![Varaha Purana, Sanskrit, Devanagari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Varaha_Purana%2C_Sanskrit%2C_Devanagari.jpg)
The ''Varaha Purana'' ( sa, वराह पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text from the
Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s genre of literature in
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
. It belongs to the
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
literature corpus praising
Narayana
Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...
(
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
), but includes chapters dedicated to praising and centered on
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
and
Shakti
In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...
(goddesses it calls Brahmi, Vaishnavi and Raudri).
The text exists in many versions, with major sections lost to history. The text has been estimated to have been first completed between the 10th and 12th centuries, and continuously revised thereafter. The surviving manuscripts of this text are notable, like ''
Linga Purana
The ''Linga Purana'' (लिङ्गपुराण, IAST: ) is one of the eighteen '' Mahapuranas'', and a ''Shaivism'' text of Hinduism. The text's title ''Linga'' refers to the iconographical symbol for Shiva.
The author(s) and date of the ...
'', because they do not cover the required ''Panchalakshana'' (five characteristics) expected in a Purana. Scholars have questioned whether it really qualifies as a Purana, and whether the extant manuscripts are merely a religious manual largely focussed on Vaishnava practices, with sections that also praise Shiva, Shakti and other gods in a secular way.
The ''Varaha Purana'' includes mythology, particularly of the
Varaha
Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.
Varaha is most commonly associated with the lege ...
incarnation (
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
) of Vishnu rescuing the earth (
Prithvi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her conso ...
) at the time of a great flood. The text also includes mythology of goddesses and Shiva, and a discussion of
Karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
and
Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
called ''Dharmasamhita''. A large portion of the text is dedicated to medieval geographic ''Mahatmya'' (tourist guides) to temples and sites in
Mathura
Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...
and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, but it curiously lacks adoring
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
in Mathura-related section of the type found in other Puranas.
History
The century in which ''Varaha Purana'' was composed is unknown. Wilson suggested 12th-century, during the period of
Ramanuja
Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...
influence. Most scholars concur that this is a relatively late Purana, and a few suggest that the first version of this text was complete by the 10th century. The text is named after the
Varaha
Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.
Varaha is most commonly associated with the lege ...
(boar) avatar of Vishnu, wherein he rescues goddess earth.
The text is mentioned and summarized in the manuscripts of the ''Matsya Purana'', ''Skanda Purana'' and the ''Agni Purana'', but the description of this text in those documents suggests that surviving manuscripts of ''Varaha Purana'' are entirely different from what it once was. The text exists in many versions, with significant variations.
The ''
Padma Purana
The ''Padma Purana'' ( sa, पद्मपुराण or पाद्मपुराण, or ) is one of the eighteen Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Bra ...
'' categorizes ''Varaha Purana'' as a
Sattva
Sattva ( Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.Jame ...
Purana. Scholars consider the ''Sattva-Rajas-Tamas'' classification as "entirely fanciful" and there is nothing in this text that actually justifies this classification.
Contents
![Varahapurana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Varahapurana.jpg)
The printed editions of this work, depending on the version, has 217 or 218 ''adhyāya''s (chapters). The
critical edition
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
(edited by Anand Swarup Gupta, and published by the All-India Kashiraj Trust, Varanasi) has 215 chapters. The Hindu tradition and other Puranas claim that this text had 24,000 verses; however, surviving manuscripts have less than half that number.
According to the
Narada Purana, this text has two parts: ''purvabhaga'' and ''uttarabhaga''. While the contents of the ''purvabhaga'' summarized in the Narada text generally correspond to the extant manuscripts of the ''Varaha Purana'', the ''uttarabhaga'' summarized in the Narada text is not found in surviving Varaha manuscripts, and presumed lost to history.
According to Rajendra Hazra, the extant text has four distinct sections, differing in interlocutors and general characteristics. These sections were likely composed in different time periods, by different authors.
In the first section (chapters 1 to 112),
Suta is the narrator and
Varaha
Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.
Varaha is most commonly associated with the lege ...
and
Prithvi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her conso ...
are the interlocutors. In the second section (chapters 113 to 192), Suta narrates what was told by Prithvi to
Sanatkumara
The Kumaras are four sages ('' rishis'') from the Puranic texts of Hinduism who roam the universe as children, generally named Sanaka kumara, Sanatana kumara, Sanandana kumara and Sanat kumara. They are described as the first mind-born creat ...
about the dialogue between Varaha and herself. In the third section (chapters 193 to 212), Suta describes the conversation between the king
Janamejaya
Janamejaya ( sa, जनमेजय) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his father and predecessor Parikshit, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns ...
and the sage
Vaishampayana
Vaishampayana ( sa, वैशंपायन, ) is the traditional narrator of the ''Mahabharata'', one of the two major Sanskrit epics of India.
Legend
Vaishampayana is a renowned sage who is stated to be the original teacher of the ''Kr ...
. This section is also known as the ''Dharma Samhita''. In the final section (chapters 213 to end), Suta narrates the conversation between
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
and Sanatkumara.
See also
*''
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...
''
*''
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana (IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature c ...
''
*''
Shiva Purana
The ''Shiva Purana'' is one of eighteen major texts of the '' Purana'' genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part of the Shaivism literature corpus. It primarily revolves around the Hindu god Shiva and goddess Parvati, but references and rev ...
''
*''
Markandeya Purana
The ''Markandeya Purana'' ( sa, मार्कण्डेय पुराण; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit text of Hinduism, and one of the eighteen major Puranas. The text's title Markandeya refers to a sage in Hindu History, who is the central char ...
''
References
Bibliography
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External links
Contents of one manuscript of the ''Varāha Purāṇa'' S. V. Iyer (1985)
''Varaha Purana''by
Vyas
Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
. Published by:
Venkateshwar Steam Press, Bombay (lg.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
)
{{Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala
Puranas