Adhyaya 7

Verse 1

सूत उवाच अथर्ववित्सुमन्तुश्च शिष्यमध्यापयत् स्वकाम् । संहितां सोऽपि पथ्याय वेददर्शाय चोक्तवान् ॥ १ ॥

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Sumantu Ṛṣi, the authority on the Atharva Veda, taught his saṁhitā to his disciple Kabandha, who in turn spoke it to Pathya and Vedadarśa.

Verse 2

शौक्लायनिर्ब्रह्मबलिर्मोदोष: पिप्पलायनि: । वेददर्शस्य शिष्यास्ते पथ्यशिष्यानथो श‍ृणु । कुमुद: शुनको ब्रह्मन् जाजलिश्चाप्यथर्ववित् ॥ २ ॥

Śauklāyani, Brahmabali, Modoṣa and Pippalāyani were disciples of Vedadarśa. Now hear also the disciples of Pathya, O brāhmaṇa: Kumuda, Śunaka and Jājali—each well versed in the Atharva Veda.

Verse 3

बभ्रु: शिष्योऽथाङ्गिरस: सैन्धवायन एव च । अधीयेतां संहिते द्वे सावर्णाद्यास्तथापरे ॥ ३ ॥

Babhru and Saindhavāyana, disciples of Śunaka, studied the two divisions of their guru’s compilation of the Atharva Veda. Saindhavāyana’s disciple Sāvarṇa, and disciples of other great sages as well, also studied this edition of the Atharva Veda.

Verse 4

नक्षत्रकल्प: शान्तिश्च कश्यपाङ्गिरसादय: । एते आथर्वणाचार्या: श‍ृणु पौराणिकान् मुने ॥ ४ ॥

Nakṣatrakalpa, Śāntikalpa, Kaśyapa, Āṅgirasa and others were also ācāryas of the Atharva Veda. Now, O sage, hear as I name the authorities of Purāṇic literature.

Verse 5

त्रय्यारुणि: कश्यपश्च सावर्णिरकृतव्रण: । वैशम्पायनहारीतौ षड् वै पौराणिका इमे ॥ ५ ॥

Trayyāruṇi, Kaśyapa, Sāvarṇi, Akṛtavraṇa, Vaiśampāyana and Hārīta are the six masters of the Purāṇas.

Verse 6

अधीयन्त व्यासशिष्यात् संहितां मत्पितुर्मुखात् । एकैकामहमेतेषां शिष्य: सर्वा: समध्यगाम् ॥ ६ ॥

Each of them studied one of the six Purāṇic anthologies from the mouth of my father, Romaharṣaṇa, a disciple of Śrīla Vyāsadeva. I became the disciple of these six authorities and thoroughly learned all their presentations of Purāṇic wisdom.

Verse 7

कश्यपोऽहं च सावर्णी रामशिष्योऽकृतव्रण: । अधीमहि व्यासशिष्याच्चत्वारो मूलसंहिता: ॥ ७ ॥

Romaharṣaṇa, a disciple of Vedavyāsa, divided the Purāṇas into four basic compilations. The sage Kaśyapa and I, along with Sāvarṇi and Akṛtavraṇa, a disciple of Rāma, learned these four divisions.

Verse 8

पुराणलक्षणं ब्रह्मन् ब्रह्मर्षिभिर्निरूपितम् । श‍ृणुष्व बुद्धिमाश्रित्य वेदशास्त्रानुसारत: ॥ ८ ॥

O brāhmaṇa, the characteristics of a Purāṇa have been defined by the brahmarṣis in accordance with the Vedic śāstras. Therefore, with attentive intelligence, please hear them.

Verse 9

सर्गोऽस्याथ विसर्गश्च वृत्तिरक्षान्तराणि च । वंशो वंशानुचरितं संस्था हेतुरपाश्रय: ॥ ९ ॥ दशभिर्लक्षणैर्युक्तं पुराणं तद्विदो विदु: । केचित् पञ्चविधं ब्रह्मन् महदल्पव्यवस्थया ॥ १० ॥

O brāhmaṇa, the knowers declare that a Purāṇa is marked by ten sacred themes: primary creation (sarga), secondary creation (visarga), the sustenance of beings (vṛtti), protection, the reigns of the Manus, royal dynasties, the deeds of those kings, dissolution (pralaya), motivation (hetu), and the supreme shelter (apāśraya). Some say the great Purāṇas teach all ten, while lesser ones teach five.

Verse 10

सर्गोऽस्याथ विसर्गश्च वृत्तिरक्षान्तराणि च । वंशो वंशानुचरितं संस्था हेतुरपाश्रय: ॥ ९ ॥ दशभिर्लक्षणैर्युक्तं पुराणं तद्विदो विदु: । केचित् पञ्चविधं ब्रह्मन् महदल्पव्यवस्थया ॥ १० ॥

O brāhmaṇa, those learned in Purāṇic wisdom say that a Purāṇa is endowed with ten defining themes. Some maintain that the great Purāṇas teach all ten, whereas the lesser Purāṇas, by the measure of great and small, teach five.

Verse 11

अव्याकृतगुणक्षोभान्महतत्रिस्त्रवृतोऽहम: । भूतसूक्ष्मेन्द्रियार्थानां सम्भव: सर्ग उच्यते ॥ ११ ॥

When the modes within unmanifest prakṛti are stirred, the mahat-tattva arises. From mahat-tattva is born the threefold false ego, and from that manifest the subtle tan-mātras, the senses, and the gross objects of sense. The coming forth of all these is called sarga, creation.

Verse 12

पुरुषानुगृहीतानामेतेषां वासनामय: । विसर्गोऽयं समाहारो बीजाद् बीजं चराचरम् ॥ १२ ॥

Secondary creation (visarga), existing by the Lord’s mercy, is the manifest amalgamation of the jīvas’ vāsanās, their stored desires. As one seed yields further seeds, so actions that nourish material longing generate moving and nonmoving forms of life.

Verse 13

वृत्तिर्भूतानि भूतानां चराणामचराणि च । कृता स्वेन नृणां तत्र कामाच्चोदनयापि वा ॥ १३ ॥

Vṛtti means the process of sustenance, by which moving beings live upon the nonmoving. For humans, vṛtti specifically means acting for one’s livelihood according to one’s nature—either driven by selfish desire or impelled by śāstric injunctions in harmony with God’s law.

Verse 14

रक्षाच्युतावतारेहा विश्वस्यानु युगे युगे । तिर्यङ्‌मर्त्यर्षिदेवेषु हन्यन्ते यैस्त्रयीद्विष: ॥ १४ ॥

In every age, the infallible Lord Acyuta descends into this world among animals, human beings, sages, and devas. By His divine lilas He protects the universe and slays the enemies of Vedic culture.

Verse 15

मन्वन्तरं मनुर्देवा मनुपुत्रा: सुरेश्वरा: । ऋषयोऽशांवताराश्च हरे: षड्‌विधमुच्यते ॥ १५ ॥

In each manvantara, six kinds of persons appear as manifestations of Lord Hari: the ruling Manu, the chief devas, the sons of Manu, Indra, the great sages, and the partial avatāras of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Verse 16

राज्ञां ब्रह्मप्रसूतानां वंश त्रैकालिकोऽन्वय: । वंशानुचरितं तेषां वृत्तं वंशधराश्च ये ॥ १६ ॥

Dynasties of kings, originating from Lord Brahmā, extend unbroken through past, present, and future. The narrations of these lineages—especially the deeds of their foremost members and their successors—constitute dynastic history.

Verse 17

नैमित्तिक: प्राकृतिको नित्य आत्यन्तिको लय: । संस्थेति कविभि: प्रोक्तश्चतुर्धास्य स्वभावत: ॥ १७ ॥

There are four kinds of cosmic dissolution—occasional, elemental, continuous, and ultimate—and all are brought about by the Supreme Lord’s inherent potency. Learned sages designate this subject as saṁsthā, dissolution.

Verse 18

हेतुर्जीवोऽस्य सर्गादेरविद्याकर्मकारक: । यं चानुशायिनं प्राहुरव्याकृतमुतापरे ॥ १८ ॥

Out of ignorance, the jīva performs material acts and thus, in one sense, becomes a cause of the universe’s creation, maintenance, and destruction. Some authorities call the jīva the underlying person within material creation, while others describe him as the unmanifest self.

Verse 19

व्यतिरेकान्वयो यस्य जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्तिषु । मायामयेषु तद् ब्रह्म जीववृत्तिष्वपाश्रय: ॥ १९ ॥

The Supreme Absolute Truth pervades waking, dreaming, and deep sleep; all phenomena manifested by māyā; and the functions of every living being—yet He also exists apart from all these. Established in His own transcendence, He alone is the ultimate, unique shelter.

Verse 20

पदार्थेषु यथा द्रव्यं सन्मात्रं रूपनामसु । बीजादिपञ्चतान्तासु ह्यवस्थासु युतायुतम् ॥ २० ॥

Just as a material object may take many forms and names while its essential substance remains the basis of its existence, so within the created body—from conception (the seed) until death—the Supreme Absolute Truth is always present, both conjoined with it and distinct from it.

Verse 21

विरमेत यदा चित्तं हित्वा वृत्तित्रयं स्वयम् । योगेन वा तदात्मानं वेदेहाया निवर्तते ॥ २१ ॥

When the mind—naturally or through disciplined yoga—ceases its threefold activity of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, one realizes the Paramātmā, the Supreme Soul, and withdraws from material endeavor.

Verse 22

एवंलक्षणलक्ष्याणि पुराणानि पुराविद: । मुनयोऽष्टादश प्राहु: क्षुल्लकानि महान्ति च ॥ २२ ॥

Sages learned in ancient lore declare that the Purāṇas, according to their distinguishing characteristics, are divided into eighteen major Purāṇas and eighteen secondary Purāṇas.

Verse 23

ब्राह्मं पाद्मं वैष्णवं च शैवं लैङ्गं सगारुडं । नारदीयं भागवतमाग्नेयं स्कान्दसंज्ञितम् ॥ २३ ॥ भविष्यं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं मार्कण्डेयं सवामनम् । वाराहं मात्स्यं कौर्मं च ब्रह्माण्डाख्यमिति त्रिषट् ॥ २४ ॥

The eighteen major Purāṇas are the Brahma, Padma, Viṣṇu (Vaiṣṇava), Śiva, Liṅga, Garuḍa, Nārada, Bhāgavata, Agni, Skanda, Bhaviṣya, Brahma-vaivarta, Mārkaṇḍeya, Vāmana, Varāha, Matsya, Kūrma, and Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇas.

Verse 24

ब्राह्मं पाद्मं वैष्णवं च शैवं लैङ्गं सगारुडं । नारदीयं भागवतमाग्नेयं स्कान्दसंज्ञितम् ॥ २३ ॥ भविष्यं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं मार्कण्डेयं सवामनम् । वाराहं मात्स्यं कौर्मं च ब्रह्माण्डाख्यमिति त्रिषट् ॥ २४ ॥

The eighteen Mahāpurāṇas are known as the Brahma, Padma, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Liṅga, Garuḍa, Nārada, Bhāgavata, Agni and Skanda; and also the Bhaviṣya, Brahma-vaivarta, Mārkaṇḍeya, Vāmana, Varāha, Matsya, Kūrma and Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇas.

Verse 25

ब्रह्मन्निदं समाख्यातं शाखाप्रणयनं मुने: । शिष्यशिष्यप्रशिष्याणां ब्रह्मतेजोविवर्धनम् ॥ २५ ॥

O brāhmaṇa, I have fully described how the sage Vyāsadeva expanded the branches of the Vedas, along with the line of his disciples and their disciples. Hearing this narration increases one’s brahma-tejas, spiritual strength and radiance.