Skanda Purana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

A page from the Ganga Mahatmya section of Skanda Purana in Sanskrit language and
Devanagari script)

A page from the Skanda Purana manuscript in Sanskrit language and Devanagari script

A leaf from a palm leaf of Skanda Purana manuscript book, held together by a thin
rope
Part of a series on
Hindu scriptures and texts
Om symbol.svg
ShrutiSmriti
Vedas[show]
Upanishads[show]
Other scriptures[show]
Related Hindu texts
Vedangas[show]
Puranas[show]
Itihasa[show]
Shastras and sutras[show]
Timeline[show]
vte
The Skanda Purana (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of
eighteen Hindu religious texts.[1] The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is
part of Shaivite literature,[2] titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati,
who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan.[3] While the text is named after
Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in
other Shiva-related Puranas.[3] The text has been an important historical record
and influence on the Hindu traditions related to the war-god Skanda.[3][4]

The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 8th century CE,[5][6]
but the Skanda Purana that has survived into the modern era exists in many
versions.[7] It is considered as a living text, which has been widely edited, over
many centuries, creating numerous variants. The common elements in the variant
editions encyclopedically cover cosmogony, mythology, genealogy, dharma, festivals,
gemology, temples, geography, discussion of virtues and evil, of theology and of
the nature and qualities of Shiva as the Absolute and the source of true knowledge.
[8]

The editions of Skandapurana text also provide an encyclopedic travel handbook with
meticulous Tirtha Mahatmya (pilgrimage tourist guides),[9] containing geographical
locations of pilgrimage centers in India, Nepal and Tibet, with related legends,
parables, hymns and stories.[10][11][12]

This Mahāpurāṇa, like others, is attributed to the sage Vyasa.

Contents
1 Date of composition
2 Structure
3 Contents
3.1 The seven khandas
3.2 The six samhitas
3.3 The other texts
3.4 The narratives
4 Manuscripts
5 See also
6 References
6.1 Bibliography
7 External links
Date of composition
Haraprasad Shastri and Cecil Bendall, in about 1898, discovered an old palm-leaf
manuscript of Skanda Purana in a Kathmandu library in Nepal, written in Gupta
script.[13][14][15] They dated the manuscript to 8th century CE, on paleographic
grounds. This suggests that the original text existed before this time.[16] R.
Adriaensen, H.Bakker, and H. Isaacson dated the oldest surviving palm-leaf
manuscript of Skanda Purana to 810 CE, but Richard Mann adds that earlier versions
of the text likely existed in the 8th century CE.[5][17][18] Hans Bakker states
that the text specifies holy places and details about the 4th and 5th-century
Citraratha of Andhra Pradesh, and thus may have an earlier origin.[19] The oldest
versions of the Skandapurana texts have been discovered in the Himalayan region of
South Asia such as Nepal, and the northeastern states of India such as Assam.[20]
The critical editions of the text, for scholarly studies, rely on the Nepalese
manuscripts.[20]

Additional texts style themselves as khandas (sections) of Skandapurana, but these

came into existence after the 12th century.[20] It is unclear if their root texts
did belong to the Skandapurana, and in some cases replaced the corresponding
chapters of the original.[20] The version of the earliest known recension was later
expanded in two later versions namely the Revakhanda and Ambikakhanda recensions.
The only surviving manuscript of the Revakhanda recension is from 1682. The four
surviving manuscripts of the Ambikakhhnda recension are of a later period and
contains much more alterations. Judit Törzsök says a similar recension to these two
recensions seems to have been known to Laskhmidhara, thus it existed before 12th
century.[18] Ballala Sena quotes content found only in these two recensions, thus
the version known at that time was similar to the ancient version of these two
recensions.[21]

There are a number of texts and manuscripts that bear the title Skanda Purana.[5]
Some of these texts, except for the title, have little in common with the well-
known Skandapurana traced to the 1st millennium CE.[20] The original text has
accrued several additions, resulting in several different versions. It is,
therefore, very difficult to establish an exact date of composition for the Skanda
Purana.[22][7]

Structure
Stylistically, the Skanda Purana is related to the Mahabharata, and it appears that
its composers borrowed from the Mahabharata. The two texts employ similar stock
phrases and compounds that are not found in the Ramayana.[5] Some of the mythology
mentioned in the present version of the Skanda Purana is undoubtedly post-Gupta
period, consistent with that of medieval South India. This indicates that several
additions were made to the original text over the centuries.[16] The Kashi Khanda,
for example, acquired its present form around the mid-13th century CE.[23] The
latest part of the text might have been composed in as late as the 15th century CE.
[22]

Contents
Tirtha: Holy Pilgrimage
Tirtha are of three kinds,
Jangam Tirtha is to a place movable,
of a sadhu, a rishi, a guru,
Sthawar Tirtha is to a place immovable,
like Benaras, Hardwar, Mount Kailash, holy rivers,
Manas Tirtha is to a place of mind,
of truth, charity, patience, compassion, soft speech, soul.
—Skanda Purana[11][24]
The whole corpus of texts which are considered as part of the Skanda Purana is
grouped in two ways. According to one tradition, these are grouped in six saṁhitās,
each of which consists of several khaṇḍas. According to another tradition, these
are grouped in seven khaṇḍas, each named after a major pilgrimage region or site.
The chapters are Mahatmyas, or travel guides for pilgrimage tourists.[9]

The seven khandas

The Maheśvara Khaṇḍa consists of 3 sections:[25][26]

the Kedāra Khaṇḍa (35 chapters, Kedarnath Tirtha region,[27] north India)
the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa or Kumārikā Khaṇḍa (66 chapters, Mahisagara-samgama-tirtha or
Cambay pilgrimage region,[27] west India) and
the Arunācala Khaṇḍa or Arunācala Māhātmya (37 chapters, Tiruvannamalai Tirtha
region,[27] south India), further divided into two parts:
Pūrvārdha (13 chapters) and
Uttarārdha (24 chapters)
The Viṣṇu Khaṇḍa or Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa consists of nine sections:[25][26]

Veṅkaṭācalamāhātmya (40 chapters, Tirupati Tirtha region,[27] south India)

Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya (49 chapters, Puri Odisha Tirtha region,[27] east India)
Badarikāśramamāhātmya (8 chapters, Badrinath Tirtha region,[28] north India)
Kārttikamāsamāhātmya (36 chapters)
Mārgaśirṣamāsamāhātmya 17 chapters, Mathura Tirtha region[28])
Bhāgavatamāhātmya (4 chapters)
Vaiśākhamāsamāhātmya (25 chapters)
Ayodhyāmāhātmya (10 chapters, Ayodhya Tirtha region[28]) and
Vāsudevamāhātmya (32 chapters)
The Brahma Khaṇḍa has three sections (four in some manuscripts):[25][26]

Setumāhātmya (52 chapters, Rama Setu Tirtha region,[28] Tamil Nadu and towards Sri
Lanka)
Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (40 chapters) and
Uttara Khaṇḍa or Brahmottara Khaṇḍa (22 chapters)
The Kāśī Khaṇḍa (100 chapters, Varanasi and Vindya Tirtha region[29]) is divided
into two parts:[25][26]

Pūrvārdha (50 chapters) and

Uttarārdha (50 chapters)
The Āvantya Khaṇḍa consists of:[25]

Avantikṣetramāhātmya (71 chapters, Ujjain Tirtha region[30])

Caturaśītiliṅgamāhātmya (84 chapters) and
Revā Khaṇḍa (Thought to have 232 chapters, Juergen Neuss states that the
manuscripts attest this is actually the original Reva Khanda of Vayu Purana which
was wrongly included in the Skanda Purana by Veṅkateśvara Steam Press in 1910 and
all publications of the Skanda after it. The one belonging to the Skanda has 116
chapters.[30][31])
The Nāgara Khaṇḍa (279 chapters) consists of Tirtha-māhātmya.[25][26]

The Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa (491 chapters) consists of four sections:[25][26]

Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya (365 chapters, Saurashtra and Somanatha Tirtha region,[32]

west India)
Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya (19 chapters, Girnar Tirtha region[32])
Arvuda Khaṇḍa (63 chapters, Aravalli Range Rajasthan Tirtha region[32]) and
Dvārakāmāhātmya (44 chapters, Dwarka Gujarat Tirtha region[32])
The six samhitas
The second type of division of the Skanda Purana is found in some texts like
Hālasyamāhātmya of the Agastya Saṁhitā or the Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā, Sambhava Kāṇḍa of
the Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā, Śivamāhātmya Khaṇḍa of the Sūta Saṁhitā and Kālikā Khaṇḍa of
the Sanatkumāra Saṁhitā. According to these texts, the Skanda Purana consists of
six saṁhitās (sections):

the Sanatkumāra Saṁhitā

the Sūta Saṁhitā
the Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā
the Vaiṣṇavī Saṁhitā
the Brāhmī Saṁhitā and
the Saura Saṁhitā
The manuscripts of the Sanatkumāra Saṁhitā, the Śaṁkarī Saṁhitā, the Sūta Saṁhitā
and the Saura Saṁhitā are extant. A manuscript of a commentary on the Sūta Saṁhitā
by Madhavācārya is also available.[25] These texts discuss cosmogony, theology,
philosophical questions on virtues and vice, questions such as what is evil, the
origin of evil, how to deal with and cure evil.[33]

The other texts

The manuscripts of several other texts which claim to be part of the Skanda Purāṇa
are found partially or wholly. Some of the notable regional texts amongst these
are: Himavat Khaṇḍa which contains Nepalamahatmya (30 chapters, Nepal Tirtha
region), Kanakādri Khaṇḍa, Bhīma Khaṇḍa, Śivarahasya Khaṇḍa, Sahyādri Khaṇḍa,
Ayodhyā Khaṇḍa, Mathurā Khaṇḍa and Pātāla Khaṇḍa.[25]

Kaverimahatmya presents stories and a pilgrim guide for the Kaveri river
(Karnataka) and Coorg Tirtha region.[13] Vivsamitrimahatmya presents mythology and
a guide for the Vadodara Tirtha region.[13]

The oldest known 1st-millennium palm-leaf manuscripts of this text mention many
major Hindu pilgrimage sites, but do not describe Kailash-Manasarovar.[15] The
later versions do, particularly in Manasakhanda.[15]

The narratives
The Skanda Purana, like many Puranas, include the legends of the Daksha's
sacrifice, Shiva's sorrow, churning of the ocean (Samudra manthan) and the
emergence of Amrita, the story of the demon Tarakasura, the birth of Goddess
Parvati, her pursuit of Shiva, and her marriage to Lord Shiva, among others.

The central aim of the Skandapurana text, states Hans Bakker, is to sanctify the
geography and landscape of South Asia, and legitimize the regional Shaiva
communities across the land, as it existed at the time the edition was produced.
[34] The text reflects the political uncertainties, the competition with
Vaishnavism, and the cultural developments with the Pashupata Hindus during the
periods it was composed.[35]

Manuscripts
The Skanda Purana manuscripts have been found in Nepal, Tamil Nadu (Tamil:கககக
ககககககக) and other parts of India.[5] The Skanda Purana is among of the oldest
dated manuscripts discovered in Nepal. A palm-leaf manuscript of the text is
preserved at the National Archives of Nepal (NAK 2–229), and its digital version
has been archived by Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (NGMCP B 11–4).
It is likely that the manuscript was copied by the scribe on Monday, March 10 811
CE, though there is some uncertainty with this date because the samvat of this
manuscript is unclear.[36] Michael Witzel dates this Nepalese manuscript to about
810 CE.[36][37] This manuscript was discovered as one in a group of seven different
texts bound together. The group included fourteen manuscripts mostly Buddhist, six
of which are very old Saddharma Pundarika Sutra manuscripts, one of Upalisutra, one
Chinese Buddhist text, and one Bhattikavya Buddhist yamaka text. The Skanda Purana
found in this manuscripts collection is written in transitional Gupta script,
Sanskrit.[36]

The 1910 edition included seven khaṇḍas (parts): Maheśvara, Viṣṇu or Vaiṣṇava,
Brahma, Kāśī, Āvantya, Nāgara and Prabhāsa.[25] In 1999–2003, an English
translation of this text was published by the Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi in 20
volumes. This translation is also based on a text divided into seven khaṇḍas.