This Puráńa has a character different from that of all the others. It has nothing of a sectarial spirit, little of a religious tone, rarely inserting prayers and invocations to any deity, and such as are inserted are brief and moderate. It deals little in precepts, ceremonial or moral. Its leading feature is narrative, and it presents an uninterrupted succession of legends, most of which, when ancient, are embellished with new circumstances; and when new, partake so far of the spirit of the old, that they are disinterested creations of the imagination, having no particular motive; being designed to recommend no special doctrine or observance. Whether they are derived from any other source, or whether they are original inventions, it is not possible to ascertain. They are most probably, for the greater part at least, original; and the whole has been narrated in the compiler's own manner, a manner superior to that of the Puráńas in general, with exception of the Bhágavata.

It is not easy to conjecture a date for this Puráńa: it is subsequent to the Mahábhárata, but how long subsequent is doubtful. It is unquestionably more ancient than such works as the Brahmá, Padma, and Náradíya Puráńas; and its freedom from sectarial bias is a reason for supposing it anterior to the Bhágavata. At the same time, its partial conformity to the definition of a Puráńa, and the tenor of the additions which it has made to received legends and traditions, indicate a not very remote age; and, in the absence of any guide to a more positive conclusion, it may conjecturally be placed in the ninth or tenth century.

Footnotes

xxxiii:55

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xxxv:56 A translation into English by a Madras Pandit, Kávali Venkata Rámaswámi, was published at Calcutta in 1823.

xxxv:57 See Vishńu P., p. 253. n. 22.

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Hinduism

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