Saura-purana (analytical study)

by Priyanku Chakraborty | 2019 | 92,293 words

Hinduism Purana

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Summary: This is an English study of the Saura Purana—an important Upapurana associated with the Puranic Pashupata sect of Shaivism—and offers crucial insights into the socio-religious, philosophical, and cultural history of India. The study further delves into the oral, literary, and archaeological context of Purana literature, highlighting its intricate connections with Vedic and Tantric traditions.

The Saurapurana, although a minor Purana, reveals deep theological discourses, philosophical ideas in line with Vedanta and Samkhya traditions, and the sectarian emphasis typical of Puranic literature. The narrative of the Saura-Purana elevate Shiva’s importance while also acknowledging the Gods and practices of other sects, such as Vaishnavism and Saurism. Despite its name suggesting a solar association, its narrative centers around Shiva, underscoring the syncretic tendencies within Hindu worship and mythology.

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Creative Commons Licence Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Source 1: exoticindiaart.com
Source 2: shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

Contents of this online book ( + / - )

The full text of the Saura-purana (analytical 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:

Acknowledgement

+ Chapter 1 - Introduction

. Part 1 - General outline of the researches on the Purāṇas

. Part 2 - General discourse on the Upapurāṇas

. Part 3 - Importance and authenticity of the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 4 - Literature survey

. Part 5 - Problems / research questions

. Part 6 - Methodology

+ Chapter 2 - A Brief Discourse on the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 1.1 - The text and manuscripts of the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 1.2 - The Saura-purāṇa—The earlier one and the present one

. Part 1.3 - The Saura-purāṇa and the Brahma-purāṇa

. Part 2-3 - The title, time and place of composition of the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 4 - Subject matter of the Saurapurāṇa

. Part 5 - The Puranic Pañca-lakṣaṇas in the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 6.1.1 - Description of Śiva—Introduction

. Part 6.1.2 - Iconographical description of Śiva

. Part 6.1.3 - Different modes and rules of worship of Śiva

. Part 6.1.4 - Merit of devotion and the devotees of Śiva

. Part 6.1.5 - Some holy places related to Śiva

. Part 6.2.1 - Attainment of the position of Gāṇapatya

. Part 6.2.2 - Names of the Gaṇas and Gaṇapatis

. Part 6.2.3 - Iconographical descriptions of the Gaṇas

. Part 6.2.4 - Worship of the Gaṇas

. Part 6.2.5 - Merits of the position of Gāṇapatya

. Part 6.3 - Description and worship of Pārvatī

. Part 6.4 - Description and worship of Skanda and Vināyaka

. Part 6.5 - Description and worship of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudras and other Gods

. Part 6.6 - Other divinities and Semi-divinities or Demi-Gods

. Part 7 - Description of Visual arts, music etc.

. Part 8 - Description of Stotras found in the Saurapurāṇa

. Part 9.1 - Description of the Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī-vrata

. Part 9.2 - Description of the Śravaṇadvādaśī-vrata

. Part 9.3 - Description of the Anaṅgatrayodaśī-vrata

. Part 9.4 - Description of the Umāmaheśvara-vrata

. Part 9.5 - Description of the Śūla-vrata

. Part 9.6 - Description of the Dūrvāgaṇapati-vrata

. Part 9.7 - Description of the Pāśupata-vrata

. Part 9.8 - Description of the Ulkānavamī-vrata

. Part 9.9 - Description of the Mārtaṇḍa-vrata and Sūryasaptamī-varta

. Part 10.1 - Sāṃkhya school of Philosophy in the Saurapurāṇa

. Part 10.2 - System of Yoga in the Saurapurāṇa

. Part 10.3 - Cārvāka Philosophy in the Saurapurāṇa

. Part 10.4 - Doctrine of the Upaniṣads

. Part 10.5 - Concept of achieving liberation

. Part 11 - Literary aspects of the Saura-purāṇa

+ Chapter 3 - Myths and Legends of the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 1 - Formative elements of the Purāṇas—The Ākhyānas, Upākhyānas etc.

. Part 2 - The Ākhykānas and Upākhyānas of the Saura-purāṇa—Introduction

. Part 2.1 - The Ākhyāna (story or legend) of Sudyumna

. Part 2.2 - The episode of obliteration of the sacrifice of Dakṣa

. Part 2.3 - Getting boon of Durvāsā

. Part 2.4 - Vārāha-kalpa and Varāha incarnation of Brahmā

. Part 2.5 - The origin of Rudra as the son of Brahmā

. Part 2.6 - The account of Suśīla

. Part 2.7-8 - The account of Hiraṇyakaśipu, and Nṛsiṃha incarnation of Viṣṇu

. Part 2.9 - The episode of Andhakāsura

. Part 2.10 - The account of Śukrācārya

. Part 2.11 - The account of Bhagīratha

. Part 2.12 - The legend of Rāma

. Part 2.13 - The account of Śivi

. Part 2.14 - The Ākhyāna (story or legend) of Tripura-dahana

. Part 2.15 - The Upākhyāna (story or legend) of Upamanyu

. Part 2.16 - The account of killing Jālandhara

. Part 2.17 - The episode of the Sudarśana-cakra of Viṣṇu

. Part 2.18 - The episode of Sāvitrī

. Part 2.19 - The episode of Sudevī

. Part 2.20 - The origin of Kubera

. Part 2.21 - The Upākhyāna (story or legend) of Raktāsura

. Part 2.22a - The account of burning of Madana and birth of Skanda

. Part 2.22b - The Marriage of Śiva and Pārvatī

. Part 2.22c - The birth of Skanda

. Part 2.23 - The episode of killing of Tārakāsura

. Part 2.24 - The account of Vasuśruta

. Part 2.25 - The Upākhyāna (story or legend) of the origin of Śiva-liṅga

. Part 2.26 - The episode of Śveta

. Part 2.27 - The episode of Dāruvana

+ Chapter 4 - The Vedic and other Elements as Reflected in the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 1 - The relation of the Vedas and the Purāṇas—Introduction

. Part 1.1 - The Purānas are alike the Smṛtis

. Part 1.2 - Purāṇa in the Vedic literature

. Part 1.3 - Different elements of the Purāṇas

. Part 2.1 - The Vedic sacrificial rituals and the Purāṇas

. Part 2.1.1 - The tradition of Vedic sacrificial rituals and the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2.2 - The Vedic Ācāryas and Ṛṣis mentioned in the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2.3.1 - Episode of the Vālakhilya Ṛṣis

. Part 2.3.2 - Account of Urvaśī and Purūravā

. Part 2.3.3 - Account of Urvaśī and Viśruta

. Part 2.3.4 - (ther) Elements and Characters

. Part 2.4 - The Vedic mantras and the Purāṇas

. Part 2.4.1 - The Vedic mantras in the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2.5 - The Vedas and its aspects in the perspective of the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2.6 - Concept of devotion (bhakti) in the Vedas and the Purāṇas

. Part 2.6.1 - Concept of Śiva-bhakti in the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2.6.2 - The Dāruvana episode and its significance

. Part 2.6.3 - Secret of the Vedas as per the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2.6.4 - Concept of the ultimate reality in the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2.7 - The Saura-purāṇa and the Smṛti-śāstras

. Part 2.8 - Elements of the Smṛti-śāstras in the Saura-purāṇa—Introduction

. Part 2.8.1 - Varṇāśrama-ācāra (matter related to the four Varṇas and Āśramas)

. Part 2.8.2 - The concept of Dāna (donation)

. Part 2.8.3 - Rules of Śrāddha rituals

. Part 2.8.4 - Rules of Prāyaścitta (expiation)

. Part 2.8.5 - Tithi-Nirṇaya (discernment of the Lunar Day for rituals)

. Part 2.8.6 - Instructions related to Aśauca

. Part 3.1 - General outline of Śaivism—Introduction

. Part 3.2 - Iconographical representations (in the context of Śaivism)

. Part 3.3 - Introduction to Pāśupata Śaivism

. Part 3.4 - Two different major aspects of the Pāśupatas

. Part 3.5 - Pāśupata Śaivism and the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 3.6 - The Pāśupata-sūtra and the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 4 - The Vedas and the Tantras—Introduction

. Part 4.1 - The Tantric elements and the heretic sects in the Saura-purāṇa

+ Chapter 5 - Buddhism and the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 1 - A brief outline of Buddhism

. Part 2 - Spread of Buddhism and its impact

. Part 3 - Buddhist elements mentioned in different Purāṇas

. Part 3.1.1 - The Buddha incarnation according to the Saurapurāṇa

. Part 3.1.2 - Condemnation of the Vijñānavāda

. Part 3.1.3 - Buddhism and the Buddhists

. Part 3.2.1 - Buddhism and the Buddhists

. Part 3.2.2 - Worship of the Buddha as an incarnation

. Part 3.2.3 - Probable reason of inclusion of the Buddha as an incarnation

. Part 4.1 - The Buddhists denounced as “Nāstikas”

. Part 4.2 - Hetuvādin alias rational approaches

. Part 4.3 - Disagreement with the Caste-system

. Part 4.4 - Cultural assimilation

+ Chapter 6 - Different Religious Cults in the Perspective of the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 1 - Various religious cults and sects in ancient India

. Part 1.1 - Different religious sects and cults in the Purāṇas

. Part 1.2 - Different sects and cults in the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 2 - Sūrya, the Saura cult and the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 3 - Viṣṇu, Vaiṣṇavism and the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 3.1 - The Nṛsiṃha cult

. Part 4 - Śakti, Śaktism and the Saura-purāṇa

. Part 5 - Gaṇeśa, the Gāṇapatya cult and the Saura-purāṇa

Condition 7 - Conclusion

Appendix 1 - Translation of Saura-purāṇa chapter 15 (partially)

Appendix 2 - Saura-purāṇa quotations by the different Smṛti-Nibandhakāras

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Last Updated: 23 May, 2025

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