| Vamana Purana | |
|---|---|
 Front Cover of Vamana Purana | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Part of a series on |
| Hindu scriptures and texts |
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The Vamana Purana (Sanskrit: वामन पुराण, IAST: Vāmana Purāṇa), is an ancient Sanskrit text that is at least 1,000 years old and is one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism.[1] The text is named after one of the incarnations of Vishnu and probably was a Vaishnava text in its origin.[1] However, the modern surviving manuscripts of Vamana Purana are more strongly centered on Shiva, while containing chapters that revere Vishnu and other Hindu gods and goddesses.[2][3] It is considered a Shaiva text.[1][4] Further, the text hardly has the character of a Purana,[3] and is predominantly a collection of Mahatmyas (travel guides)[5][a] to many Shiva-related places in India with legends and mythology woven in.[6]
The extant manuscripts of Vamana Purana exist in various versions, likely very different from the original, and show signs of revision over time and regions.[7][8] It has been published by All India Kashiraj Trust in two rounds.[9] The first round had 95 chapters, while the critical edition (edited by Anand Swarup Gupta, and published by the All-India Kashiraj Trust, Varanasi) published in the second round has 69 chapters plus an attached Saro-mahatmya with 28 chapters dedicated to temples and sacred sites in and around modern Haryana.[9][10] Both these versions lack the Brhad-vamana with four samhitas, which is mentioned in the text, but is believed to have been lost to history.[9]
The text is non-sectarian, and its first version was likely created by the 9th to 11th century CE.[1][11]
- ^ a b c d Dalal 2014, p. 443.
- ^ Hazra 1987, pp. 76–79.
- ^ a b Rocher 1986, p. 240.
- ^ Rocher 1986, p. 35.
- ^ a b Glucklich 2008, p. 146.
- ^ Wilson 1864, pp. LXXV–LXXVI.
- ^ Winternitz 1927, pp. 572–573.
- ^ Hazra 1987, pp. 78–83, 92–93.
- ^ a b c Rocher 1986, p. 239.
- ^ Wilson 1864, p. LXXVI.
- ^ Rocher 1986, p. 241.
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