पुराणों के लेखन की संभावित तिथियाँ – Writing of Purans

पुराण हिन्दू संस्कृति का आधार हैं . इनमें हिन्दू जीवन शैली व् आस्थाओं का भण्डार है.यद्यपि इनके रचियिता वेड व्यास को माना जाता हैं परन्तु वर्षों तक इनका ज्ञान श्रुति से पीढ़ियों ने अगली पीढी को दिया. इनके लिखित रूप संस्कृत मैं है और भाषा की शैली पहली शताब्दी की कही जाती है. हालाँकि इस पर अभी पूर्ण मतैक्य नहीं है.इस लेख मैं विभिन्न पुरानों की तिथि का अनुमान दिया गया है.

लेखक  प्रोफ एम् एम् निनक  : पुरानों के लेखन की संभावित तिथियाँ

PLEASE SEE ORIGINAL AT LINK BELOW

http://www.oration.com/~mm9n/articles/dev/07Puranas.htm

Puranas and their dates

Purana means ancient             tales. All the major Puranas are written in Sanskrit and are             therefore necessarily written after the second century  AD.

According to tradition, the Puranas were composed by Vyasa at the             end of Dvapara Yuga. The bulk of the material contained in the             Puranas was established during the reign of the Guptas (320-500 CE )             . Puranas are constantly evolving that new additions to the old             tales are being constantly added.

Traditionally it is said that there are 18 Mahapuranas and 18             Upapuranas. Each Mahapurana lists eighteen canonical puranas, but             the contents of each list vary reflecting differences in time and             place.

“vaisnavam naradiyanca tathabhagavatam subham garudanca             tathapadmam varaham subhadarsane sattvikanipuranani vijneyani             subhani vai brahmandam brahmavaivartam markandeyam tathaiva              ca bhavisyam vamanam brahmam rajasani nibodhame matsyam             kaurmam tathalaingam saivam skandam tathaiva ca agneyam ca             sadetani tamasani nibodhame” Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda             (236.18-21)

Some of the listed Puranas and their possible dates are as             follows:

1. Vishnu Purana (4th C.)

2. Brahmanda Purana (4th C.)

3. Vayu Purana (5th C.)

4. Bhagvata Purana (6/7th C.)

5. Kurma Purana (7th C.)

6. Agni Purana (8th C.)

7. Narada Purana (10th C.) )

8. Brahma Purana (10th C)

9. Garuda Purana (10th C.)

10. Skanda Purana (11/12th C.)

11. Padma Purana (12/15th C.)

12. Vishnu Dharmottara Purana

13. Narasimha Purana

14. Vahni Purana

14. Shiva Mahapurana

16. Devi Bhagvata Mahapurana

17. Brihaddharmapurana

http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/rjm/ch2.html

18. Narayana Purana

19. Markandeya Purana

20. Bhavishya Purana

21. Brahma Vaivarta Purana

22. Linga Purana

23. Varaha Purana

24. Vamana Purana Matsya Purana

(http://www.lebensplan.com/puranas/ http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/rjm/ch2.html)

This list is not complete as there are many others of recent             origin. Those marked without an approximate earliest possible date             are of later origin.

Classification

The Mahapuranas are also classified by the three aspects of              Trimurti,             and of the Kashmiri Nagas.

· Brahma Puranas: Brahma Purana, Brahmānda             Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Mārkandeya Purana, Bhavishya             Purana, Vāmana Purana            

· Vishnu Puranas: Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata             Purana, Nāradeya Purana,              Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha             Purana

· Shiva Puranas: Shiva Purana, Linga             Purana, Skanda Purana,              Agni Purana, Kūrma Purana, Matsya             Purana, Vāyu Purana            

· Naga             Purana: Nilamata Purana (Kashmir)

Authorship, name and chronology

Traditionally, the Puranas are said to have been composed by the             sage Veda Vyasa. Vyasa in Sanskrit means ‘Divider,’ and some scholars             therefore take this simply as a term meaning ‘Editor‘. These texts,             were probably produced by ordinary people all over India which were             collected, collated and composed

In Siva Purana, Lord Siva is highly eulogised and an inferior             position is given to Lord Vishnu. Sometimes Vishnu is belittled. In             Vishnu Purana, Lord Hari is highly eulogised and an inferior status             is given to Lord Siva. Sometimes Lord Siva is belittled. Thus the             Puranas often contradicts each other. This has developed as each             opposing sects invented their derogatory tales to belittle the             others. There were periods in Indian history when they persecuted             other groups.

“Apart from these 18 Puranas, there are also 18 Upapuranas or             subsidiary Puranas, which were composed after the major ones. ….The             Puranas are a valuable source from which to trace the development of             Hinduism. They mark the next stage in beliefs after the Vedas.             Hinduism, as practiced today, is largely inspired by the             Puranas.” http://www.lebensplan.com/puranas/

Dates

The oldest Purana is believed to date back to 300 AD, and the             most recent ones to 1300 – 1600 AD. Although they have been composed             at different times, all the Puranas seem to have been revised at a             later date. This is apparent because all of them state that the             total number is 18. The Puranas vary greatly in length: the Skanda             Purana is the longest with 81,000 couplets, while the Brahma Purana             and Vamana Purana are the shortest with 10,000 couplets each. The             total number of couplets in the Puranas collectively is 400,000.             (http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Mystica/html/purana.htm)

Scholars regard the Puranas in general as having been compiled by             many hands between the 4th and the 16th centuries AD.             [http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/ganesh/puranas.htm]
The oldest of the Puranas, Vayu Purana, may date back             to about the sixth century. and some of the others may be as recent             as the thirteenth century.             [http://scholars.nus.edu.sg/post/india/religion/hindu/hindu1.html:             University Scholars Program]

Some references are given below:

Ganesh Purana Thapan reviews different views on dating and             states her own judgement that it appears likely that the core of the             Ganesha Purana come into existence around the 12th and 13th             centuries, being subject to interpolations during the succeeding             ages.Thapan notes that these puranas, like other             puranas, developed over a period of time as multi-layered works.

Lawrence W. Preston and Hazra considers that the period AD             1100-1400 is the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana because             that period agrees with the apparent age of the sacred sites             mentioned by it. [Thapan, Anita Raina (1997).              Understanding Gaṇapati: Insights into the             dynamics of a cult. Manohar             Publishers, 304. ISBN 81-7304-195-4.  Preston, Lawrence W.,             p. 103. “Subregional Religious Centers in the History of             Maharashtra: The Sites Sacred to Gaṇeśa”, in: N. K. Wagle, ed.,             Images of Maharashtra: A Regional Profile of India.] R. C. Hazra,             “The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa”, Journal of the Ganganatha Jha Research             Institute, Vol. 9, 1951, pp. 79-99. For dating see p. 97.              Farquhar dates it between AD 900-1350 ^[Farquhar, J.             N., An Outline of the Religious Literature of India, pp. 226 and             270. ] http://www.mysteriesofthekingdom.com/krishna.htm as             retrieved on Apr 13, 2007 16:41:54 GMT.

Vishnu Purana: This work contains the geneology of the             Gupta kings, and therefore could not have been finalized before 320             AD. Hazra is positive the date of this Purana is between 275              – 325 AD, while Winternitz agrees it is not later than the 400’s.             (Jaiswal, 17) Others agree it was probably written between 300 – 400             AD. (sdmart.com) Raychaudhuri agrees that it was probably written             between 320 – 355 AD, and goes further by saying that the puranas             that relate the Krishna story cannot be placed much before the Gupta             kings, since the geneology of those kings is included.             (Raychaudhuri, 91, 42)

Bhagavata Purana: Hazra points out that the Vishnu             Puran is a source for the Bhagavata Purana and believes             its date to be between 500 – 550 AD, despite many who believe the             date should be even later. It embellishes the Vishnu Purana             and is the most complete biography of Krishna. Another generally             accepted date for it is 800 – 1000 AD. (sdmart.org) It includes             myths about all ten of Vishnu’s avatars. The Bhagawata Purana has             been placed at several dates by scholars, ranging from 3000BCE             (Traditional), to 700BCE, 400BCE, 500AD, 800AD and even as late as             1000AD.

“Thus for instance the vast amalgamation of Puranic tradition             known as the Skandapurana, as far as we can speak of it as a             single work at all, cannot be older than the 16th century, as has             been shown in the Groningen Skandapurana project (see Adriaensen              et al 1994). Many scientific manuals and commentaries were             composed during the 17th and 18th centuries, and a 19th century             compilation, the Sukraniti, passed for a long time as a             genuine ancient work. And of course Indian scholars of traditional             learning are all the time producing new Sanskrit             literature” Klaus Karttunen             http://folklore.ee/folklore/vol8/veda.htm

Harivamsa: The work was revised and changed numerous             times and adopted its current form sometime around 400 AD. (Jaiswal,             16) It was added to the Mahabharata between 300-400 AD. It tells the             story of Krishna as a youth. (sdmart.com)

Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita: The Mahabharata was             an evolving work that probably started sometime in the 200’s BC and             ended in the 400’s AD. The work was constantly being added to, and             it was corrupted so badly that we cannot be sure that words were not             interpolated hundreds of years later. The Bhagavad Gita is             part of the Mahabharata and is thought by many to be written             sometime around 200 – 300 BC. The familiarity with the Greeks as             “famous fighters” places the Mahabharata after Alexander, and its             alarm at the Buddhist edukas replacing Hindu temples makes a             date around the time of Asoka likely. The Romans are mentioned only             in passing in a list of possible peoples, thus placing the epic             probably before the time of Rome’s greatness. (Raychaudhuri, 41, 42,             32)

Nevertheless, many still consider a post-Christian date for the              Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. Pisani puts forward             a strong argument that the Mahabharata was written between             100 – 300 AD, because it mentions Sakas (Scythians) who invaded             around then, Parthians (Pahlavas) who had gained their independence             from the Greeks, Huns (Hunas), and Romans (Romakas) who they had not             established contact with before the time of Augustus.

“The great epic called the Mahabaharatha (between 300 BC             and AD 300) is by far the most important representative of the              purana. Of somewhat similar free style are the 18 Puranas of             a much later date. The beginnings of the artistic style are seen in             the Ramayana (begun 3rd century BC). The finished epic              kavya form, however, was not evolved until the time of             Kalidasa, about the 5th century AD. This poet and dramatist is the             author of the two best-known Sanskrit artistic epics, the              Kumarasambhava and the Raghuvamsa.”              http://www.connect.net/ron/sanskritliterature.html

If the horoscope given to us is correct Krishna was born in the             month of Sravana on the 23^rd day on the night of full             moon in Lagnam Edavam at midnight and if Guru (Mars), Kujan             (Mercury), Ravi (Sun) and Sukran (Venus) were at their own home,             Budan, Chandran (moon) and Sani (Saturn) were in their highest time,             then Krishna was born in AD 600

” Mahabaharatha as given to us could not have been written before             A.D fourth Century. Panini, who is the famous grammarian, has             mentioned several important personalities of the epics of that             period. While the reprints published later have made several errors,             variations and exaggerations, the main characters and the imports of             the stories remain in tact. There is no doubt that Gita came into             existence only during the period of Gupta Empire.” K.M.Panicker             ( A Survey of Indian History p.67)

All Hindu myths are developed over a long period of times,             where each myth was built over some older historical fact or person.             This is often due to confusion of names and times. Most of them were             local stories, which got incorporated, in the bigger picture. So             when a purana was presented in a codified form it was normally done             in a third person method where this person sees the act being             carried out in some distant places at distant time. This was indeed             the normal style of story telling of the period. In the present day             Katha Kala Shepam and Thullal this is clearly visible. It is the             same old “Once upon a time there lived…….”, bedtime story. That does             not mean it has no historical basis. But the puranas themselves             cannot be taken on face value as presented. It may be a good             symbolic presentation or an allegory, but not history or scripture             truth.

The sheer comparison of the Modern Hinduism with the Vedism             simply shows that it could not have been connected directly in any             way. One thing is evident, modern religion Hinduism is not based on             Vedas. It is a totally different religion which took place sometime             before the third century AD. Somehow some vested interest             conveniently twisted history so that everything was cleverly hidden             and some strange explanations to avoid even directl enquiry into             origins and dates and who and why were arrogantly obliterated.

“But religion has to extend beyond realisation and cater to the             emotional needs of the lesser category of humanity. No historian of             philosophy, to our knowledge, has been able to get over the             prejudice that all religious thought subsequent to the Vedas and             Upanishads, and apart from the later systematic Vedanta of the             Darsana school, is a kind of trash, or, at best, a concession to the             weakness of the popular mind.” A Short History of Religious and             Philosophic Thought in India by Swami Krishnananda

But the question still remains, What made the step from the old             Indian religions to the modern Hinduism. From early monotheism how             did it degenerate into polytheism and the elaborate system of             Puranas? For this we need to look into the religious events that             transpired between the 3^rd C BC and 3^rd C             AD.

I leave this quote without comments. Check the dates that are             indicated.

It was Shankara’s influence that, under the Guptas (300BCE), the             Greeks such as Heliodorus, become devotees of Krishna, through             Bhajagovindam etc. and Bhagawata.

The Bhagawata Purana has been placed at several dates by             scholars, ranging from 3000BCE (Traditional), to 700BCE,             400BCE, 500AD, 800AD and even as late as 1000AD.

—

Krishna‘s traditional date is around 3180BCE, and his death             (3102BCE) marks the end of the Vedic Era, when the Vedas,             Upanishads and Puranas were re-written for Kali-Yuga minds and the             Tantra-Shastra or ‘Agama’ literature began, according to these             dates, from older Vidyas or Shastras (Upavedas, Vidyas and Sutras             etc.) from Vedic eras.

Now, this seems about correct, as the Indus Cities were all             rebuilt around 3000BCE-2500BCE, because of calamities around             3000BCE, and again in 1900BCE, which marks the end of the Vedic             period.

—

To this, we can also include NS Rajaram, who deciphered the             Indus script, and in his ‘Search for the Historical Krishna’,             shows much evidence of Krishna at 3000BCE date is correct, and he             correlates evidences from Mahabharata-era names in the Shastras and             also on Indus seals.

Vishnu10C ADThousand Pillar Temple –                       Warangal                       Andhra Pradesh12C  ADGalta Temple – Jaipur                       Rajasthan

Siva600 ADTirupati Temple –                       Tirupati                       Andhra Pradesh

12C  ADNathdwara Temple –                       Udaipur                       Rajasthan

Krishna17C ADDwarkadhish Temple –                       Dwarka                       Gujarat15C  AD (Reconstruct)Ekambareswarar Temple –                       Kanchipuram                       Tamil Nadu

Siva600 ADSomnath Temple – Patan                       Gujarat

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>                      480 -767 ADJain Temple – Chennai                       Tamil Nadu1500 ADSthaneshwar Mahadev                       Temple – Kurukshetra                       Haryana16C  AD

Perur Patteeswaraswamy                       Temple – Coimbatore                       Tamil Nadu

siva11-13c                       ADChamunda Devi – Kangra                       Himachal Pradesh

Kali

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>13C ADGangaikondas Cholapuram                       – Chidambaram                       Tamil Nadu 1020 AD

Siva1020 AD<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>Amarnath                       Temple – Pahalgam                       Jammu &                        Kashmir

Siva ice Lingam                       Islamic connection “Buta                       Malik”Yatra started in 1850 ADKailasanathar Temple –                       Kanchipuram                       Tamil Nadu

siva685-705                       AD

PallavasRaghunath Temple – Jammu                        Jammu &                                              Kashmir

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>1835-1860 by                       Maharaja Gulab SinghUlahalanda Perumal Temple –                       Kanchipuram Tamil Nadu

                      visnu6-7C AD

PallavasVaishno Devi Temple –                       Jammu                        Jammu &                                              Kashmir1537  AD

Parthasarathy Temple –                       Chennai                       Tamil Nadu

Visnu8C ADBull Temple – Bangalore                       Karnataka                        <!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>

578  AD

<!–[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]–>  <!–[endif]–>Varadaraja Temple –                       Chennai                       Tamil Nadu

Visnu

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>1053 ADCave Temples – Badami                       Karnataka16C  ADAnanthapura Lake Temple                       – Kasaragod                       Kerala

visnu

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>800 ADGuruvayoor Temple –                       Trichur                       Kerala

Krishna10-12 C AD

Kaviyoor Rock Cut Temple                       – Tiruvalla                       Kerala

Siva900 AD<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>Sabarimala                       Temple – Pathanamthitta                       Kerala

18 C ADMata Tripureswari Temple                       – Agartala                       Tripura1501 ADTiruvalla Temple –                       Alappuzha                       Kerala

Vishnu?Bhoramdeo temple –                       Raipur                       Chhattisgarh1100 AD<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>Omkareshwar                       Temple – Omkareshwara                       Madhya Pradesh11 C AD?Pemayangtse Monastery –                       Gangtok                        Sikkim1700 ADOrcha Temples – Orchha                       Madhya Pradesh16c16 C ADRanchhodraiji Dakor –                       Ahmedabad                        Gujarat

Visnu1772 AD<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–> <!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>Kailash                       Temple – Aurangabad                        Maharashtra757 –                        775 ADHayagriva Temple –                       Guwahati                        Assam                       visnu1550 ADMahalakshami Temple –                       Kolhapur                        Maharashtra600-700                       AD <!–[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]–>  <!–[endif]–>Bhojeshwar Temple –                       Bhopal                       Madhya Pradesh

siva

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>                      1010-1053 ADJagannath Temple – Puri                       Orissa12C ADBaldeva Dauji Temple –                       Mathura                       Uttar Pradesh 1535 AD

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>1535 ADLingaraja Temple –                       Bhubaneshwar                       Orissa

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>617 657  ADAdi Sankara Shrine –                       Chikmagalur                       Karnataka 9c

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>9C ADMukteswara Temple –                       Bhubaneshwar                       Orissa 950 AD950 ADHoysaleswara – Hassan                       Karnataka 12c

Siva12C ADSun Temple – Konark                       Orissa13C ADKeerthinarayana Temple –                       Mysore                       Karnataka 1117 AD

Visnu1117 AD<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>Eklingji                       Temple – Udaipur                       Rajasthan15C ADKeshava Temple – Mysore                       Karnataka 1268 AD1268 AD                       Chidambaram                       Temple – Chidambaram                       Tamil Nadu 5C ADGulbarga Fort Mosque –                       Bijapur                       Karnataka1367 ADKanchipuram Temples – Chennai Tamil Nadu 

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>6 C ADBrihadeeshwara Temple –                       Thanjavur                       Tamil Nadu 985-1013 AD

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>985-1013                       ADMahabalipuram Temples –                       Mahabalipuram                       Tamil Nadu830-1100 ADSree Padmanabha Swamy                       Temple – Thiruvananthapuram                       Kerala 1600

Visnu1600 ADMeenakshi Temple –                       Madurai                       Tamil Nadu

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>

16-18 C ADSrikalahasti Temple –                       Chittoor                       Andhra Pradesh 16c

Siva

16C AD

Rameshwaram Temples –                       Rameshwaram                       Tamil Nadu

17C ADKiliroor Kunninmel                       Temple – Kottayam                       Kerala 1200 AD

Parvati

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>

1200 ADThanjavur Temples –                       Thanjavur                       Tamil Nadu

Raja Raja Cholan built

1003-1010 ADSuryanarayana Temple,                       Arasavalli – Sri Kakulam                       Andhra Pradesh 7c7C AD

The Oldest Temple that we have today do                 not go beyond the 6^th Century AD. 

In many cases there is no dating                 possible and history will be replaced with myths which makes it                 impossible to date the construction of the temple.  These are                 therefore omitted.  I suppose these samples are enough to give                 an insight.

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>

World’s                 First                 Granite Temple The Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu is the                 first temple in the world to be built with granite. The                 shikhara is made from a single ‘ 80-tonne ‘ piece of granite.                 Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between                 1004 AD and 1009 AD)  during the reign of Rajaraja Chola

Oldest known                 Indian Temple

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Newspaper reports                 suggested that Mundeshwari Temple was built in 108 A D.                 (Hindu Blog)

<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>

                100 feet Statue of Siva of Mundeshwari Temple