Brihaddharma Purana

The Brihaddharma Purana ( sa, बृहद्धर्म पुराण, ) is a Hindu religious text, which classified itself (I.25.26) as the last of the 18 Upapuranas. The extant text comprises three ''khaņḑa''s (parts): ''pūrvakhaņḑa'', ''madhyakhaņḑa'' and ''uttarakhaņḑa''. On the basis of its usage of Sanskrit words with unusual meaning and Sanskrit proverbs popular in Bengal, a number of modern scholars believe that this text was written in Bengal. According to R. C. Hazra, a modern scholar, this text was composed in the second half of the 13th century. He classified it as a non-sectarian ''Upapurana''.

Content

The ''pūrvakhaņḑa'' and ''madhyakhaņḑa'' of both the Asiatic Society and the Vangavasi edition have 30 chapters. While the ''uttarakhaņḑa'' of the Asiatic Society edition comprises 14 chapters, the Vangavasi edition comprises 21 chapters and R. C. Hazra considers these additional 7 chapters (15-21) as the essential part of the text.

''Pūrvakhaņḑa''

The ''pūrvakhaņḑa'' begins at the Naimisha Forest, with Suta reporting to the sages assembled there about Vyasa's discourse to Jabali on ''dharma'' and its constituent parts: ''satya'', ''daya'', ''shanti'' and ''ahimsa''. In answer to Jabali's next question, Vyasa advises him about the ''gurus'' (teachers) in general and particularly the ''gurus'' occupying the highest position, one's parents. He illustrated his views on one's duty to his parents with a narrative of hunter Tuladhara and his advice to brahmin Kritabodha. In chapters 5-30, Vyasa, in answer to another question of Jabali, describes the '' tirtha''s (sacred places), reporting it as a conversation between goddess Rudrani and her two associates, Jaya and Vijaya. The description starts with a song of praise to Ganga and it includes the origin and sanctity of ''tulasi'' (''Ocimum tenuiflorum'') plant and the ''bilva'' (''Aegle marmelos'') tree. It also comprises descriptions on ''kalatirtha''s (auspicious times), which include auspicious times for Devi worship and studying religious texts.

''Madhyakhaņḑa''

The ''madhyakhaņḑa'' begins with Jabali's request for further information about Ganga. Vyasa answers his question in the form of a conversation between sage Śuka and his disciple Jaimini. The first chapter describes the creation as the ''yoga'' (union) of Brahma and the ''prakriti'' of the three ''guṇa and Shiva. The second chapter has a brief description about Daksha and his daughter Sati. It is followed by a detailed narrative of Daksha, Shiva and Sati from the chapter 3 onwards, which ends in selection of Kamarupa as his abode by Shiva after Sati's ''yoni'' fell there, when her body was cut to pieces by Vishnu. In chapter 11, Sati appears before Shiva, who was in a meeting with Brahma and Vishnu and predicts that she will reincarnate as Ganga and Uma. Chapters 12-28 deal with the narratives of Ganga from her birth as daughter of Himalaya and Mena. Chapter 14 describes about Narayana's instruction of music to sage Narada as a related story. These narratives related to Ganga are briefly interrupted in chapter 23, which describes the birth of Uma as the second daughter of Himalaya and Mena. Chapter 29 describes Manus and manvantaras and the kings belonging to solar and lunar dynasties. The last chapter (chapter 30) narrates the story of birth of Ganesha and his acquiring the head of an elephant.

''Uttarakhaņḑa''

The ''uttarakhaņḑa'' starts with the discussion about ''dharma''. A general discussion on ''dharma'' followed by the specific ''dharma''s to be followed by the people belonging to four ''varna''s during their various stages of life ('' ashramas''). This discussion includes a passage supporting the practice of Sati which mentions that it is the obligation of a widow to follow her husband in death (Chapter 8, 8-10). The following chapters deal with a number of ''vrata''s, hymns to the Navagraha deities, the four ''yuga''s and the narrative of Vena which includes his creation of 36 mixed castes, whose members were later assigned specific trades by the Brahmins during the reign of Vena's son Prithu.

The chapters 15-21, which are only found in the Vangavasi edition describes the story of Krishna's birth and the role played by Devi in it. They also comprise a description of Kali Yuga. The text ends with a eulogy of the Purana, describing it as a Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta shastra (21.5).

Editions and translations

The first printed edition of this text was published by The Asiatic Society, Calcutta (1888–97), as a part of their ''Bibliotheca Indica'' series. It was edited by Haraprasad Shastri. In 1894, the Vangavasi Press, Calcutta published another edition of this text along with a Bengali translation by Panchanan Tarkaratna, who edited it. In 1915, a free and abridged English translation by Syama Charan Banerji was published from Lucknow by the Indian Commercial Press as the first volume of its ''Rambles in Scripture Land'' series.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Brihaddharma Purana
English translation (abridged) by Syama Charan Banerji roofread(includes glossary)

{{Puranas

Puranas
Bengali Hindus
Hinduism in Bangladesh