Notes and Comments

VAMANA-PURANA AND SAMAYA-PRADIPA The critical edition of the Vamana-purana contains in the q 2A verses quoted in different Nibandhas from the extant Vamana-purana. It also furnishes with (in the c 2B) verses said to have been quoted from the Vamana-purana in the Nibandhas, which could not be traced in the Vamana-purana. While going to prepare for the first time a critical edition of samaya pradipa of sridattopadhyaya the pre-eminent dharmasastra digest writer of Mithila of the thirteenth century A. D., I have to collect and collate as many as five manuscripts of it. These are as follows: A. Deccan College, Poona ms. no. 371 of 1875-76 B. Asiatic Society, Calcutta, ms. no. G 10619 C. India Office, London, ms. no. /3/340 D. Saraswati Bhavan, Varanasi, ms. no. 11883 E. 99 dw 130630 It is interesting to note that all these five manuscripts of quote verses in three different places from the Vamanapurana. Firstly, in the second chapter, verses from the Vamana-purana (=60.35-36) have been quoted. Below is noted the difference in reading. yatra susamyutam (for sadrasasamyutam in 35 a) sarvakamikam (for sarvakalikam in 35b) yatrapyasti grhe suci (for yadvapyasti suci grhe in 36a) devadevasya cakrinah (for devadevaya cakrine in 36b) Secondly, in the same chapter some verses are said to have been quoted from the Vamana-purana but unfortunately these could not be traced in the Vamana-purana * These verses are given below : * The verses ( prathanyad kaumudauti ca ) given here from the samaya pradipa are found with some variants in the Vamana-Purana (Cr. Edn., 65. 53-60); of these verses of the lines 5th and 6th are in the Anustubh metre (of these, the text of the 6th line

148 puranam - PURANA snamnam danam satagunam karttike ya tithinrpa, balim prati trivikrama uvaca athanyad vasaram punyam vrtte sakramahotsave virapratipada nama tatra bhavi mahotsavah tatra tvam narasardula tustah puta alamkrtah ardhadipapradanena arcayisyanti yatnatah tavotsavo mukhyatamo bhavisyati divanisam yathaiva rajye bhavita tatha bhavatanusampratam tathaiva sa bhavyeti kaumuditi ca [Vol. XII, No. 1 Thirdly, in the last chapter of the ccccc some verses are found to have been taken from the Vamana-purana (= 11.48-40). Difference in reading is as follows: parivarjaniya (for parivarjayeta in 48c) sukre'thakuje (for sukre ravije in 49b) budhe ca yosit parivarjaniya (for budhesu yosinna samacareta in 49c ) pratipatsu (for abhijitsu in 50b) -ASOKE CHATTERJEE bhavita tatha bhavatanusampratam ' as given here from the samayapradipa is not clear), while the last line (7th) is in a non-anustubh metre ; but in the Vam. P. (Gr. Edn.) all these three lines ( 5th to 7th) are in the non-anustubh metre, as follows:-- tatrotsavo mukhyatayo bhavisyati divanisam hrstajanabhiramam | yathaiva rajye bhavatastu sampratam tathaiva sa bhavyatha kaumudi ca || (65.60). --ed.

NOTES AND COMMENTS BY PURANA DEPARTMENT

BTRMMOD GWARITOR * AMASUS

DOES THE VAMANA-PURANA MENTION TULASI? Dr. Haraprasad Shastri in his Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, ASB, Vol. V, Preface, pp. clxxxii f. writes 'that the Vamana-Purana, so far as we find it, seems to be very old', and one of the reasons given by him to support his above assertion is that 'Tulasi is never mentioned to be a sacred leaf in the worship of Visnu. Tulasi has now come to universal use.......... Dr. R. C. Hazra in his Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, p. 79, while criticising H. P. Shastri for maintaining the Vamana-Purana as of a very old date, contradicts Shastri's assertion about the absence of any mention of Tulasi in the Vamana-Purana. Hazra has given the following reason for this contradiction:-"In a verse (bilva-patram, Sami-patram etc) quoted in Raghunandana's Smrti-tattava (Vol. I, p. 411) from the Vamana-Purana there is mention of 'Tulasi' and 'Krsna-tulasi'. This verse, which is not found in our edition, has most probably been lost, for in several other cases also our edition contains traces of losses and corruptions. For instance, in Vam. 95, 23-43, which enumerate the articles to be given away for the pleasure of Visnu in the different months from Magha, there is no mention of the month of Sravana. That a verse on the gifts in Sravana occured between the verses 38 and 39 (on the gifts in Asadha and Bhadra) of Vam. 95, is evidenced not only by its remarkable absence but also by the verses quoted in Apararka's com. on Yaj., Ballalasena's Danasagara and Hemadri's Caturvargacintimani". The verse referred to by Dr. Hazra as quoted in the of Raghunandana is as follows:- bilvapatram samipatram bhrngarajasya patrakam | tulasi krsnatulasi sadyastustikaram hareh || But, besides the fa, two other Nibandhas, viz., the haribhaktivilasa of Gopala-bhatta Gosvami and the viramitrodaya of Mitramisra have also quoted this verse as follows:- bilvapatram samipatram patram bhrngarajasya ca | tamalamalakipatram sastam kesavapujane || ( vi0 mi0 - prasastam kesavarcane )

150 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 According to Kane (History of Dharmasastra, Vol. I) the smrtitattva was composed between 1520-1570 A. D., haribhakti vilasa about 1562 A. D., and the viramitrodaya was composed between 1610-1640 A. D. Now it is interesting to note that neither Gopala-bhatta (who was a contemporary of Raghunandana and also belonged to Bengal) nor Mitra-misra reads the second line of this verse as-- 'tulasi krsna- tulasi sadyastustikaram hareh '. No other Nibandhakara has quoted this verse. Thus Raghunandana's text 'tulasi krsnatulasi sadyastustikaram hareh ' is not supported by any other Nibandhakara. Now let us see the position of the text of this verse in the Manuscripts of the Vamana-Purana. We collated 20 manuscripts and consulted some 10 manuscripts, all of various versions belonging to different regions and written in different scripts, such as Sarada, Kashmirian, Bengali, Telugu, and of dates ranging from 1522 A. D., for constituting the text of the Vamana-Purana. None of these manuscripts, however, not even the Bengali manuscripts, contain the text of this verse as quoted by Raghunandana. The text of this verse as found in the MSS is almost the same (with a few variants) as quoted in the haribhaktivilasa and the viramitrodaya . The text constituted on the basis of these MSS in our Critical Edition of the Vamana-Purana is as follows:- bilvapatram samipatram patram bhrngamrgankayoh | tamalamalakipatram sastam kesavapujane || ( 68.15 ) The variants in the MSS are as follows:- (a) tilapatram ( for bilvapatram ); (b) bhrngamrgahvayoh ; bhrngamadankayoh bhrngahimankayoh ; bhrngarakasya ca (for bhrngamrgankayoh ); (c) tamalamalati (Bengali MSS), tamalamalaki (for tamalamalaki ); (d) hari (for kesava ). One Kashmirian MS with a Sanskrit commentary of the Kashmirian Pandita Ramacandrabhatta has an additional line also as - kesari madhavipatram sadapuspam tathendukam . Thus the line 'tulasi krsnatulasi sadyastustikaram hareh ' quoted by Raghunandana in his fat is conspicuously absent in the MSS too. But the Kashmirian MSS read the previous verse (68.14 of the critical Edn.) as follows etani hi prasastani kusumanyacyutarcane | surabhini tathanyani varjayitva tu ketakim | (68.14) tulasyastu maharaja manjaribhirvisesatah ||

Jan., 1970] DOES THE VAMANA-PURANA MENTION TULASI 151 That is, the Kashmirian MSS have an additional line as ' tulasyastu maharaja manjaribhirvisesatah '. But this additional line by its very grammatical construction whicn does not fit in with the text which precedes and follows (Sls. 14 and 15) seems to be spurious. Moreover, the address by Prahlada to Bali as 'H' in the additional line is also not used by him in any other place of this or the previous chapter. Prahlada was elder and superior to his grandson Bali who also treats Prahlada as his elder and superior. Prahlada, therefore, addresses Bali as '' (67.2/d, 68d: 68. 18b. 46b, 52b, 55c), 'daitya ' (67.45c ; 68.39a), 'danava ' (68,23b), 'asura ' (68.44d), 'daityasardula ' (67.44a), 'danavasardula ' (67.27a; 43c), 'mahasura ' (67.61d; 68.10b) and 'putraka ' (67.69d). So the very address 'HER' by Prahlada to Bali shows the spuriousness of this additional line, what to say of its grammatical construction. It seems that this line was copied by some Kashmirian reader from some other source in his manuscript and later on it was incorporated into the body of the text in the Kashmirian manuscripts. We can, therefore, say that the Vamana Purana does not mention tulasi, or at least the text containing the mention of tulasi and Krsna-tulasi in Raghunanandana's Smrti-tattva and also the text in the additional line of the Kashmirian MSS is either spurious or unsupported and uncorroborated, and so does not affect in any way the assumption of an early date for the Vamana-Purana. -A. S. Gupta

NO OMISSION IN VAMANA-PURANA OF THE TEXT RELATING TO GIFTS FOR VISNU'S WORSHIP IN SRAVANA According to Dr. Hazra the verse quoted by Raghunandana in his (viz. bilva-patram Sami-patram etc., see my preceding note) has most probably been lost, for it is not found in our editions. He also says that "in several other cases also our edition contains traces of losses and corruptions. For instance, in Vam- 95.23-43, (Venkat? edn.) which enumerates the articles to be given away for the pleasure of Visnu in the different months from Magha, there is no mention of the month of Sravana. That a verse on the gifts of Sravana occured between the verses 38 and 39 (on the gifts in Asadha and Bhadra) of Vam 95 (verses 28 and 30; of Adh. 68 in the Cr. Edn., mine). is evident not only by its remarkable absence but also by the verses quoted in Apararka's Com. on Yaj. (pp. 364-365), Ballalasena's Danasagara (fol. 237a) and Hemadri's Caturvarga-cintamani (I. pp 885-886)" (Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, p. 79). Now the verse lost in the printed editions of the vulgate text but available in the various Dharma-sastra-Nibandhas, as mentioned by Dr. Hazra and as also shown in Appendix A of our Critical Edition of the Vam. P., p. 742, is contained in all our collated MSS except the two MSS 10.11 in which this verse is found missing. The verse in question is as follows (as adopted in our Critical Edition between verses 28 and 30 of Adh. 68):- ghrtam ca ksirakumbhasca ghrtadhenuphalani ca | | sravane sridharaprityai datavyani vipascita || (Vam.-P., Cr. Edn., 68.29) Several other Nibandhas, besides those mentioned by Dr. Hazra, also contain this verse with a little variant, such as ca, ghrtapakkam phalani ca (for ghrtadhenuphalani ca ) and vipascite ( for vipascita ). Cr. Edn., App., p. 742). (Vide The Venkatesvara edition of the Vamana-P. and also the other similar printed editions of the Vam.-P. (such as the Devanagari edition of the Jagad-dhitecchu Press, Poona, and the two The VenkaBengali edns. of Calcutta) do not contain this verse. tesvara edition seems to be based on the MS 10 of our Critical Apparatus (which belongs to the India Office Library, and is numbered Keith 6815, dated Samvat 1773, A.D. 1717) which also has omitted (perhaps by scribal error) this verse. -A. S. Gupta

A NOTE ON SYLVAIN LEVI'S INTERPRETATION OF 'TATO JAYAM UDIRAYET'. The benedictory stanza 'narayanam namaskrtya naram caiva narottamam | devim sarasvatim vyasam tato (v. 1. caiva ) jayamudirayet || ' which is given at the beginning of the critical text of the Vamana-Purana, is well-known. It is the famous Sloka of the Bhagavatas with which not only the each Parvan of the Mahabharata begins, but some of the Puranas also contain it in their beginning. Buhler recognised and pointed out its religious significance when he remarked: 'It is a characteristic mark of the works of the ancient Bhagavata-sect, where it is invariably found.' (Indian Studies, No II p. 4, n. 2). It is generally placed in the beginning of the works which are considered to have been composed by Vyasa and are by Vyasa and are more Vaisnavite in their character. Hence in this stanza an obeisance is also made to Vyasa in addition to Narayana, Nara and Goddess Sarasvati. The last padas of this stanza ( 'tato jayamudirayet ' ) aroused some controversy as to its correct interpretation. Prof. Sylvain Levi gave to it a unique interpretation in his article published in the Memorial Sylvain Levi (Paris, 1937); an English version of this article was published in Purana, Vol. 2 (1960) pp. 112-119. The controversy centers round the two words of this pada, viz. c and ''. Prof. S. Levi has partially quoted the interpretations of this benedictory stanza as given by Nilakantha in his commentary of the Adi-Parvan of the Mahabharata and by P. C. Roy in his translation. Nilakantha's interpretation of the pada '¶aªªaªL' is as follows:- tato vyaptastayaiva sarasvatya paramakarunikaya janabodhayavisto jayam 'jayo nametihaso'yam ' iti vaksyamanatvat jayasamjnam bharatakhyamitihasam va anyam va purusarthapratipadakam grantham sari P. C. Roy translates this stanza thus: Having bowed down to Narayana and Nara, most exalted male being, and also the goddess Sarasvati, must the word 'success' be uttered'. Sylvain Levi rejects both these interpretations. He also does not accept the meaning attributed by Nilakantha to the word '' and calls it as 'purely scholastic and even imaginary which can never be justified by the actual usage of the word in the 20

154 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 literature and the language', but he appreciates the rejection by Nilakantha of the meaning adopted later by P. C. Roy and Western scholars'. According to Prof. Sylvain Levi, therefore, the world 'c' in does not mean the works Mahabharata etc. (as Nilakantha says), not it means the word 'success' (as is taken by P. C. Roy). It means according to him, victory and in this connection he discusses the meaning of the verb udrayati ( ). According to him 'ud-irayati' properly means 'to set something going', 'to make climb in the air', 'to let off' etc, and from that in a figurative sense he also takes it to mean 'to utter', 'to give forth', 'to emit (a sound)'. But he says that in the latter case the verb is always connected by a word which indicates the idea of sound : na tam vacam udirayet (Manu 2.116): vacam udirayan (Ram. II. 57.3); mantram udirayan (Yaj. 1.136)'.' He therefore, translates this stanza as Adoring Narayana and Nara, the best of men, and also the goddess Sarasvati who make victory to come forth'. Now Nilakantha cannot be blamed for his interpretation of the word 'jaya' as the Mahabharata', for the Mahabharata itself calls itself 'jaya':- - nayo nametihaso'yam srotavyo vijigosuna | mahim vijayate sarvam satruscapi parajayet || [Mbh. Cr. Edn. I. 56.19] The words '' and '' used in this benedictory stanza indicate also Krsna and Arjuna, the two principal heroes of the Mahabharata, who have been mentioned there as the avataras of Narayana and Nara respectively¹, which shows that this stanza was composed for the purpose of placing it at the beginning of the Mahabharata which was then known as 'jaya' also, as quoted above. Later on, however, the epithet 'jaya' began to be applied, besides the Mahabharata, to such works also as the Puranas etc.2 1. Cf. Mbh. (Cr. Edn.) III. 45.18-- naranarayanau yau tau puranavrsisattamau | tavimavanujanihi hrsikesadhanamjayau | etc. 2. Cf. Bhavisya-Purana-- astadasa puranani ramasya caritam tatha | kanam vedam pancamam ca yanmahabharatam viduh ||

Jan., 1970] INTERPRETATION OF 'TATO JAYAM UDIRAYET 155 by the etymology 'jayatyavidyamanena ' (Harivamsa, Nilakantha comm.). And so in course of time this stanza found its place at the beginning of a number of the Puranas also. So, if traditionally the word 'jaya' has also been taken as denoting such works as the Mahabharata and the Puranas which according to the Visnu-Purana are nothing but the forms of the sabda (word or sound) 1, then the expression 'jayamudirayet ' like 'mantramudirayan ' (Yaj, 1.136, quoted by S. Levi himself as mentioned above) is also correct and may be interpreted as - jayam jayasamjnam mahabharata- puranadigrantham udirayed uccarayet pathet . Then again, the verb 'udirayet ' in the expression 'tato jayamudirayet ' is in the singular form of the potential mood ( vidhilin ), and this grammatical form fits well in this interpretation, which is also supported by Nilakantha; but Prof. Sylvain Levi translates this expression as 'who make victory to come forth', thus taking the verb 'udirayet ' as if it were equal to its plural form of the present tense ( lat ) 'udirayanti '. His interpretation, therefore, is neither supported by the tradition nor by the grammatical form of the verb 'udirayet '. The following slokas of the Kurma-Purana also lend support to the traditional interpretation of this benedictory stanza :- pathed devalaye snatva naditiresu caiva hi | narayanam namaskrtya bhavena purusottamam || (I. 53.33) namaskrtya harim visnum jagadyonim sanatanam | adhyetavyamidam sastram krsnadvaipayanam tatha || (II. 46.39) tathaiva visnudharmasca sivadharmasci sasvatah | jayeti nama tesam ca pravadanti manisinah || 1. Visnu Purana I. 22. 83-85 : rco yajumsi samani tathaivatharvanani vai | itihasopavedasca vedantesu tathoktayah || vedangani samastani manvadigaditani ca | sastranyasesanyakhyananyanuvakasca ye kvacit || kavyalapasca ye kecid gitakanyakhilani ca | sabdamurttidharasyaitad vapurvisnormahatmanah || -A. S. Gupta

A NOTE ON THE PROSE-PASSAGES IN THE VAMANA PURANA* Almost the whole bulk of the Purana literature is found adorned with the art of poem-writing in pursuance of the fixed rules of prosody (). Still the occasional use of the prosewriting free from such rules is to be seen, in some of the Puranas This method of the prose for depicting the various subjects. composition is not restricted to any particular subject, but it is generally related sometimes to the description of the modes of worship (i.e. Mantra-Upasana-Anganyasa-Avahana etc.), sometimes to that of geographical situation and historical dynasty, sometimes to that of episodes, and sometimes to that of stutis or eulogies of gods. Here an attempt is made to evaluate the peculiarity of the prose sections found in the Vam-P.; the other Puranas which are not immune from the prose-writing are also to be examined comparatively by the way. While defining the prose form of composition rhetoricians characterise it as that which does not follow the rules and And it is of four kinds-muktaka, rhythm of the metre-system. vrtta-gandhi, Utkalikapraya and Curnaka. Of these, the first has no compound sentences, the second has the appearance of poetry, the third consists of long compound sentences, and the last is composed of short compound words.1 In the Agni, Bhavisya and Garuda Puranas the Mantras written in prose are mainly concerned with the description of the * The original Sanskrit translated into English by Sri A. P. Mishra. 1. Sahitya-darpana, VI. 330-332: "vrttagandhojjhitam gadyam muktakam vrttagandhi ca | bhavedutkalikaprayam curnakam ca caturvidham || sradyam samasarahitam vrttabhagayutam param | sranyaddirgha samasadhyam turya calpasamasakam || " 2. Adhs 27, 33, 75, 79, 80, 83-88, 92, 96, 98, 125, 133-137, 142, 144, 146-148, 295-298, 302-306-309, 311, 313-316, 322, 324, 348-349. 3. Uttara-parva, Adhs 31, 54, 228. 4. Adh.s, 7, 10-12, 16, 19-21, 23, 25.27, 29-32, 34, 38-42, 134, 172, 177. 178, 180, 182, 184-195, 198, 206-212.

Jan., 1970] PROSE-PASSAGES IN THE VAMANA PURANA 157 religious rites, i.e. Upasana-Sraddha-vidhi etc. only. In the Skanda P.¹ also we meet with such prose-mantras. This kind of prose cannot, however, be categorised in any of the four kinds of prose work as referred to above. This peculiar form of mantra-prose is also found used in the description of clans or gotra-pravaras etc. in the 21st Adh of Brahma-kanda of the Skanda P. in the context of recouting the importance of Dharmaranya. Mostly, the curnaka type of prose is to be found in the geographical description of Bhuvanakosa in the fifth Skandha of the Bhagavata Purana. Moreover, all the kinds of prose except Vrttagandhi are seen used in the Skanda P. (Mahesvara khanda, Kaumarika khanda 73 Adh.). On the occasions of narrating dynasty, in some of the Puranas the stories and episodes are more or less seen in prose. For instance, the four kinds of prose-composition are employed in the description of the dynasty of Vaivasvata Manu in the Visnu P. (IV. 4). In the Padma P., Uttarakhanda Adhs. 250-252 there is the curnaka form of prose employed in the description of Sri Krsnacarita The chapter 112 of the Patala-khanda of this Purana, which relates the story of Ramayana of the long past, displays all the four kinds of prose-composition full of poetic significance. There are some episodes in the Bhagavata P. which are no doubt in the muktaka form of prose. The 29th chapter of the fourth Skandha of this Purana also contains five or six lines in prose. The Matsya P. (Adh. 153 1. 554 onward) of the Jivananda edn. is replete with such sort of composition as is seen in the Sragvini metre. Although in the stanzas of the composition there are four padas, yet most of them cannot be identified as purely metrebased chanda. Therefore, such stanzas may be supposed to have a mixed influence of rhythmic poem and prose. In the cosmological section of the Srsti-khanda Adh. 40 of the Padma-P. (Ananda- srama edn.) this topic is described exclusively with the help of Sragvini metre. Both resemble considerably to each other. It may also be assumed that this portion of the Matsya P. might have been based on the metre system which in the course of time underwent variations owing to aberrations either at the hands of 1. Mahesvara khanda, Kaumarikak handa, Adh. 61.

158 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 the writers or otherwise. The present reading is by no means in verses as it does not follow any definition of the verses. Nor is it entitled for a prose work by virtue of its general similarity with the rhythm of verses. Therefore it is difficult to place it either in verse category or in that of prose. The prose-writing to be found here and there in the context of stutis in the Puranas other than the Vam-P. is being arranged in the following list: References Deities Reciters 1. Sk.-P. Vai. B. 4.9+ Visnu Garuda 2. Pad.-P. Pa 112 Siva Sri Ramacandra 3. Bhag.-P. 6.9.33-43 Visnu Devas 4. Bhag.-P. 12.6.67-72 Surya Yajnyavalkya 5. Mbh. Sant.-'. 338 Visnu Narada 6. Hari.-Bhavi. 68 Visnu Kasyapa 7. Br.-P. 65.48 Krsna Devas In addition to these the Visnu Smrti (98th chapter) contains the Visnu-stuti by Prthvi written in prose. Likewise, in the PadmaP. the stuti of Siva is found in prose in five or six lines only. The Surya-Stuti is only once seen at one place in the Bhag.-P. But all other stutis which are in prose are in the respect of God Visnu. The prose-writing in the Vam.-P. is to be found in six places and everywhere the prose is utilised only for the sake of the stutis of deities. A list thereof is given below: Reference Deities Reciters 1. Vam.-P. H. HI. 5 Adh. Visnu Kasyapa 2. " sa. ma . 3 Adh. Siva Deities 3. 39.120+ Kanyakas(girls) " 4. 43.31+ Sukra dw >> 5. 44.91+ Parvati Andhaka ww Visnu 6. 66.11+ Brahma. The prose-version of both the stutis in the Bhag.-P. is conspicuous by its rhetoric uses and because of their nature of eulogies or description of appreciable qualities. All the same in the Skanda-P. there are found sometimes long compound sentences used for the adjectives of the vocative case and sometimes merely the simple nouns have been preferred. The Brahma Purana has simply counted the synonyms of Lord Krsna. The two stutis

Jan., 1970] PROSE-PASSAGES IN THE VAMANA PURANA 159 occurring in the Skanda and Brahma Puranas are jayatmika since the term jaya is added to them. The stuti of the Padma-P. being full of meaningful names, is identified to be the curnaka prose decorated with the rhetoric called cf. In the Mbh., the Harivamsa and Visnu-smrti only reckoned the names of the God being eulogized. Generally, the stutis in prose do not find such an honourable place in most of the compiled works on stutis as do those in verses. The Brhat-stotra-ratnakara, however, contains the Surya-stuti of the Bhag. P. and also the Kalki-stuti of the Kalki-Purana, both in prose. Again, almost all the works of this type have collected the stotras which are based on some metre or poetic in nature. The style of the prose of the Kalki-stuti abounds in the long compound sentences constructed in the praise of the deity; and this prose is of the nature of Utkalikapraya. The tradition that the non-metrical stutis in most of the Puranas are characterstically in the praise of God Visnu, is also supported and adhered to by the Visnu-stutis of the Vam. P. There is no prose-stuti in the praise of God Siva in any Purana except the Vam. P.; only the Padma P. has few. The Vam. P. possesses the Siva-stuti three times. Seeing the content or object of eulogy the non-metrical stuti of Devi in the Vam. P. may be taken to be altogether new in comparision with the characteristic stutis of Divine Mother, as non-metrical Devi-stuti is nowhere else available. By way of eulogizing the qualities of God the devotee's faith in him increases and for this reason the reciters of the stutis incline to elevate the position of the deities extolled, and as such eulogies in poetical form do expedite that. This seems to be a general assumption on which is based the tradition of metrical stutis. Each and every synonym recounted in the stutis is sure to explore some incidents full of meaning connected with the character of the deity that are meant to throw ample light on some of the bright and universal character of the personalised deity. Therefore, the reciting of the names of God is of immense help to the reciter, and that too through verses full of art of language and rich in rhetoric uses becomes much more congenial and impressive. So it is feasible to hold that the stotras like the Visnu-Sahsranama and others might have been probably composed in metrical verses with the same objective in view.

160 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 In the Vam-P. prose is employed for no other purposes than that of stutis. The use of prose for stutis only in this Purana appears to be a new principle adopted here. Though the metrical stutis are not lacking in this Purana, yet the non-metrical ones record the names of God exclusively, and this is of course a novel style. The form of the prose used in this Purana is obviously curnaka in character in view of the scanty use of compound sentences, although muktaka also is found used here and there. In this lies the peculiarity of the prose-writing of the Vam. P. which must have contributed to the tradition of prose-writing by inunciating a new principle. -Ramayan Dwivedi

KURUKSETRAMAHATMYA: A MANUSCRIPT ASCRIBED TO SANKARACARYA The glorification of Kuruksetra and other tirthas of this region forms an important topic of the Vamana Purana. The first Vamana-carita of the Vamana-Purana, too is connected with Kuruksetra (H.HI. 2-20 of the Critical Edition). The other chapters (i. e. . . 22-25) are devoted to the glorification of Kuruksetratirthas including the Sthanu tirtha. All these chapters comprise of 1228 Slokas whereas the whole Vamana Purana, including these chapters also, consists of about six thousand Slokas. Thus, the glorification of Kuruksetra covers about one fifth of this Purana. However, the authenticity of these chapters was challenged by their exclusion in some versions of the manuscripts collated for the purpose of the constitution of the critical text. Thus, it was necessary to verify the authenticity of these chapters on the evidence of other material, if any. In the meantime a manuscript named Kuruksetramahatmya by Sankaracarya was procured from the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. The manuscript was cosulted with the purpose whether it cites from the Kuruksetra portion of the Vamana Purana. The manuscript has amply cited from this portion of the Vamana Purana and it is obvious that it goes to that category of the MSS which contain the Kuruksetra portion. Here, some information about this manuscript is provided. The manuscript bears the number 1737-59-B 4. It contains 167 folios of which 46th folio is missing. Size of folio is 28 x 11 cm. and each folio contains normally 9 lines per-page and each line covers about one Sloka. The manuscript is ascribed to Sankaracarya : samkarenavatarena yathabuddhyanusaritam | kriyate tasya vistaro bhusaniyo dvijottamaih | Here the word Folio 1B clearly points to Adi Sankaracarya. (folio 18 B), But from the use of such modern words as rasolagrama (21 B), kasuhanagrama ( 22 A ), joisatagrama, moisara grama, kamodha grama (75B, 76A) etc. the manuscript seems to be of a very late date. It 21

162 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 seems that this work was compiled by some Sanyasi of Kuruksetra who with the purpose of enhancing the authenticity, sanctity and antiquity of his work ascribed it to Adi Sankaracarya. Or, it may be also possible that the author himself was called by the name Sankaracarya. The Manuscript is written on paper and the condition of the manuscript is quite good. It is dated Samvat The The scribe is called ciramjivanatha misra . 1864 (1807 A. D.). The scribe is called writing is full of mistakes. The text is divided into 26 chapters and the each chapter is termed as cc. The author of the text has collected extensive quotations from various texts among which the Some other Vamana Purana and Mahabharata are foremost. texts cited here are: visnudharmottara purana, lingapurana, devipurana, vayupurana, bhavisyapurana, matsyapurana, markandeyapurana, brahmapurana, revakanda, jabalopanisad yajnavalkya, , and a few others. From these extensive quotations from the so many text it is evident that the author has spared no pains to make the book authentic and comprehensive, though the identifications of these quotations is yet to be ascertained. One of the important features of this manuscript is the identification of the Kuruksetra-tirthas with modern places. The author has given his own identification of some of these tirthas. For Sample, Folio 18B-atha jimda gramottarabhage jayamtidurgasthanam somatirthasca Folio 22B-tato vamsakaramulatitha gacchet rasolagramat purvadisi Folio 22A-atha kayasodhanatirtham || kasuhagramadisanya kone Folio 24B- sratha srjadagramat pascimadisi suryatirtham etc. In this way the author has identified many of the tirthas of the Kuruksetra. It will be very useful for the preparation of Geographical map of the tirthas with modern identifications. It is necessary that this identification be checked with the help of the district Gazetteer and other local maps of the Kuruksetra. As already said either the work was composed in very late time or the scribe or compiler inserted much more new material in an old text. Examples of such insertions or interpolations are many. Here one example is being given which clearly shows the late composition as well as the corrupt writing of the Text;

Jan., 1970] KURUKSETRAMAHATMYA 163 Folio 93ab laksatirthasya jalaprabhavena kiramicadanavasya muktirabhavat || ...|| laksatirthadarabhya laksmitirthaparyantam laksminarayanaksetram | anyat sarvam purvavat || sarvasastresu drastavyah | atha svami samkaracaryenoktam || laksmitirthasya brahmasaramadhye ma (ma ?)hatmyam varnayati || rkso nama mahaprajna raja trailokyavisrutah | aminagramastu tretayam rajadhani bhavisyati || rksatsamvarano ya (na ?) jne amgadvenarmahakhalah (1) | devanam dosakari ca brahmananam ca nindakah || kurostu nagari kudi tasyam raja vasatyapi | ekada nirgadda nirgato gehat dadhicasyasramam viset || asti puram vannama mahapunyaphalapradam | | indrena mani pradat dadhicasya simamtakam || The identification of various Slokas ascribed to the particular Puranas are doubtful. The following Slokas which are attributed to the Visnu-Purana are not available in the vulgate text of the Visnu Purana published by Gitapress. Folio 94 A svami samkaracarya tadvanam varnayati visnupuranenoktam tasminsarovare vrksah saphala atisumdarah | tasminvane vivesatha nirjanam manunam na hi (?) nanadrumalata gulmairnanamrgaganavrtaih | ramanam virahamtinam kr (?) intam siddhayoginam || mayura ke kabhirutam madandhala bhimuksitam | mayurakekabhirutam plavitam raktakanthasca kujitam ca patatrinam || mandaraih parijataisca saralaiscopasobhitam | tamalaih salitalaisca madhavibhisca mamditam || tasminvane mahatsuryah tapati svarasmibhih | na kamalam na jalam tasmin nidaghairvyakulendriyah || ete "

164 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 The passage is very long and such long passages whose identification may be doubted are many. However, most of the Slokas attributed to the Vamana-Purana which were checked were found in the Vamana Purana. The manuscript begins in the following manner on folio 1B. Folio 1 A is blank. || 60 || svasti ganesaya namah || atha samkaracaryakrta kuruksetrama (ma ?) hatmya lisyatam ( khyate ?) || param brahma namaskrtya sarvamamgalamamgalam || avyayam sasvatam purnam saccidanamda laksanam || 1 || nirgunam sagunam visnum samkaram siddhidayakam || ganesam vighnaharttaram pitaram ca divakaram || 2 || vamanadipuranebhyah itihasadita katha || kura ksetrasya mahatabhyam (?) samgraham srsammatam (1) || 3 || samkarenavatarena yathabuddhayanusaritam || kryate tasya vistaro bhusaniyo dvijottamaih || 4 || ksamakaryatra vidvadbhih yatkincitpramanatah || sodhaniya prayatnena sarvosi mahesvarah || 5 || lokatrayastu tirthebhya kuraksetravisesatah || kuruksetra darsanam punyam mahapatakanasanam || 6 || || The manuscript ends in the following way on folio 167B. iti srisamkaracaryaviracitam kuruksetra mahatmyam yatradarsanasparsa vidhiparipurna- purvardha samapta sadavimsatima prabhavah 26 ciramjivanarthena misrena dulinahatena dhimata patanimalasya kuruksetram lepaniya yathavidhih subham bhuyat sam 1864 miti phaguna- vadi 14 guruvasare kuruksetrasamkaracaryakrtasamaptam sri sri sri sri | - Ganga Sagar Rai

A NOTE ON A KASHMIRIAN MANUSCRIPT OF THE VAMANA PURANA This manuscript is referred to as T. in our Critical Edition of the Vamana Purana and it contains a Sanskrit Commentary by Kashmirian Pandita Rama Candra Bhatta. The importance of this MS lies in the fact that it is the only Sanskrit commentary on the Vamana-Purana. This manuscript was procured from Sri Ranbir Sanskrit Research Institute, Jammu through the courtesy of His Highness Maharaja Dr. Karan Singh of Kashmir. The number of the MS is 4012 (Steine Catalogue) and it is undated. The text is written in bold Devanagari characters in the middle of the page and both above and below of the text is the commentary in comparatively small Devanagari letters. Size of the MS is 34.5 x 18 cm. The manuscript contains 1+406+6 Folios. Ten folios 91-100 are missing. The last verse on the folio no. 90 is samagato'ham dvija duratastvam kurustra mem proddharanam munindra | dadasva danam mama yanmanisitam carami yena tridive sunirvrtah (= Cr. ed. 19.24) The first verse on folio 101 is ya sa himavatah putri bhavenodha tapodhana | uma namni ca tasyah sa kosajata tu kausiki || (Cr. ed. 22.3). The Manuscript has omitted the first Vamana-Carita i.e. Adhyayas 2-10 of the Saromahatmya the Saromahatmya of the Critical Edition. Several bigger chapters are divided into smaller ones and thus the total number of the chapters in this Manuscript is 114 even after omitting nine chapters of the Saromahatmya. From the point of view of the classification and authenticity this MS belongs to the Kashmirian group of the MSS of the Vamana Purana collated for the Critical Edition. At the end of the 50th chapter of this Manuscript which is 24th chapter of the Critical Edition the colophon runs thus: iti vamanapurane saromahatmye umasambhave pancasattamo'dhyayah | saromahatmyam samaptam | purvardha samaptam | This clearly indicates that the text is divided into two parts i.e. Purvardha and Uttarardha. First Folio before the regular number of the folios is written only on second side and contains benedictory verses written or compiled by the commentator. The folio begins as follows:

166 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 srih srim namo vighnahartre || srim srigururjayati || om yatsmrtidambholerdrakpratyuhaksmabhrto'pyatiguravah | nasam prayatyasau vo ganapo bhadrani dadisista || dharmare (?) subhagata purusarthah samrta jagati te khalu siddhah | yatpadambuja samarcanaritya sadgurum hrdi dadhe'dbhutabhutim || vaidhavasthayi visvaprakatanaparaya svatmasaktyatigudho jivesopadhisamstho matinudabhayadah sarvadrksarvakarta | citsattakhandabhavo nirupadhimahima turyabhavadhirudho bhumacintyo varenyah sphuratu hrdi mama svaprakasah paratma || gamgapravahasadrso vacasam gano yaddrstyagyattanilayasya narasya samyak | praspandate svajana kalpalata vidadhya jadyandhakaravilayam laghu sarada me || udbhedavrksavitapacchadanaprasunam bijam samudgirati tatsaphalam kramena | yo visvametadakhilam kramayanvavama svam rupamakramamavandya tu vamano yah || devasuraih pratisamacitapadapitho nihsreyasarpana susasyataraprabhavah | yo dhyayinam krtapado hrdayangakose visvesvaro'vatu sa vastripurantako'yam || yo'stadasapuranani cakre lokahitaya vai | krsnadvaipayanam vande budharadhyapadambujam || matsyam puranam vyakhyaya markandeyam tatah param | vamanakhye purane'sminvyakhyanarthe krtodyamah || srisadgurupadambhojamadhupo ramacandrakah | labdhavarnah krtasthanah punye kasmiramandale || soyam samagrabhuvisthadhirajena mahatmana | nunnah sriranavirena sadvadam prapnuyatsatam || From the above passages it is obvious that the commentator has already commented upon the two Puranas viz., The Matsya Purana and the Markandeya Purana and that he was a contemporary of Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Kashmir. The first folio, of the regular pages, too, is written only on second side. It runs in this manner: om namo vilandhakaravinasanaya ||

Jan., 1970] A KASHMIRIAN MANUSCRIPT 167 sri trailokyarajyamakrsya balerindraya yo dadau | sridharaya namastasmai chadmavamanarupine || vamanapuranasyadyoyam mangalaslokah | sri siva samkari devo x x x vande hrdayarajive tisthantau paramarthadau || vamanapuranabhavadipaloke krtodyogah srimadraranavirasimhadajnam prapya ksitisvarad vimalam ramacandro budhah kascit kasmiresu krtasthitih | prapnotu hrdayavasam srirama iva saddhiyam || etc. While commenting upon the verses the commentator has left many verses without commentary which are thought to be simple. But he has commented upon in detail those verses whose meanings are obscure. One example may be cited. padbhyam karabhyam dasanasca subhrah samunnatah sadbhirudaravirya- stribhirgabhirastrisu ca pralambo raktastatha pancasu rajaputrah || 51 || krsnasvatubhistribhiranato'pi dvabhyam ca suklah surabhiscaturbhi- vrtah sa bharta bhagavam purvam || 52 || Folio 104 A This text is of chapter 28 of this Manuscript and these lines are available in chapter 22 of the Critical Edition and correspond to verses 51d, 52, and 53a. In the critical edition one line (drsyanti padmani dasaiva casya 53b) is extra between sixth and seventh lines of the above cited text. The commentary on these verses runs as follows: sadbhirlalatamsa ganda griva katyurubhih samunnatah tribhirnabhimadhyajanubhirgabhirah bhujayugma- vrsanaistribhih pralambah pancasvangesu netraprantadharahastadvayapadayugmanakhadisu raktah || 51 || kesapaksmakaninikadibhih krsnah syama stribhibhru dvayanetraprantadvayasravanayugairanato namrah dvabhyam dantanetrabhyam suklah caturbhih kesamukhagandayugadibhih surabhih sugandhih || 52 || Folio 104 A In his commentary the commentator has cited examples from other texts to corroborate the ideas contained in the text. While commenting upon the verse yaccapi kurvato natma jugupsameti raksasa |

168 puranam -- PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 tatkarttavyamasankena yanna gopyam mahajane || 52|| ( = 15.53 of the Gr. Ed.) the commentator writes: tatracaro'pi mahatam sampradayapravrtyaiva vartitavyamityaha yaccapiti | jugupsam kutsam prasamkena samkarahiteneti lokacarapravrttirukta | mahajane gurvadau yadgopyam gopaniyam rahasyam na bhavet tadaha bharate- mahajano yena [ gatah ] sa pantha dharmasya mulam nihitam guhayam nasau muniryasya vaco pramanam tarko'pratistah srutayo vibhinna iti || 52 || Folio 74B Another example of such type may be also notedFolio 75 A : sarvasamgaparityago brahmacaryamamanita | jitendriyatvamavase naikasmibhvasatisciram || (Cr. Edn. 15.59) caturthasramasya dharmanaha sarvesam samgasya parityagah brahmacaryamastangam maithunavarjanam- darsanam sparsanam kelih kirtanam guhyabhasanam | samkalpo'vyavasayasca kriyanivrttireva ca || etanmaithunamastangam pravadanti manisinah | viparitam brahmacaryamanustheyam mumuksubhiriti | sramanita ahamkaritvabhavah jitendriyatvam indriyanirodhah | yavat | ekasminnavase grhe ciram dvidinam At the end of this manuscript, 20 Slokas or 40 lines of Anustub metre are extra after the last verse of the Critical Edition. Of these 20 slokas, 7 enumerate the names of the eighteen Mahapuranas, 4 contain the phalasruti and nine give the contents or anukramani of the Vamana Purana. The commentary is given on these slokas also. These verses are given at the end of the critical apparatus of the last chapter of the Critical Edition. The end of the manuscript runs thus: bali bandhanamatrapi tasya patalasamsthitih | sudarsanasya cakrasya pravesasca rasatale || 34 balevairagyahetum ca visnvarcadiprasamsanam | jyamaghakhyanamatraiva varnitam hyanupurvatah || 35 patalasamsthitih samyaka sthanam cakrasya patalapravesasca tasya vairagyahetuh || 34 || vairagyahetum visnvarcadiprasamsanam anupurvatah anukramena || 35 || iti sripandita ramacandra- bhattaviracite vamanapuranavyakhyane caturdasadhikah satatamo'dhyayah ||

Jan., 1970] A KASHMIRIAN MANUSCRIPT Therafter comes the colophon of the text: 169 iti srivamanapurane dasasahasyam samhitayam vamanamahimabhivarnane puranamahatmya- purananta ra samkirtananukramadarsanam nama caturdasottarah satatamodhyayah | vamanapurana- samaptam || Here end the regular pages of the MS and after this 6 folios are appended which contain the Sucipatra or contents of the text. This Sucipatra is printed elsewhere in this Bulletin. In the beginning of this c the following verse is given : adhyayanam kramena [ tha suci ] patram pratanyate | puranapratipadyartha spastavrttipravrttaye || 22 -Ganga Sagar Rai.

VAMANA'S BIRTH AND MODE OF WORSHIP IN THE PURANAS* The following are the accounts of Vamana's birth as regards to its time and place as mentioned in the Puranas:A. Time of Vaman's Birth. (1) Vamana's birth in the Svayambhuva Manvantara (Visnu-dharmottara-P. I. 21.1-29). According to the Visnu-dharmottara-P. Visnu took the form In this Manof the Dwarf in the Svayambhuva Manvantara vantara there was a demon of the name of Baskali who, having defeated the then Indra named Visva-bhuk, was ruling over the three worlds. The latter took refuge with Brahma and told him about his miserable condition. Brahma accompanied by Visvabhuk went to the Visnu-loka and invoked Visnu. Visnu then assumed the form of a dwarf and approached the demon Baskali who stood amazed on seeing him with Indra. Then Indra, on the advice of Lord Visnu, began to say: "O Baskali, you took all my kingdom under your possession. Now let me be given a piece of land measuring three steps for the sake of this dwarf. He wants to perform there the rites of his sacrificial fire, as he cannot reside in the land of others". As soon as the demon uttered aum (the word of conceding the demand) the Dwarf took away all kingdoms from Baskali and returned them to Visvabhuk Indra.¹ * The original article in Sanskrit translated into English and revised by Shri Ananta Prasad Mishra of the Purana Deptt. 1. svayambhuventare purvam catvaro devataganah | jayakhyascajitakhyasca sukrakhyaca prakirtitah || tesam babhuva devendro visvabhaklokapujitah | asamstasyasura ghorastada dayadabandhavah || babhuva raja tesam ca baskalirnama namatah | yena vikramya sakrasya hrtam rajyam tada balat || (I. 21. 1-3; etc) --Ed.

Jan., 1970] VAMANA'S BIRTH AND MODE OF WORSHIP (2) Vamana's Birth in the Vaivasvata Manvantara 171 (Vam.-P., Cr. Edn. sa. ma . 10.68-71 and 62.32-34). God Visnu was incarnated as the Dwarf in the Vaivasvata Manvantara for the purpose of deceiving Bali and presenting the rule of the Heaven to Indra. In the context of the glorification of Kuruksetra in the Vam.-P., it is stated that in order to maintain the law and order in the four Yugas the reign of the whole world would be entrusted to Indra in the Vaivasvata Manvantara, and that at the end of this Manvantara Bali would succeed him. It was also declared by the God Vamana himself on the occasion of Bali's sacrifice at Kuruksetra when Vamana took away all his kingdom by his three steps.¹ According to the Vam.-P., 62. 32-34, Vamana's birth took place at the time when the sun was in the Gemini sign of Zodiac, in the month of Asadha, in Vaivasvata Manvantara.2 The Visnu-dh. also in one place mentions that Vamana's birth took place in the Vaivasvata-Manvantara.3 Also-- lokatrayam me'pahrtam vikramena tu baskale | tatragnisaranarthaya diyatam me kramatrayam || prativa hasvagatrasya vamanasyasya parthiva | bhumibhage tu parakye vastum na tvahamutsahe | (I. 21. 15-16) 1. vaivasvate tathatite kale manvantare tatha | savarnike tu samprapta bhavanindro bhavisyati || vai pura | idanom bhuvanam sarvam dattam sakraya caturyugavyavastha ca sadhika hyekasaptatih || niyantavya maya sarve ye tasya paripanthinah | tenaham paraya bhaktya purvamaradhito bale || sutalam nama patalam samasadya vaco mama | vasasura mamadesam yathavatparipalayan || (Vam.-P. H. H., 10. 68-71). 2. sukrenasvah svetavarni madhumase sulaksanah | evamasve samutsrste vitate yajnakarmani || jate ca masatritaye mithunasthe divakare | susuve devajanani madhavam vamanakrtim || (Vam-P., 62.32-34) 3. tenaiva devadevena prapte vaivasvate'ntare | bhuyo lokastrayah kantah pada samyamino nrpa || (Visnudh. P. I. 21.30).

172 puranam - PURANA [Vol XII, No. 1 (3) Vamana's Birth on the 12th Day of the Bright Half of Bhadrapada in the Vaivasvata Manvantara. 2 (Bhagavata P. 8. 13. 6; 8. 18. 5-6) In the Bhag-P. Vamana's birth from Aditi is said to have been in the Vaiv. Manvantara. It is also mentioned therein that the time of his birth was the twelfth date of the bright half of the month of Bhadra - Pada. This Purapa specially refers to the performance of sacrifice by Bali on the north bank of the river Narmada. Moreover, His consort as well as his progeny is also found referred to in this Purana¹; but its original source remains yet to be traced out, as no account like this could be available anywhere else. (4) Vamana's Birth on the Eleventh Day of the Bright Half of Bhadra (Bhav-P., Uttara Parva, 76. 15-76.28). According to the Bhav.-P.5 the eleventh day (tithi) of the bright half of Bhadra month was the time of Vamana's birth, but the Manvantara is not mentioned here. (5) Vamana's Birth in the Seventh Treta of Vaivasvata Manvantara (Vayu P. 2. 36.71, 73, 74). The Vayu-P. mentions that Vamana was born in the seventh Yuga or Treta of the Vaivasvata Manvantara, which was Visnu's third incarnation. 6 1. atrapi bhagavajanma kasyapadaditerabhut | sradityanamavarajo visnurvamanarupadhrk || 2. sronayam sravanadvadasyam muhurte'bhijiti prabhuh | sarve naksatrataradyascakrustajanma daksinam || dvadasyam savita tisthan madhyamdinagato nrpa | vijaya nama sa prokta yasyam janma vidurhareh || (Bhag.-P. 8. 13. 6). (Bhag. - P. 8. 18. 5-6). 3. tam narmadayastata uttare bale ya rtvijaste bhrgukacchasamjnake | pravarttayanto bhrgavah kratuttamam vyacaksataraduditam yatha ravim || 4. urukramasya devasya mayavamanarupinah | kirtau patnyam brhacchlokastasyasan saubhagadayah || 5. ekadasyam bhadrapade sravanena narottama | (Bhag.-P. 8. 18. 21). (Bhag.-P. 6. 18-8). samcacala mahi jate vamane tu trivikrame | (Bhav. P., Uttar Paava, 76.15). 6. vali samsthesu lokesu tretayam saptame yuge | daityaistrailokya srakrante trtiyo vamano'bhut || (Vayu-P. 2. 36-71, 73, 74).

Jan., 1970] VAMANA'S BIRTH AND MODE OF WORSHIP B. Modes of Vamana-worship 173 (1) The Varaha-P. enjoins the following mode of worshipping God Vamana. The aspirant having performed his obligatory duties ( nityakarma ) and duly purified himself has to observe fast on the twelfth day of the bright half of the Caitra month. Then he should utter the samkalpa for worshipping the God. A pot containing gem etc. should be placed in front of him and on that pot a golden idol of Vamana with a white sacred thread should be put. A Kundika prepared near that idol should be decorated with chatra (umbrella), Aksamala (rosary) etc. Then completing the worship he must give the daksina (idol etc.) to a Brahmana and thereby please Vamana.¹ (2) The Agni P. also lays down some rules of Vamana's worship, while describing the Sravana-dvadasi-vrata. The fasting devotee takes bath in a confluence of rivers and performs daily rites and purifies himself, and takes vow to worship God Vamana. Then he bathes the golden idol of Vamana decorated with danda (staff), chatra (umbrella) etc. and placed on the pot covered with white cloth and filled with pancamrta. Thus after worshipping Him according to the manner of sodasopacara he should pray to God Vamana with folded hands containing flowers 2 1. cf. Varaha-P. 43. 1-8. 2. cf. Agni-P. 189. 1-15. -Hiramani Mishra.

A NOTE ON THE MENTION OF THE SPOUSE AND PROGENY OF VAMANA IN THE BHAGAVATA The Bhag.-P. mentions the spouse and the progeny of Vamana as follows:- urukramasya devasya mayavamanarupinah | kirtau patnyam brhacchlokastasyasan saubhagadayah || (VI. 18.8) Thus, the Bhag. mentions Kirti as the spouse of UrukramaVamana and Brhac-chloka as his son, and Saubhaga and others as the off-springs of Brhac-chloka (and grandsons of Vamana). In the Bhag.-P. Urukrama is the name of one of the twelve Adityas, i.e. of the twelfth Aditya: - vivasvanaryama pusa tvasta'tha savita bhagah | dhata vidhata varuno mitrah sakra urukramah | (VI. 6.39) The Bhag. has mentioned the spouse and progeny of each of the twelve Adityas in Skandha VI in the same order as given in VI. 6.39 (quoted above). Before VI. 18.8 it has already mentioned the spouses and the off-springs of the eleven Adityas, and in VI. 18.8 it mentions the spouse and the progeny of the twelfth Aditya named by it as 'Urukrama' (in VI. 6.39), but who is elsewhere named as 'Visnu'; for instance cf. :- ... visnurdvadasa ucyate | jaghanyajah sa sarvesamadityanam gunadhikah || (Mbh., Cr. Edn., I. 59.16) Also cf. Mbh. (Cr. Edn.) I. 114.56, Bhagavad-Gita 10.21 (afectate fapy), Brahmanda-P. II. 2. 67-68, Visnu-P. I. 15.130- 131, etc. where uniformly the name of this Aditya is given as 'Visnu'. The epithet 'Urukrama' mentioned by the Bhag. as the name of the twelfth Aditya has been used in the Rgveda in its Vsnu-Sukta as an epithet of God Vsnu:- urukramasya sa hi bandhurittha visnoh pade parame madhva utsah | (Rg. I. 154.5cd) In the Devi-Bhag. (V. 8.35) 'Urukrama' has been used as an epithet of both Hari and Hara.

Jan., 1970] SPOUSE AND PROGENY OF VAMANA 'urukramasya 175 The epithet 'Urukrama' means 'one making wide strides' and is the same in sense as 'Maha-krama' used in Sl. 85 of the Visnusahasra-nama-stotra of the Mbh. as an epithet of God Visnu. Sayana explains fa:' (in Rg. I. 154.5, quoted above) as-- 'urukramasya atyadhikam sarvam jagadakramamanasya tattadatmana | ataeva visnorvyapakasya paresvarasya | ' Thus 'Urukrama' has been generally used for God Visnu. But in the sense of 'making wide strides' the epithet 'Urukrama' like 'Trivikrama' may also be used for the Vamana incarnation of God Visnu, as the Bhag. has already used it as an epithet of Vamana ( urukramasya devasya mayavamanarupinah ). Thus, the epithet 'Urukrama' has been used for the following:- 1. For Visnu, one of the twelve Adityas; (Bhag., VI. 6.39). 2. For God Visnu (i.e. Vedic god Visnu, and later on one of the three Gods of Hindu Trinity); (Rg. etc.). 3 For Visnu and Siva both (Devi-Bhag.), 4. For Vamana (= Trivikrama), (Bhag.-P. VI. 18.8). Now, Visnu as an Aditya is certainly different from God Visnu of the Trinity, and also from the Vamana incarnation of God Visnu, as is clearly borne out by the following facts:- 1. Nilakantha in his comm. on Mbh. XII. 43.6 ( tvam tu purano garbhatam gatah | ) while explaining the word 'saptadha ' says - 'saptadha visnvaravya adityo vamanascetim dvadha adityameva janma '. Thus, Nilakantha has taken Visnu-Aditya and Visnu-Vamana as different from each other. 2. The twelve Adityas (including the Aditya named 'Visnu' or according to Bhag. VI. 8.39 'Urukrama') are mentioned as the tweive manifestations or phases of the SunGod; cf. 'krtva dvadasadhatmanam dvadasadityatam gatah ' Mbh. III. 3.59, Surya-stuti) and also:- hiranyavarnam yam garbha sraditirdaityanasanam | ekam dvadasadha jajne tasmai suryatmane namah || (Mbh. XII. 47.38) 3. The twelve Adityas are also mentioned as the twelve months of the year; cf. Satapatha-Br. XI. 6.3.8:- katama sraditya iti | dvadasamasah samvatsarasyaita'pradityah | ete hidam sarva- madadana yanti ....

176 puranam - PURANA [Vol. XII, No. 1 4. In the Puranas each of the twelve Adityas has been concerned as presiding over each of the twelve months, or as representing each of the twelve phases of the Sun in the twelve months; cf. Bhavisya-P., Brama-Parvan, 65. 26-29, where Visnu (Aditya) has been mentioned as a form of Divakara (Day-maker) or Bhaskara in the month of Phalguna and as such worthy to be worshipped in that month ('visnusca phalgune mase pujyo vandyasca bhaskarah | '). 5. In the Visnu-P. the twelve Adityas, as a class of gods, are mentioned as one of the seven ganas (classes of gods and demigods) attending the Sun-god or the Sun-chariot in the twelve months - - sa ratho'dhisthito devaradityairrsibhistatha | gandharvapsarobhisca gramanisarpa raksasah || (II. 10. 2) And the twelfth Aditya named as Visnu is mentioned as attending or superintending the Sun's chariot in the month of Phalguna (II. 10. 17-18). The Visnu-P. explicitly mentions in this connection that these ganas (including the Adityas) are separate from God Visnu by whom they are invigorated- nodeta nastameta ca kadacicchaktirupadhrk | visnur visnoh prthak tasya ganah saptavidho'pyayam || ( II. 11. 18). 6. The Visnu-P. also mentions that the gods who were called Tusitas in the Caksusa-Manvantara were reborn as twelve Adityas (the sons of Aditi) in the Vaivasvata-Manvantara :- caksusasyantare purvamasan ye tusitah surah | | vaivasvate'ntare te vai aditya dvadasa smrtah | ( I. 15.132). The Brahmanda-P. (II. 2.57-69) also says that the gods known as Jayas in the Svayambhuva-Manv- and Tusitas in the SvarocisaManv. again became Adityas in the seventh (Vaivasvata) Manv. ('adityah saptame punah '). Thus, it is clear that Visnu as one of the twelve Adityas is quite different from God Visnu of the Puranic Trinity. But the Bhagavata has confused the two Visnus as identical with each other, and this confusion has been caused by its use of the Vedic epithet 'Urukrama' (which is generally used for God Visnu) for the twelfth Aditya in VI. 6. 39, and VI. 18. 8.

Jan., 1970] SPOUSE AND PROGENY OF VAMANA 177 This confusion in the Bhagavata between Visnu the twelfth Aditya, (called Urukrama by it) and God Visnu (also called Urukrama in the Rgveda and elsewhere) has further led it to confuse Urukrama-Aditya with Urukrama-Vamana-incarnation of God Visnu. This confusion is also due to the fact that Vamana was also born as a son of Aditi and hence he is also called Aditya. But the class of the twelve Adityas (who are also the twelve sons of Aditi) is quite distinct from the other sons of Aditi, known also as Adityas or Devas; hence Aditi has been called as the mother of gods-(V.-P., Cr. Edn., 50. 30a). progeny The Bhagavata-P., while mentioning the spouse and of each of the twelfth Adityas (in Skanda VI) suddenly and wrongly switches over to the mention of the spouse Kirti and the off-spring Brhac-chloka as of Urukrama-Vamana; while in fact they may be said as the spouse and off-spring of the twelfth Aditya called also Urukrama by the Bhag. Moreover, Kirti seems to be mentioned as the wife of Visnu (Aditya ?) in the Vayu-Purana also :- visnum kirtti rucih surya vasistham capyarundhati | naitastu vijahantyetan bhatr n devyah kathamcana | (Vayu-P. 30-73) The spouse and the progeny of Vamana are not found mentioned elsewhere. The mention of these in the Bhagavata-Purana, therefore, is due to the wrong identification of Urukrama-Aditya with Uru-Krama-Vamana and is unsupported. -A. S. Gupta 23