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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Sanskrit text, one of the eighteen major Puranas}}<br />
{{italics title}}<br />
[[File:Adhyatma Ramayana verses 1.1 – 1.14, Brahmanda Purana Raghunath Hindu temple library, Sanskrit, Devanagari lipi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Adhyatma Ramayana verses 1.1 – 1.14 in a ''Brahmanda Purana'' manuscript (Sanskrit, Devanagari)]]<br />
{{Hindu scriptures}}<br />
The '''''Brahmanda Purana''''' ({{lang-sa|ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण}}, {{IAST|Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa}}) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major [[Puranas]], a genre of [[Hindu]] texts.{{sfn|Dalal|2014|p=88}} It is listed as the eighteenth ''Maha-Purana'' in almost all the anthologies.{{sfn|Hazra|1962|p=255}} The text is also referred in medieval Indian literature as the ''Vayaviya Purana'' or ''Vayaviya Brahmanda'', and it may have been same as the ''[[Vayu Purana]]'' before these texts developed into two overlapping compositions.{{sfn|Dalal|2014|p=88}}{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=33, 156-157|ps=, with footnotes}}<br />
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The text is named after one of the cosmological theories of Hinduism, namely the "cosmic egg" (''[[Hiranyagarbha|Brahma-anda]]'').{{sfn|Dalal|2014|p=83}} It is among the oldest Puranas, the earliest core of text maybe from 4 century CE, continuously edited thereafter over time and it exist in numerous versions.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=156-160}} The ''Brahmanda Purana'' manuscripts are encyclopedic in their coverage, covering topics such as [[cosmogony]], [[Sanskara (rite of passage)]], [[genealogy]], chapters on ethics and duties ([[Dharma]]), [[Yoga]], geography, rivers, good government, administration, diplomacy, trade, festivals, a travel guide to places such as [[Kashmir]], [[Cuttack]], and [[Kanchipuram]], and other topics.{{sfn|Dalal|2014|p=88}}{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=156-160}}{{sfn|Dikshitar|1951|pp=xx–xxiii}}<br />
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The ''Brahmanda Purana'' is notable for including the [[Lalita Sahasranamam]] (a [[stotra]] praising the [[Devi|Goddess]] [[Tripura Sundari|Lalita]] as the supreme being in the universe), and being one of the early Hindu texts found in [[Bali]], Indonesia, also called the ''Javanese-Brahmanda''.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=78-79|ps=, with footnote 61}}{{sfn|Hinzler|1993|p=442}} The text is also notable for the ''[[Adhyatma Ramayana]]'', the most important embedded set of chapters in the text, which philosophically attempts to reconcile [[Rama]]-''[[bhakti]]'' with [[Advaita Vedanta]] over 65 chapters and 4,500 verses.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=158-159|ps=, with footnotes}}{{efn|name=Rocher1986_quote1|Quote: "Among the texts considered to be connected with the ''Brahmanda'', the ''Adhyatma-ramayana'' is undoubtedly the most important one".{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=158-159|ps=, with footnotes}}}}{{Sfn|Winternitz|1927|pp=578-579}}<br />
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== History ==<br />
The ''Brahmanda Purana'' is one of the oldest Puranas, but estimates for the composition of its earliest core vary widely.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=157|ps=, with footnotes}} The early 20th-century Indian scholar [[V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar]] dated this Purana to 4th-century BCE.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=157|ps=, with footnotes}} Most later scholarship places this text to be from centuries later, in the 4th- to 6th-century CE.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=157|ps=, with footnotes}}{{sfn|Collins|1988|p=36}} The text is generally assumed, states [[Ludo Rocher]], to have achieved its current structure about 1000 CE.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=157|ps=, with footnotes}}<br />
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The text underwent continuous revisions after the 10th-century, and new sections probably replaced older ones. The 13th-century Yadava dynasty scholar Hemadri quoted large parts of the then existing ''Brahmanda Purana'', but these parts are not found in currently surviving versions of the same text, suggesting that the 13th-century version of this Purana was different in many respects than extant manuscripts.{{sfn|Hazra|1987|pp=18-19}}<br />
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The ''Adhyatma-ramayana'', the most important embedded set of chapters in the extant versions of the Purana, is considered to have been composed centuries later, possibly in the 15th-century, and is attributed to [[Ramananda]] – the [[Advaita]] scholar and the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya, the largest monastic group in Hinduism and in Asia in modern times.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=159|ps=, with footnotes}}{{sfn|Dalal|2014|p=4|ps=, see entry for Adhyatma Ramayana}}{{sfn|Dalal|2014|pp=333-334}}{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|pp=553-554}} The ''Adhyatma-ramayana'' thus was added to this Purana later, and it is an important document to the Rama-related tradition within Hinduism.{{sfn|Dalal|2014|p=4|ps=, see entry for Adhyatma Ramayana}}{{sfn|Dalal|2014|pp=333-334}}<br />
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A Javanese Brahmanda [[palm-leaf manuscript]] was discovered in [[Indonesia]] in the mid-19th century by colonial-era Dutch scholars, along with other Puranas.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=78-79|ps=, with footnote 61}} The [[Sanskrit]] originals of these are either lost or yet to be discovered.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=78-79|ps=, with footnote 61}}{{sfn|Hinzler|1993|p=442}} The ''Javanese Brahmanda'' was translated by the Dutch Sanskrit scholar [[Jan Gonda]] and compared to Sanskrit texts found in India.{{sfn|Gietz|1992|p=468, 473|ps=, with notes 2602, 2622}}<br />
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== Structure ==<br />
The original, complete version of the ''Brahmanda Purana'' has been lost, and 19th-century scholars could only generally locate and procure independent sub-parts or collection of chapters that claimed to have been part of this Purana.{{Sfn|Wilson|1864|pp=LXXXV-LXXXVI}}{{Sfn|Winternitz|1927|pp=578-579}} Many of these chapters turned out to be fraudulent, sold by imposters in the 19th century.{{Sfn|Wilson|1864|pp=LXXXV-LXXXVI}} Later, Wilson states, rare compilations claiming to be the entire Purana emerged.{{Sfn|Wilson|1864|pp=LXXXV-LXXXVI}}<br />
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The published manuscript of the ''Brahmanda Purana'' have three ''Bhaga'' (parts).{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=157|ps=, with footnotes}} The first part is subdivided into two ''Pada'' (sub-parts), while the other two have just one ''Pada'' each.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=157|ps=, with footnotes}} The first ''Bhaga'' has 38 ''Adhyaya'' (chapters), the second is structured into 74 chapters, while the third and last ''Bhaga'' has 44 chapters. These published text has a cumulative total of 156 chapters.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=157|ps=, with footnotes}}<br />
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Other unpublished versions of the manuscripts exist, states Rocher, preserved in various libraries.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=157-159}} These vary in their structure. The ''Nasiketopakhyana'' text, which is embedded inside this Purana, for example exists in 18 chapters in one version and 19 chapters in another, in a form that [[Moriz Winternitz]] termed as a corrupted "insipid, amplified version" of the "beautiful old legend" of Nachiketa found in the ancient [[Katha Upanishad]].{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=157-159}}{{sfn|Winternitz|1927|p=579}}<br />
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The tradition and other Puranas assert that the ''Brahmanda Purana'' had 12,000 verses, but the published Venkateshwar Press version of manuscript contains 14,286 verses.{{sfn|Tagare|1983|p=xviii}} The Indonesian version of ''Brahmanda Purana'' is much shorter, lacks superfluous adjectives but contains all essential information, and does not contain the prophecy-related chapters found in the published extant Indian version. This suggests that older versions of the Indian text may have been smaller, in a different style, and without prophecy-related sections, although tradition informs the opposite (an even larger source).{{sfn|Tagare|1983|pp=xviii, xxvi-xxx}}<br />
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== Content ==<br />
{{Quote box<br />
|quote = '''Violence or non-violence?'''<br />
<poem><br />
[[Ahimsa]] (non-violence),<br />
is the gateway to [[Dharma]].<br />
<br />
Avoid retaliating,<br />
it is the way to [[Moksha]].<br />
<br />
[When faced with war or violence]<br />
If by killing one,<br />
many can lead a happy life,<br />
there is no sin, major or minor,<br />
in killing him.<br />
</poem><br />
|source = —''Brahmanda Purana''<br>Chapters 1.2.30-1.2.36{{sfn|Tagare|1983|p=lxvi}}{{sfn|sanskritdocuments.org|n.d.|pp=337-388|loc=chapter 2.2}}{{efn|Note: the verse numbering is different in this manuscript version; see verses in chapter 2.2}}<br />
|bgcolor=#FFE0BB<br />
|align = right<br />
}}<br />
The text is encyclopedic.{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=88}}{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=156-160}} It is non-sectarian and reveres all gods and goddesses, including [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]], [[Ganesha]], [[Surya]] and [[Shakti]].{{sfn|Tagare|1983|pp=xliv-lvii}} {{sfn|Tagare|1983|p=lvii}} The text's philosophy is a blend of the [[Vedanta]], [[Samkhya]] and [[Yoga]] schools of [[Hindu philosophy]], woven in with ''[[bhakti]]'' and some [[tantra]] themes.{{sfn|Tagare|1983|pp=lxiii–lxv}}<br />
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The second part, which comprises chapters 5–44 of the third section, the ''Uttarabhāga'' is the ''Lalitopākhyāna'' (narrative of Lalita). It describes the Goddess Lalita (an avatar of [[Adi Parashakti]]) and her worship as well a discussion of Tantra.{{sfn|Hazra|1962|p=255}} This part is written as a dialogue between [[Hayagriva]] and sage [[Agastya]] on the Goddess Lalita's emergence out of fire after which the king of gods [[Indra]] worshipped [[Devi]] (the Goddess representing the supreme reality). It includes her war with the [[Asura]] Bhanda and her final triumph.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=156–160}}<br />
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The sections of this Purana include:<br />
* Detailed description of creation of cosmos, discussion about the time as a dimension and details of Kalpa and Yuga.<br />
* Description of certain dynasties like the houses of Bharata, Prithu, Deva, Rishi, and Agni; as well as the vedangas and the Adi Kalpa.<br />
* Aspects of religious geography and in this context description of [[Jambudvipa]] and Bharata-varsha, and certain other locations identified as islands and landmasses like Anudvipa, Ketumaala-varsha.<br />
* About 20% of the chapters are related to ''Lalitopākhyāna'', that is highlighting the goddess theology and her central importance<br />
* Over 35% of the chapters in the text is ''Adhyatma Ramayana'', an [[Advaita Vedanta]] treatise of over 65 chapters and 4,500 verses.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=158-159|ps=, with footnotes}}{{efn|name=Rocher1986_quote1}}{{Sfn|Winternitz|1927|pp=578-579}}<br />
* Another 30% of the chapters approximately, or 47 chapters, are geographical ''Mahatmyas'' to various locations across India, such as those in modern [[Kashmir]], [[Odisha]] and [[Tamil Nadu]].{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=158-160}} Geography-related ''Mahatmyas'' are travel guides for pilgrimage, describing rivers, temples and scenes to visit.{{Sfn|Glucklich|2008|pp=145-162}}<br />
<br />
The [[Adhyatma Ramayana]], a text consisting about 4500 verses in 65 chapters and divided into seven ''kanda''s. The ''Nasiketopkhyana'', a text in 18 chapters, the ''Pinakinimahatmya'', a text in 12 chapters, the ''Virajakshetramahatmya'' and the ''Kanchimahatmya'', a text in 32 chapters are embedded in this Purana.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=156–160}}<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Hindu cosmology]]<br />
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== Notes ==<br />
{{notelist}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist|15em}}<br />
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== Bibliography ==<br />
{{refbegin|2}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Bailey |first1=Gregory |editor1-last=Sharma |editor1-first=Arvind |title=The Study of Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=npCKSUUQYEIC |year=2003 |publisher=[[University of South Carolina]] Press |isbn=978-1-57003-449-7}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Charles Dillard |title=The Iconography and Ritual of Siva at Elephanta: On Life, Illumination, and Being |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQNi6kAGJQ4C&pg=PA36 |year=1988 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=978-0-88706-773-0}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Dalal |first1=Rosen |year=2014 |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-8184752779 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Dikshitar |first1=V.R. Ramachandra |title=The Purana Index: A-N |volume=1 |series=Madras University Historical Series, No. 19 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.406618/page/n17/ |year=1951 |publisher=[[University of Madras]] |isbn=978-81-209-1274-8}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Dimmitt |first1=Cornelia |last2=Van Buitenen |first2=J.A.B. |title=Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Purāṇas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=re7CR2jKn3QC |location=Philadelphia |publisher=[[Temple University]] Press |year=2012 |orig-year=1978 |isbn=978-1-4399-0464-0}}<br />
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Doniger |editor1-first=Wendy |editor1-link=Wendy Doniger |title={{IAST|Purāṇa Perennis}}: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts |year=1993 |publisher=[[State University of New York]] Press |location=Albany, New York |isbn=0-7914-1382-9}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Flood |first1=Gavin |author-link=Gavin Flood |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo |url-access=registration |year=1996 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-43878-0}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Gietz |first1=K.P. |display-authors=et al |title=Epic and Puranic Bibliography (Up to 1985) Annotated and with Indexes: Part I: A - R, Part II: S - Z, Indexes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgpLBpUCufwC&pg=PA870 |year=1992 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-03028-1}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Glucklich |first1=Ariel |title=The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtLScrjrWiAC |year=2008 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-971825-2}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Hazra |first1=Rajendra Chandra |year=1962 |contribution=The Puranas |editor1-last=Radhakrishnan |editor1-first=S. |title=The Cultural Heritage of India |volume=2 |location=Calcutta |publisher=The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture |ISBN=81-85843-03-1}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Hazra |first1=Rajendra Chandra |title=Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jar4V3piCeQC |orig-year=1940 |year=1987 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0422-7}}<br />
* {{cite journal |last1=Hinzler |first1=H.I.R. |title=Balinese palm-leaf manuscripts |journal=Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia |date=1993 |volume=149 |issue=3 |pages=438–473 |doi=10.1163/22134379-90003116 |url=http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/22134379-90003116 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001133114/http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/22134379-90003116%3Fcrawler%3Dtrue |archive-date=2015-10-01}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Lochtefeld |first1=James G |year=2002 |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z |publisher=Rosen Publishing |ISBN=978-0823931804}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Rocher |first1=Ludo |author-link=Ludo Rocher |title=The Purāṇas |date=1986 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |location=Wiesbaden |isbn=3-447-02522-0}}<br />
* {{cite book |translator-first=GV |translator-last=Tagare |year=1983 |url=https://archive.org/stream/BrahmandaPurana/BrahmandaPuI#page/n13/mode/1up |title=Brahmanda Purana |volume=1 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |ref={{sfnref|Tagare|1983}}}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Horace Hayman |author-link=Horace Hayman Wilson |title=The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition |volume=1 |year=1864 |url=https://archive.org/stream/vishnupurnsyst01wils#page/n3/ |publisher=Read Country Books |isbn=1-84664-664-2}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Winternitz |first1=M. |translator1-last=Ketkar |translator1-first=S. |title=A History of Indian Literature |volume=1 |date=1927 |publisher=[[University of Calcutta]] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.97551#page/n603/}}<br />
* {{cite web |title=Brahmanda Purana |url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_trial/fortransfer/brahmANDapurANa.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311030957/http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_trial/fortransfer/brahmANDapurANa.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 March 2016 |website=sanskritdocuments.org |language=sa |ref={{harvid|sanskritdocuments.org|n.d.}}}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-brahmanda-purana The Brahmanda Purana] English translation by G. V. Tagare [proofread] (includes glossary)<br />
* [http://shivyoga.net/brahamand2/ Read brahmand puran online in hindi]<br />
* [https://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart1 Brahmanda Purana - English Translation by G.V.Tagare - Part 1]<br />
* [https://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart2 Brahmanda Purana - English Translation by G.V.Tagare - Part 2]<br />
* [https://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart3 Brahmanda Purana - English Translation by G.V.Tagare - Part 3]<br />
* [https://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart4 Brahmanda Purana - English Translation by G.V.Tagare - Part 4]<br />
* [https://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart5 Brahmanda Purana - English Translation by G.V.Tagare - Part 5]<br />
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{{Puranas}}<br />
{{Brahmanda}}<br />
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[[Category:Puranas]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu creation myths]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu cosmology]]<br />
[[Category:Advaita Vedanta]]<br />
[[Category:Rama]]</div>ImportMaster