The Viṣṇu Purāṇa ANCIENT ANNALS OF THE GOD WITH LOTUS EYES The Viṣṇu Purāṇa ANCIENT ANNALS OF THE GOD WITH LOTUS EYES Translated from the Sanskrit by McComas Taylor For my grandchildren Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia Email:
[email protected] Available to download for free at press.anu.edu.au ISBN (print): 9781760464400 ISBN (online): 9781760464417 WorldCat (print): 1247155624 WorldCat (online): 1247154847 DOI: 10.22459/VP.2021 This title is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). The full licence terms are available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode Cover design and layout by ANU Press Cover image: Vishnu Reclining on Ananta. From Sage Markandeya’s Ashram and the Milky Ocean, c. 1780–1790. Mehrangarh Museum Trust. This edition © 2021 ANU Press Contents Preface xi Acknowledgements xiii Glossary xv Introduction 1 The purāṇas 1 The Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3 Problems with dating 4 Authorship 6 The audience 6 Relationship to other texts 7 The nature of Viṣṇu 10 Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa 12 The other avatāras 13 The purāṇic thought-world 14 Divine and semi-divine beings 18 Elements of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa 21 The six books 25 The Sanskrit text 32 Other translations 33 About this translation 34 References 38 Book One: Creation 43 1. Maitreya asks Parāśara about the world 43 2. Parāśara praises Viṣṇu; Creation 45 3. The divisions of time 50 4. Brahmā creates the world anew 52 5. Brahmā creates living beings 57 6.