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The Vishnu Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, the archaic text of Hinduism. It is a significant Pancharatra text in Vaishnavism. More than some other significant Purana, the Vishnu Purana presents its substance in Pancalaksana design - Sarga (cosmogony), Pratisarga (cosmology), Vamśa (ancestry of the divine beings, sages, and lords), Manvantara, and Vamśānucaritam (legends during the times of different rulers).


Sri Visnu Puranam: (English Translation in Set of 2 Volumes)

In this article, we will take a deep dive into the world of Vishnu Puran and know more about its story and its significance.

Literature in Hindu Mythology

Veda

Considered the earliest scholarly records of Sanskrit Literature, the Vedas written by Rishi Vyasa are the holiest books in Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma). The Vedas are the enormous assemblage of tremendous information and text, the strict and profound lessons of all parts of life.

There are four Vedas: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda, and every one of them together are ascribed to as 'Chaturveda.' The Rig Veda fills in as the important the whole gang three, however, the Arthaveda concur with each other in structure, language, and content.


RGVEDA SAMHITA: Rig Veda in 4 Volumes

Rig Veda, perhaps the oldest text of the Hindu Civilization is still surviving. Two Sanskrit words Rig and Veda establish it means 'recognition or praise' and 'information' individually. 

Generally alluded to as the 'Book of Songs,' Sama Veda is gotten from two words, Saman, of Sanskrit, meaning Song, and Veda, meaning Knowledge. The Sama Veda has filled in as the chief underlying foundations of the old-style Indian music and dance custom, and gladly the practice flaunts itself as the oldest on the planet.


Yajur Veda Taittiriya Samhita: (In 4 Volumes) (Complete Text in Devanagari With Transliteration, English Translation and Notes)

Yajur Veda is a gathering of customs offering recipes or the prose mantras to be recited or murmured over and over by a priest. Simultaneously, an individual plays out the discovered ceremonial activities before the conciliatory fire or the Yajna.

The fourth and last of the Vedas, the Atharva Veda, to put it plainly, is portrayed as the "information storage facility of Atharvāṇas"; and their ability to battle calamities and diseases. 

Upanishad 

The Upanishads are the Philo-religious texts of Hinduism (otherwise called Sanatan Dharma) which create and clarify the principal fundamentals of the religion. It derives its name from the phrase "to sit closely" to depict someone who sits close to their teacher and listens to them in rapt attention. The Upanishad has also been perceived to speak about "secret instructing" or "uncovering fundamental truth". The facts tended to be the ideas communicated in the Vedas.


Upanisads (Selections from 108 Upanisads)

The Rig Veda is the most established and the Sama Veda and Yajur Veda draw from it consequently while the Atharva Veda takes an alternate course. Every one of the four, be that as it may, keep up with a similar vision, and the Upanishads for every one of these Vedas the subjects and ideas communicated. The 13 Upanishads are:

  • Brhadaranyaka Upanishad
  • Chandogya Upanishad
  • Taittiriya Upanishad
  • Aitereya Upanishad
  • Kausitaki Upanishad
  • Kena Upanishad
  • Katha Upanishad
  • Isha Upanishad
  • Svetasvatara Upanishad
  • Mundaka Upanishad
  • Prashna Upanishad
  • Maitri Upanishad
  • Mandukya Upanishad


108 उपनिषद् (संस्कृत एवं हिन्दी अनुवाद) - 108 Upanishads in Three Volumes

The Upanishads manage rituals and customs, and, in doing as such, foster the key ideas of the Supreme being (God) known as Brahman (who both made and is the universe) and that of the Atman, the person's higher self, whose objective in life is an association with Brahman. These works characterized, and keep on characterizing, the fundamental precepts of Hinduism yet the earliest of them would likewise impact the improvement of Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and, after their interpretation to European dialects in the nineteenth century CE, the philosophical ideas all over the planet.

Vishnu in The Bhagavad Gita is the Supreme God, Krishna. In the story, Krishna uncovers his real self to Arjuna. Arjuna is awed by all that Krishna has told him. Throughout this discussion, Krishna has directed him from being a shallow hero sovereign, concerned only with the fight before him, to somebody prepared to start the genuine profound work of breaking free from karma and resurrection by giving himself to Vishnu in The Bhagavad Gita. He asks Krishna to uncover his interminable self: the expert of all creation.

Krishna concurs, promising to show Arjuna his endless structures, a sight that the best sages and spiritualists have yearned to see however have never been permitted to. Krishna cautions Arjuna that he will not have the option to see this vision with his eyes; all things considered, Krishna awards him with an otherworldly sight that can see the real self of God.

Arjuna then, at that point, sees a being who sparkles like 1,000 suns rising together. Krishna's actual self has a limitless number of appearances supervising the whole universe. He holds innumerable weapons in incalculable hands as the representation of his boundless power. Inside Krishna's body, Arjuna sees the type of each item that has at any point existed converged into one. He sees the god Brahma sitting on a lotus bloom, the antiquated sages as a whole, and legendary beasts. The whole universe makes up God's body, which has boundless mouths, stomachs, arms, and eyes. The being wears a crown and glimmers with grand gems. The light that emanates from its body warms all that exists.

Puran

Purana is a huge genre of Indian writing about a wide scope of themes, especially about legends and other customary lore. The Puranas are known for the multifaceted layers of imagery portrayed inside their accounts. Written initially in Sanskrit, a few of these texts are named after significant Hindu divinities, for example, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Shakti. The Puranic sort of writing is found in both Hinduism and Jainism.


Srimad Bhagavata Purana - In Two Volumes

The Puranic writing is encyclopedic, and it incorporates different subjects like cosmogony, cosmology, lineages of divine beings, goddesses, rulers, saints, sages, and mythical beings, cultural stories, journeys, sanctuaries, medication, space science, sentence structure, mineralogy, humour, romantic tales, as well as philosophy. The Hindu Maha Puranas are generally credited to "Vyasa", however, numerous researchers have deduced that they might have been crafted by many writers; interestingly, most Jaina Puranas can be dated and their writers assigned. There are 18 Mukhya Puranas (Major Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), with more than 400,000 verses-

  • Vishnu
  • Naradiya
  • Padma
  • Garuda
  • Varaha
  • Bhagavata
  • Matsya
  • Kurma
  • Linga
  • Shiva
  • Skanda
  • Agni
  • Brahmanda
  • Brahmavaivarta
  • Markandeya
  • Bhavishya
  • Vamana
  • Brahma
  • The Significance of Vishnu Purana

    Vishnu Purana praises Vishnu as the Supreme being. He is a definitive reality. He is the Brahman, mysterious and unadulterated. He is likewise Ishwara, Puman, Purusha, Vasudeva, Bhagavan, and so on He is inescapable. 

     

    The Visnu Purana

    In the record of cosmological development, the Purana follows the Samkhya cosmology. God willingly enters Prakrti and the creation continues with the advancement of mahat, ahamkara, tanmatras, and so forth. As Brahma, He builds it, as Vishnu he saves it, and as Rudra, he destroys it. Vishnu Purana alludes to four pralayas or disintegrations 

    Sections in Vishnu Puran

    Book 1 of Vishnu Purana has sixteen sections and opens with a philosophical paragraph out of appreciation for Lord Vishnu. Maitreya puts an inquiry concerning the beginning of the universe to Sage Parashara. The depiction of Sage Parashara about creation is blended with Samkhyan Thought.


    Vishnu Purana (Krishna's Pastimes in the Fifth Canto)

    Vishnu Purana’s Book 2 has 16 chapters dealing with-

    Accounts of descendants of Priyavrata Nabhi

    • Rishabha and Bharata, after who the land is named Bharata
    • Description of the Earth with its seven dwipas (Vlaksha, Salmala, Kusha, Krauncha Saka and Pushkara
    • Seven seas
    • Forms of Vishnu in different varshas, among which Bharatavarsha is said to be superior
    • Mountains and rivers
    • Other topographical information, the extent of seven varshas, etc.
    • Patala
    • Various hells
    • Account of the Serpent Shesha
    • Meditation on Vishnu,
    • Description of Sun,
    • Legend of Bharata and his ultimate liberation by the teachings of Ribhu


    Stories From The Visnu (Vishnu) Purana

    Vishnu Purana’s Book 3 also has 18 chapters that speak about-

    • The meaning of the Vocal Vishnu
    • Vishnu’s appearance in four yugas (which are cyclic)
    • Division of the Veda at the end of the Dwapara age by Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa
    • Divisions of Four Vedas
    • Various branches of knowledge
    • 18 Puranas
    • Bhishma’s disquisition on the means of getting exemption from Naraka on the authority of Yama for Nakula
    • Legend of Aurva and Sagara
    • Duties of four Ashramas (stage of life)
    • Different modes of marriage
    • Various rituals inclusive of Shraddha
    • Buddhas anti-Vedic teachings to Daityas and their fall
    • The legend of Satadhanu and his wife, Saibya


    विष्णुमहापुराणम्: Vishnu Purana with the Commentary of Shridhara Swami (Set of 2 Volumes

      The fourth book of Vishnu Purana has 24 chapters, followed by the fifth book which is a detailed account of Lord Krishna and his exploits. Book 5 of the Vishnu Purana is the shortest one and it speaks vividly about-

      • Dissolution of the world
      • Four ages
      • The decline of all things inclusive of mankind in the Kali Yuga
      • Distinguishing features of the Kali Yuga,
      • Various kinds of dissolutions
      • Evils of worldly life
      • Nature of god
      • Meaning of Bhagavad and Vasudeva
      • Means of attaining liberation
      • Devotion to Vishnu as a means of salvation for all castes irrespective of gender
      • Legends of Khandikya and Keshidhvaja
      • Benefits of final liberation
      • Recapitulation of the contents of Vishnu Purana
      • Merits of hearing Vishnu Purana
      • Praises of Vishnu with a concluding prayer


      श्री विष्णुमहापुराणम्: The Vishnu Purana (Set of Two Volumes) - An Old and Rare Book

        Vaishnav Dharma in Hinduism 

        Vaishnavism, or Vishnuism, one of the widely accepted forms of current Hinduism, is portrayed by dedication to Lord Vishnu and his Vishnu Avatars. A lover of Vishnu is known as a Vaishnava. For Vaishnavas, outright reality (brahman) is seen in Vishnu, who thusly is manifested in Rama, Krishna, and various avatars. The most well-known incarnations are Rama and Krishna. Rama is frequently portrayed in Hindu craftsmanship and writing with his better half, Sita. Krishna shows his real way of life as Vishnu to his hero companion Arjuna in the Bhagavadgita, however, he is regularly depicted as an attractive youth in the midst of Radha or other gopis. 

        The Origin and Development of Vaisnavism (Vaisnavism from 200 BC to AD 500)

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