Puranas: Varied understandings and interpretations

I see three different understandings and interpretations of Puranas in practice:

• The first that considers Puranas as sacred, and approaches them as extensions of the Vedas, as tools to expand the understanding of the Vedic concepts, through a compilation of cosmic events that took place in different periods of time in the past. My parents, aunts and uncles and ancestors belonged to this camp. They believed that Puranas were compiled by Vyasa in a time period immediately before our current time. I grew up in this camp, reading the Kannada translations of the original Sanskrit ślokas or summaries or re-renderings.
• The second that considers Puranas as a collection of fantasies, largely myths, that perpetuates superstitions, caste divisions, and misconceptions about what the world is, with no real connection to anything that is currently happening. I belonged to this camp during my adolescence and most of my youth. I thought there are too many of them, often contradicting one another, and indulging in them was a waste of time.
• A third group that has dedicated to the systematic study of the Puranas (along with other scriptures associated with Vedas and the sanātana Dharma), with either an “emic” or “internal” viewpoint or an “external” viewpoint. By internal viewpoint, I mean the study of Puranas through translations and interpretations in Indian local languages, following the traditions of the sanātana Dharma, from the beginning of the current time, largely with the patronage of the royalties and ascetics alike. By external viewpoint, I mean the study of Puranas through translations to English and other non-Indian languages with a “modern” or “western” or “literary” perspective. Both these viewpoints seem to be evolving towards convergence.

My personal journey in Puranic study

I joined the third group somewhere around 1997, when I began the study of Mahabharata, by undertaking a Kannada translation of the Critical Edition. In the course of translating the Mahabharata, I “saw” the interconnectedness and interdependence of the various scriptures that are considered as the limbs of Vedas including the Puranas, Upanishads, and Ramayana. Although we occasionally see differences in the renderings of the seemingly same story in different Puranas, the differences are far fewer than the similarities and probably these differences have explanations. I saw that all these scriptures are interpreting, expanding and reinforcing the same core concepts and principles expounded in the Vedas, through an account of lives, conversations and events of the past in the vast cycles of time. My approach to the study of Puranas has been that the Puranas are self-explanatory – they contain in themselves, information sufficient to provide an understanding of what they are. There is probably no need for any external validation of either the author, timing, authority or content.

In this article, I briefly address the following five questions, referring to what Puranas have to say about themselves: (1) What are the Puranas? (2) How old are the Puranas? (3) Who created the Puranas? (4) How many Puranas are there? (5) What do the Puranas contain?

Understanding Puranas and their teachings :

The Sanskrit word purāṇ literally means “ancient, old”. As it is said purāṇaṃ ākhyānaṃ, Purana is old legend. Yasmātpurā hyanatīdaṃ purāṇaṃ tena tatsmṛtaṃ| It is called Purana because it lives in the past or it breathes ancient times [Vayu Puran, 1.203]. yasmātpurā hyabhūccaitatpurāṇaṃ tena tatsṃrutaṃ| It is so called since it existed in olden times [Brahmanda Puran, 1.1.173]. According to Matsya Puran, purāṇ puruṣ viśvātmā Narayana himself, in the form of a fish to Vaivasvata Manu at the beginning of Vaivasvata Manvantara – the current Manvantara, instructed about the Puranas:

“Before all the Shastras, Brahma first remembered the Purana. Only Afterwards did the Vedas come forth from his mouths. At the beginning of the Kalpa, there was only one Purana, expanded to one hundred crore verses. At the end of the previous Kalpa when the worlds were burning, I, in the form of a horse, sheltered the four Vedas along with its branches, Purana, Nyaya, Mimamsas, Dharmashastras. At the beginning of this Kalpa, I, in the form of a fish, residing in the water which was the one, recited all of this again. Hearing these, Brahma woke up and instructed the same to Munis and Devas. From this Purana developed all other Shastras. With the passage of time, seeing that the humans are not able to grasp the Purana, I, taking the form of Vyasa in every Mahayuga and in every Dvapara Yuga, reduce this to four lakh verses. On the Bhuloka, these will be known as 18. However, in Devaloka, Purana is still one with an expanse of hundred crore verses.”

The above quote is loaded with several Puranic concepts – Kalpa, Manvantara, Mahayuga, Yuga, Bhuloka and Devaloka, which are not readily understood. Here are the brief descriptions of these terms:

Puranic concept of Time

Yuga, Mahayuga, Manvantara, and Kalpa are the four major cycles of cosmic time described in almost every Purana. Time is considered cyclical instead of linear and a cycle of Time parallels the cycle of Dharma. Both Time and Dharma are considered to depend on the movement of heavenly bodies with an assumption that there is a general conjunction of heavenly bodies at 0° longitude after the completion of each cycle. One cycle of Dharma lasts 4.32 million human years, which equals the roll of four Yugas (Chaturyuga or Mahayuga) with decreasing lengths: Krita or Satya Yuga (the most Dharmic Yuga, lasting 1.728 million human years), Treta Yuga (1.296 million human years), Dvapara Yuga (864,000 human years) and Kali Yuga (the least Dharmic Yuga, lasting 432,000 human years). Each successive Yuga brings the world into a greater state of decreased Dharma, because through each cycle the earth gets further and further away from the Absolute. Within every subsequent Yuga there is less order, cosmic law and the life expectancy of humans is shortened. Between the four yugas, there is an indication of war of near complete destruction, but at the end of each Mahayuga there is an event of complete destruction of the earth.

Seventy-one Mahayugas equal one Manvantara, and fourteen Manvantaras equal one Kalpa. At the end of each Manvantara, the Manus, Saptarshis and Indra along with the earth will undergo Laya. New set of Manu, Saptarshis and Indra take over in a new Manvantara. The destruction between Kalpas is called Pralaya. Final destruction at the end of the life of Brahma is called Maha Pralay i.e., Brahma, along with the Devas, Rishis and the Adityas will enter the body of Narayana [Brahma Purana].

Currently, 50 years of Brahma have elapsed, the last Kalpa at the end of 50^th year is called Padma Kalpa. We are in the first ‘day’ of the 51^st year, this Brahma day or Kalpa is named śvetavarāha kalpa. Within this Kalpa, six Manvantaras have already elapsed and this is the seventh Manvantara named Vaivasvata Manvantara. Within this Manvantara, 27 Mahayugas have been completed. This Kali Yuga is in the 28^th Mahayuga.