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The Varaha Purana (Sanskrit: वराह पुराण, Varāha Purāṇa) is a Sanskrit text from the Puranas genre of literature in Hinduism.[1] It belongs to the Vaishnavism literature corpus praising Narayana (Vishnu), but includes chapters dedicated to praising and centered on Shiva and Shakti (goddesses it calls Brahmi, Vaishnavi and Raudri).[1][2]
The text exists in many versions, with major sections lost to history.[2] The text has been estimated to have been first completed between the 10th and 12th centuries, and continuously revised thereafter.[2][3] The surviving manuscripts of this text are notable, like Linga Purana, because they do not cover the required Panchalakshana (five characteristics) expected in a Purana.[2] Scholars have questioned whether it really qualifies as a Purana, and whether the extant manuscripts are merely a religious manual largely focussed on Vaishnava practices,[3][4] with sections that also praise Shiva, Shakti and other gods in a secular way.[1][2]
The Varaha Purana includes mythology, particularly of the Varaha incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu rescuing the earth (Prithvi) at the time of a great flood.[2][5] The text also includes mythology of goddesses and Shiva,[4] and a discussion of Karma and Dharma called Dharmasamhita.[6] A large portion of the text is dedicated to medieval geographic Mahatmya (tourist guides)[7] to temples and sites in Mathura and Nepal, but it lacks adoring Krishna in Mathura-related section of the type found in other Puranas.[6][8]
- ^ a b c Dalal 2014, p. 444.
- ^ a b c d e f Rocher 1986, pp. 241–242.
- ^ a b Hazra 1940, p. 96.
- ^ a b Winternitz 1922, p. 544.
- ^ K P Gietz 1992, pp. 29–31 with notes 148 and 152.
- ^ a b Rocher 1986, p. 242.
- ^ Ariel Glucklich 2008, p. 146, Quote: The earliest promotional works aimed at tourists from that era were called mahatmyas.
- ^ Wilson 1864, p. 74.