About Dates and the Puranas

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> But there were also earlier Puranas as old as the Vedas from which the

present have come down from.

>

> As to Bhagwat Purana or Srimad Bhagwatam, it appears to have been composed

after

> Krishna's death (either around 3000 or 1500BCE) and was editied down to

500AD

> in the late-Gupta era, when we see Hinduism was at it's height again and

taking

> over Buddhism. But most of it, going by the Purana itself, dates from at

least 3500 years ago.

>

> Traditionalists prefer 3000BCE as the date of it's Composition, or

1500BCE, but this

> being a traditional date would be the start of when it began. David

Frawley suggests this

> also (Gods sages and Kings, P.132), as the Puranas are set in the Court of

Janamejaya,

> but were part of Oral traditions and Myths (as also recorded in Mahabharat

and Ramayan)

> that date back to Vedic times (ie. the stories about Prahlad, Vamana etc.)

 

 

Dear Rl,

 

Thank you very much for your most informative post. I have some questions on

the dating of the Puranas. If you can answer my questions, fine. If not,

maybe you could recommend some site or a person.

 

I have read that the Puranas underwent some revision at a certain time, you

have mentioned the word " editing." I have heard that some of the editing is

noticeable because the Puranas were edited in Sanskrit which was

characteristic of the post Vedic period, as oppsed to the original portions,

which were written in a type of Sanskrit which was characteristic of the

Vedic period. Could you tell me in which type of Sanskrit the pastimes of

Vrindavan Krishna were written in?

 

I am also extremely interested in the pastime of Lord Parasurama and how he

distributes the prithivim to eight different sages- the madhyatah to Kasyapa

Rishi; the sons of Sagara and how they entered an opening in a Northern

ocean, and in the kalki avatar and the city of Shambhalla. Could you tell me

in which type of Sanskrit they are written, characteristic of which time

period?

 

Is it possible that these pastimes are written in a certain type of

Sanskrit, corresponding to a certain period, in one purana, while the same

pastime is written in a different purana in a type of Sanskrit

characteristic of a different time period, WHILE being narrated slightly

differently, lacking some details present in the other?

 

I've been curious about all this for quite some time.

 

I thank you for the attention and I do look forward to hearing from you and

anyone on the list.

 

YS,

 

Dharmapada dasa