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Wisdom through the Ages
Chapter 4
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Need for Ancestral Wisdom
• Human beings face several challenges and moral and ethical
dilemmas in life and constantly look for guidance to resolve them
• It is desirable to look back and understand how the ancestors
addressed the issues that they faced
• Wisdom thru the ages
• Accumulated experiences of the people, the inferences made out of situations
faced and experiments conducted
• shared and stored for posterity through literary works
• showcase the cultural practices, history, science and technology, social
customs, assumptions about life and prevailing know-how
• Purāṇas and Itihāsas mainly belong to this category
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What are Purāṇas?
• Literary sources of ancient and medieval Indian history and
culture
• Provides valuable insights into the history of philosophy and
religion
• Storehouse that provides deep insights into all aspects and
phases of the society, and culture during the ancient and
medieval times in India
• A popular encyclopaedia of ancient and medieval religious,
philosophical, historical, personal, social, and political aspects of
the society
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Role of Purāṇas
• Influencing classical art forms such as dance and music and promoted
social practices such as the celebration of various festivals
• Spread of the cultural heritage among the masses possible only
because of the purāṇas
• Motivating the practice of ethical and moral values in the life of the
people
• Means by which socio-cultural values can blend with religious values
and dharmic living
• A living tradition called “Hari Katha” has perennially attracted the
masses towards the purāṇas
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Historicity of Purāṇas
• Purāṇas have been handed down the ages through oral transmission
• Difficult to establish the period to the authorship of purāṇas as there is no explicit mention
• Guesstimates of Indology Researchers
• Some of the extant Mahā-purāṇas, e.g. Vāyu, Brahmāṇḍa, Viṣṇu, Matsya, and Mārkaṇḍeya
are assignable to a period of 300 CE - 660 CE
• Agni, and Garuda are assignable to a period of 600 CE - 900 CE
• Some others are assigned to a period later than 900 CE
• In the Indian tradition, the antiquity of purāṇas is established using the available
material in the purāṇas itself
• According to Matsya Purāṇa, Brahmā remembered the purāṇas even before the Vedas
• We find mention of the word Purāṇa in the Vedas and Upaniṣads
• In Chāndogyopaniṣad it is mentioned that Purāṇas can be considered as the fifth Veda
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The Purāṇic repository
The Purānic
Repository
Mahā-purāṇas Upa-purāṇas Sthala-purāṇas
• 18 in number, about 400,00 • Several of them available
• Several available
verses • Regional focus
• 18 identified as prominent
• Cover a wide variety of topics • All languages (mainly in
• Smaller than mahā-purānas
• Has five Lakṣaṇas Sanskrit)
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Five key characteristics of a Purāṇa
Creation
Sarga: Creation of the Universe of the
Universe
Prati-sarga: Destruction and re-creation - it means
the creation after creation
Vaṁśa: Dynasties of kings - the present, past and Stories of
Destruction
& re-
future lineage of kings created by the Brahman Dynasties
Purāṇas creation
Manvantara: Times of different Manus - it is a time (Pañca-
span that plays an important role in the lakṣaṇas)
understanding of human history
Vamśānucarita - Stories of the dynasties - includes
the stories of the ṛṣis and kings born in those Times of
Lineage
different
dynasties Manus
of Kings
An expanded list suggests that the Mahā-purāṇas have to satisfy ten characteristics, (Dasa-lakṣaņas), which additionally includes means of
livelihood (vṛtti), incarnations of gods (rakṣa), final emancipation (mukti), jīva, unmanifest (hetu), and Brahman (apāśraya)
Topics discussed in the 18 ṃahā-purāṇas (other than those related to purāṇa-lakṣaṇas)
Sl. No. Purāṇa No. of Topics discussed
(Alphabetical) verses
1 Agni 16,000 Rules for worship of various deities, installations of images in temples, astrology, architecture, sculptures, medicine, toxicology,
principles of dramaturgy, human physiology, figures of speech.
2 Bhāgavata 18,000 Most authoritative text dealing with Sri Kṛṣṇa’s life, cosmic form of God, Creation of the world, Uddhava-gītā, list of kings who ruled
after Kṛṣṇa, a graphic description of Kaliyuga
3 Bhaviṣya 14,500 Sixteen Saṃskāras, Rules concerning the studies of Vedas, Varṇāśrama Dharma, Vratas, Types of Dāna, Genealogy of the king who will
come in future and the way they will rule the country
4 Brahma 10,000 What is available seems to be more a compilation of chapters from Mahābhārata, Viṣṇu, Mārkaṇḍeya and Vāyu purāṇas
5 Brahmāṇḍa 12,000 The subjects of creation, Geography of earth and Bhāratavarṣa, 14 worlds, types of hells, Balineese translation of this purana has
been found in the Bali island
6 Brahmavaivarta 18,000 Āyurveda, Sandhyā ritual, Śāligrāma worship, Kaliyuga, Greatness of Tulasi leaves, Code of conduct for married women and widows,
Greatness of Bhārata-deśa, building construction
7 Garuḍa 18,000 Cosmography, astronomy, astrology, omens, portents, medicine and knowledge of precious stones, journey of Jīva after death, rites to
be performed during and after death, Torments of hell, encounter with pretas, Yamaloka
8 Kūrma 18,000 Duties of four Varṇas and Āśramas, evolution of Prakṛti, Description of physical features of the world and of Jambūdvīpa, Division of
Vedas, after death rites, Prāyaścittas, Pralaya
9 Liṅga 11,000 Music and its propagation, Dānas and their fruits
10 Mārkaṇḍeya 9,000 Descriptions of hell, karma and its fructification, Some aspects of Yoga, Geographical description of Bhārata and Śrāddhas
11 Matsya 14,000 Vratas, Dānas and their fruits, Greatness of holy places like Prayāga, Vārānasi and river Narmadā, Duties of Kings, Omens,
iconography, building construction
12 Nāradīya 25,000 Vratas, Duties of the people of various Varṇas and Āśramas, Six Vedāṅgas, Ritualistic workshop, Fasting on Ekādaśi days
13 Padma 55,000 Description of the various worlds of goblins, gandharvas, heaven and so on, Varṇāśrama dharmas, Vratas and religious vows, various
types of Śrāddhas
14 Skanda 81,000 Detail descriptions of several places of pilgrimage such as Kāśī, Pūrī and Ujjainī, Advaita-vedānta, Various aspects of Lord Śiva, and
methods of meditations, Satyanārāyaṇa-vrata
15 Vāmana 10,000 Certain vratas, doctrine of karma
16 Varāha 24,000 Dharma śāstra, pilgrimage, Dāna, images of deities and their worship, Aśouca, Śrāddha, theory of karma, hells, cosmology, sins
17 Vāyu 24,000 Geographical descriptions of places, importance and greatness of Gaya, famous places of pilgrimage, details of Śrāddha ceremony,
Science of music
18 Viṣṇu 23,000 Four Varṇas and Āśramas, the impact of Kali, philosophical ideas of the Vedas, Description of Kaliyuga, Bhakti as main Sādhanā
Source: Compiled from Swami Harshananda (2000), “The Purāṇas”, Sri Ramakṛishna Math, Bengaluru
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Stages of foetal development as per
Bhāgavata Purāṇa
First five days Months 5 - 6
• First night: sperm & ovum Months 1 - 2 • Month 5: Feelings of
mix hunger, thirst felt
• Month 1: Head formed
• Fifth night: mixture ferments • Month 6: Movement (right
• Month 2: Limbs formed
into a bubble side of the abdomen)
Next ten days Months 3- 4
• Tenth night: Takes the shape • Month 3: Sensory and other
of a plum organs, bone, skin formed
• Next few days: Lump of flesh • Month 4: Seven dātus fully
formed
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Padma-purāṇa (Book 2 – chapter 66)
Composition of the foetus at the time of child birth
• Conversation between Yayāti and Mātali (the charioteer of Indra)
• In response to a question that Yayāti asked about the birth and death of human beings, there is an
elaborate description of the birth and death process
• Composition of foetus at the time of its ejection out of the uterus (Verses 49 – 66):
Bones in the skeleton - three hundred and a hundred more (i.e. four hundred)
Muscles - five hundred
It is all around covered with small soft hair numbering three crores and half.
Body is full of crores of these gross and subtle, visible and invisible, fleshy tubular organs from
within
Teeth - thirty-two, the nails - twenty
Quantity of various substances:
bile (in the body) - one kuḍava (160 gms);
phlegm - half an āḍhaka (1.28 kgs)
marrow - five palas (200 gms) and the buttocks are half of it
lump of flesh - five palas
fat - ten palas
thick blood - three palas; the quantity of marrow is four times that of the blood
semen - half a kuḍava
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Issues of interest in Purāṇas
Food and Medicine
• Food
• Brahmavaivarta-purāṇa (4.126: 53 – 54) mentions a balanced diet consisting of staple food, vegetables, and fruits that
people used to take
• Based on the information available in the Agni, Matsya, and Brahmavaivarta purāṇas we can infer that rice (dhānya),
wheat (godhuma), barley (yava), pulses (śimbi or śamīdhānya), and sesame (tila) are some of the common plants used
for edible purposes
• As per Agni-purāṇa, paddy was cultivated on a large scale and people performed religious functions for enhancement of
production of rice
• Matsya-purāṇa mentions eighteen varieties of rice and during the religious performance called aśvaratha-dāna, the
observer had to fill in four jars with eighteen types of rice
• In the Agni-purāṇa, there are mentions of tax on profits out of pulse production. It is stated that one-eighth of the
produced pulses are paid to the king as tax
• Medicine
• Thirty-six plants such as harītakī, nimba, aksa, and bald were used in combinations for the treatment of different kinds of
diseases, as per Agni-purāṇa
• In the Matsya-purāṇa nearly seventy-five plants have been identified to have great medicinal value (mahauṣadha)
• According to the Agni-purāṇa, the physicians used to treat the mental patients with some plants and herbs such as hiṅgu,
sauvarcala, and vyoṣa
• In the Agni-purāṇa, mention is also made of food and medicine of the elephants. It is observed that plants such as yava,
vrīhi, ṣaṣṭika, śāli, godhuma, and ikṣu are recommended diet for the elephants
For more details on the food and medicinal aspects found in the purāṇas see, Bhattacharjee, S (2010). "Studies on flora in the puranas with special reference to Matsya Purana, Agni
Purana, and Brahmavaivarta Purana", Unpublished Ph.D thesis, Department of Sanskrit, Gauhati University.
Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa
Astronomical Details
All the basic details of astronomy are specified in chapter 21
the notion of a solar month and solar year, ṛtus, dakṣiṇāyaṇa and uttarāyaṇa, names of twelve solar months and
their mapping to ṛtus, equinoxes and the need for intercalary months in a lunisolar calendar
It is mentioned (21.49 – 21.50), “the two quarters of the East and West are remembered through sunrise
and sunset. While it blazes in front, (the heat is felt) behind as well as at the sides. Where the sun appears
rising, it is remembered as sunrise to the people there-of, where the sun vanishes, it is called sunset to the
people there”.
The longer days and shorter nights during uttarāyaṇa and the reverse during dakṣināyaṇa have been
mentioned (21.89 – 21.93):
During Daksināyana, on account of his rapidity, the sun covers thirteen and a half constellations in a day of twelve
Muhūrtas. He covers the same number of constellations during the night of eighteen Muhūrtas.
After the advent of the northern transit, the day consists of eighteen Muhūrtas, the sun of slow speed traverses
thirteen and a half constellations during the day. He covers the same number of constellations during the night of
twelve Muhūrtas.
• In chapter 22 (verses 23 – 60), there are descriptions of seasons, cloud formation, and rain as a phenomenon
mainly orchestrated by the Sun
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Itihāsas & Purāṇas
Differences
Purāṇas Itihāsas
• Narrations of stories about a distant • Narrator part of the story
past • Mahābhārata authored by Vyāsa in which
he was also one of the actors; so is the case
of Vālmīki in Rāmayāṇa
• Period: Establishing not possible as • Period: Itihāsas, have been dated
they belong to a very distant past
• Dynasty: The focus is on the “solar
• Dynasty: Discussion of multiple dynasty” in Rāmāyaṇa and “lunar
lineages of royal dynasties and ṛṣis dynasty” in Mahābhārata
• Purpose: Encyclopaedic in nature • Purpose: to narrate events using
the lens of four puruṣārthas
(Dharma, Artha, Kāma & Mokṣa)
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Salient aspects of the two epics
Rāmāyaṇa Mahābhārata
• 645 Chapters, 23,672 verses • 100,000 verses, over 2,000
• Normative approach - Ideal chapters
"textbook" like characters of life • Descriptive approach -
• All countries in SE Asia have the Characters present the "reality"
Rāma story of life
• Descriptions of dharma of • Rich collection of deeply nested
personal and social life and stories
social order • Many niggets of wisdom - Yakṣa
• Notion of "Goodness" Vs Praśna, Vidura Nīti, Sanat-
"Greatness" sujātīya, Bhagavad Gītā
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Approach of the two epics
• Both epics address the core issue of dharma and one’s duty towards personal, family,
and societal obligations
• Using different approaches they arrive at different answers to the questions related to
the core issue
• Rāmāyāṇa has taken “Normative Approach”:
• Despite personal sufferings, emphasises that the duty is clear
• There is little scope for ethical and moral dilemmas
• Essentially suggesting what ought to be done in life
• Mahābhārata has taken a “descriptive approach”:
• Presents the actual happenings, and the moral and ethical dilemmas that different actors faced
• Showcases the decisions made by the actors and their consequences in the long run
• Rather than presenting the ideals of life, it shows life as it unfolds with all its attendant challenges.
• Instead of informing us what our duty is it presents how various people discharged their duties and what
the fallout was
• Essentially illustrating what the reality of life is
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Rāmāyaṇa
Key Messages
• Bāla-kāṇḍa
• the importance of knowing the reality of life in the country by the king-to-be. In organisations, when the leader
connects with the people, he gets to know the issues and realities facing the organisation
• Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
• life can be a roller coaster ride
• to be successful in life one needs to develop mental equanimity to handle unforeseen events in one’s life.
• information on public policy and administration and larger issues of life
• Araṇya-kāṇḍa
• goodness needs to be protected from evil forces, lest it becomes unsustainable
• an evil action by an individual will eventually trigger a bigger reaction from the system and in the process of
eliminating the evil, several good aspects may also get destroyed
• Kiṣkindhā-kāṇḍa
• the importance of friendship, especially during periods of great distress
• the importance of wise counselling to wade through the challenges that we face in our life
• Sundara-kāṇḍa
• Importance of the strength of the character which helps discover unlimited courage within and faced the adversity
with grace and purpose
• Yuddha-kāṇḍa
• the benefits of wise counseling and the dangers of hasty decisions arising out of an inebriated mind polluted with
attachment to unreasonable and unethical desires
The epic encourages one to contemplate the difference between “goodness” and “greatness” and the need to have both to succeed in life
Mahābhārata
Salient aspects
• One of the greatest poems in the world composed by Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana (Veda
Vyāsa)
• The first version of Mahabharata (Jaya) - about 8,000 verses
• The second version (Bhārata) - 24,000 verses
• Later extended (Mahābhārata) - up to 1,00,000
• After collating information from 1,259 manuscripts and several years of work, a critical
edition was finally brought out in 1966 – about 89,000 verses
• Multiple editions and redaction of the original text of Mahābhārata available
• The leading incidents and characters of the epic have not been affected and modified by these
changes
• Presents the reality of life and allows the reader to pick up their lessons for living
• Almost all the characters in different shades of grey bringing out the reality of
decision making and the dilemmas that one faces in life
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Overall structure and organisation of topics in Mahābhārata
Parva Chapters Topics
Ādi 225 Stories of the ancestors of Kuaravas and Pāṇḍavas; birth and education of Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas; enmity in their
childhood; Draupadi’s marriage to Pāṇḍavas; Arjuna’s marriage to Subhadrā
Sabha 72 Performance of Rājasūya sacrifice by Yudhiṣṭhira, the game of dice maneuvered by Duryodhana, & its tragic consequences
Āraṇyaka 299 Pāṇḍavas in exile, several stories from the past, famous conversation known as Yakṣapraśna
Virāṭa 67 The stay of the Pāṇḍavas incognito in the kingdom of Virāta, Virāta princess Uttarā gets married to Abhimanyu
Udyoga 197 Unsuccessful peace parleys and preparation for the war, the famous discourse of sage Sanatsujāta to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
Bhīṣma 117 Śrimad Bhagavad Gītā, detailed descriptions of the first ten days of the war, Bhīṣma mortally wounded by Arjuna.
Droṇa 173 The heroic exploits of Droṇa and his death through a planned strategy; Abhimanyu’s tragic death.
Karṇa 69 Death of Duśśāsana, the second of the Kaurava brothers, fall of Karṇa at the hands of Arjuna
Śalya 64 Final encounter between Bhīma and Duryodhana on the last day of the war
Souptika 18 The gruesome massacre of the Pāṇḍava army in the night during sleep by Aśvatthāma
Strī 27 Lamentations of the widows of the dead warriors
Śānti 353 Wonderful discourses on all aspects of dharma by the patriarch Bhīṣma at the request of Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma's demise,
Anuśāsana 154 Yudhiṣṭhira’s coronation
Āśvamedhika 96 Departure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Dvāraka, Asvamedha yajña by Yudhiṣṭhira.
Āśramavāsika 47 Departure of Dhṛtarāṣṭra to the forest along with Gāndhārī, and Kuntī; their subsequent death in a forest fire.
Mousala 9 Mutual destruction of the Yādava heroes and also the death of Sri Kṛṣṇa
Mahāprasthānika 3 Final journey of the Pāṇḍavas, their death on the way, Yudhiṣṭhira alone reaching heaven.
Svargārohaṇa 5
Harivamśa 118 Supplement of Mahābhārata
Total 2,113
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Nīti-śāstras
Salient aspects
• Nītis are the guidance to take a person to the path of Dharma by
providing the right perspectives about life and life goals
• Utilises verses set in poetic metres to concisely communicate the
message
• We can broadly classify the repository into two:
• Nitya or Sāmānya-nīti: focuses on the good aspects of living and provide
helpful insights on the code of conduct, differences between a wise person
and others, good and evil, and success and failure in life pursuits
• Rāja-nīti: focuses on the political and administrative tasks and provides ideas
on several dos and don’ts for a king
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Some selected Nīti texts
Sl. No. Name of the Work Brief Description of the work
1 Bārhaspatyam Must be considered only as redactions of the śāstra by later
2 Śukra-nīti scholars since both these belong to oral tradition. Many of the
chapters and contents are extinct.
3 Vidura-nīti (Part of Consists of 700 verses – response to Dhṛitarāṣṭra’s questions –
Mahābhārata) discusses elements of good living, personal values, governance
and administration etc.
4 Pañcatantra (Viṣṇu Śarmā) Uses a series of fables to impart principles of ethical and moral
living as well as elements of Rāja-Nīti
5 Hitopadeśa (Nārāyaṇa Inspired by Pañcatantra, follows a similar style of using fables to
Paṇḍita) impart principles of ethical and moral living and elements of
Rāja-nīti
6 Nīti-śataka (Bartṛhari) A collection of 100 verses to impart various aspects of
Sāmanya-nīti.
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Possible causes for sleeplessness
Vidura’s reply to Dhṛṭarāṣṭra
विदरु उिाच।
अभियुक्तं बलिता दबु ल
ब ं हीनसाधनम ् ।
हृतस्िं काभमनं चोरमाविशन्तत प्रजागरााः ॥
• vidura uvāca
• abhiyuktaṁ balavatā durbalaṁ hīna sādhanam |
• hṛtasvaṁ kāminaṁ coram āviśanti prajāgarāḥ ||
• One who has been attacked by a strong person
• Weak
• One who failed to achieve success
• One who has lost all his wealth
• A lustful person
• A thief
Suffer from sleeplessness
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Subhāṣitas
• Concise poetry which communicates the valuable message for the
society with some interesting examples
• A systematic collection of insightful observations, examples, and
principles of life from a wide range of existing repositories of literary
works
• Relevant to all the ages in the Indian tradition
• These are specially taught to the children
• so that they can imbibe these ideas while they are young and can make use of
this wisdom all through their life
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Some message from Subhāṣitas
• The flowers in the palms make both the palms fragrant. Similarly, the affection
of people with a kind heart is equal on both sides. They never differentiate one
from another and respect and love all equally*
• Sorrow is involved in both earning the wealth as well as protecting it. There is a
pain in gain and pain in loss. Alas! Wealth is always the resort of grief**
• There are five kinds of people who one must listen to and respect –
• knowledgeable people,
• pious people,
• close friends,
• well-educated people, and
• the elderly.
Such a person will never tread along the wrong path due to ignorance***
* Acharya, N.R. (2011). “Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra”, Chaokhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi. Ch 1, सज्जनप्रशंसा, verse 3, p 45
** Kale, M.R. (2008). “Pañcatantra of Viṣṇuśarman” Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, p 29
*** Viduranīti 8.23 [Link] © PHI Learning Private Limited
Some message from Subhāṣitas*
• A blade of grass bends due to a lack of strength. It flies away due to a lack of
weight. A person without honour is just like grass – without inner strength or
weight
• If a person does not deal with a crook in a crooked manner, he is bound to face
defeat. They must be paid back in their coin. Just like how an arrow most
certainly hits (and hurts) that part of the body (however small) that is not
covered by the armor, such deceitful people search and hurt only those people
who are innocent and incapable of deceit themselves
• One should not act in haste. Action without thinking leads to big problems.
Wealth chooses that person by itself who acts after thinking properly
** Kale, M.R. (2008). “The Kirātārjunīyam of Bhāravi” Canto I – III, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi. Chapter 1. © PHI Learning Private Limited