Citizendia

illustration of a Bhagavata Purana manuscript of ca. 1500, Yashoda bathing the child Krishna.
illustration of a Bhagavata Purana manuscript of ca. 1500, Yashoda bathing the child Krishna. Yasoda ( Sanskrit: यशोदा was wife of Nanda within the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism

Part of a series on
Hindu scriptures

Aum

Rigveda · Yajurveda · Samaveda · Atharvaveda
Divisions
Samhita · Brahmana · Aranyaka · Upanishad

Aitareya · Brihadaranyaka · Isha · Taittiriya · Chandogya · Kena · Mundaka · Mandukya · Katha · Prashna · Shvetashvatara

Shiksha · Chandas · Vyakarana · Nirukta · Jyotisha · Kalpa

Mahabharata · Ramayana

Smriti · Śruti · Bhagavad Gita · Purana · Agama · Darshana · Pancharatra · Tantra · Sutra · Stotra · Dharmashastra · Divya Prabandha · Tevaram · Ramacharitamanas · Shikshapatri · Vachanamrut · Ananda Sutram

This box: view • talk • edit

The Bhagavata Purana (also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, or simply Bhāgavatam) is one of the Puranic texts of Hindu literature, and is Sanskrit for "The Book of God". Literature regarded as central to the Hindu literary tradition was predominantly composed in Sanskrit, Indeed much of the morphology and linguistic "Veda" redirects here For other uses see Veda (disambiguation. The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" The Yajurveda ( Sanskrit यजुर्वेदः, a Tatpurusha compound of yajus "sacrificial formula' + veda The Samaveda ( Sanskrit: सामवेद sāmaveda, from sāman "melody" + veda "knowledge") is third (in the usual The Atharvaveda ( Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद atharvaveda, a Tatpurusha compound of {{IAST|atharvan}}, an ancient Rishi The oral tradition of the Vedas ( Śrauta) consists of several pathas, "recitations" or ways of chanting the Vedic Mantras Such traditions The Brāhmaṇa s ( Devanagari: sa ब्राह्मणं are part of the Hindu śruti literature The Aranyakas (Sanskrit आरण्यक āraṇyaka) are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas these religious texts were composed in The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad ( Sanskrit: बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya The Isha Upanishad ( īśa upaniṣad, otherwise Ishopanishad īśopaniṣad or īśāvāsya upaniṣad) is one of the shortest of the Upanishads The Taittiriya Upanishad is one of the older " primary " Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the "primary" ( Mukhya) Upanishads Together with the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana and the Brihadaranyaka The Kena Upanishad (kenopaniṣad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Muṇḍaka Upanishad is one of the older "primary" ( Mukhya) Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. Māndūkya Upanishad is the shortest Upanishads - the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta. The Kaṭha Upanishad is one of the older Mukhya "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. Prashna Upanishad ( IAST praṣnopaniṣad is one of the older "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (Sanskrit Śvetāśvatara) (400 - 200 BCE is one of the older "primary" Upanishads It is associated with the Black The Vedanga ( vedāṅga, "member of the Veda" are six auxiliary disciplines for the understanding and tradition of the Vedas. See Shiksha (NGO for the Indian non-governmental organization The main principle of Vedic meter is measurement by the number of syllables The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of vyākaraṇa is one of the six Vedanga disciplines Nirukta ("explanation etymological interpretation" is one of the six {{IAST|Vedānga}} disciplines of Hinduism, treating Etymology, particularly Jyotiṣa ( Sanskrit jyotiṣa, from jyótis- "light heavenly body" also spelled Jyotish and Jyotisha in English Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga, treating Ritual. Indian epic poetry is the Epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent. The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki The following is a bibliography of Hindu scriptures and texts. Smriti (Sanskrit स्मृति " that which is remembered " refers to a specific body of Hindu religious Scripture If you are looking for the singer see Shruti Haasan. For other meanings see Śruti (disambiguation. For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" Darśana ( Darshan, दर्शन is a Sanskrit term meaning "sight" (in the sense of an instance of seeing or beholding from a root Pāñcarātra are Vaishnavite devotional texts dedicated to a single deity Sriman Narayana who manifests in different forms Tantras (" Looms " or " Weavings " refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions In Hinduism a Stotra is a hymn of praise These hymns praise aspects of the divine such as Devi, Siva, or Vishnu. Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning pertaining to Hindu Dharma, religious The Nalayira Divya Prabandha (or Nalayira Divya Prabhandham) is a collection of 4000 verses (Naalayira in Tamil means 'four thousand' composed before 8th century The Tevaram ( Tamil: தேவாரம் Teva means "God" aram means "garland") denotes the first seven volumes of the Śrī Rāmacaritamānas ( Devanāgarī: hi श्री राम चरित मानस ( Hindi / Avadhi) is an Epic poem composed by the The Shikshapatri ( Devanagari: शिक्षापत्री is a text of two hundred and twelve verses written in Sanskrit by Bhagwan Swaminarayan The Vachanamrut of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is the most sacred and foundational scripture of the Swaminarayan faith. Ananda Sutram is the basic scripture of modern Yoga composed in Sanskrit by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (1921-1990 in the year 1961 For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Its primary focus is the process of bhakti yoga (loving devotion to the Supreme Lord) in which Vishnu and/or Krishna is understood as the Supreme all-embracing God of all gods (Bhagavan). Bhakti Yoga ( Devanāgarī: भक्ति योग is a term within Hinduism which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to God For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism Bhagavan, also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit nt -stem bhaga-vant- (nominative/vocative sa भगवान्

The Bhagavatam takes the form of a story being told by a great rishi known as Suta Goswami, to a host of assembled sages, who ask him questions in regard to the various avatars, or descents of Vishnu within the mortal world. A rishi (ṛṣi denotes a Vedic poet by whom Vedic hymns were composed or according to post-Vedic tradition a "sage" to whom they were "originally revealed" (Ṛṣis Suta Goswami ( IAST Sūta Goswāmī also know as Sri Suta. Believed to be a son of a priest called Romaharshana Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation Suta Goswami then relates the Bhagavatam as he has heard it from another sage, called Sukadeva. Sukadeva Goswami ( IAST Śukadeva Goswāmī also know as Sri Suka, Sukadev and Brahmarata. The language of the Purana closely resembles Vedic which may indicate an early dating or a variety of other possible possible reasons to resemble the archaic texts. [1]

Each section or canto describes specific avatars of Vishnu, beginning with a summary of all avatars in the first canto concluding with description of Krishna as Svayam bhagavan. Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific This article is about a Hindu philosophical concept the original or absolute manifestation of God The tenth and eleventh cantos give detailed accounts of the story of Krishna's appearance and pastimes in Vrindavan, and his instructions to various devotees (such as the Uddhava Gita). Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism Vrindavan (alternate spellings Vrindaban or Brindavan) or Vraj in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India is a town on Uddhava (also known as Pavanayadhi) is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, wherein his is the friend and counsellor of Krishna the The final twelfth canto foretells the coming of the age of Kali yuga (the current age according to the Hindu cycle of ages), and the eventual destruction of the earthly universe. Kali Yuga ( Devanāgarī: sa कलियुग lit "Age of Kali " "age of vice" is one of the four stages of development that the world goes A Yuga ( Devanāgari: युग in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages The formation and evolution of the Solar System is estimated to have begun

Contents

Significance

The Bhagavatam contains the following verse in reference to its significance as a Vedantic text:

sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ hi
śrī-bhāgavatam īṣyate
tad-rasāmṛta-tṛptasya
nānyatra syād ratiḥ kvacit

"Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is accepted as the essence of all Vedic literature and Vedantic philosophy. Whoever tastes the transcendental mellow of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is never attracted to any other literature. "(12. 13. 15)[2]

Bhagavata Purana is considered a natural commentary on the Vedanta-sutra and is used as a textual source for all Vaishnava Theology. Vedanta ( Devanagari: sa वेदान्त Vedānta) is a spiritual tradition explained in the Upanishads that is concerned with the Self-realisation Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and It is the most celebrated of the Puranas. [3]

Origin and dating

Historical scholarship suggests that the text was written in the 9th or 10th century CE as part of the development of the bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement was a Hindu religious movement in which the main spiritual practice was loving devotion to God, or Bhakti. [4] However, Hindu religious tradition holds it to be one of the works of Vyasa written at the beginning of Kali Yuga (about c. Vyāsa ( Devanāgarī: व्यास is a central and revered figure in the majority of Hindu traditions Kali Yuga ( Devanāgarī: sa कलियुग lit "Age of Kali " "age of vice" is one of the four stages of development that the world goes 3100 BCE). Events c 3100 BC — Narmer (Menes unifies Upper and Lower Egypt into one country he rules this new country from Memphis [5]

Some argue that the Purana's mention of the Vedic Sarasvati River as a great river (maha-nadi) is evidence of the Purana's traditional date,[6] since the river dried up about 2000 BCE. The Sarasvati River ( Sanskrit: sa सरस्वती नदी sárasvatī nadī) is one of the chief Rigvedic rivers mentioned in ancient Hindu

The Purana describes Airavata and his descendants as four-tusked. In Hinduism, Airavata (ऐरावत is a white elephant who carries Lord Indra. A tusk is an extremely long Incisor Tooth of certain Mammals that protrudes when the Mouth is closed [7] Such elephants, possibly Gomphothere, lived in Miocene-Pliocene, and are mentioned also in Sundara Kanda of Ramayana. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. The Gomphotheres are a diverse group of Extinct Elephant -like animals ( Proboscideans that were widespread in North America during the The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts is the period in the Geologic timescale that extends Sundara Kanda is the fifth book in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. The Rāmāyaṇa ( Devanāgarī: sa रामायण is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the Hindu sage ( Maharishi) Valmiki [8]

Interdisciplinary and intertextual studies[9] are appearing which try to confirm the ancient status of this Purana.

Some scholars place the author of the Bhagavata Purana to be roughly contemporaneous with Nathamuni, who is believed as well to be concerned with sanskritization of the bhakti tradition. Nathamuni was a Vaishnava scholar who founded the Sri Vaishnava tradition Bhakti ( Devanāgarī: भक्ति) is a word of Sanskrit origin meaning devotion. Thus the first verse of the epic contains reference to both the Brahma Sutras and the Gayatri of the Rig Veda. The Brahma sūtras, also known as Vedānta Sūtras, constitute the Nyāya prasthāna, the logical starting point of the Vedānta philosophy (Nyāya Gayatri (गायत्री gāyatrī is the feminine form of gāyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" Vedic times origins or been written to resemble Vedic texts. [1]

Contents

Introduction

The Bhagavata Purana is a narration of a conversation. King Parikshit (Grandson of Arjuna-Pandavas and son of Abhimanyu), who has been cursed by a Brahmin to die in seven days, decides to give up his kingly duties to learn about the goal of life. Parikshit ( Sanskrit: परिक्षित् IAST: Parikṣit with the alternative form परीक्षित् IAST: Parīkṣit is in the Arjuna or Arjun ( Sanskrit: अर्जुन arjuna) is one of the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, whose name In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava (or Pandawa brothers ( Sanskrit: पाण्‍डव pāṇḍavaḥ are the five acknowledged sons of Abhimanyu ( Sanskrit: अिभमन्यु abhimanyu) (lit Brahmin ( Brāhmaṇa, sa ब्राह्मणः is the class of educators scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism. As he prepares for his impending death, the saint Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who has been searching for a suitable disciple to whom he might impart his great knowledge, approaches the king and agrees to teach him. Sukadeva Goswami ( IAST Śukadeva Goswāmī also know as Sri Suka, Sukadev and Brahmarata. Their conversation goes on uninterrupted for seven days, during which the king does not eat, drink or sleep. During this time the saint explains that one's goal in life is understanding the supreme absolute truth defined as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. [10]

Table of Contents

01: Creation
02: The Cosmic Manifestation
03: The Status Quo
04: Creation of the Fourth Order
05: The Creative Impetus
06: Prescribed Duties for Mankind
07: The Science of God
08: Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations
09: Liberation
10: The Summum Bonum
11: General History
12: The Age of Deterioration

Scientific content

The Srimad Bhagavatam speaks to several topics that have in modern times been topics of scientific speculation and research.

The Third Canto (Chapter 11) offers calculations of time, pegging the briefest unit to the interval needed for atomic combinations, the longest to the entire duration of the universe. [11]

An example of Time Dilation (a topic in modern physics) appears in the Ninth Canto, wherein King Kakudmi and his daughter Revati travel to Brahmaloka to meet the god Brahma. This article discusses a concept in physics For the concept in sociology see Time displacement. Kakudmi (sometimes also called Kakudmin, or Raivata, son of Revata was the King of Kusasthali, a kingdom beneath the ocean Revati, within Hinduism, is the daughter of King Kakudmi and the wife of Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna. Loka, a word in Sanskrit, in Hinduism and Hindu mythology, means world dimension plane abode and/or place or plane of existence. After spending a short time in Brahmaloka, King Kakudmi and Revati discover that during their short stay there, many thousands of years have passed on earth and all the people he once knew have died long ago, and even their names had been forgotten in the mist of time. [12]

The Third Canto describes in some detail the development of the embryo in the womb, starting from the time of conception.

Incarnations of Vishnu

Main article: Avatar
A page from the Bhagavatapurana decipting Varaha avatar
A page from the Bhagavatapurana decipting Varaha avatar

The Bhagavata Puran first addresses the Supreme Personality of Godhead in all of His glory:

His eyes are the generating centers of all kinds of forms, and they glitter and illuminate. Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation In Hinduism, Varaha (वाराह is the third Avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation His eyeballs are like the sun and the heavenly planets. His ears hear from all sides and are receptacles for all the Vedas, and His sense of hearing is the generating center of the sky and of all kinds of sound. [13]

The Bhāgavatam describes the various līlās of twenty-five avatāras (incarnations) of Vishnu. Lila (Sanskrit लीला or Leela is a concept within Hinduism literally meaning "pastime" "sport" or "play" Avatar or Avatara (अवतार IAST Avatāra) is often inaccurately translated into English as incarnation For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific [14] It should be however noted that although its is usual to speak of Vishnu as the source of the avataras, this is only one of the names of god of Vaishnavism who is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Krishna and behind each of those names is a divine figure with attributed supremacy in Vaishnavism. Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and Narayana ( Sanskrit: नारायण nārāyaṇa) or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary For the Kushan king see Vasudeva I. For the book by Narendra Kohli see Vasudeva (book. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and [15]

Krishna

In the tenth canto of The Bhagavata Purana describes Krishna's childhood pastimes as that of a much-loved child raised by cowherds in Vrindavan, near to the Yamuna River. Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari kṛṣṇa in IAST, ˈkr̩ʂɳə in classical Sanskrit is a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism Vrindavan (alternate spellings Vrindaban or Brindavan) or Vraj in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India is a town on For the goddess of the river who is sometimes called Yamuna see Yami The Yamuna (Sanskrit यमुना The young Krishna enjoys numerous pleasures, such as thieving balls of butter or playing in the forest with his cowherd friends. He also endures episodes of carefree bravery protecting the town from demons. More importantly, however, he steals the hearts of the cowherd girls (Gopis). Gopi is a word of Sanskrit (गोपी origin meaning 'cow-herd girl' Through his magical ways, he multiplies himself to give each the attention needed to allow her to be so much in love with Krishna that she feels at one with him and only desires to serve him. This love, represented by the grief they feel when Krishna is called away on a heroic mission and their intense longing for him, is presented as models of the way of extreme devotion (bhakti) to the Supreme Lord. Bhakti ( Devanāgarī: भक्ति) is a word of Sanskrit origin meaning devotion.

Translations

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Sheridan, Daniel (1986). For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" The Mysterious Pastimes of Mohini-murti is a 20th century Hindu commentary by Tamala Krishna Gosvami on the Goddess Mohini. Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also known as Kṛṣṇa book, is a summary and commentary on the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam by The Advaitic Theism of the Bhagavata Purana. Columbia, Mo: South Asia Books. ISBN 81-208-0179-2.  p. 10
  2. ^ Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12 Chapter 13 Verse 15. Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network. Retrieved on January 29, 2006.
  3. ^ A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Sir Monier Monier-Williams. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1899. Page 752, column 3, under the entry Bhagavata.
  4. ^ Viraha-Bhakti - The Early History of Krsna Devotion in South India - Friedhelm Hardy. ISBN 0-19-564916-8; Werba, Verba Indoarica 1997:8 places it in the 10th century.
  5. ^ Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 3 Verse 43. Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.
  6. ^ Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 9 Chapter 16 Verse 23. Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network. Retrieved on January 29, 2006.
  7. ^ Bh. P. 8. 8. 4, 10. 59. 37
  8. ^ Rāmāyana 5. 4. 27, 5. 9. 5, 5. 27. 12
  9. ^ Horacio Francisco Arganis Juarez. Dating Srimad Bhagavatam. http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/sb.htm#3
  10. ^ Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 3 Verse 28. Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network. Retrieved on January 29, 2006.
  11. ^ Bhag-P 3.11
  12. ^ Bhag-P, 9.3.32 (see texts 29-32)
  13. ^ Srimad-Bhagavatam, second canto, "The Cosmic Manifestation", part one, chapter 6:3 and 1:39, translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1972, pp. 59 and 275-276.
  14. ^ "Srimad-Bhagavatam" by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
  15. ^ Matchett, Freda (2000). Krsna, Lord or Avatara? the relationship between Krsna and Visnu: in the context of the Avatara myth as presented by the Harivamsa, the Visnupurana and the Bhagavatapurana. Surrey: Routledge, 254. ISBN 0-7007-1281-X.   p. 4

Further reading

External links


© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic