Saura-purana (analytical study)
by Priyanku Chakraborty | 2019 | 92,293 words
This page relates ‘Literature survey’ of the study on 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 (such as the Saurapurana), highlighting its intricate connections with Vedic and Tantric traditions.
Part 4 - Literature survey
As our topic of research is the Saura-purāṇa, it is necessary to give an account of the published texts, reference books and articles available on this subject.
The following are the available printed publications of the Saura-purāṇa with translation:
(a). Saurapurāṇam Vyāsakṛtam. Kashinath Sastri (ed. critically from 9 nos. manuscripts; Sanskrit text only). Anandasram Sanskrit texts series no. 18. Poona: Anandasram, 1980 (1889 1st edn.).
(b). Saurapurāṇa. Panchanan Tarkaratna. (ed. Sanskrit text with Bengali translation). Calcutta: Vangavasi Press, 1316 Bengali year (1303 Bengali year 1st edn.).
(c). Das Saurapuraṇam, ein Kompendium spät-indischer Kulturgeschichte und des Sivaismus. Wilhelm Jahn (only Germen translation along with an introduction and annotations). Straβburg, Verlag von Karl J. Trϋbner. 1908.
(d). Sūryapurānam. Chamanlal Gautam (ed. text with Hindi trans.). Bareli: Samskriti Sansthan, 1972.
(e). Maharṣi-vyāsakṛtaṃ Brahmapurāṇo-papurāṇam Saurapurāṇam. S. N. Khandelwal (ed. text with Hindi trans.). Varanasi: Cawkhamba Surabharati Prakasan, 2013.
The published research works, references and articles available on the Saura-purāṇa are as follows:
(a). Maurice Winternitz. A History of Indian Literature. Vol. 1. MLBD, New Delhi, 2009 (1st ed. in Germen 1907), pp.512-513.
(b). B.N. Krishnamurti Sarma. “An Attack on Śrī Madhvācārya in the Saura Purāṇa”. Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Vol. 13; 1931-32, pp.59-76.
(c). R.C. Hazra. “The Saura-purāṇa”. New Indian Antiquary. Vol. 6, 1943-44. Karte, S.M. & Gode, P.K. (ed.). Karnatak Publishing House, Bombay, Not found, pp. 103-111, 121129.
(d). R.C. Hazra. Studies in the Upapurāṇas. Vols. 1 & 2. Sanskrit College; Calcutta (now Kolkata), 1958 & 1963, p. 349 & so on.
(e). Ludo Rocher. The Purāṇas. Jan Gonda (ed.). A History of Indian Literature. Vol. 2, Fasc. 3; Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1986, pp.220-221 & so on.
(f). Snigdha Mohanti. The Saurapurāṇa—A Critical Study. (This Ph.D. thesis is uploaded in the website shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in. The thesis comprises mainly the Puranic five characteristics, philosophical aspect, religious practices including tīrtha, vratas etc., literary aspect, social aspect etc. of the Saura-purāṇa), Utkal University, 2008.
(g). Manabendu Banerjee (introduction only). Saurapurāṇa. Pañcānana Tarkaratna (ed.). Sadesh, Kolkata, 2010 (reprint of Vangavasi edn. 1316 Bengali year).
Primary and secondary sources
We have consulted the above mentioned printed texts and translation as the primary sources of this research work. Another important primary source is the Manuscript, titled as “Saura-purāṇa” (MS. No. G 8202) preserved in the Asiatic Society, Kolkata. A segment of this Purāṇa has been consulted in our present thesis. In connection with this, we consulted different catalogues of the Manuscripts of the Saura-purāṇa prepared by Rajendralala Mitra, Haraprasad Shastri, J. Eggeling etc. Further the Smṛti and Philosophical texts containing the presently available and missing verses of the Saura-purāṇa (printed) such as, Hemādri’s Caturvargacintāmaṇi, Vijñānabhikṣu’s Sāṃkhyapravacana-bhāṣya, Gopālabhaṭṭa’s Haribhaktivilāsa, Śrīkarabhāṣya etc. can also be treated as the primary source of information.
Moreover, the Vedic texts, the Epics, Smṛti literature, other Puranic texts like the Ṛgvedasamhitā, different Upaniṣads; Vaiyāsika Mahābhārata, Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa; Manusmṛti, Yājñavalkyasmṛti; Agni-purāṇa, Kūrma-purāṇa, Brahma-purāṇa, Liṅga-purāṇa, Śiva.p, Vāyu-purāṇa, Matsya-purāṇa, Devībhāgavata-purāṇa etc. have been consulted for this research. The secondary sources i.e., references of Saura-purāṇa and other Purāṇas, relevant articles, source books and references related to history, archaeology etc. are used in our work. In the bibliography all the primary sources and secondary sources, which have been used in the present thesis directly, have been enlisted. Other selected primary and secondary sources which are not directly used, but were useful to our study, have also been enlisted in the bibliography. The APA style has been followed to prepare the select bibliography.