Puranic Hinduism and Its Significance

The English word ‘Hinduism’ is a fairly recent one and was first used by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1816–17. The word ‘Hindu’ is older and is derived from the Sindhu (Indus) river. It was originally a geographical term, used in ancient Persian inscriptions to refer to the lands beyond the Sindhu river. In the course of the medieval period, the term came to acquire a religious–cultural meaning. Modern-day Hinduism differs from other major world religions in many important respects, in that it has no founder, no fixed canon that embodies its major beliefs and practices, and no organized priesthood. It is also marked by a great variety of beliefs, practices, sects, and traditions.

Source - Epic World History

During the period c. 200 BCE–300 CE, there is evidence from a variety of sources of certain devotional practices that can be associated with Hinduism. This was the formative phase in the evolution of early Hindu pantheons. Some of the deities who became the foci of worship in this period are known from Vedic literature. However, during these centuries, they emerged as foci of devotion, as powerful supreme deities, whose images were installed and worshipped in temples and homes. The beginning of the theistic trends that came to the fore in this period can be traced to the later Upanishads. However, the process is more clearly visible in the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The new religiosity of devotion is also reflected in the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas. This new aspect of Hinduism is called Puranic Hinduism.

Although the period c. 200 BCE–300 CE witnessed the development of sectarian cults that considered a particular god or goddess as a supreme deity, there was also a parallel process that visualized the Hindu gods as closely related and performing complementary functions. This is evident, for instance, in the idea of the triad of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, present in the Mahabharata and more clearly developed in the Puranas. In this triad, Brahma is associated with the creation of the world, Vishnu with its preservation, and Shiva with its destruction. The three gods are also associated with different principles, from which arises their division of labor—Brahma is associated with rajas (the creative, active principle), Vishnu with sattva (the unattached, passive principle), and Shiva with tamas (the dark, fierce principle).

In some places in the Puranas, the gods operate in their respective spheres according to this division of labor, in others they are described as manifestations of the same divine being. The acknowledgment of other gods and their being considered worthy of respect is also evident from the fact that shrines dedicated to one deity often have sculptural representations of other deities as well. Polytheism simply refers to a belief in many gods, but monolatry means the belief in a supreme god without denying the existence of other gods. It is the latter term that best describes emergent Hinduism.

Defining Purana

The word ‘Purana’ means ‘old’. According to tradition, the Puranas were composed by Vyasa, but it is clear that in the form in which they have come down to us, they were not the work of one person nor of one age. There are 18 Mahapuranas (great Puranas), and many more Upapuranas (secondary Puranas).

The Puranas are supposed to have five characteristics (pancha-lakshanas), i.e., they are supposed to discuss five topics—the creation of the world (sarga); re-creation (pratisarga); the periods of the various Manus (manvantaras); the genealogies of gods and rishis (vamsha); and an account of royal dynasties (vamshanucharita), including the Suryavamshi and Chandravamshi kings, whose origin is traced to the sun and the moon. Actually, not all Puranas deal with all these five topics, and most of them deal with much more.

In its original usage (as in the older Vedic literature), the word Purana is usually used in connection with itihasa and seems to have meant old narrative, without any special significance as to the character of the narrative. Gradually they began to carry a diverse variety of elements.

Puranas, that we have today, are thoroughly revised versions of either the originals or at least what they were ideally intended to be.

Reference to Purana in Dharma sutra and Mahabharat indicates that they existed long before the Christian era. The Purana texts, as we have them now, were written at such divergent periods that it is difficult to fix their chronology with even an approximate degree of certainty. While they have elements of early incorporation, they have undergone substantial and continuous re-editions in multiple ways: a) adding fresh chapters, b) substituting older ones with new ones, and c) writing new works with older titles. The contents were added at different stages of history but these additions could be completely new content or transferred from one text to another. All this makes it extremely difficult to date the texts or their different portions/layers/contents.

Indeed, these Puranas were written and revised over a long period and the contributions of multiple authors (presumably without a matter of absolute unanimity of opinion in every detail), introduced confusing inconsistencies in them. Therefore, a stray statement should not be taken to represent the central argument of a Purana.

MAHAPURANAS AND UPPURANAS

Puranas are many but they state their number to be eighteen. These 18 are called Mahapurana. At some stage, 18 Puranas proved inadequate for Brahmanical requirements and another group of literature of the same genre but with a different emphasis emerged, called Upapuranas. This process roughly happened between 650 and 800 AD but was not limited to it. Not all Upapuranas could be composed at the same time.

One of the major differences between the Mahapurana and the Upapuranas is that the latter are regionally identifiable. Even some of the additions to Mahapuranas seem to have a local tinge. So the Brahma Purana may represent the Orissan version work of the original work and likewise Padma, Agni, Varaha of the Pushkar, Gaya, Mathura, etc.

In their entirety, however, none of these texts be said to have been composed in these regions and although they partially reflect local interests, it is impossible to, precisely locate their place of origin.

Upapuraranas, on the other hand, are so overwhelmingly regional in their concerns, catering as they did to local requirements, that they can be identified with a particular locale with a fair degree of certainty. Say, Vishnudharmottara Purana originated in Kashmir, Kalika in Assam but a great majority in Bengal. They originated in areas peripheral to the Brahmanical influence.

Because of their status, Mahapurana has undergone innumerable modifications, but the Upapurana have remained comparatively free from later redactors. They are thus better preserved and among those extant there are some which are much older than Mahapuranas. many of the

They especially neglect the genealogies of kings and sages, and even when they mention them, it is only to acquire a stamp Kali of antiquity, and nothing is said about the dynasties of the age. They discuss local deities, festivals, idol worship, etc. They assimilate local practices and traditions.


Written by - Visha Jain 

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