[Hindi] Padma Purana - A Concise Guide

The book recounts the journey of Vivek ji and numerous others during the years 2022-23 along the revered banks of the Narmada river. The book is not just a travelogue of the author’s journey along the banks of the river, but also a documentation of the numerous ancient teerthas that are scattered along the holy banks of Narmada, which have been mostly forgotten by everyone. The teerthas are the starting point of the Narmada Parikrama, playing a crucial role in shaping this tradition. Vivek ji’s Narmada parikrama was a journey undertaken with the purpose of immersing oneself in the spiritual landscapes of the sacred Narmada river. However, it was the parikrama that ultimately uncovered and drew attention to the Teerthas.

The ‘Srimad Bhagwal’ itself is believed to be the gem among all the sacred Puranas as it emphasises on the devotion to Lord. Vishnu’s incarnation, Lord Krishna. It is believed to have been authored by the great sage Vedavyasa when he felt a great unrest troubling his soul after authoring the Mahabharat. Although this Purana itself is believed to be a part of Skanda Purana, it is its lyrical beauty and devotion to Krishna that made it most popular. It enlists 22 incarnations of Lord Vishnu, while other sacred accounts of the Sanatana Dharma believe that there were nine incarnations and one is yet to come. Normally in the Purana, the tales or stories frequently overlap with each other giving emphasis on a different point. Owing to paucity of space, many of the stories have been given a brief mention in this work with the footnote guiding to the sources, to get the full story in the other Puranas. There are also certain variations in the details of the stories which have been also marked within parenthesis. Also, many details mentioned in this Puran which may appear uninteresting, have been deliberately left out. Some of the stories which are well- known have been skipped. For example, the Ramakatha or the details about other incarnations popularised by other sacred sources. The main emphasis in culling out the stories has been on those stories that reveal the basic moral fiber of our ethos. These stories have been recreated keeping in mind the comprehension of our young learners and hence making these stories more logical. This work is only an attempt to make our society recapture its roots. That is why the language and style have been used with great care so as to make the stories readable and comprehensive. It is hoped that our discerning readership will accord it a warm welcome. Lastly, the author wishes to record his gratitude to Narenderji of Diamond Pocket Books whose crusade to publish the gems of our cultural and religious ethos has few parallels in the field of publishing.

Vishnu Puran is believed to be one of the most important Puranas, if not the most valuable ancient record of the faith called Sanatan Dharma. Its stories reveal about the various exploits of Vishnu incarnations. In rendering this holy text into English, the attention has been paid to put only those details that have certain fundamental truths of life. Hence, in this work those details have been deliberately omitted which may appear rather confusing or uninteresting to the reader not having the initiation in the sacred love. The main thrust of this attempt has been to show a clear glimpse of our ancient hermitage.

At times the description of the story of Lord Kalki's marriage with the princess of Srihala Dweep, padma, throws the images also conjured up in the Medieval Hindi epic 'Padamavata' by Malik Mohammad Jayasi.

Puranas are almost like an encyclopedia listing the hitman achievements in this part of the world till the time they were edited or compiled. In every cycle of time the master editor called Veda vyas emerges to edit, vet and compile these records. Their significance is enormous even in the present, as they give a peep into the distant past of Hindus when the world was evolving and the psyche of the race was being formed. These Puranas record the arguments that make us to decide as to what is holy and what is vile; what is good and what is had. By going through them we can compare our present day jurisprudence vis-a-vis the ancient norms. Apart from that, they are a huge store-house of information conceiving every subject under the sun. It is with the view of unearthing these gems that the present series of the puranas has been planned.

Puranas are almost like an encyclopaedia listing the human achievements in this part of the world till the time they were edited or compiled. In every cycle of time the master editor called Veda Vyas emerges to edit, vet and compile these records. Their significance is enormous even in the present, as they give a peep into the distant past of Hindus when the world was evolving and the psyche of the race was being formed. These Puranas record the arguments that make us to decide as to what is holy and what is vile; what is good and what is bad. By going through them we can compare our present day jurisprudence vis-a-vis the ancient norms. Apart from that, they are a huge store-house of information conceiving every subject under the sun. It is with the view of unearthing these gems that the present series of the puranas has been planned.