A Wisdom Archive on Vishnu Purana

The Vishnu Purana is one of the oldest of the Puranas (dating to maybe the 5th century), containing some 23,000 shlokas, presented as a dialogue between Parasara with his disciple Maitreya. It is divided in six parts. The third part treats the Maha Avatara of Vishnu. ...

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The Eighteen Puranas: There are eighteen main Puranas and an equal number of subsidiary Puranas or Upa-Puranas. The main Puranas are: Vishnu Purana, Naradiya Purana, Srimad Bhagavata Purana, Garuda (Suparna) Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Matsya Purana, Kurma Purana, Linga Purana, Siva Purana, Skanda Purana and Agni Purana.
 
Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda
 

Read more here: » Eighteen Puranas: The Eighteen Puranas: in the Hindu Scriptures

The Srimad Bhagavata Purana and the Ten Avataras
The Srimad Bhagavata Purana is a chronicle of the various Avataras of Lord Vishnu. There are ten Avataras of Vishnu. The aim of every Avatara is to save the world from some great danger, to destroy the wicked and protect the virtuous.
 
Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda
 

Read more here: » Srimad Bhagavata Purana: The Srimad Bhagavata Purana and the Ten Avataras in the Hindu Scriptures

The puranas are among the most widely read religious scriptures in India. The word purana literally means "narrative of ancient times". The puranas are said to be contemporaneous with the Vedas . The Chandogya Upanishad calls them the fifth veda . Eighteen major ( maha ) and eighteen subsidiary ( upa ) puranas are recognised.
 
The authorship of all the puranas is attributed to rishi Vedvyasa, who also compiled the four Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Vedanta Sutras . The puranas deal with a variety of Gods, mainly Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti, catering to the diverse human temperaments and their varied approaches to spirituality.|

 
(See also: Puranas, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Puranas: Vedantic Flavour In Puranic Literature  

Narasimha avatar, one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, is unique in many ways. In the other avatars Vishnu was born at a particular time, grew up in this world and helped his devotees at some other time. But as Narasimha, both his appearance on earth and his coming to the aid of his devotee were simultaneous and instantaneous.
 
Maitreya, Parasara's disciple and author of Vishnu Purana asks why the Lord always seems to be partial, why he helps the Devas and kills asuras. In reply, Parasara narrates to him the story of Narasimha, who comes to the rescue of the little boy Prahlad, the son of asura king Hiranyakashipu.

 
(See also: Narasimha avatar, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Narasimha avatar: Devotee's Dream, Brahma's Pride  

The Markandaya Purana and the Vamana Purana chronicle how Mahishasura, the wicked buffalo-king, a demon possessing monstrous power and deadly weapons of destruction, waged a war against the gods and defeated them.
 
Mahishasura dislodged Indra and occupied the throne. Indra fled to save himself. This shook the celestial world and so enraged Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva that they began to emit fire from their eyes. From the fusion of these beams of fire, carrying the radiant divine energy, a female figure, Goddess Durga, was born.

 
(See also: Durga, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

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On Dhanteras , Hindus worship Lord Dhanwantari, the deity of health and healing. Dhan is wealth or Lakshmi - so the goddess of wealth and prosperity is also prayed to.
 
Every household buys something new. But we tend to forget the real meaning of wealth which is sound health. Lord Dhanwantari also symbolises the spirit of knowledge and nature, including all about herbs and medicinal plants.

 
(See also: Dhanteras, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Dhanteras: Dhanteras for Health, Wealth and Prosperity  

It’s the sixteenth purana. During the period of mahapralaya, Lord Vishnu had taken Matsya avatar (fish incarnation) to save the seeds of all lives and Manu. Matsya Purana contains a comprehensive description of Manu and Matsya avatar. General contents of this Purana are the following: Description of the greatness of Narasimha incarnation. Description of all the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Greatness of fasting like Anant Tritiya and the places of pilgrimage like Prayag. Tales of Chandra ...

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Bhagavata Purana 6.3.20 list twelve Mahajanas, great devotees of Vishnu and knowers of dharma. They are Lord Brahma, Narada, Shiva, the four Kumaras, Kapila - the son of Devahuti, Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Bhishma, Bali Maharaja, Shuka (Sukadeva Gosvami) and Yama. Other related archivesBali, Bhagavata Purana, Bhishma, Brahma, Janaka, Kapila, Narada, Prahlada, Shiva, Svayambhuva Manu, Vishnu, Yama, dharma

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Garuda (Sanskrit: गरुड Garuḍa), the eagle, is a lesser Hindu divinity, the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism. Garuda is depicted as having a golden body, white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and wings but a man's body. He wears a crown on his head like his master, Vishnu. He is ancient and huge, and can block out the sun. His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that an independent Upanishad, the Garudopanishada, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana, is devoted ... Including:

• Garuda - Garuda in popular culture
• Garuda - External link

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