VarahaPuran

The legend of the Varaha incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu saving the earth (Prithvi) from a huge flood is included in the Varaha Purana. The work also covers goddess mythology and Shiva, as well as the Dharmasamhita, a study of Karma and Dharma.


The Varaha Purana was written in an unknown century. Wilson put it in the 12th century, at the time of Ramanuja's influence. The majority of academics agree that this is a late Purana, with some speculating that the earliest version of the book was completed by the 10th century. The book takes its name from Vishnu's Varaha (boar) avatar, in which he saves Goddess Earth. The text is cited and described in the Matsya Purana, Skanda Purana, and Agni Purana manuscripts, however the description of the text in those texts implies that surviving Varaha Purana manuscripts are completely different from what it previously was. There are several versions of the text, each with substantial differences. Varaha Purana is classified as a Sattva Purana by the Padma Purana. Scholars believe the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas categorization to be "completely fictitious," and nothing in the text really supports this classification.


Date of composition

Many portions of the Varaha Purana were written before 800 AD, while some were written before 1100 AD and others before 1500 AD. As a result, the time of writing of the Varaha Purana might be estimated to be between 700 and 1500 AD. The era of the Varaha Purana, according to Dr. BaladevaUpadyaya, was from the 9th to the 10th century AD.

Furthermore, the Varaha Purana's subject matter implies that the first half of the Purana was written in north India and the second half in Nepal.

Significance

The legend of the Varaha incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu saving the earth (Prithvi) from a huge flood is included in the Varaha Purana. The work also covers goddess mythology and Shiva, as well as the Dharmasamhita, a study of Karma and Dharma.

Structure

Varaha Purana, according to Naradiya Purana, has a total of 24000 verses; however, Agni Purana claims that it only had 14000 verses. Only 10000 poems are in the Calcutta Asiatic Society edition and the Venkateshwara Press edition. As a result, several portions of the Purana are considered to be inaccessible. The original text of the Varaha Purana is supposed to begin with the Manavakalpa, however this is not included in the present edition.

There are no sub-divisions in this Purana, such as Skanda, Kanda, or Parva. It is split into chapters, which are known as Adhyayas. There are 218 chapters in the Varaha Purana. The Purana has 217 chapters, with the last adhyaya listing the contents. A close examination of the text reveals two maingroups. The first covers chapters 1 to 192, while the second covers chapters 193 to 218. However, HaraprasadShastri divides the chapters into three groups: 1 to 112, 113 to 192, and 193 to 218. Dr.Hajara, on the other hand, splits it into four sections: 1 to 112, 113 to 192, 193 to 212, and 213 to 218.

Because these four portions include dialogues between four distinct persons, the last division of Adhyayas is more acceptable and significant. The Gaudi and DakshinatyaPathas of the Varaha Purana are available. Gaudi is the most well-known of them all.

Versions

The 18 Maha Puranas

Agni Puran

Bhagavata Mahapuran

Brahma Mahapuran

BrahmandaPuran

BrahmavaivartaPuran

Garuda Puran

KurmaPuran

Linga Puran

MatsyaPuran

MarkandeyaPuran

NaradeeyaPuran

Padma Puran

Shiva Puran

Skanda Puran

Vamana Puran

VarahaPuran

Vayu Puran

Vishnu Puran

Contents (Summary)

The Varaha Purana (Sanskrit:,Varaha Pura) is a Sanskrit book belonging to the Puranas literary genre. It is part of the Vaishnavism literary corpus honouring Narayana (Vishnu), although it also includes chapters worshipping Shiva and Shakti (goddesses it calls Brahmi, Vaishnavi and Raudri).

There are several versions of the book, with large portions lost to time. The book is thought to have been completed between the 10th and 12th centuries, and has been constantly updated since then. The surviving manuscripts of this work, like the Linga Purana, are remarkable in that they do not include the PanchaLakshana (five qualities) that are anticipated in a Purana. Scholars have questioned whether it truly qualifies as a Purana, and if the existing manuscripts are just a religious handbook focusing mostly on Vaishnava rituals, with portions that worship Shiva, Shakti, and other gods in a secular manner.

The legend of the Varaha avatar of Vishnu saving the world from a catastrophic flood is included in the Varaha Purana. The work also covers goddess mythology and Shiva, as well as the Dharma Samhita, a study of Karma and Dharma. A major amount of the book is devoted to mediaeval geography Mahatmya (glories) to temples and locations in Mathura and Nepal, yet it oddly lacks a section devoted to worshipping Krishna in Mathura like other Puranas.

The Varaha Purana was written in an unknown century. Wilson put it in the 12th century, at the time of Ramanuja's influence. The majority of academics agree that this is a late Purana, with some speculating that the earliest version of the book was completed by the 10th century. The book takes its name from Vishnu's Varaha (boar) avatar, in which he saves Goddess Earth. The text is cited and summarised in the Matsya Purana, Skanda Purana, and Agni Purana manuscripts, however the description of the text in those texts implies that the surviving copies of Varaha Purana are not what they originally were. There are several versions of the text, each with substantial differences.Varaha Purana is classified as a Sattva Purana by the Padma Purana. Scholars believe the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas categorization to be "completely fictitious," and nothing in the text really supports this classification.

Depending on the version, there are 217 or 218 Adhyyas in the printed versions of this book (Chapters). There are 215 chapters in the critical edition. According to legend and other Puranas, this work comprised 24,000 verses; however, the number of verses found in extant manuscripts is less than half that. This book is divided into two sections, according to the Narada Purana: PurvaBhaga and Uttara Bhaga. While the PurvaBhaga recounted in the Narada text largely corresponds to extant Varaha Purana manuscripts, the Uttara Bhagasummarised in the Narada text is not found in surviving Varaha manuscripts and is believed lost to history.The existing text, according to Rajendra Hazra, is divided into four parts, each with its own set of interlocutors and basic features. These parts were most likely written by various authors at different times.

Suta is the narrator in the first section (Chapters 1 to 112), while Varaha and Prithvi are the interlocutors. Suta recounts what Prithvi informed Sanatkumara about the discussion between Varaha and herself in the second section (Chapters 113 to 192). Suta narrates the dialogue between king Janamejaya and sage Vaishampayana in the third part (Chapters 193 to 212). The Dharma Samhita is another name for this part. Suta describes the dialogue between Brahma and Sanatkumara in the concluding portion (Chapters 213 to finish).

Pages

Diamond Books; 1st edition (1 June 2004)

112 pages

Size

The Brahmanda Purana, the Vayu Purana, the Matsya Purana, the Harivamsa and the Linga Purana describes Varaha as 10 yojanas (The range of a yojana is disputed and ranges between 6–15 kilometres (3.7–9.3 mi)) in width and a 1000 yojanas in height. He is large as a mountain and blazing like the sun.

Language

Sanskrit, English

Writer

Vyasa

Publisher

CHAUKHAMBA SURBHARATI PRAKASHAN (1 January 2015)

Publishing date

The century in which Varaha Purana was composed is unknown. Wilson suggested 12th-century, during the period of Ramanuja 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.

 

1 June 2004

1 January 2015