2.Veda vyasa - brahma purana

2. Veda Vyasa

Brahma Purana by Dipavali Debroy-Bibek Debroy

The meaning of vedavyasa is that person who has learnt the Vedas. It is only a title for a person who has divided and codified the Vedas. As of now there are 28 vedavyasa who have held the title vedavyasa.

The vedavyasa who is credited to have composed the Mahabharata was the 28 Th vedavyasa or vyasadeva.  His name was Krishna Dvaipayana. He was called so because of his dark in complexion. The word Krishna means dark. He was called Dvaipayana because he was born on an island, the word dvipa means island.

He composed the Mahabharata. It has one lakh shlokas or couplets. It is believed that after composing the Mahabharata Vedavyasa was not happy with the stories that he had recounted. Therefore he composed the puranas, which are 18 in number. Put together the Mahapuranas consists of five lakh shlokas in all.

The Brahma purana consists of nineteen thousand shlokas; hence it is medium in size as far as the puranas. These shlokas or couplets are divided into 245 adhyayas or chapters.

Most scholars agree that the mahapuranas were composed between 300 A.D. and 1000 A.D.

It is important to note here that the puranas were not composed by a single author at one particular time frame. Several authors have contributed with their own stories and interpretation; hence the texts grew into volume through the ages. It may be possible that some of the early puranas might have been composed around 500 B.C.It is believed that Vedavyasa might have composed major part of the puranas.

Brahma purana - an introduction

Introduction to Brahma purana

by Dipavali Debroy-Bibek Debroy

The Puranas are the sacred texts of Hinduism. The Ramayana and Mahabharata are the two great epics known to all. The Mahabharata states that there are 18 puranas and names three of them – the Markandeya purana, the Vayu purana and the Matsya purana. In Ramayana there is no mention of the puranas as such but the word purana has been used several times. This clearly tells us that the composers of Ramayana and Mahabharata were well versed with the ancient texts.

It is agreed that there are 18 major Puranas and are known as Mahapuranas. The several minor puranas are referred to as upapuranas. There is no disagreement with regard to the names of the mahapuranas. The only disagreement is with the name of the fourth. Some say the fourth is the Vayu purana while some say it is the Shiva purana . All agree the first purana is the Brahma purana.

Characteristic features of the puranas:

Any Mahapurana is supposed to have basic five lakshana [characteristics]. The text must describe five subjects. These five subjects are the original creation of the universe[sarga], the periodical process of destruction  and re-creation[pratisarga], the different eras[manvantara], the histories of the solar dynasty [ surya vamsha] and the lunar dynasty[ Chandra vamsha] and royal genealogies [vamshanucharita]. The Brahma purana does describe all these five subjects/elements.

The puranas are associated with the Hindu Trinity- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is regarded as the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. These three important gods are glorified in the puranas.Their relative emphasis might vary from text to text. The puranas which gives importance to Vishnu will talk about his incarnation [avatara] and they are termed as Sattvika purana.. The puranas that gives importance and describe the creation in depth are called as Rajasika purana and are associated with Brahma. Finally the Tamasika purana tells about how a devotee should practise a lot of norms and rituals ,these are to be associated with Shiva.