Vamana Purana

The Vamana Purana, (Sanskrit: वामन पुराण, Vāmana Purāṇa), one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, is devoted to the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. It has a eulogy praising both Vishnu and Shiva.

There are ten characteristics evident in Vamana Purana (in fact, in all or most of the Puraans).

They are:

1. Sarga
2. Visarga
3. Sthaana
4. Poshana
5. Uti
6. Vritti
7. Raksha
8. Manvantara
9. Vansha
10. Upaashraya

Sarga deals with the descriptions of the origin of this universe. Visarg enlightens us as to how a living thing transforms itself from one species to another. Sthaan, Poshan, Uti and Vritti deal with the descriptions of various means which are employed by a man for his survival. Raksha describes about the various incarnations of Lord Vishnu which he takes for the protection of the humankind. Manvantara deals with the complete description of the history of the whole Manvantara period. Vansh describe about the lineage of all the kings including Lord Brahma. Upaashraya enlightens us on the real meaning of Brahma.

Contents

The printed editions of this work has 96 chapters. At the beginning (chapter 1), Narada asks Pulastya about the assumption of the Vamana avatara by Vishnu. Chapters 34-42 give a detailed and exhaustive account of the tirthas, rivers and forests of Kurukshetra region.

Further reading

• Mani, Vettam. Puranic Encyclopedia. 1st English ed. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975.

External links

• Synopsis of Vamana Purana