Padma Purana Part 1: Ancient Indian Tradition And Mythology Volume 39

This is first part of the Padma Purana in English translation and the thirty-ninth volume in the series on Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology. It comprises the first thirty-three chapters of the first section called Srstikhanda or the Section on Creation of the Purana which is very huge in size. This Purana, as it appears in the Venkatesvara edition which this translation follows, consists of seven big sections or Khandas, namely, Srsti, Bhµumi, Svarga, Brahma, Patala, Uttara and Kriyayogasara and is said to contain 55000 verses, though the actual number is much less. The Padma Purana takes its name after the Primordial Lotus from which god Brahma, the Creator, was born. It is a great holy text and gives the fruit of all the Vedas. Every Purana is a part of the body of Visnu, and Padma is his heart, since it is a great Purana. The reader will find herein and enjoy some very interesting accounts and stories, such as that of the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons, the destruction of Daksa s sacrifice by god Siva, the chopping-off of Brahma s fifth head by the same god, the drinking-up of the ocean by the sage Agastya and so on. A very amusing story appears in Chapter 13, how Brhaspati, the preceptor of gods, impersonates Sukra, the preceptor of demons, and how he corrupts and demoralizes the latter by preaching heretical doctrines to them with a view to make the gods who were very often defeated by the demons in war, victorious over them. A good portion of this Part is also devoted to the glorification of Puskara as a sacred place of pilgrimage. A number of fasts and vows are recommended and the merits of observing the same are described in detail.