THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PADMA-PURANA IN THE DEVANAGARI RECENSION .

From a comparatively early period the Padma p has been utilised by different sectarian elements as the channel of their views As various new sects came into being, it changed its colour and contents for the effective propagation of their views Many new chaps were added to it If the definition of a Purana as stated by Amarasimha in his lexicon is taken into serious consideration, the whole of the Uttarakhand a of the Padma-p becomes meaningless, for it remarkably lacks the traditional characteristics of a Purana Even if it be conceded that the five characteristics are meant for the upapuranas and not the mahapuranas which are to have ten characteristics, 1 still this Khanda can hardly justify itself to be the part of a Purana It does not contain any such characteristic as creation, re creation etc This Khanda is only a conglomeration of glorifications and legends which have no causal connection with the main bulk of the Padma p The present Patala-khanda which is totally a later production (as will be shown presently) is the outcome of the efforts of the Ramaites Here Rama has been deified and conceived of as Vishnu incarnate Sita has been identified with Lakshmi One can attain final salvation if one utters the name of Rama Thus although it will be a matter of extreme difficulty to state which of the particular sects are responsible for one or more than one Khanda, and no water-tight divisions can be made in this respect, one thing cannot be gainsaid in that it is the different religious movements like the Vedic (comprising Srauta and Smarta), anti-Vedic (Jamism, Ajivikism and Buddhism), semi-Vedic (consisting mainly of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Brahmaism) and non-Vedic (Saktism) 2 which either separately or in collaboration can safely claim to contribute to this present form and development of the Padma-p.Thus it is obvious that the different Khandas (which are five in number in the Bengal recension and six in the South Indian recension) have not come down to us in their early Incorporations.

In the present chap we should limit our discussion to determining the constitution of the Padma-p. m the Dcvanagari recension, i.e., to the critical analysis of the texts of the different Khandas and the different strata constituting each of these Khandas.

 

(1) THE SRSHTI-KHANDA.

The Shrishti-khanda is assigned the fifth place among the Khandas in the Anss. ed. of the Padma-p, whereas it occupies the first place in the Venkat. and Vang, editions as well as in those published from Calcutta, one being edited by Kedaranatha Bhaktivinoda and the other belonging to ShriGuru-mandala-granthamala. The determination of the proper place of the Shrishti-khanda among the constituent parts of the Padma-p. is not as difficult as it appears to be at first sight. The Vang, and Venkat. Press editions expressly say that at the beginning there is the Shrishti-khanda. 3 This is supported by the Bhumi-khanda 4 which while enumerating the list of the Khandas, awards the first position to the Spti-khanda. That vs. of the Bhumi-khanda occurs in all the Bengal mss. also. The Uttara-khanda 5 of the Padma-p. also expressly places the Shrishti-khanda first in the enumeration of the Khandas. The contrary evidence of the Adi-khanda, hoxvevcr, need not be taken into serious consideration. The relevant vs of that Khanda is not found in many of its mss which, again, place the Shrishti-khanda first From the description of the different constituent parts of the Padma-p as given m the first chap of the Shrishti-khanda, it appears that the Shrishti-khanda is the first of the set Moreover, the Naradiyap, m dividing the parts of the Padma-p, clearly mentions the name of its first division as Shrishti-khanda According to the traditional view, the topic of creation (Sarga) should come first among the five characteristics of the Puranas This view appears quite natural and reasonable in as much as it is meaningless to delineate the earth (Bhurm), the heaven (Svarga), or the nether regions (Patala) without discussing their origin and creation The word Shrishti (which is derived from the root Srj c to create’) means creation Thus the position of the Shrishti-khanda in the Padma-p is easily discernible Undoubtedly it can be awarded the first place among the Khandas.

According to the printed editions as well as most of the Devanagarl mss of the Padma p, the Shrishti-khanda consists of eightytwo chaps But there are grounds to believe that this Khanda consists of two major divisions of which the former extends up to the end of chap 43 and constitutes the Shrishti khanda proper, as we have it now, and the latter which begins practically from chap 44, is found to occur in mss as a distinct work named Dharma-p Suffice it to say for the present that there is a marked difference both in form and matter between the Shrishti-khanda and the Dhama p And we now propose to undertake a study of the former leaving a discussion of the latter to be taken up subsequently.

We have seen in the previous chap that the constituent parts of the Padma p were originally known as Parvans, and the first Parvan was named Puskara-parvan In later ages, when the whole of the Padma p was recast and rearranged into Khanda divisions, the names of the other Parvans were changed, while the name Puskara was retained m the Khanda division also The name Puskara khanda was not at all unfamiliar to die people It is on the authority of three mss. mentioned in the I O. Cat. 7 that we know that the Padma-p. contained a Khanda known ash Puskarakhanda. The term Shrishti-Mianda was later utilised in order to imbue the treatise with the chief characteristic of a Purana. There is no reference to the term Shrishti-khanda either in any independent ms. or in works of early SmritMvriters. The first-known mention of it is found in the jVaradiya-p. I. 93, admittedly a later work, where the contents of the different Khandas of the Padma-p. have been briefly noted. In Mitramishras Viramitiodaya also there is an express mention pf its title as Sfsti-khanda. 8 Incidentally, it may be mentioned here that when the name Shrishti-khanda was known to the people at large, another name for it also gained currency and was duly recognised It was the Kriyu. or Prakriya-khanda. The Anss. ed. of the Srshti-khanda mentions the name of the Kriya-khanda in the following way, ‘Kriya-khandapara-namadheya-Shrishti-khandarupah\ Jiva GosvamI in his commentary on the Bhagaiata-p. mentions a Nirmana-khanda, presumably a division of the Padma-p. 9 It should not be supposed therefrom that the three different names are indicative of the fact that these are three differentw orks which go by these names. The names Shrishti, Kriya, or Nirmana imply the same thing, for all three denote action or creation.

 

1 Vot II, pts I, II Of these three mss two have been written in Tulu characters and the third one is written in Malayalam character Sec. eg, \©1 II, pt I n

6624 Kotbvara ksetra mihStmya shri padma pur3i> e puskara khaijtfe kotffc mahatmye " \ol II, pt II, no 6628 Puskara khanda of the Padma purona It wan abstract from the Puskara kha^a of the Padma pvrana adhyiya X\III, containing a legendary account of the origin of the forest of Madhu, the site of Mathura iti padma purane puskara khan^e asht3daso dh> 3> ah’ II, pt II, no 6631

'^alagrama m5l Stmya The £ alagrSma mahStmya, — a collection of extracts magnifying the SilagrSma or ammonite, from the Fadma-purava, Puskara khanda ^ityadi mahapurSpe In p3dmc Puskara khan^e telagrama mShStmyc pancSio dhyayah ’

 Vxramiirodaja, Tlrtha prakisa p 393

'p3dme snti khande 1 etc Ji\a Gosvami’s commentary on the Bhagatata p x 1 28 But the vs, {Bhfigacata p x I 28) does not occur in the SnU khaij^a

 

Only the remaining portions of the Puskara-khamja, he., from chap. 19 to 43 with the exception of chap. 29, could have been written or compiled by the Vaishnavas. One should disabuse his mind of doubts about how' different portions of a particular Khantfa bear evidence of different authorship signifying affiliation to different sects. Such instances arc not rare in the PurSnic literature. The Agni was originally grouped in the class of Tamasapuranas, i.c., the Puranas dealing with the glorification of Shiva or Rudra Agni was even identified with Rudra or Shiva But a careful analysis of the extant Agni p shows that the first three or four chaps only can claim to be original as they deal w lth Agni mahatmya But the rest have been contributed or compiled by the Vaishnavas who incorporated in it a good number of vss from the Vifntt p, Hanvama etc Thus the Agni p in its present form is now a Vaishnava work although originally it was a Shaiva one Similar examples are found in the case of the Kahka p also The original Kahka p winch is now lost, dwelt at length on the glorifications of the lord Shiva and although Kamarupa, its place of writing came to be a stronghold of Saktism, the Sakti was regarded as an asso ciated element of Shiva But that original Kahka p is replaced by a new book, the present Kahka p which is evidently a contribution of the Shakta Vaishnavas undcrwhoseinfiuence the Sakti was regarded as the Vaishnavi Sakti 11

To resume, the Padma p though originally a Brahma work was later changed into a Vaishnava one at the hands of Vaishnava writers though it cannot be definitely ascertained why the Vaishnavas did not totally change this Puskara khanda also Two explanations may be suggested First the name Puskara which immediately reminds us of Brahma worship deterred in all probability the Vaishnavas from making any far reaching changes in it Secondly the Vaishnavas might have thought it wiser to leave some intro ductory portions at the beginning of the Padma p as they were while changing the other portions so that no suspicion about such changes might arise in the minds of the people It is possible for us to locate some of the earliest portions of the Puskara khanda from a brief summary of its contents as recorded in the second chap of the Puskara khanda The relevant portion of the second chap refers to the following gradual developments of creation.

Brahma appeared in the great golden egg That egg was surrounded by water Water was encircled by a halo offostre That halo of lustre was engulfed by air. Air was circumambulated by the shy. Tire shy was encircled by the Bhiitas. The bhutas were encircled by the quality of Mahat. The qualit) a V, as surroun ded by the Avy'akta (non-perccivable n 12 m Unive. rse has becn created from that very golden C f^i b CSG top cs are actually found in the earliest portion 11 j Puskara-khanda. It is interesting to note that the secon chap, of the Puskara-hhanda does not refer to a single topic which has been dealt with in die Dhama-p.

It may be remarked in this connection that there is some incongruity between the contents of the Pushara-khanda as recorded in the second chap, and those referred to in the ara iya-p. At the outset it should be mentioned that the Ta ja a -P' ^ 1VCS a d escr ipbon of most of the Puranas including the Padma-p. with its Khandas and it is worthy of note that the Naradija-p. does not mention a Pushara-hhanda of the Padma-p. but refers to a Shrishti-khanda, spoken by the sage Pulastya to Bhisma. According to the Naradi) a-p. the Shrishti-khanda dealt with the following topics:

The gradual development of creation (Shrishtyadihrama), t e etailed glorifications of Puskara (puskarasya ca mahatmyarp vistarena prakirtitam), procedure of brahmayajna featured by the proper chanting of the Vedic texts ( ra ma-j ajna-vidhanam ca veda-pathadi-laksanam), enumeration and glorification of different gifts and vows (dananam hirtanarp yatra vratunarp ca prthah prthah), marriageof the daughter of Himalaya (vivahali shai1ajay5i-ca), narrative o araka (tarahiikhyanaharp mahat), glorification o t ic cow and such other kinds of animals (mahatmyarp ca gavadmarp hlrtitam), the stories of the hilling or the demon Kdakcya and others (Lalahcyudi-daityunatp vadl.o yatra P J‘. p [ thak )» the appropriate worship of the planets ami gifts m honour of them (grahanum-arcanarp d5narp yatra proktaip vidhanatah Mradiya-p. I. 92).

On a careful analysis of the Puskara-khan^a of the present text we ind that it contains those topics beginning with Shrisht)adikrama (chap 2) and ending in the episode ofTaraka (chap 41 of the Puskara khanda) Such other topics as gavadinam mahatmyam kalakeyadi daityanom vadhah, grahanam arcanaip danam which arc recorded in the Naradtja p are not found m the Puskara khanda, but these arc all present in the Dharna p (gavadinarp mahatmyam chap 45, 58 62, kalakeyadi daityanarp \adhah chap 63 72 and grahanam arcanam danam chap 80 82)..

Thus, as some of the topics recorded in the haraitya p are found in the Dharma p only and not m the Puskara khanda proper, it is hard to avoid the conclusion t mt at t ie time of composition of this part of the Jfaradtja p (I W the portion which records the contents of the a ma p )> t c whole of the Shrishti khanda including the Dharma p was regarded as one book.

It can definitely be said that tins Pushkara Uianda was written cither in the East of Mitlnla or V cst of Kamarupa In the tenth chap (vss 14 16) » the Parvatiyas have been denounced Amruddhabhatta in his I/aralala says that by the ^ord ParvaUya the brahmins of Kamarupa arc to be under stood « In the Mbh also, there arc many references to the Pan any as meaning dwellers of the lulls Tl.c term Panama has been derived from panata meaning rupa, s a hilly tract and the name is derived from the word k; , I ancient dwellers on mountains 15 It is hamru which means anac ^ ^ S{anhlla brahmins (in a o known to t! ‘bnhmim) settled at Kimarupa, and die udtng the »g j local peoplcand thcscttlers, ec, cultural relation continued for centuries It is a fact the brahmins of ^hthiU^ ^ KjmarQpa br alum ns even today read tlwTs m r " ork5 f V-icaspatitroira who was a Maithila. Some surnames of the Malthilas also have been used by them It is quite possible that the Maithila brahmins would try to denounce these brahmins in order to establish their supremacy over the people of Kamarupa. It is natural that they would be jealous of their next-door neighbours who were flourishing under the patronage of the tings of the Mech dynasty of Kamarupa. Although the relevant portions do not occur in the Bengal mss. of the Shrishti-khanda still these should be treated as genuine vss. as these have been quoted also by Ballalasena in his Dana-sagara. That the brahmins of Kamarupa were in a prosperous condition, has been referred to in chap. 17 of the Shrishti-khanda 16. This passage occurs in the Bengal mss. also. 17

The fact that the Puskara-khanda was written by the Maithilas, is further supported by another piece of evidence. Like many other chaps, the eleventh chap, has also been taken from the Matsya-p. But the vss. from 69 to 81 do not occur there. On an analysis of these vss, we find that they, to a great extent, deal with the glorification of Gaya only among all sacred places. Hence it will not be unwise to conclude that this portion was written by the people of Mithila who tried to glorify Gaya, their sacred place.

Vs. 247 of chap. 17, is important in fixing the upper limit of the date of its composition, as it mentions theBhojakas, i e, a class of priests or sun-worshippers supposed to have descended from the Magas by intermarriage with the women of the Bhoja race So we are incbned to hold that the earliest portion was written at least not before the Magians had spread their influence on the people at large and had been intermixed with the Bhoja race by means of marriage. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the purport of the vss. 69-78 of chap 7 is similar to that of the Vibhuti-yoga, chap, 10 of the Bhagavadglta It is known that the BhagavadgltS was probably composed before the Christian Era, although not more than a few centuries before it 18 So the date of the Shrishti-khanda comes later than that.

We have already noted how the Shrishti-khanda utilised the vss of the Matsya-p and the Vtsnu-p It has been proved that the Padma-p is the borrower and not vice versa, 19 and the date of these portions of the Matsya p which have been utilised m the Shrishti-khanda is 400 A D 20 So the Shrishti or Puskara khanda cannot go earlier than that period As to the other limit, we find that the Smriti-writers of as early as the 12th or 13th century have quoted vss from the Padma p Vss have been quoted from chap 7 m the Kftya-ratnakara of CandeSvara, from chap 15 m the Krtya-kalpataru. of Lakshmidhara, from chap 7 in the Vidhana pdnjata (v ol I) of Anantabhatta, from chaps 10 and 15 in the Ddna-sagara of Ballalasena, from chap 10 m the Smriti-tattva of Raghunandana, from chap 9, 10 and 17 in the Caturvarga-cintamam of Hemadn, from chap 7 m the Smrh-candnka of Devanabhatta, from chap 15 in the Acdradarsa of Shridattopadhyaya, from chap 8 in Apararka's com on Yajnavalkya-Smriti and from chap 10 in the Haralatd of Aniruddhabhatta So it must be earlier than these works Now there is a vs in the Harivamia 21 which runs thus

purane pauskare caiva maya dvaipayanentah /

yathavad-anupurvena samskrtah paramarsibhih // 22

This is an obvious reference to the Puskara parva, i e, the earliest Parva of the Padma p or to the Padma-p itself which was perhaps known by the name of its first Parva According to scholars, the Hartvamia dates not later than sixth century A D Thus the date of the earliest portion of the Shrishti-khanda falls between the first quarter and the third quarter of the fifth century A D and it is most probable that it was composed in the middle of the fifth century A D That Brahmaism was very popular at that time is proved by the evidence of Varaharmhira also, who (6th century A D ) attributes a very high place to the Brahma-worshippers by calling them vipras, l e, brahmin worth the name.

At that time East India was a stronghold of Brahmaism We know from the Buddhist literature that the worship of Brahma was prevalent in East India Dr J N Banerjea remarks, “The early Buddhist works on many occasions refer to the various kinds of worship that prevailed in India especially m Central or Eastern India at a time when Buddha preached his doctrine R G Bhandarkar quotes a very interesting passage from the Niddesa which furnishes us with a curious record of the various religious systems that prevailed at that period the deity of those devoted toSury> a, Indra, Brahma 23 ”

We have already mentioned that the other portion of the Shrishti-khanda (constituting chaps 19-28, 30-43) proper was a later contribution of the Vaishnavas Vss from this portion have been quoted mGfhastka ratnakara pp 215 216, 255-256, 270-271 (which correspond to chap 20 vss 145 fF, 159 170a, 170bfF respectively), in Artya-kalpataru \ol 5, l e > Dana-kanda pp 110-113, pp 145-146 (corresponding chap 32vss 158-183

and 137b-143respectively), in vol 8, i e > TiTtka-uiecana kanda pp 164-165 (corresponding chap 27 vss 61-76), mvol, Niyatd'kala-kanda pp 76-78 (corresponding chap 20 vss 145167), p 115 (chap 20 vs 165), pp 116-117 (chap 20 vss 151-170), pp 139-140 (chap 20 vss 170-177), in Accra darla f 15b-16a (chap 20 vss 145 ff), f 27b (chap 20 vss 159-170a), f 30b (chap 20 vss 170b-177a), in Brahmana-saTvasva p 82, pp 82-83, p 105, pp 113-114, p 115, pp 170 171, p 176 (chap 20 vss 146 ff, 149 ff, 162 ff, 170bff, 176, 170b ff, 176 respectively), m Vtramxlrodaya, i e, Ahmka pzakata pp 230 231 354-355 378-379 (corresponding chap 20 \ss 145 ff, 159 ff, 170b ff respectively), in Vtdhana-pdnjata %ol III pp 126-127, 137-138, 138-139, 139, 140-141, 141-142, 142-143, 143-144, 145, 146-147 (corresponding chap. 21 vss 82-92, 127b-135, 136-145a, 145b-152a, 152b-159a, 159b-165a, 165b-176a, 176b-187a, 187b-I97a, I97b ff. respectively). So this portion dates much earlier than these Smriti-writers. 100 years may be taken to intervene between the two portions of the Shrishtikhanda proper, the second portion may then be approximately dated in the middle of the sixth century A.D.

It is also highly probable that the whole of the Shrishtikhanda was again taken up in later times and revised by the Tantric-Brahmas who interpolated some vss. here and there as appears from an examination of the vss. 8-75 of chap. 31. This portion is highly Tantric. Some portions of the 30th chap, also may be said to be contributed by them. The Brahmaism was at that period in a decadent state. Many of the worshippers of Brahma accepted Shaivism 25. The followers of Brahmaism tried to explain the cause of the downfall of their own religion by spinning out a queer story of Savitri who cursed Brahma that nobody would worship him thenceforth 25.

But this recast also has been made before Ballalasena and Hemadri. The latter in his Caturvarga-cmtamamhas quoted several vss. from chap. 31 of the Shrishti-khanda of the Padma-p. z Ballalasena also, in hisDana-sdgara (mss. no. 719, 720 of the I. O, London) quotes the vs. 149 of the 31st chap 27.

It has been held that the Puranas began to be imbued with the spirit of Tantricism from the beginning of the 9th century A.D. 29 So this portion comes after that period and it is highly probable that this reshuffling by the TantricBrahmas was made in the tenth century. Thus we see that omitting the portion of the Dharma-p. the Shrishti-Uianda came to be recognised in its present form from the tenth century A D.

 

For mss. of the Dhorma p see —

(») Sastn Cat, V pp 777-781, nos. 4121-4122 (mss nos 3309 and 3657)

(it) R. L. Mitra, Notices of Sans mss > VL pp. 224-227, no 2182

(tu) ILralal, Cat cf Sans and Prakrit mss in tfis Central Protinas end Perot p 217.

(a) R. Roth, Verzeickmss induchtf Handschrtflen dtr KSnxgheKtn UntDerniats

Bibliothfk (pi Tubingen) 13

, 0 Eggelmg, I O Cat VI, no. 3380 (ms. no 215) The contents of the last seven chaps- of this ms as given by Eggelmg, arp as follows

padmodbhava pridurbhlvab» sura tlrakayofc saipgrimaht kumara-iarpbhave gauri vivlhab, pjtrm£ h5trnya kathanam, Irlddha prakaraijam, yadu varpiaklrtanam, fcrojtu vaipla Vlrtanam.

These contents agree with those of the Bengal mss. to a great extent R, L. Mitra, in Ins dachas ef Sanskrit mss, vol III, no 1257 pp. 147-151, gives a bnef description of a Bengal m. of the Padma purSpIya sr? p khai^da where there are U the abovementioned chaps- except that dealing with pathnodbhava-pridur bhi of the I O ms. The mss. nos. 4517 and 755 of the St? P khapda, preserved in the libraries of the Asiatic Society and the Vaigtya Sihitya Panjat respectively, deal with all these chaps.

9l Brfiaddharma-p 1.2525

 

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