Brahma Vaivarta Purana
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Brahma Vaivarta Purana, (Sanskrit: व्रह्मबैवर्तपुराणम्, brahma-vaivarta purāṇa) one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text, is divided into four parts. First part describes the creation of the universe and all beings, the second part relates to description and histories of different goddesses. The third part is mostly devoted to life and deeds of Ganesha, and the last part details the life and deeds of Krishna.
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[edit] Structure and content
Brahma Vaivarta Purana was written in Banga (ancient name for the region of Bengal).[citation needed] Recited by Suta to the sages at the forest of Naimisharanya. First part is called Brahma Khanda and describes Brahma and his sons, especially Narada. Second part called Prakriti Khanda deals with the goddesses or saktis who are manifestations of Prakriti. The third part, Ganesha Khanda, is about Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati. In this canto Ganesha's mother Parvati told Shani to ignore the curse and look at Ganesha.[1] The fourth and last part is called Krsna Janma Khanda – a canto about birth and life of Krishna, Svayam bhagavan.(BVP 4.90.32–33 is quoted in Chanakya's Niti sastra 11.4.)[2]
[edit] Krishna and creation of the universe
Brahma Vaivarta Purana declares Krishna to be the supreme God,[3][4](para-Brahman)[5] who lives in Goloka[6] and who with Rasesvari (Radha)[7] has created this universe. They are married by Brahma.[8] All Vedas and related scriptures mention the para-Brahman to be the supreme God but this Purana specifies that this supreme God is Krishna. He created the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva[9] whose responsibility is the creation, preservation and destruction of universe respectively. This Purana takes a view on the creation that is slightly different to other Puranas. The fully developed legend of Radha and Krishna appears in both the Narada-pancaratra and this Purana.[10]
[edit] Further reading
- Mani, Vettam. Puranic Encyclopedia. 1st English ed. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975.
- C.M. Brown (1976–Hartford, 1974). "God as Mother: A Feminine Theology in India. An Historical and Theological Study of the Brahmavaivarta Purana". Journal of the American Academy of Religion 44 (2): 366–367. JSTOR 1462354.
[edit] Notes
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Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (July 2010) |
- ^ Vyasa; Sen, R.N. (1920 (1974)). The Brahma-Vaivarta Puranam. AMS Press.
- ^ http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_trial/chANakyanItisort.txt
- ^ Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa 4.4.64, 4.5.94,100,105
- ^ Kṛṣṇa called paripūrṇatama: 4.1.8, 4.9.13, 4.13.56,79, 4.20.16, 4.21.181,202, 4.22.45, 4.53.51, 4.69.22, 4.70.49
- ^ param brahma, Bhagavad Gita 10.12(−14)
- ^ ibid. 4.4.*, 4.13.49, etc.
- ^ ibid. 4.13.88–112, etc.
- ^ ibid. 4.15.1–140
- ^ ibid. 4.9.9, 4.13.49, 4.29.43–46, 4.53.52, 4.67.58,63, 4.70.62
- ^ Dimock, Jr, E.C. (1963). "Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal". History of Religions 3 (1): 106. doi:10.1086/462474. JSTOR 1062079.
[edit] External links
- Complete Brahma Vaivarta and other Puranas in Devanagari – pdf
- Astrojyoti.com – Good commentary on the Brahma Vaivarta Purana
- Brahma Vaivarta Purana on Kali yuga
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