The Puranas (A History Of Indian Literature, Volume-2, Fasc-3)

Preface To avoid repeating the term "purana" is it replaced by the symbol an in com- pounds. E. g., Vishnu= Visnupurana.

Abbreviated bibliographical references are of two types:

(1) An author's name, followed by a date, a colon, and a page number (e.g., HAZRA 1940:52), refers to an entry in the General Bibliography at the end of the volume. When the General Bibliography contains more than one publication by the same author in the same year, they are distinguished by adding a and b after the publication date (e.g., HARAPRASAD SHASTRI 1928a: lxxxv and HARAPRASAD SHASTRI 1928b:324). Notice that the publication dates, in chronological order for each author, are indicated at the end of the entries.

(2) An author's name, followed by a purana title, a date, a colon, and a page number (e.g., HAZRA Siva" 1953:47), refers to an entry in the bibliography prefixed to each purana in Part Two. All lists of editions, translations, etc. are arranged in chronological order, with the publication years at the end of the entries.

Introduction One of the main reasons why Indian thought and Indian civilization make so fascinating a field of study and research lies in their unique history and remarkable structure. Indian civilization has its roots in an ancient heritage, in that pattern of culture which is sometimes called archaic or semi-primitive, sometimes also pre- or non-modern. This culture, or rather structure of the human mind, is, in the main, characterized by presenting, in some essential features, striking contrasts to our modern 'mentality.' Without being one-sidedly intellectual, it gives free scope to the emotional and imaginative sides of human nature; our distinction between the subjective and the objective, our contrast between reality and appearance are almost meaningless; the realm of nature and the realm of man are hardly distinguished; thought often appears wrapped in imagination; logical reasoning is by no means lacking but blended with affective and irrational tendencies; the men of light and leading have a bent for the speculative, more or less visionary, mode of apprehension, transcending experience; they are preferably concerned with man himself, his nature and destiny. On such a basis, reflected in many products of their literature, and without denying these origins, the Indians-anthropologically a mixture of immigrant Aryans and 'autochthonous' peoples of other descent-gradually elaborated a many-sided, highly developed civilization. This civilization is in no small measure characterized by unity in diversity, by homogeneity not- withstanding the utmost variety and complexity of its ethnic composition; by a multitude of languages and a wealth of different cultural patterns; characterized also by considerable diversity in mental character and enormous differences in religion and social customs, beliefs and practices varying widely both regionally and, within a given region, from class to class. While preserving the cohesion of its cultural provinces-religion, art, literature, social organization-to an unusual degree and on the other hand acquiring full scope for intellectual effort and pursuits it can glory in remarkable achievements in various fields.

Owing to the integration of a large variety of heterogeneous elements the Indian civilization constitutes a very complex and as to it~ main current remarkably continuous whole. As it covers the whole of life it has social and religious, economic, artistic and literary aspects. From the religious point of view it is an utterly diverse conglomerate of cults, practices, doctrines and ways of life. Viewed from the angle of sociology it is a stratified system of social classes which is, at least in traditional India, not only given religious sanction but also, like many other fields of human effort, impregnated by a characteristic view of life and the world. The more or less constant elements of this conglomerate, the main features of the Indian 'great tradition' are, to a considerable extent, the belief in an eternal, fundamental principle (Brahman), the ultimate source and goal of all existence, the One that is the All and sole reality; the recognition of a pristine body of religious literature as an absolute authority, however unman its contents; a deep-rooted want for assuming, maintaining, and clinging to continuity; a craving for a firm foundation on which to build one's life and ideals, and the confidence that one's own existence and the culture of the community to which one belongs are founded on an eternal and infallible basis; the belief in Karman, and its complement, the almost generally accepted doctrine of transmigration; the conviction that man's best Endeavour should be directed towards escaping from impermanence or final emancipation; a complex 'polytheism' subsumed in a fundamental monotheism; a tendency to mysticism and monistic philosophy; a propensity to assimilate rather than to exclude or to abandon what once has been adopted.

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