III. THE SOURCES OF THE NARADlYA AND ITS PROBABLE DATE

As the NP. calk itself ‘a compilatory work’ (Samhita) its sources are numerous and its date or rather the dates of its parts depend on the dates of its sources. The NP. is mainly divided into two parts, — the first containing four Padas and the second containing the glorification of the Ekadashi vow and the story of Rukmangada. The first part is, according to the NP. itself, the complete Narada Purana. It calk itself “consisting of four Padas” (catuspadasamayuktam — NP.I. 125.26) in the Phala-iruti.

Being a Purana — an Upabrmkana of the Vedas — it draws heavily upon Vedic literature — the philosophical hymns like the Ригща SUkta (RV.X.90), the Akhyana Suktas, stories from Brahmanas and the Mantras of Upanifads. It is obviously post- Vedic. Moreover, like other Puranas, it fully utilised traditional gnomic verses — gdthds or suBhafita-like verses — current in the Indian Society since ancient times, as тару of these gdthds are found in old Sk., Pali and Prakrits. The Mbh. and Puranas many times use the words “It has been said,’ “So they or the wise say” indicating that such verses are quotations and quote them. These are found in secular works like the Рапса Tantra or Hitopadeia or collection of verses under Satakas or (a treasury of Subhashitas\ It is difficult to fix the date of a work on the basis of these gnomic verses as their authorship or source is many times obscure. The NP. has absorbed a number of verses from Smrtis like Manu, Yaj. NP. 1.14 is the same as the Laghu Tama Smrti.

The Bnr. and NP Part I (chs. 1-41) are textually the same. Though the adj. Brhan — in Bnr. shows that it is later than the NP., it is not later than the extant NP. but than the one to which the Mt. P. 53.23, the Sk.P. VII; 1.2.43 and AP. 272.8 refer as one narrated by Narada with reference to the Bihat-Kalpa45 46 — which the extant NP. is not. The Bnr. is an Upa-purana and the extant NP. is the borrower from the Bnr.4 Naturally the date of NP. Part I (chs. 1-41) is later than that of the Bnr. Govindananda (1500-1540 a.d.) quotes Bnr. 7.14, 25-27 in his Kaumudi works viz. Suddha-Kriyd — Varsha-Kriyd and Srdddha-kriyd, Raghunandana (1520-1575 a.d.) quotes Bnr. 7.14,22, and 24 in his Smrti-tattva. Sula-pani (1375-1440 a.d.) quotes Bnr. ch. 16 in his Vrata-Kdla-Viveka. Hence, Bnr. cannot be later than 1350 a.d. The Bnr. and NP. are mentioned as separate works in the Brhad-dharma Purdtia (after 1250 a.d.), in the Bengal version of the Uttarakhand^ of Shiva Pur ana (circa 1200 a.d.) and the Orissan-Ekamra Purana (circa 1000-1100 a.d.). Hence, the Bnr. may be assigned 1050 a.d. at least. The Vishnu Shakti theory in the Bnr., crediting het with power of creation and destruction of the Universe and her various forms such as Lakshmi, Durga, Bharat! and her identification with Prakfti and Maya (Bnr. 3-6, 9, 15, 16 etc.), shows that the Bnr. is posterior to Agamas. The doctrine of Advaita and Maya in (Bnr. 31.57ff) shows Bnr's acquaintance with the Advaita teacher Sankara (788-820 a.d.). Thus the date of the composition of the Bnr. appears to be circa 850 a.d. Hence, the date of NP. Part I (chs. 1-41) is probably somewhat later i.e. circa 900-950 a.d.

From the comparison given below between NP.I. chs. 42, 43, 44 and 45 with Mbh. Santi.<7 chs. 183, 192, 194, 195, 218 and 219 will show that NP. borrowed a great deal from the Mbh.

The NP. is ascribed to the 3rd cent. a.d. The present text of the Mbh. is assigned to 400 a.d., so this part of the NP. is later than 400 a.d.

The chapters on the VedaAgas are derived from different sources and as such needs be assigned different dates. The chapter on shiksha (phonetics) in the NP. (1.50) deals not only with the correct pronunciation of Vedic and classical Sk. but treats of vocal and instrumental music also. As many of the terms and points of information are found in the SthdndAga Sutra of the Svetambara Jainas, this section need not be con sidered as late as the 11th cent, work — The SaAgita Makaranda of one Narada (of the 11th cent, a.d.), but it is obviously later than Bharata’s Ndtya Sdstra (400 a.d.). The source of N P.’s treatment of music needs more investigation, though the Ndradiya shikshd may be one.

The chapter on Kalpa (vedic ritual) (NP.I.51) deals with the following Kalpas — Nakfatra K.y Veda A., Samhitd A., Angirasa K. and Sdnti K. and not with the Srauta, Grhya and Dharma StUras as of old. Moreover, according to the NP., these Kalpas belonged to every branch of the Veda though in ancient times they formed a part of the Carana VyUhas of the Atharva Veda. This innovation is due to Kumarila Bhatfa (8th cent. a.d.) and as such the chapter may be assigned to the latter half of the 9th cent. a.d.

The chapter on Vydkarana (Grammar), though not a systematic treatment based on Pacini’s Ajfadhydyi shows that it is not based on Katantra but on Panini, probably after the revival of studies in Panini after Bhartrhari (7th cent. a.d.). This chapter may be assigned to Circa 700-750 a.d.

The GP. and AP. do not treat Nirukta. The NP. gives a popular statement of that erudite work of Yaska but its immediate source is the Vaidiki Prakriya of Panini’s Affddhydyi (the order of the Siitras being similar to that in Bhaftoji Dikshita’s Siddhdnta Kaumudi. Its date (though post-Yaska) cannot be precisely stated. But we are on surer grounds with regard to chapters on Jyotisha (chs. 54-56). The profuse quotations from the SQrya^Siddhdnta (6th cent, a.d.) in the chapter on Ga#ita, those from Varaha-mihira’s Bfhajjdtaka (6th cent. a.d.) in the portion of Jdtaka and those from Ndradiya Sathhitd (4th cent. a.d.) in the Sarhhitd portion of the NP. show that the chapters on Jyotifa (Astronomy) cannot be earlier than the middle of the 7th cent. a.d. The three verses common to Bhaskaracarya’s Lildvati (12 cent, a.d) may be probably from a common source from which NP. borrowed them.

Though other encyclopaedic Puranas like the GP. and the AP. treat chandas (metrics) in details, its treatment in the NP. is succinct and different, but its date is uncertain.

Thus the chapters on the Vedangas are presumably compiled between the 7th and the 9th cent. a.d.

The third part of the NP. deals with sects like Pashupata, Shakta and Tantrism in general. The PaSupata in the NP. regards Bindu as a Pasha (1.63.22 and later), but Madhava in the SarvadarSana-safigraha does not mention it to be so in the sections on Nakullsha-pashupata, Saiva and the Pratyabhijfta (Jrwfiwn) darianas. The PaSupata in the NP. may be an old stage of the darfana discussed in a late (14th cent, a.d.) work like the Sarva- darSana safigrahay but that does not help to fix the date, though 8th cent. a.d. proposed by H. P. Sastri is not improbable. But more interesting and chronologically more helpful is the Radha cult in chs. 82-90. In the NP. there is a phenomenal exaltation of an anonymous cowherd woman of the Bh.P. to the position of the topmost deity of whom great goddesses like Mahalakshmi and Durga are but part-incarnations (arhfUvataras) and whose Sahasra-ndma eulogy is sung by the great god Mahadeva and the Tantric procedures of Mantras and Tantras of whose sixteen incarnations occupy a place of honour in the NP. It must have taken some 2-3 centuries after the Bh.P. As the Bh.P. is mentioned in the Nandi Sutra of the Svetambara Jain canon, it must be located at least in the latter half of the 5th cent. a.d. Thus the date of the chapters on the Radha cult may be assigned to the 8th cent. a.d. Hazra, however, assigns the chapters 1.64-68, 82-91 and the chapters on Vratas 1.110-124 as “late interpolations’ without assigning a probable date or period. This exaltation of Radha provided a sound background for Gaudiya Vaisnavism for the other circumstantial evidence about the author of the NP. shows that he belonged to the eastern part of India — probably the Bengal-Orissa region.

Allied with the Radha cult, we have the Shakti cult under different names (chs. 85), Yaksini mantras (pertaining to an incarnation of Maha Sarasvatl), mantras pertaining to Bagala and other incarnations of Mahalakgmi (ch. 86) and the procedure about four mantras of Durga (ch. 87), to which maybe added the Kavaca and Sahasra-ndma of goddess Lalita (ch. 89).

It must have been a hey-day of Tantrism as the NP. gives not merely Shakta and Saiva Tantrism (ch. 91) but the so- called Bhagavata Tantra in the NP. includes cults such as (1) Vaishnavism (with special emphasis) and (2) Shakta (3) Saiva (4) Paflcayatana (i.e. a group of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, GaneSa and Surya), (5) Rama group (wherein Hanumshn, the monkey- lieutenant of Rama, receives much more importance than both Rama and Laksmana) and the Kartavirya mantra and planet-worship.

As is well-known Tantrism was practised by Hindus, Buddhists and Jainas and there is much in common in their Tantric rites. East India — especially Bengal and Assam — were the centres of Tantrism for centuries. But between 8th to 11th cent. a.d. Tantrism was very popular. We shall not be much wrong if we assign early part of the 11th century as the time and East India (especially the Bengal-Orissa area) as the place of composition of these chapters.

As shown elsewhere (and in the annotations) chs. 92-109 show that the contents of the Puranas and the technical names of the sections of the Puranas in the NP. are different from those in extant Puranas. The extant Puranas were practically completed by the 10th cent. a.d. These chapters from the NP. showing an earlier version of the puranas must be earlier at least by half a century or so.

Here ends the 4th Pada and the original NP. In ch. 125 named as Purana mahimd, all interlocutors disperse and vv. 25-30 describe when and how the NP. should be recited and the fruit accruing therefrom. Suta also departs to see Vyasa. Thus ends the NP. itself.

In the Uttardrdha of the NP., there is no Narada either as a speaker or a listener. It is Vasisjha who expounds the greatness of EkddaSl Vrata to King Mindhata and the story of Rukmangada and Mohinl covers chs. 1-37. Though this part has no direct connection with Part I, these dramatis personae are mentioned as narrators in the Caturvarga-cintdmam (1260-1270 a.d.) by Hemadri, in the Smrti-Candrikd by Devannabhafta (12001225 a.d.). Apararka (1100-1130 a.d.) quotes two verses from NP. II on the Ekadashi Vrata. The above evidence shows that even the II part of the NP. was composed before 1100 a.d.48

It will thus be seen that the NP. I was probably compiled between 700-1000 a.d. while NP. II was appended by the 11th cent. a.d.

Dr. P. V. Kane49 50 assigns 700-1000 a.d. while Dr. R. C. Hazra,60 875-1000 a.d., as the period of compilation of the NP.

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