Puranas

“ Siva and Vischnu are almost the only gods who are worshipped, and they are worshipped with a sectarian zeal unknown to the epics. Most of the Puranas contain these five topics,—Creation, Destruction and Renovation, the Genealogy of the gods, Reigns of the Manus, and History of the Solar and Lunar races. Their philosophy of creation is derived from the Sánknya philosophy. Pantheism is one of their invariable characteristics, as they always identify God and Nature; and herein they differ from the system of Kapila. The form of the Puranas is always that of a dialogue. ”

“ We must also remark that in the Purânas it is no longer Manu Vaivasata that the divine fish saves from the Deluge, but a different personage, the King of the Dastas—i. e., fishers—Satyravata, 'the man who loves justice and truth,' strikingly corresponding to the Chaldean Khasisatra. Nor is the Puranic version of the Legend of the Deluge to be despised, though it be of recent date, and full of fantastic and often puerile details. ”

“ The two Purānas are occupied for the most part with doctrinal expositions, recitals of mythology, praises of previous Siva saints, and accounts of miracles worked by Basava. They assert, however, that uncle and nephew were very energetic promoters of the faith, and that they preached the persecution and extermination of all persons (especially the Jains) , whose creed differed from that of the Lingāyats. ”

“ Incessant migrations and displacements of various tribes, make it uncertain as to which people formed the substantial lower stratum in Rāḍha, when the civilisation fostered in Karṇasuvarṇa, was humanizing the frontier lands of Vaṅga. The Puṇḍras are found mentioned in the Purāṇas, once in conjunction with the Suhmas and another time in North Bengal, on Assam frontier in the company of two other tribes, namely the Pravijayas and the Bhārgavas. ”

“ According to the myth of the Puranas, the god Siva can blight a whole town with his withering look; and the Indian gods, who often visit earth in the guise of mortals, are sometimes recognized by the rigidness of their gaze: they never wink; to their sleepless eyes space and time are units. Hecate and Medusa had such optics, and the basis of the superstition may possibly be the primitive man's dread of mental superiority, the power of mind over matter, ascribed to the eye, as the mirror of the soul. ”

“ All other gods fell on their knees, and cried for protection, when Çiva danced in wild and destructive ecstacy at the time of the final dissolution of the universe.
The Paurāṅik conception borrowed from Buddhism.But the Purāṅas completely changed the Great God. We have heard of the fiery planets growing cold with lapse of time in the celestial regions, the pleasant verdure of shrubs and plants covering those orbs from which once emanated sparks of living fire. ”

“ A Saint or Muni, represented by the Hindú poets as excessively choleric and inexorably severe. The Puránas and other poems contain frequent accounts of the terrible effects of his imprecations on various occasions, the slightest offence being in his eyes deserving of the most fearful punishment. On one occasion he cursed Indra, merely because his elephant let fall a garland he had given to this god; and in consequence of this imprecation all plants withered, men ceased to sacrifice, and the gods were overcome in their wars with the demons. ”

“ It is also used in the Mahābhārata somewhat vaguely to express "ancient legendary lore," implying didactic as well as narrative matter, and pointing to an old collection of epic stories. One passage of the epic (I. v. 1) describes purāṇa as containing stories of the gods and genealogies of the sages. In Book XVIII., as well as in the Harivaṃça, mention is even made of eighteen Purāṇas, which, however, have not been preserved; for those known to us are all, on the whole, later than the Mahābhārata, and for the most part derive their legends of ancient days from the great epic itself. ”

“ Nevertheless, Pûran did not die, as no doubt the enraged father hoped and expected; for God preserved the innocent Prince, so that he lived on, miraculously, at the bottom of the well, until, years after, the great and holy Guru Goraknâth came to the place, and finding Prince Pûran still alive, not only released him from his dreadful prison, but, by the power of magic, restored his hands and feet. Then Pûran, in gratitude for this great boon, became a faqîr, and placing the sacred earrings in his ears, followed Goraknâth as a disciple, and was called Pûran Bhagat. ”

“ The Vēlans are said traditionally to have been descended from Siva, who, on one occasion, is believed to have removed the evil effects of the sorcery of demons upon Vishnu by means of exorcism. As this kind of injury began to increase among men, a man and woman were created by this deity, to prevent its dire consequences. In the Kēralolpatti, this caste is mentioned as Velakkuruppu. But at present the Puranadis, who are the barbers and priests of this class, are known by this name. A Puranadi means one who stands outside, and is not admitted as of equal rank with the Vēlans proper. ”

“ Suliman, who was completely under the power of the fairy, at last consented to this, [189] and gave the order; but Puran’s own mother pleaded so earnestly that her boy’s eyes might be spared, that the servants felt sorry for her; and, substituting the eyes of an animal, they left the young man’s eyes untouched.
Then Puran was thrown into a pit and there left.
A Guru, or Priest, who lived near that place used to send his followers daily to bring food and water for him, and one of them, mistaking the dry pit for a well, let down his chattie for water. ”

“ These are my companions male and female. This serpent guards the town, even when we are all asleep. Luckily hast thou come here. I shall try with all my companions to bring to thee all objects of desire. Be thou the lord of this Puri for one hundred years. And accept all enjoyments brought by me." Puranjana entered the Puri and lived in enjoyment there for one hundred years.
Of the nine gateways, seven were upper and two lower — five on the east (Purva, which also means front) , one on the south (Dakshinâ) , one on the north (Uttara) and two on the west (Paśchima) . ”

“ Nine tenths of the five thousand inhabitants of Puno are of the native races; the Aymaraes occupy the southern part of the town, and the Quichuas the northern, the former being the most numerous. The rest, which includes the wealthier and more intelligent fraction of the population, is made up of people of Spanish descent, a few German and English merchants, and two or three American attachés of the railway. Puno owed its origin to the rich silver mines in the neighborhood, which were discovered and operated about two hundred years ago. ”

“ For example, a Punan is generally able to read from the tracks left in the jungle by the passage of a party of men, the number of the party, and much other information about it. They are expert scouts, and, when their neighbourhood is invaded by any party whose intentions are not clearly pacific, they will follow them for many days, keeping them under close observation while remaining completely hidden. ”

“ The Punans, among whom we include, beside the Punans proper, the Ukits and a few other closely allied but widely scattered small groups, are the only people who do not dwell in villages established on the banks of the rivers. They live in small groups of twenty or thirty persons, which wander in the jungle. Each such group is generally made up of a chief and his descendants. ”

“ Aught of that kingdom which thou hast renounced,
But, casting off thy royal ornaments,
Thou should'st depart, clothed in a dress of bark."
The king, obedient to the sage's word,
Stripped off his royal dress, and, with his wife
And son, made haste to go. Then said the saint:
"Stop, Harišchandra! Hast thou then forgot
The offering for the kingly sacrifice
That thou hast promised us?" Replied the king:
"O mighty saint! the kingdom now is thine;
All have I given to thee: and as for me,
What have I left?—nought! save myself,
My wife, my son!" ”

“ Danger assails the Punan on every side and at all times, hence alertness, energy, and courage are the prime virtues; courage is rated highest, and a woman looks especially for courage in her husband. But though courageous and active, Punans are not pugnacious; as was said above, they rarely or never fight against one another, and the nomadic groups of each region maintain friendly relations with one another. ”

“ They are never seen on the rivers, as they have no boats and cannot easily be persuaded to venture a trip in a boat. It is possible to make many expeditions through the jungle without getting any glimpse of them. One of us (C. H.) had lived in the Baram district six years before succeeding in seeing a single Punan. The history of his first meeting with Punans may serve to illustrate their timidity, caution, and good feeling. On making a long hunting trip on the slopes of Mount Dulit, he took with him a Sebop who was familiar with Punans and their language. ”

“ Puno, the capital, a centre of mineral and woolen activities, is the head of Peruvian navigation on Lake Titicaca and a meeting place of the two tribes or races, the Quichuas and the Aymarás, the latter, residents of northern Bolivia. The town is an important centre of traffic. ”

“ All these tribes have been so described in the Mahābhārata, as to indicate that they lived in close proximity to one another. The Puṇḍras have been mentioned as Suhmottaras in the Matsya Purāṇa, and in the Mahābhārata too, the Puṇḍras and the Suhmas have been placed near to each other (Adi, C. XIII, 24, 53) . No doubt the Puṇḍras proceeded northward subsequently, and founded Puṇḍravardhan in North Bengal, but their early distribution points to the fact, that they occupied the tract of Bengal which lies to the north of Midnapur. ”

“ If he goes beyond the limits of temperance and moderation he gets some unpleasant experience. If he does something wrong, he feels the painful consequence. The sting of pain makes Puranjana ponder over what he does. He registers the pleasurable and painful experiences and reasons about the causes and effects. He tries to know what is right and what is wrong.
With the power of discrimination in its infancy, with the "enjoyment" nature or the self-seeking Asuric element too strong in him, Puranjana, the Kumaric soul, is helpless. He is drifted away, though sometimes much against his will. ”

“ CHAPTER XI. PUNO AND LAKE TITICACA.—COCA AND ITS PROPERTIES.—THE LLAMA AND HIS KINDRED.—EXCURSION TO THE SACRED ISLAND OF THE INCAS.
VIEW ON LAKE TITICACA.
Puno is not an attractive spot. Lying at a great elevation, it has a cool climate, and its inhabitants pass a good part of the time in trying to keep warm. There are no trees in the neighborhood; before the opening of the railway the only fuel was the dried dung of llamas and other animals, and a small shrub known as tola. ”

“ The Punans are nomads, never building permanent houses, nor remaining long in one locality. Of all the tribes they are, perhaps, the most mild and gentle; they are not head-hunters, and care no more for a collection of human heads than for that of any other animal, and, therefore, never go on a raid. They know the country more thoroughly than any other natives, and are always sought by the Sibops, Kayans, Kenyahs, and Ibans as guides in expeditions after camphor, gutta-percha, and bees-wax. ”

“ The Indians of the Purus, as elsewhere in the valley of the Amazon, 280 are careless and lazy; most of them go naked. They cultivate a little maize and mandioc for sustenance, and make a little carajurú to paint their bodies and weapons with. Seraphim, however, had no difficulty in getting Indians to collect copaiba and sarsaparilla for him. He was not long from the Purus when I arrived at Barra; poor fellow! he was a martyr to the rheumatism, and his hands and legs were positively black from the marks left by the musquitoes. ”

“ But sooner or later you will be someone else's bride. So you must dismiss me from your heart. Pray that you and I may never meet again."
With these words, poor Purandar hurried away. Hiranmayi sat down and wept. Restraining her grief she said to herself: "If I were to die to-day, would Purandar need to go to Ceylon? Why should I not hang myself with one of these creepers, or fling myself into yonder sea?" And then the sensible reflection came, "If I die, what will it matter to me whether Purandar goes to Ceylon or not?" ”

“ We find that the early authors suddenly cease to refer to them, and the problem is presented: What fate had befallen the Purus? Professor Oldenberg, whose view is accepted by Professor Macdonell, Oxford, explains that the Purus merged in the Kuru coalition. The Kurus gave their name to Kuru-kshetra, the famous battlefield of the epic Mahábhárata; they had already fused with the Panchala tribe and formed the Kuru-Panchala nation in Madhyadesa, the “Middle Country”, the home of Brahmanic culture, the birthplace of the famous old Upanishads. ”

“ About this region has gathered the mysterious lore of the spirit world. "Fear to do evil in the uplands of Puna," warns the old chant, lest mischief befall from the countless wood spirits who haunt these mysterious forests. Pélé, the volcano goddess, still loves her old haunts in Puna, and many a modern native boasts a meeting with this beauty of the flaming red hair who swept to his fate the brave youth from Kauai when he raced with her down the slope to the sea during the old mythic days when the rocks and hills of Puna were forming. ”