V. Dharmashastra in the Narada Purana

It will be thus found that matters on Dharmaiastra began to be incorporated in Puranas since the 5th cent. b.c. We find that the following topics of Dharmaiastra are treated in the NP: Tirthas — Holy places (1.12), PGrta (e.g. temple-building, works for public well-being) and Ddnas ‘religious gifts’ (1.13), duties of Varnas ‘castes’ and Airamas ‘stages in life, sins, penances, funeral rites (1.14), Vratas ‘vows’ (I.chs. 17-23), VarndSrama- dharma, funeral rites, penances or prdyaicittasb tithis, major and minor sins (I.chs. 24-30), Varnahamadharma (1.31-32 and ch. 43), Initiation, the methodology of Mantraiastra and worship (I.chs. 64-68, I chs. 82-91), Vratas (I.chs. 110-124). The II part though apocryphal deals with the importance of religious vows (chs. 1-37) and glories otTirthas ‘holy places’ (chs. 39 a to the end.)

udyatdm ahrtdm bhikfdm purastdd apraveditdmj bhjjyam msne prajapatir api du^krta-kdrinahU na tasya pitaro'inanti daia varshapi paflca cal na ca havyam vahatyagnir yas tam abhyadhimanyaUj/

17. affaSUi sahasrapi ye prajam tfirarsayahj dakshkieridryampah panthdnam te SmaSanani bhejirejj asfdiiti sahasrani ye prajdm nsfirarjayahl uttareparyampah panthdnam temrtatvam hi kalpantejj ityUrdhvaretasdm praJamsd/

18. yo himsdrtham abhikrantam hanti manyur eva manywh spriati na tasmin dosha eli purdpe —

To these may be added the scrappy description of the terrestrial globe (I. ch. 3), the contents of 18 Mahapuranas (NP.I.92-109) which is very important from the Purana literature point of view and brief resume of each of the Vedangas, viz. Shiksha, Kalpa, Vydkarana, Nirukta, Chandas, Jyotisha (NP. I. chs. 50-57).

As a matter of fact, there was an unbounded and unrestrained scope for the Puranas to expand. Indians being a mixed people synthesized their traditional Aryan, Dravidian, Austric and Mongoloid beliefs, folk-lore, dogmas and rituals into Puranas. And when Sanskrit ceased to be understood by the masses, they wrote Puranas in modern Indian languages, e.g. the Manasa Purana in Assamese and Bengali, the Dangauai Purana in Marathi, the Saivite Periya-Puranam in Tamil.19

1. There was a collection of ancient legends or an Ur-Purana at the time of the AV. and the credit of its being the arranger (Vyasa) is given to Krishna Dvaipayana (Circa 950 B.c.).

3. By the time of Apastamba (C. 500 b.c.) Puranas having names like Bhauifyat existed and in addition to the usual characteristics like Sarga, Pratisarga, matters pertaining to Dharma Sastra were found in them.

4. By the time of Kautaliya Arthafastra (C. 300 b.c.) the Pauranika Siita came to be substituted by an officer of the state with the Purana portfolio. Dr. Kane presumes that those Puranas were similar in characteristics with the extant ones.

5. The Mula Puranas seem to have survived till the time of the Viftiu Purana (100-300 a.d.). The VP. retained the Panchalakshana structure in tact.

6. As the Puranas were associated with Pafica-lakshattas for about 5 or 6 centuries, even the Purana authors who did not conform to that structure, have incorporated the Pancha-lakshana definition of Purana in their own works — a fact recordedby Amara Simha (5th cent, a.d.) in his Sk. lexicon (Amara Kota).

7. Puranas went on developing and incorporating copious material on Dharmatdstra and some from other branches of knowledge in encyclopaedic Pur a: as like the Narada, Garuda and Agni. But the mediaeval writers on Dharma Shastra treated them like Smrtis and quoted them as authorities on matters pertaining to Dharma (such as Vrata, Tirtha, Prayaicitta, Varnaframa-dharma and others).

The NP. however, belongs to the Sk. stage. Hence, we consider it as per pancha-lakshana criterion of Mahapuranas.

Mediaeval Writers on Dharma-Shastra quote from two similar-sounding and equally authoritative Puranas viz. Narada or Naradiya (NP.) andBrhan-naradiya (Brn. P.). Out of them the NP. is a Mahapurana and Brn. is an Upa-purana and as the adj. Brhat shows, it is later than the NP. The Brn. is a small work of about 3600 verses and 38 chapters.20 It is a sectarian (Vais- nava) work and though Narada is the speaker, the criteria of Pancha-lakshana is not applicable to it. The NP. is a mahdpurana traditionally supposed to contain 25000 verses (though the printed text of Venk, edt. has 18550 verses — 13144 in NP. Part I and 5406 in Part II). Maybe due to the synthesis of Агуо-Dravidian cultures as suggested by S. K. Chatterji,21 the number eighteen became favourite with ancient Indians. The Vayu Purana mentions a part stage of ten Puranas but gives no details. But soon the number of Puranas came to be stated as eighteen though actually nineteen Puranas are enumerated.22 Even the Upa-puranas, (minor Puranas) the actual number of which exceeds one hundred are also stated to be eighteen.

This list with slight variations is repeated in many other Puranas such as the Vifnu III. 6.21-23, Linga 1.39.61-63, Matsya 53.11 ff, Padma IV. 100.51-54, Bhavisya 1.1.61-64, Markanjeya 134.7-11, Bhagavata XII 13.4-8 and the Devi Bhagavata 1.32.

The variations are about the inclusion of the Shiva P. for the Vayu P. and the rank of the NP. in the list of Puranas. The NP. gives itself the 6th place which is confirmed by other Puranas like VP. Ill 6.21-23, MK.P. 134 7-11, while it is ranked as the 7th in the list of Puranas in KP. 1.13-15 and LP.1.39.61-64. Though the NP. is included as a (Maha)-Purana in the Purana- lists of most other Puranas, the list in the Bhavisya P. Ill (Prati- sarga) iii.28.10-14 does not mention the NP. and the Brahma- Vaivarta (Br. V). Alberuni gives two lists of Puranas, the one being the same as in the VP., but the second list omits the NP., Bh.P. and Pd.P.22 23 24 The list of Puranas with Kavlndracarya (1600-1650 a.d.) omits the NP. and substitutes the Nandi Purana instead.25

The NP. consists of two parts — Purvardha and Uttara)dha. The Piirvardha seems to be the original NP. as, like old Puranas, it is divided into four Padas and concludes with a Phalairuti (merit accruing from listening to the NP.). The PhalaSruti indicates that the NP. ends there. The Mt.P. 53.23 AP. 272.8, and Skanda VII. i-2-43 say that the NP. was declared by Narada with reference to events in the Brhat-Kalpa in 25000 verses. In the present NP., Narada is the listener while his four brothers, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatana are the speakers and there is no reference to Brhat-Kalpa. The Brn. though an Upa-Purana has Narada as the speaker but makes no mention of Brhat-Kalpa and the whole of Brn. is textually the same as NP. chs. 1-41. The statements of other Puranas about the interlocutors, Kalpa of reference and the textual identity between NP. part I and Brn. indicate that there must have been an older (and different) NP. which was the source of the extant NP. and Brn.

Now let us see how far the Panchalakshana definition is applicable to the extant NP.

The NP. is a Vaishnava Purana; as such it attributes the ultimate credit of creation, destruction, etc., of the Universe to Maha-Vishnu. The NP., however, records the following theories of creation:

MahaVishnu divided himself into three forms according to gunas; Brahma characterised by Rajo-guna was created from the right side of Maha-Vishnu for the creation of the Universe; from the middle (chest) appeared Rudra, characterised by Tamo- guna, for the destruction of the Universe. While Vishnu (a lower grade deity than Maha-Vishnu) characterised by Sattva-guna was originated from his left side for the maintenance and protection of the Universe.26

yatraha narado dharman brhat-kalpdiritan ihal paRea-vimfa (°Ш-) sahasrani naradlyam tad ucyate/f

The other theory gives all credit to the Para Shakti (the Supreme Power) of Mahavishnu. It is of the nature of existence and non-existence (BhavdbhavarUpd). It is variously called Vidya, Avidya, Uma, Lakshmi, Bharatl, Girija, Ambika, Durga, Bhadrakali, Candl, MaheSvari, Kaumari, Varahi, Aindri, Sambhavi, Brahml, Maya.

The NP. emphasizes the fundamental unity of the divine power under different nomenclature. This power manifests itself into three forms — Prakrli, Pwrusha and Kala (Time) when Prakrti is agitated the principle called Mahat is produced. The process is as follows: Prakrti-Mahat-+ Aharnkara (Cosmic ego) -> Five Tanmdtras (subtle elements) and (subtle) sense-organs (Maha) bhUtas (Five gross elements, viz., Akdia (the sky or ether), Vdyu (air, wind) Agni (Fire), Jala (Water) and BhUmi (the earth) — each element arising out of the previous one. After the creation of the earth, god Brahma created beings characterised by Tamoguna (e.g. insects, birds, beasts and other non-human beings), by Sattvaguna (Devas — gods in heaven) and by Rajo-guna (viz. human beings). He created progenitors like Daksa and others who populated the world.27

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