Vishnu Purana
This purana ranks 3rd in all the 18 puranas. It contains 23000 shlokas in Purva Bhag (1st Part). The last part i.e. Uttar Bhag contains 9033 chapters. This last part is also known as “Vishnu Dharmottaram”. In the 10th part of this puran, the life of Lord Krishna is depicted. The importance of this puran is also highlighted by Adi Shankaracharya. The 1st part is explained as 6 amsas and last part has 3 khandas. In Vishnu Dharmottaram Hansa Gita is explained in 115 chapters. This puran was given as upadesh to Maitreya by Parashar Rishi.
In the 1st amsa it is explained how Brahma appeared from the naval of Lord Vishnu and different avataras of Mahalaxmi and how she was born as the daughter of Bhrigu Rishi. Besides this it also states how Agni appeared from Brahma, story of Prahlad etc are explained .
In 2nd amsa - Bharatvardhan, Bharat, Bharat Dynasty, Swayambhu Manu, Sapta Dweep, Bharatkhanda, Varnashram dharma, about Punyatirthas, Sapta Pada, different kinds of hell, Sapta lokas, the Zodiac, the stars, and how long the union of Sun and Moon on Amavasya takes place are all explained. A very rare narration states that the Sun exists as Rigveda in the morning, as Yajurveda in the afternoon and as Samaveda in the evening. The 2nd amsa ends with the story of Jadabharat of Bharat dynasty.
In the 3rd amsa we come to know about the 14 manus. It is stated that they existed for 1000 yugas which is known as one kalpa. The mathematical calculation of this is also explained. We come to know that God (Lord Vishnu) spreads the “Gyan” as Kapila in Kritayuga, as Sri Rama in Tretayuga, as Vyasa in Dwaparyuga and as Kalki in Kaliyuga. 3rd amsa ends with the details of how four vedas were separated, the people who were given these vedas, about 18 arts and the importance of Namasmaran of Vishnu.
In the 4th amsa we come across the legends about Trishanku and Parikshit raja. At the end of this part it is narrated that at the end of Kaliyuga, Lord Vishnu will be born as Kalki.
In the 5th amsa Shri Krishna avatar is explained in full. In the 6th amsa Vyasa explains to the sages how one can attain great Bhagya by doing small Punya. He explains how you can attain large amount of punya by chanting Bhagwan Vishnu's nama without doing puja or Yagna or Dhyan. This part ends with the description of Kali's greatness.
In the purva bhag and in all places, rather than fables (stories) the explanation is about Devotion, Vairagya and Dnyan.
There are 3 types of Gita – namely
- Bhagwad Gita
- Sankara Gita (In this Lord Parameshwara initiates the secrets to Parashara)
- Hamsa Gita (In this Lord explains all the Dharmas in the form of Swan)
We are able to learn about the secrets by which the paintings at Ajantha and Ellora are preserved.(i.e. Colors that were used etc). It also describes about certain plants, leaves etc which can keep you without hunger, how to have normal pregnancy etc. When we read this Vishnu Puran, we get a feeling whether this book is on Religion or Dhrama or Science.
This puran ends with details of dynasty and names of kings in Kali and how this Kali will end.
The translation of the puran is available on the net @
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