Agni Purana
Part of a series on |
Hindu scriptures and texts |
---|
Related Hindu texts |
The Agni Purana, (
The text exists in numerous versions, some very different from others.[3] The published manuscripts are divided into 382 or 383 chapters, containing between 12,000 and 15,000 verses.[3][4] The chapters of the text were likely composed in different centuries, with earliest version probably after the 7th-century,[5][6] but before the 11th century because the early 11th-century Persian scholar Al-Biruni acknowledged its existence in his memoir on India.[7] The youngest layer of the text in the Agni Purana may be from the 17th century.[7]
The Agni Purana is a medieval era encyclopedia that covers a diverse range of topics, and its "382 or 383 chapters actually deal with anything and everything", remark scholars such as
History
Charity
The Man Who Gratuitously Teaches Another,
A Craft Or A Trade Or Settles Upon Him A Property,
Whereby He Earns A Livelihood,
Acquires Infinite Merit.
—Agni Purana 211.63, Translator: MN Dutt[16]
Tradition has it that its title is named after Agni because it was originally recited by
The earliest core of the text is likely a post 7th-century composition, and a version existed by the 11th century.[7][20][21] The chapters that discuss grammar and lexicography may be an addition in the 12th century, while the chapters on metrics likely predate 950 CE because Pingala-sutras text by the 10th-century scholar Halayudha cites this text.[22] The section on poetics is likely a post-900 CE composition,[23] while its summary on Tantra is likely to be a composition between 800 and 1100 CE.[24]
The Agni Purana exists in many versions and it exemplifies the complex chronology of the Puranic genre of Indian literature that has survived into modern times. The number of chapters, number of verses and the specific content vary across Agni Purana manuscripts.[3][4] Dimmitt and van Buitenen state that each of the Puranas is encyclopedic in style, and it is difficult to ascertain when, where, why and by whom these were written:[25]
As they exist today, the Puranas are a stratified literature. Each titled work consists of material that has grown by numerous accretions in successive historical eras. Thus, no Puran has a single date of composition. (...) it is as if they were libraries to which new volumes have been continuously added, not necessarily at the end of the shelf, but randomly.
— Cornelia Dimmitt and J.A.B. van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas[25]
Structure
The published manuscripts are divided into 382 or 383 chapters, and ranging between 12,000 and 15,000 verses.[3][4] Many subjects it covers are in specific chapters, but states Rocher, these "succeed one another without the slightest connection or transition".[26] In other cases, such as its discussion of iconography, the verses are found in many sections of the Agni Purana.[9]
Editions and translations
The first printed edition of the text was edited by Rajendralal Mitra in the 1870s (Calcutta : Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1870–1879, 3 volumes; Bibliotheca Indica, 65, 1–3). The entire text extends to slightly below one million characters.[citation needed]
An English translation was published in two volumes by Manmatha Nath Dutt in 1903–04. There are several versions published by different companies.[citation needed]
Contents
The extant manuscripts are encyclopedic. The first chapter of the text declares its scope to be such.[27] Some subjects covered by the text include:[28]
Subject | Chapters | Illustrative content | Reference |
Book summary | 21-70 | , etc. | [26][27] |
Regional geography | 114-116 | Mithila (now Bihar), rivers, forests, towns, culture | [26][27] |
Medicine | 279-286, 370 | Ayurveda, herbs, nutrition | [26][29] |
Buddhist incantations | 123-149 | Summary of the Buddhist text Yuddhajayarnava, mantras of Trailokyavijaya | [26][30][31] |
Politics | 218-231 | Structure of a state, education and duties of a king and key ministers, organization of army, theory of just war, ambassadors to other kingdoms, system of administration, civil and criminal law, taxation, local administration and court system |
[26][32][33] |
Agriculture, planning | 239, 247, 282, 292 | Fortification, trees and parks, water reservoirs | [26][34][35] |
Martial arts, weapons | 249-252 | 32 types of martial arts, making and maintaining weapons | [36] |
Cow | 310 | Holiness of cow, breeding and taking care of cows | [37] |
Hindu temple, monastery | 25, 39-45, 55-67, 99-101 | Design, layout, construction, architecture | [38] |
Metrics, poetics, art of writing | 328-347 | Summary of different schools on poetics, music, art of poetry, Alamkara, Chandas, Rasa , Riti, language, rhetoric
|
[24][39][40] |
Yoga, moksha | 372-381 | Eight limbs of yoga, ethics, meditation, Advaita), summary of Bhagavad Gita
|
[22][41][42][43] |
See also
References
- ^ a b Dalal 2014, p. 10.
- ^ Rocher 1986, pp. 20–22.
- ^ a b c d e Wilson 1864, p. LVIII-LX.
- ^ a b c d Rocher 1986, pp. 134–137.
- ^ ISBN 978-1576071502, page 282
- ^ Phillip B. Zarrilli. Paradigms of Practice and Power in a South Indian Martial Art. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- ^ a b c Rocher 1986, pp. 31, 136–137.
- ^ Winternitz 1922, p. 541.
- ^ a b Rocher 1986, pp. 134–135.
- ^ Dalal 2014, pp. 10, 145.
- ^ Rocher 1986, pp. 79 with footnotes.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0306-0.
- ^ Kramrisch 1976, p. 96, 136 with footnotes.
- ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5.
- ISBN 978-81-8069-521-6.
- ^ MN Dutt, Agni Purana Vol 2 Archived 2022-12-27 at the Wayback Machine, Chapter CCXI, page 757
- ^ Hazra 1940, pp. 134–136.
- OCLC 34690102.
- ^ a b c Hazra 1940, pp. 134–135.
- ^ Hazra 1940, pp. 134–141.
- ^ K P Gietz 1992, p. 15 with note 73.
- ^ a b Rocher 1986, p. 136.
- ^ K P Gietz 1992, p. 344-345 with note 1897.
- ^ a b Rocher 1986, pp. 135–136.
- ^ a b Dimmitt & van Buitenen 2012, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e f g Rocher 1986, p. 135.
- ^ a b c Hazra 1940, p. 136.
- ^ Shastri, P. (1995) Introduction to the Puranas, New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, pp.98–115
- PMID 19569455.
- ^ Hazra 1940, p. 137.
- ^ Jan Gonda (1969). Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde. Vol. 75–76. North-Holland. pp. 609 with note 3.
- JSTOR 3269464.
- OCLC 637947585.
- ISBN 978-1-84977-475-8.
- ^ MN Dutt, Agni Purana Vol 2 Archived 2022-12-27 at the Wayback Machine, pages 853-858
- ISBN 978-8170309192, pages 102-109
- ^ MN Dutt, Agni Purana Vol 2 Archived 2022-12-27 at the Wayback Machine, pages 1075-1081 (Note: Dutt's manuscript has 365 chapters, and is numbered differently)
- ISBN 978-81-208-0224-7.
- OCLC 313637004.
- ISBN 978-3-11-089411-0.
- ISBN 978-8170309192, pages 433-457
- ^ MN Dutt, Agni Purana Vol 2 Archived 2022-12-27 at the Wayback Machine, pages 1313-1338 (Note: Dutt's manuscript has 365 chapters, and is numbered differently)
- ISBN 978-1-4008-5005-1.
Bibliography
- Gregory Bailey (2003). Arvind Sharma (ed.). The Study of Hinduism. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-449-7.
- Dalal, Rosen (2014), Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide, Penguin, ISBN 978-8184752779
- Dimmitt, Cornelia; van Buitenen, J. A. B. (2012). Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas. Temple University Press (1st Edition: 1977). ISBN 978-1-4399-0464-0.
- K P Gietz; et al. (1992), Epic and Puranic Bibliography (Up to 1985) Annoted and with Indexes: Part I: A - R, Part II: S - Z, Indexes, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3-447-03028-1
- Hazra, Rajendra Chandra (1940). Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs. Motilal Banarsidass (1987 Reprint). ISBN 978-81-208-0422-7.
- Kramrisch, Stella (1976), The Hindu Temple, Volume 1 & 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0223-3
- ISBN 978-3447025225
- ISBN 1-84664-664-2.
- ISBN 978-8120802643.
External links
- The Agni Purana Full English translation by N. Gangadharan, 1954 (includes glossary)
- Agni Purana (in English), Volume 2, MN Dutt (Translator), Hathi Trust Archives
- Agni Purana (Limited search outside universities, all volumes), MN Dutt (Translator)
- Agni Purana, Sanskrit Manuscript in various formats, Tokyo University
- Rajendralal Mitra, ed. (1876). Agni Purana (in Sanskrit). Ganesh Press.
- GRETIL etext