Purana Bulletin
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The “Purana Bulletin” is an academic journal published by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in India. The journal focuses on the study of Puranas, which are a genre of ancient Indian literature encompassing mythological stories, traditions, and philosophical teachings. The Puranas are an important part of Hindu scriptures in Sa...
The Svargakhanda of the Bengal Recension
A Hitherto Unknown Manuscript of the Svargakhanda of the Bengal Recension—Its Character and Importance [vamgiyapadmapuranasya svargakhandasya eko hastalekhah—asya svarupam mahattvam ca] / By Dr. Ashoke Chatterji; Head of Purana-Itihasa Deptt.; Sanskrit University, Varanasi / 297-303
[nibandhe'smin vidusa lekhakena padmapuranasthasvargakhandasya vangiyapathasya adyavadhi prajnata eka hastapratih ya syamacaranakaviratnamahodayasya samprati padmapurane pancapancasat pustakalayatah upalabdha pariksita | sahasraslokah upalabhyante | asya puranasya vibhagastu khandesu krto vartate | lekhaka mahodayena pramanapurassaram sthapitam yadadi idam puranam dvadasasahasraralokatmakamasidasya vibhagastu parvasu krta srasit | svarga- khandasya asta hastalekha alabdha vartante | tesu vivecyo hastalekhah adhikah pramanikah pracinasca iti nanapramargah pustikrtam | ] Although the Padma-purana in its entirety has been printed and published by five different scholars, yet the conclusion is irresistible that it has never been critically edited. It is a voluminous work consisting of extensive parts called Khandas which are five in number in the Bengal recension, i. e. Srsti, Bhumi, Svarga, Patala and Uttara and six in Devanagari recension which replaces the Svarga by Adi (called Svarga in the Venkatesvara Press edition) and Brahma. But although it has been published more than once, none represents the proper Bengal recension of it. There are reasons to believe that the Bengal recension of the Padma-purana had perhaps a distinct text of its own which was in course of time not traceable on account of the overwhelming superiority of its Devanagari counterparts. At present there are some chapters of some Khandas which distinguish the two recensions of it. But the Svarga-Khanda in its entirety stands an exception to it. Remaining completely unrecognised in the Devanagari recension of it, this Khanda is a distinct text of varied interest. Its main importance lies in the fact that it may or may not possibly be regarded as the source of Kalidasa's famous drama Abhijnanasakuntala. It is Prof. Winternitz who has first created interest in the minds of scholars with regard to the position and
298 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XI, No. 2 importance of the Svarga-Khanda. He has remarked, "It will not be possible to decide the question of the source of Sakuntala drama finally, as long as we do not possess a reliable text of the Padma-purana and as long as it is not possible to make a thorough comparison of the two texts " The Svarga-Khanda has never been published. and so far as our information goes eight complete manuscripts of it are traceable Of these, two belong to the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, one to the National Library, Calcutta, one to the Sahitya Parisat Library, Calcutta, one to the Samskrta Siksa Parisat, Calcutta, one to the Dacca University Library, East Pakistan one to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and the last to the Staatsbibliothek, Marburg, West Germany. We have had the opportunity to examine all these manuscripts in details. But quite recently we have been able to secure another manuscript of the Svarga-Khanda which we have reasons to believe, decidedly preserves the older text. This was found in the private collections of Pandit Shyamacharan Kaviratna, Howrah.1 This is complete in 107 folios. But on account of the fault in numbering of some of the pages the last page is numbered 105 instead of 107. The error is first seen in page 22 where there is double numbering 22 and 20. Of these the latter was originally written but afterwards corrected as 22. Similar is the case with page 23 which bears an old but erroneous number 21. From this page no attempt has whatsoever been made to correct the numbering of the pages. This false numbering has been allowed to continue It is all the more curious to note that the numbering of 38 is 36 as usual but there was another numbering of this page also which was 35 instead of 38. This numbering of 35 has been wiped out. From pages 93 to 107, there are always the double numbering one is from 91 to 105 the other is curiously one higher, i. e., from 92-106. It is written on country made paper in Bengali character with nine lines (3+3+3) in each page. The page 105a, however, contains ten lines (3+4+3). Pages 47 and 76a also contain ten 1. We are grateful to Sri Bslai Chandra Banerjee, Govt. Pleader, Howrah, who has kindly lent it to me for examination from the private collection of his grandfather, pandit Kaviratna.
gatakhanti myabikta sariksita| gomaganora topaja pauraba purausottama | samita katarthalepita pata samaba tapi sama'asamapata | kantha bara: mabatara purbbasera mate mite| kr'rna pauraboraja dharma marabisesa ki'ukamibaka tama da kalyane mathera | sesabara tatodhatia pade bagana tatha sakuntana poraaraana dusmantati kamara| pare ini munoghate birahera sakuntana nana manama santi kinanama patisa rna bisbasaba na sudhapa dhabanitana nana kanayena nananapama ba binakara masa digantana (nannanara na! byagani jagatinatha ska pa'ona katha | yadema dharani prsne dhyana dimitanalo| timirabi durbbana dupama janani ajagamapada kala dbitasattama daradukera gamera ko' panda bhabana o matike jenarthina inakarma ba gana papatiye sansaya tapadana sukopasa sasapasibani mani| ganga bikrame bane manasante brttina| bibidhata sangabi smrtithomona sanini | ilesayuge barana todhaddu ba samata| sarbipiyada nama sasaraberi bhabe tanatara bayatha samaata padmadika tasya' paryaye mamani hatananata | pibadobada | pausada bappimanta samayata bisbaso ajabana yena kapasarama sutara kasta ihitase panana" supatikata bicara patidari na kibideti janati na taba dena krta| nabandhanam nagarbba tadbhabana yatha| bida pata sapanta kukatapama| tata panara kada pasapanta kaka | bisbamuna bajartha daradera biye sedera poyabada bijnana upasase itirupa sapanta musa'asa no yaya| athata dana sababhasa yetana hata sa sipa'isadaparsa bandhatodine dine | kalopi sabana chakka dehera namupaksita | muddaparayayukta dati namate sambhabatipantani mani bakananiba| athata saptame masi gartesphurtti yupora upaya rana misu ma' kathapiha (geche (banamutika ba sama hi| nokapabada sumahana jayate pi'iboni ! naya patigati ba tapasapamapati| desayikarasa patala parapada!ya pamosta siche kika bita samahabanama rajapule banesasa ayana parabise bidhi atajna peyini nita Folios 4B and 5A (Chap. 2) of the MS. of Svarga - Khanda in the private collection of Pt. Shyamacharan Kaviratna, Howrah.
July, 1969] A MS. OF SVARGAKHANDA OF BENGAL RECENSION 299 lines but that extra line denotes entirely later additions. Its size is 16 2*5.2. It is in good condition. It begins with Om sri sri harih' and its post colophon is as follows. Yatnena likhitam grantham yas corayati manavah/ mata ca sukari tasya pita tasya ca gardabhah// srir-astu lekhake pathake ca Following are the grounds for considering it as preserving an earlier text. In addition to the Khandas already mentioned above, there are innumerable treatises which though being originally independent claim to be parts of the Padma-purana. It is due to the huge mass of it, the Vayu-purana, Matsya-purana and some other Puranas state that the Padma-purana consists of 55000 slokas. But a careful examination of the present Padma-purana shows that originally it consisted neither of such a huge bulk nor of distinct parts called Khandas. At one place in the Padma-purana it is found that the whole of the Padma-purana was spoken out by Marici for Vyasa's sake in five parts called parvans. Of these five parvans, the first dealt with the origin of Viraj, the second dealt with all the planets and the mountains, continents and seven oceans, the third contained the accounts of those Kings who paid large amount of money as priestly fees, and also treated of the creation by Rudra and the curse of Daksa, the fourth dealt with the origin of Kings and with the history of all the royal families and the fifth treated of the nature of final liberation and the way of attaining it. That the Padma-purana in its earlier form with the Parva division and with Brahma and Marici as interlocutors, was a much shorter work is shown not only by the above quoted rendering of the verses in which the Padma-purana is said to have been spoken out briefly in five parvans but also by the Agni-purana and the Bhumi-Khanda of the present Padma-purana. The Agni-purana says (272.2). Vaisakhyam paurnamasyam ca svargarthi jaladhenumat/ padmam dvadasa-sahasram jyaisthe dadyac ca dhenumat// It is clear that it knows a Padma-purana consisting of 12000 The Bhumi-Khanda says that the Padma-purana consisted of 12000 verses in the Kaliyuga, that the entire Purana of 12000 13
300 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XI, No. 2 verses would perish in the Kali age and that this work would again come into being for the first time in that age (Bhumi-Khanda, 125. 43-45). This fact that the Padma-purana was probably not such voluminous as it appears to be is also corroborated by the evidence of the Bengal manuscripts of the Uttara-Khanda, the necessary passages of which are as follows: dvadasatha sahasrani pasandapahrtani vai/ kalau nasam prayasyanti prathamam dvijasattamah// vina dvadasa sahasra padmanyapi mahaphalam/ kalau yuge pathisyanti puranam padmasamjnakam// It is to be noted that though the writer of these verses made an attempt to give the present amplified text of the Padma-purana a garb of greater antiquity, he has not denied the loss of the 12000 slokas belonging to this work. So it is evident that the Padma-Purana in its earlier form was much shorter and had its division known as the Parvans. We become all the more interested when we read and carefully examine this newly discovered manuscript. On two occasions its colophon distinctly mentions its Parva division, reads 'ityadi mahapurane padme trtiye parvani svargakhande sakuntale prathamo' dhyayah, and 'iti sripadmapurane trtiye parvani svargakhande anukramavarnanam namastatrimsattamo' dhyayah. Not any of the eight manuscripts of the Svarga-khanda mentioned above refers or seem to refer to the earlier division, i. e., Parva division of it. They all along in each of their colophons testify to the presence only of the Khanda division of it. This seems that this newly discovered manuscript is an older one. Secondly, we have carefully calculated the total number of the verses of the Svargakhanda. Taking into consideration nineteen verses of the 20th chapter the bulk of which is written in prose, the total number of it is 2875. The variant of number of these slokas But the number of the slokas is not more than 20 in all the cases. in this manuscript is much more than its counterpart. There is no numbering of Slokas in each chapter; it The contents of two entire chapters are absence in it. These are no. 28 and no. 38. have 40 chapters, it has 38 chapters only. may be nearing 2600. conspicuous by their Thus while all other Besides these quite a
July, 1969] A MS. OF SVARGAKHANDA OF BENGAL RECENSION 301 number of verses from different chapers of it are missing in this manuscript. This tends to suggest that this belongs to the comparatively early recension of the Padma-purana which, as we have noticed above, consists of lesser number of verses. Thirdly a careful examination of the Svargakhanda shows that it has derived quite a large number of chapters and isolated verses from the Mahabharata. The following short analysis will show the indebtedness of the writer of the Svargakhanda to the compiler of the Mahabharata. Mahabharata (Adi), Chapter 67, Verses 1-22 = Svargakhanda, Chapter I, verse 44-64. Mahabharata (Adi), Chapter 67, Verses 23-33 = Svargakhanda, Chapter II, verses 1-14. Mahabharata (Adi), Chapter 68, Verses 18-80 = Svargakhanda, Chapter III, verses 42-103. Mahabharata (Adi), Chapter 69, Verses 1-27= Svargakhanda, Chapter IV, verses Mahabharata (Adi), Chapter 69, Verses 38-49 = Svargakhanda, Mahabharata (Aranyaka) Chapter 192 Verses 6-29 1-23. Chapter VI, verses 1-12. -doChapter 193 Verses 1-27 Svargakhanda, Chapter XVII, verses 2-96. -doChapter 194 Verser 2-25 -doChapter 195 Verser 1-33 -doChapter 130 Verses 17-20 Svargakhanda, Chapter -do- Chapter 131 Verses 1-30 XVIII, verses 2-43 Mahabharata (Drona), Chapter 173 verses 20-33 = Svargakhanda, Chapter XX, verses 2-15 (after 79 liness of prose begins Mahabharata (Asvamedhika), the verse) Chapter 5 Verses 3-26 Svargakhanda, Chapter do Chapter 6 Verses 2-33 XIX, verses 2-53
302 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XI, No. 2 Mahabharata Chapters 7 and 8 correspond to Chapter XX (indo do Chapter 9 Chapter 10 cluding its prose portion) corresponds to Chapter XXI corresponds to Chapter XXI It may be mentioned, however, that our manuscript in question is comparatively free from the influence of the Mahabharata. At least at some places it uses comparatively less terms and terminologies, words and phrases of the Mahabharata as compared to its eight other counterparts. A difference of it with other eight manuscsipts so far as the Sakuntala episode is concerned may be shown. It is needless to mention that all other eight manuscripts show much more remarkable affinity with the Mahabharata than this one. The following chart will classify it: This manuscript Chapter I 46c sarvarajyam 54a dharma Chapter II lb agamat 5d anindite Chapter III 44a guhayante 46c kalpanam 57d atmapakarina 6la casya 65b samprati 73d priyanvitah 76a samvasantam 76b visayesv 77a samhita 80d prapa sa 81d gharmatma 84b dharani-renu-lunthitah 88d sutah 93a ya Chapter IV 14b anyam 21b satyac ca Mahabharata and other manuscripts sarvam rajyam dharmya asrayat sakuntale guhamana kalyanam atmapaharina tasya samsadi sriyanvitah samsarantam visamesv samsthita prapy eva gharmartah renu-gunthitah putrah mam anyan satyam ca
July, 1969] A MS. OF SVARGAKHANDA OF BENGAL RECENSION 303 The twenty-eighth chapter which bears some ideas and passages similar to those of the Mahabharata is conspicuous by its absence in it. This may lead to conclusion that in all probability it belongs to the earlier recension of the Padma-purana which may not have copiously used the identical words, parts of sentence, and verses of the Mahabharata. Its latter redactors in order to increase the bulk of it more for propagating their views have freely copied from the Mahabharata-the ever-eternal fountain of Indian thoughts. Fourthly, the colophons of all these eight manuscripts are all the same while those of this manuscipt differs a bit from them. While all other manuscripts mention 'iti sri-padma-purane,' the colophons of this one runs as follows 'ityadi-mahapurane padme' suggesting its inclusion in different type of recensions. Fifthly it may be pointed out that while dealing with the Marutta-episode, this manuscript is bereft of nineteen verses where king Marutta glorifies Siva in order to fetch gold by which he can perform his sacrifice. It is needless to mention that all other manuscripts contain it and the passages similar to it can also be found in the Mahabharata VII. 173. This suggests its antiquity as we know the latter redactors of the Saiva sects took up the whole of this Khanda, nay the whole of the Padma-purana, tried to wipe out its Vaisnava influence and administer from place to place certain passages glorifying Siva. Sixthly, it is interesting to note that the first six chapters (leaving aside the beginning portion of, chapter I i. e., verses 1-43) of the Svarga-Khanda deal with the Sakuntala-episode. Here the colophon of this manuscript varies with that of others. While others run as 'iti sri-padma-purane sakuntale' (ity-adi-mahapurane' of course runs over through out all the colophons). This shows a distinction of it-however minor may it be-with its counterparts. Last but not the least, this is the only dated munuscript of the Svarga khanda while all other lack, and it shows that the scribe sends this work after completion to a King or Zamindar through the hands of one Laksminarayan Chattoraj. It bears the date Saka 1763 (1861 A. D.) The scribe was aware that this one was not similar to its other counterparts.