Agni Purana part… 4

[Guest guest]

Agni Purana part… 4

Namaste

Let us Continue Reading Puranas.

Puranas are also a Treasure to Sanathana Dharma.

Agni Purana, Brahma Purana, Garuda Purana,

Markandeya Purana, Varaha Purana, Matsya Purana

Vishnu Purana, Linga Purana, Narada Purana,

Padma Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana,

Vamana Purana

Let us start read one by one .

We start with AGNIPURANA same like

before I will post Each Purana as part by part.

 

 

I Know while reading Manusmriti to read

Other puranas may be difficult , but as you know

atleast to taste our great values in

Sananthana Dharma One Human life is not enough,

so I try my level best to spread this values

to my respected friends.

If anyone miss to read or interest to read my

previous postings Chanakya Neetisastra,

Kautiliya Arthasastra , Vidura niti or

Tiruvallurs Tirukkural,and Uddhavagita or

any part of Manusmriti

pls mail to me , I will send again to you.

I humbly request you to forward this values to your family, friends and to your groups. Allow all people from different religion to understand the value of our Sanathana Dharma. At least let them learn and then let them criticize.

 

Here we Continue reading the translation of the text of the AGNIPURAN in Short at the currently available form :

I am not a scholar to modify any of this laws or puranas or its languages suitable for modern life .I Humbly request you to read it and think in a modern scientific way. Like in Bhagavadgita Chapter 18 text 63 it is said by lord Krishna Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.

Or, as my guru told me One need not worry too much about the source of certain knowledge. Just adopt in our life if they are good. If needed refine the knowledge by way of addition, deletion, modification and correction.

 

 

Agni Purana part… 4The Mahabharta The Pandavas were merely a pretext. Krishna used the Pandavas to rid the world of evil men. You have already learnt that one of Yayati’s sons was Puru. In Puru’s line were born Bharata and Kuru. One of Kuru’s descendants was the king Shantanu. Shantanu married Ganga and Bhishma was born from this marriage. But Shantanu also married Satyavati and had two more sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Bhishma never married.

Chitrangada died young. When Vicitravirya grew up, Bhishma defeated the king of Kashi and brought two of the king’s daughters, Ambika and ambalika, as brides for Vichitravirya. Vichitravirya was also quite young when he died of tuberculosis. Since Vichitravirya had left no children, Vyasadeva was brought to Hastinapura. Vyasadeva and Ambika had a son named Dhritarashtra and Vyasadeva and Ambalika had a son named Pandu. Dhritarashtra married Gandhari and they had a hundred sons, of whom the most important was Duryodhana. Pandu had two wives, Kunti and Madri. Kunti’s sons were Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna and Madri’s son were Nakula and Sahadeva. But Yudhisthira was really the son of the god Dharma and not Pandu’s son. Similarly, Bhima was the son of the god Pavana. Arjuna the son of Indra and Nakula and Sahadeva the sons of the two Ashvinis. Earlier, Kunti had had a son named Karna from the sun-god. This was before she had got

married to Pandu. Karna became a friend of Duryodhana’s. Because of a curse imposed on him by a sage, Pandu died in the forest. Duryodhana tried his best to kill the Pandavas. He set fire to a house of lac (jatugriha) in which Kunti and the five Pandavas were staying. But the Pandavas were saved and fled to a city named Ekachakra. There they lived, diguised as brahmanas. In Ekachakra, they destroyed a rakshasa named Vaka. They then won the hand of the daughter of the king of Panchala. Her name was Droupadi and all five Pandava brothers married her. When Duryodhana learnt that the Pandavas were alive, he handed over half the kingdom to them. Meanwhile, the forest Khandava had to be burnt and Krishna and Arjuna did this together. Krishna had befriended Arjuna. When Arjuna successfully defeated the god Agni at the burning of the Khandava forest, Agni gave him

several divine weapons. Arjuna had also obtained divine weapons from his guru Dronacharya. On the Pandava side, Yudhishthira had become king. The Pandavas organised a rajasuya yajna (royal sacrifice) in which they conquered several kingdoms and accumulated a lot of wealth. This made Duryodhana envious. He arranged a game of dice (aksha) between Yudhishthira and Duryodhana’s uncle Shakuni. Shakuni did not play fairly and Yudhisthira lost the game. As a penalty for the loss, the Pandavas were to spend twelve years in the forest and one additional year without being detected. Droupadi went with them to the forest, as did the Pandava’s priest, Dhoumya. After the twelve years were over, the Pandavas came to the kingdom of King Virata where they proposed to spend the additional year that had to be spent in disguise.

Yudhishthira pretended to be a brahmana, Bhima cook, Arjuna dancer, Nakula and Sahadeva stable-hands. Droupadi became the queen’s maid. The queen’s brother Kichaka tried to molest Droupadi, but was killed by Bhima. When the year was over, the Kauravas attacked King Virata to rob him of his cattle. But Arjuna defeated all the Kauravas and saved Virata’s cattle. After this success, the identity of the Pandavas could no longer be kept a secret. But thankfully, the one year during which identities had to be kept a secret, was over. King Virata’s daughter Uttara was married to Abhimanyu, Arjuna’s son. Abhimanyu’s mother was Subhadra, whom Arjuna had married. Subhadra also happened to be Krishna’s sister. The Pandavas now demanded their rightful share of the kingdom, but Duryodhana refused. A war was imminent. A huge battalion of soldiers was known as an akshouhini. Duryodhana collected

eleven akshouhinis for the war and Yudhishthira collected seven. Krishna was sent as a messenger to Duryodhana to try and preserve the peace, Krishna told Duryodhana that the Pandavas would be satisfied with a mere five villages. Duryodhana refused to give them even this without a fight. So the armies gathered for a war on the plains of Kurukshetra. Noticing that elders and relatives like Bhishma and Dronacharyas were fighting on the side of the Kauravas. Arjuna was reluctant to fight. But Krishna gave Arjuna lessons which have come down to us as the Gita. He taught that there was no reason for sorrow if Bhishma or Dronacharya died. That true identity of a person was his atman (soul) which never died, but passed from one body to another. True bliss was obtained when the atman united with the brahman( divine essence) or paramatman (supreme soul). This was always the goal of a

yogi, that is a person who sought union with god. Thus instructed by Krishna, Arjuna started to fight. With the help of Shikhandi, he defeated Bhishma. This happened on the tenth day of the fighting. Bhishma did not however die. He had earlier received the boon that he would only die when he actually wished to do so. For many days, he lay there in the battlefield on a bed of arrows. After Bhishma’s defeat, Dronacharya became the general of the Kauravas. Dhrishtadyumna was the general on the Pandava side. Dronacharya killed Virata, Drupada and several other kings and soldiers on the Pandava side. Dhrishtadyumna also killed many Kaurava soldiers. On the fifteenth day of the fighting, a rumour gained currency that Ashvatthama, Dronacharaya’s son, had been killed. Dronacharya abandoned his weapons on hearing this bad news and Dhrishtadyumna faced not problems in killing him. Karna now became the Kaurava

general and lasted for two and a half days before he was killed by Arjuna. Shalya was the last Kaurava general. He fought for only half a day and was killed by Yudhishthira. Bhima and Duryodhana fought the last duel of the war with maces. Bhima broke Duryodhana’s thighs and killed him. Ashvatthama had been fuming ever since his father Dronacharya had been killed by unfair means. In the dead of the night, he entered the Pandava camp where he killed Dhristadyumna and the five sons of Droupadi. Droupadi was disconsolate and demanded revenge. Arjuna and Ashvatthama let loose divine weapons at each other. Since this might destroy the world, they were asked to withdraw these weapon. Arjuna could withdraw his weapon, but Ashvatthama could not. Ashvatthama’s weapon killed the baby that was in Uttara’s womb, but when the dead baby was born, Krishna brought it back to life. This baby was

Parikshita. Many kings and soldiers died in the course of the Kurukshetra war. The only ones left alive were Kritavarma, Kripacharya and Ashvatthama on the Kaurava side and Satyaki, Krishna and the five Pandavas on the Pandava side. After the war was over, Bhishma taught Yudhishthira the duties of a king. It was only after this that he died. As a king, Yudhishthira performed many yajnas and gave a lot of alms to brahmanas. When Yudhishthira learnt that the Yadavas had been destroyed, he no longer wished to rule. He handed over the kingdom to Parikshita and the Pandavas left on a pilgrimage, in the course of which they died. It was Krishna who had used the Pandavas as a tool to rid the world of evil kings and establish the good ones. Realizing that the Yadavas were also evil, Krishna also ensured that the Yadavas would

be destroyed. He then gave up his life at the place of pilgrimage that is known as Prabhasa. After Krishna died, the city of Dvaraka was swallowed up by the sea. This was the story of the eighth avatara of Vishnu. Buddha( I am not sure about this but some text say like this ) and Kalki The ninth avatara of Vishnu was Buddha and the tenth will be Kalki. Many years ago, there was a war between the devas and the asuras in which the demons managed to defeat the gods. The gods went running to Vishnu for protection and Vishnu told them that Mayamoha would be born as Buddha, the son of Shuddhodana. Such were the illusions that Buddha created, that the asuras left the path

indicated by the Vedas and became Buddhists. These dastardly creatures performed ceremonies that were a sure ticket to naraka. Towards the end of the Kali era, all people will be dastardly. They will oppose the Vedas, become robbers and will be concerned only with wealth. The disbelievers will then become kings and these kings will also be cannibals. Much later, Kalki will be born on earth as the son of Vishnuyasha. He will take up arms to destroy these disbelievers. Kalki’s priest will be the sage Yajnavalkya. The norms of the four classes (varna) and the four stages of life (ashrama) will be etablished yet again. People will honour the sacred texts and become righteous. It will then be time for the dawn of a new satya yuga, a fresh period of righteousness. In every cycle (kalpa) and in every era (manvantara) Vishnu is thus born in various forms. It is sacred

duty to listen to the stories of then ten avataras. The listener atttains his desires and goes to heaven. Creation Agni next told Vashishtha the history of creation. Vishnu is the Lord of creation, preservation and destruction. Before creation, it was only the brahman that was everywhere. There was no day, night or sky. First Vishnu created the waters. And in the waters he sowed the seeds if brahmanda, the great egg. From this seed there developed a golden egg which began to float on the waters. From the egg Brahma created himself. Since he created himself (svayam sambhuta). Brahma is also known as Svayambhu. Having created himself, Brahma stayed inside the egg for an entire year. And at the end of the year, he split the egg into two. One part of the egg formed the heaven, the other the earth. And in between the two parts of the egg, Brahma created

the sky. Brahma next established the earth on the waters and made the ten directions. He created time, lightning, thunder, clouds, rainbows, words and anger. To ensure that yajnas could be performed, texts of the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Sama Veda emerged from his body. Holy people use the Vedas to perform ceremonies meant for the gods. From the powers of his mind, Brahma created seven sons. Their names were Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vashishtha. Prithu is recognized as the first king. Prithu was descended from Dhruva. And Prithu’s father Vena was also a king. But Vena was an evil king; he was simply not interested in protecting his subjects. The sages therefore killed Vena with a straw. And after Vena had died, they began to knead the dead body’s right hand and it was thus that Prithu emerged. He wore armour and carried bow and arrows when he was born. He ruled well, as per the

dictates of dharma. He looked upon all his subjects as his own sons. From Prithu the earth came to be known as prithivi. How to Pray, How to Build Temples and Idols The Agni purana next has several chapters on how to pray and on how to build temples and idols. The techniques of praying to Vishnu, Shiva, Surya and the other gods and goddesses are decribed, including the special mantras (incantations) that must be used so as to please specific gods and goddesses. Prior to prayers one must bathe and there are prescribed forms for such bathing as well. A person who builds temples is blessed. Even if one merely thinks of building temples, the sins of a hundred lives are forgiven. The ancestors of a builder of temples are rescued from hell. A builder of a single temple goes to heaven (svarga). A builder of two temples goes to brahmaloka, a builder of five to shivaloka, a builder of

eight to vishnuloka and a builder of sixteen temples is freed from the shackles of being born again and again. What is the point of earning money if one does not build temples? Money is also meant to be donated as alms to brahmanas, but the punya or merit earned from building a temple is greater than the punya earned from donating alms. The merit earned by a builder of temples is greatest for a golden temple, lesser for a stone temple, still lesser for a wooden temple and least for an earthen temple. More punya is acquired from building an idol than from a temple, Idols of gods and goddesses should always be set up so that they face the city; they should not face away from the city. The east is best for Indra’s idol , the south for Chandi’s, the centre for Brahma’s, Vishnu’s idol can be set up anywhere at all. Different idols of Vishnu must have different forms. Consider, for example, idols or images of the ten

incarnations of Vishnu. The matsya (fish) avatara must naturally look like a fish and the kurma (turtle) avatara must look like a turtle. But the varaha (boar) avatara will have four arms like a man and will hold a gada (mace), a padma (lotus flower), a shankha (conch shell) and a chakra (bladed discus) in these four arms. The narasimha avatara should have two arms holding a chakra and a gada and should wear a a garland. The vamana (dwarf) avatara should hold an umbrella and a stick in his two hands. Parashurama will have four hands with a bow, arrows, a sword and an axe in these hands. Rama’s image can have either two arms or four. If there are four arms, the four hands will hold a bow, arrows, a conch shell and a chakra. Balarama’s image may also have either four arms or two. If there are two arms, the hands will hold a plough and a mace. If there are four arms, the hands will hold a plough, a conch shell, a club and a chakra. Buddha’s image

should have a calm appearance. It should be seated one lotus. The ears should be elongated. Kalki’s image is that of a brahmana, seated on a horse and holding a bow and arrows, a conch shell, a sword and a chakra. Krishna’s image may be either two-armed or four-armed. Three of the four arms will hold a gada, a chakra and a shankha. The fourth palm will be opened out in the act of granting a boon. On either side of Krishna’s image, there will be images of Brahma and Shiva. Brahma has four faces and four arms and the image should have a pronounced stomach, a beard and matted hair. Brahma rides a swam. On either side of Brahma’s image, there will be images of Sarasvati and Savitri. Visnu’s image has eight arms. Seven of the arms hold a sword, a mace, arrows, a bow, a shield, a chakra and a conch shell. The eighth palm is spread out as if Vishnu is granting

a boon. Vishnu should be shown riding on Garuda. Garuda will also have eight arms. To the right of Vishnu’s image, there should be images of Lakshmi and Sarasvati, Lakshmi holding a lotus and Sarasvati holding a veena ( a musical instrument). There has also got to be an image of Vishnu exhibiting his universal form (vishvarupa). The Vishvarupa image has four heads and twenty arms. Chandi’s image has twenty arms. The ten arms on the right hold a spear, a sword, a shakti (a small spear), a chakra, a pasha (noose), a shield, a drum and any two other weapons. The tenth arm on the right should be in the act of granting a boon. The ten arms on the left hold snakes, a rod, an axe, an amkusha (used for driving elephants), a bow, a bell, a flag, a mace, a mirror and a club. In front of Chandi’s image there will be the image of a buffalo with its head cut off. The image of an asura will be shown emerging from the body of the buffalo. The

demon’s hair, eyes and garland will be red in colour. It will be shown to be vomiting blood and it will hold weapons in its hand. The demon’s neck will be bound up in a noose and Chandi’s lion will be attacking it. Chandi’s right leg will be on the lion and her left leg will be on the demon’s back. Images of Chandi may sometimes also have ten, sixteen or eighteen arms. Shiva’s image (linga) may be made out of earth, wood, iron, jewels, gold, silver, copper, bronze or mercury.

Will be continue on part 5

with regards

dilip