñire.^[24]

It means that the mantras of the Ṛgveda, the Sāmaveda along with the mantras of the Yajurveda, the Chandas and the Purāṇa were originated from the residue (ucchiṣṭha) of the sacrifice. Here a confusion arises about the use of the term purāṇa in the Atharvaveda along with other Vedas; whether this term indicates any independent form of composition or is used only in the sense of story.

R. C. Hazra has endeavoured to solve this, confusion with the remark,

“This statement however absurd it may appear to be, will have validity, if we take the word ‘purāṇa’ to mean not the Purāṇa literature, but ‘ancient stories and legends’, which, in every country, come into being much earlier than versified compositions”^[25]

Giving the examples of the periods of the kings like Vadhryaśva, Divodāsa, Sudās etc.

R. C. Hazra also opines,

“…that the Purāṇic tradition can rightly claim a much earlier beginning than the Vedas, is also shown by the fact that kings Vadhryaśva, Divodāsa, Sudās, Somaka and others, who are known to the Ṛgveda have been placed very low in the genealogical lists given in the Purāṇas.”^[26]

It is also mentioned in the Studies in Epics and Purāṇas of India that the Purāṇas in the form of legendary lore existed from times of antiquity even prior to the revelation of the Vedas and this was handed down to posterity. There was no Purāṇa literature as such in those days of yore.^[27] According to the Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad, the Vedas, Itihāsa, Purāṇa etc. are the breath of the mahābhūta or Paramātman or the Supreme Soul.^[28]

The main objectives of compiling the Purāṇas are not only to preserve the old traditions and religious informative contents, but also to present the popular sectarian narratives, compilations of different periods of mythology, philosophy, history, geography and the sacred law. Besides, the Purāṇas are also considered as one of the fourteen Vidyās which can be compared with the Vedas.^[29]

Tradition says that the Purāṇas entitled as Mahāpurāṇas are 18 in number. The Upapurāṇas are also of the same numbers. But it is clearly mentioned in some Purāṇas like the Nāradapurāṇa,^[30] the Matsyapurāṇa^[31] etc. that originally there was only one Purāṇa which was written by Vyāsa, the son of sage Parāśara.^[32] The Matsyapurāṇa made the observation that the single Purāṇa comprising four lacs of ślokas was divided into eighteen Purāṇas by Vyāsa himself.^[33] In the Agnipurāṇa, again, it is stated that Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa imparted his knowledge of the Purāṇa to his disciple Sūta Lomaharṣaṇa, who, on his part, taught this to his six disciples out of whom Akṛtavarṇa of Kāśyapa gotra, Sāvarṇi of Somadatta clan and Suśarmā of Śaṃśapāyana gotra composed their own Purāṇasaṃhitās.^[34]

Thus, the Purāṇasaṃhitā composed by Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa proliferated into four Saṃhitās.

One is from Lomaharṣaṇa which is known as Lomaharṣaṇikā (also called the Mūlasaṃhitā),
Kāśyapikā,
Sāvarṇikā and
Śaṃśapāyanikā.

It has also been observed in the Viṣṇupurāṇa that Vyāsa after dividing the single Veda into four, compiled a Purāṇa and taught it along with Itihāsa to his disciple Suta Lomaharṣaṇa.^[35] In the Umāsaṃhitā of the Śivapurāṇa, again, it is mentioned that there are twenty six (26) Purāṇas,^[36] but the names of the Purāṇas are not found therein.

The list of the eighteen (18) Mahāpurāṇas given in the Matsyapurāṇa is as follows:

Brahmapurāṇa,
Padmapurāṇa,
Viṣṇupurāṇa,
Vāyupurāṇa,
Bhāgavatapurāṇa,
Nāradapurāṇa,
Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa,
Agnipurāṇa,
Bhaviṣyapurāṇa,
Brahmavaivartapurāṇa,
Liṅgapurāṇa,
Varāhapurāṇa,
Skandapurāṇa,
Vāmanapurāṇa,
Kūrmapurāṇa,
Matsyapurāṇa,
Garuḍapurāṇa and
Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa.^[37]

The Bhāgavatapurāṇa and Viṣṇupurāṇa have some dissimilarity with the list given in the Matsyapurāṇa.

According to the Bhāgavatapurāṇa, Mahāpurāṇas are as follows:

Brahmapurāṇa,
Padmapurāṇa,
Viṣṇupurāṇa,
Śivapurāṇa,
Bhāgavatapurāṇa,
Nāradapurāṇa,
Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa,
Agnipurāṇa,
Bhaviṣyapurāṇa,
Brahmavaivartapurāṇa,
Liṅgapurāṇa,
Varāhapurāṇa,
Skandapurāṇa,
Vāmanapurāṇa,
Kūrmapurāṇa,
Matsyapurāṇa,
Garuḍapurāṇa and
Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa.^[38]

The

Viṣṇupurāṇa also follows the same.^[39] Here, the Matsyapurāṇa has excluded Śivapurāṇa and placed Vāyupurāṇa in the list of the Mahāpurāṇas. On the other hand the Bhāgavata and the Viṣṇu have put the Śivapurāṇa in the list and excluded the Vāyupurāṇa. The list of the Kūrmapurāṇa omits the Agnipurāṇa and substitutes the Vāyu. The Agni leaves out the Śiva, and inserts the Vāyu. The Barāhapurāṇa omits the Garuḍa and Brahmāṇḍa and inserts the Vāyu and the Narasiṃhapurāṇa. The Mārkaṇḍeyaapurāṇa agrees with the Viṣṇuapurāṇa and Bhāgavatapurāṇa omitting the Vāyuapurāṇa. Thus, it is seen that the names of the Mahāpurāṇas are the same in almost all the Purāṇas, though there is difference about the Vāyuapurāṇa and the Śivapurāṇa. Out of these eighteen Purāṇas the seven Purāṇas, viz., Mārkaṇḍeya, Vāyu, Brahmāṇḍa, Viṣṇu, Matsya, Bhāgavata and Kūrma are counted as Major Purāṇas by R.C. Hazra, because they are of earlier dates and have preserved much older material.^[40]

In comparison to the Mahāpurāṇas the Upapurāṇas were composed in later period. The eighteen Upapurāṇas are Sanatkumāra, Narasiṃha, Nanda, Śivadharma, Durvāsā, Kāli or Kālikā, Maheśvara, Śāmba, Saura, Parāśara, Mārīca and Bhārgava. However, unlike the Mahāpurāṇas, the names of the eighteen Upapurāṇas are not the same always. Different lists are found in different works. Moreover, though the eighteen number is accepted in case of the Upapurāṇas, there are in fact many more Upapurāṇas. R. C. Hazra has collected the names of about a hundred Upapurāṇas of which hardly fifteen have been printed.

The Padmapurāṇa refers to the classification of Purāṇas.^[41] The Matsyapurāṇa^[42] also follows the same.

The Mahāpurāṇas were categorized [into the following three types, as per the guṇas], viz.,

Sāttvika,
Tāmasa and
Rājasa.

According to the Matsyapurāṇa, where lord Viṣṇu is glorified those Purāṇas are termed as Sāttvika Purāṇas. Those Purāṇas which are written glorifying Brahmā are included in the category of Rājasa. The Purāṇas which glorify Agni and Śiva are included in the Tāmasa category. On the other hand those glorifying Sarasvatī and manes are regarded as Saṃkīrṇa Purāṇas.^[43]

Sāttvika Purāṇas include:

Viṣṇu,
Nārada,
Bhāgavata,
Garuḍa,
Padma and
Varāha.

Rājasa Purāṇas are:

Brahamāṇḍa,
Brahmavaivarta,
Mārkaṇḍeya,
Brahma,
Vāmana and
Bhaviṣya.

[In the list of Tāmasa Purāṇas are]:

Matsya,
Kūrma,
Liṅga,
Śiva,
Agni and
Skanda.

Some scholars opposed the inclusion of the Matsyapurāṇa in the category of Tāmasa Purāṇa. As the reading of the Matsyapurāṇa does not exhibit preferential treatment either to Viṣṇu or Śiva, R. C. Hazra opines that Matsyapurāṇa was originally a Vaiṣṇavite Purāṇa.^[44]

Till the last decade of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries the Purāṇas were not given much importance. The scholars like H. H. Wilson and F. E. Pargiter have changed the thinking of the people in this respect. Studies made by them attracted other scholars towards the Purāṇas. Consequently the stance has been changed towards the studies of the Purāṇas. Now the Purāṇas are accepted as one of the important sources of ancient Indian history.

Regarding the importance of the study of the Purāṇas, A. D. Pusalkar has stated,

“…they constitute an important source of the cultural history of India as they throw a flood of light on the various aspects of the life and time. They occupy an intermediate position, broadly speaking between the Vedic age and the period of classical literature. They have been influencing the life of the people throughout the centuries and are valuable as supplying the materials for the study of such diverse subjects as religion and philosophy, folklore and ethnology, literature and sciences, history and geography, politics and sociology.” ^[45]

Apart from these, the Purāṇas are important for the study of linguistic history of Vedic and Sanskrit language and also for mythology and legends.