what Puranas or books to read about cosmology?

[DavidC]

I am interested in reading the Puranas to learn about the history of the universe and maybe Earth. From a Smarta and then Shakti point of view, what would be best? Are there scholarly summaries or should you really read thousands of pages or so?

[TatTvamAsi]

There are many different Puranas that describe the nature of this universe in various ways.

I would think starting with the Srimad Bhagavatam is a good start.

Also, from a non-religious standpoint, read about String Theory. After all, theoretically at least, Hinduism is proven to be REALITY because this String Theory states that EVERYTHING is various combinations of small, vibrating strings that are just manifestations of energy from the "null-field"!!! And Sri Aurobindo stated that EVERYTHING is just Consciousness vibrating at different frequencies; as mentioned in the Vedas.

Case closed. End of story.

Next...:)

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namasté
The purāṇa-s are a puraṇa¹ (ocean) of knowledge. The purāṇa-s belong to ancient times; Purāṇa as a noun are a class of sacred works managed/organized by vyāsa.

There are 18 main purāṇas ( some like to call these the mahāpurāṇa-s ) and are grouped in the following manner:

that of brahmā e.g. the brahma , brahmāṇḍa , brahmavaivarta , mārkaṇḍeya , bhaviṣya , & vāmana purāṇa-s
that of viṣṇu e.g. the viṣṇu , bhāgavata , nāradīya , garuḍa , padma , & varāha purāṇa-s
that of śiva e.g. the śiva , liṅga , skanda , agni or in place of it the vāyu , matsya , & kūrma purāṇa-s The purāṇa-s typically discuss 5 topics (pañca-lakṣaṇa) - that is:

the creation of the universe - sarga सर्ग or letting go , discharging i.e. creation
its destruction and renovation . This is called prati-sarga : prati प्रतिor back , again , in return + sarga सर्गor letting go , discharging = additional creations, recreations
the genealogy of the devatā & sages i.e. lineage or families, and this is called vaṃśa वंश
the reigns of the manu-s - the various epochs and rulers of these times - (if I am correct, manu+antara¹ = manvañtara )
manu-antara = manu मनुfather of the human race + antara अन्तर is interval, term, period or duration.
the history ~lineage~ of the solar and lunar races ; genealogy of kings - vaṃśa-nucarita¹praṇām

words

puraṇa पुरण- rooted (√) in pṝ the sea , ocean , not to be confused with purāṇa meaning ancient or old
manu+antara - for those interested, this is a grammer rule of sandhi defined by the grammarin pāniṇi. When u+a are combined it results in a 'v' based upon the yaṇa sandhi rule. Hence we get manvantara.
vaṃśa-nucarita - vaṃśa + nu + carita :vaṃśa the line of a pedigree or genealogy (from its resemblance to the succession of joints in a bamboo) + nu = time + carita = acts, deeds, adventures

[rkpande]

There are many different Puranas that describe the nature of this universe in various ways.

I would think starting with the Srimad Bhagavatam is a good start.

Also, from a non-religious standpoint, read about String Theory. After all, theoretically at least, Hinduism is proven to be REALITY because this String Theory states that EVERYTHING is various combinations of small, vibrating strings that are just manifestations of energy from the "null-field"!!! And Sri Aurobindo stated that EVERYTHING is just Consciousness vibrating at different frequencies; as mentioned in the Vedas.

Case closed. End of story.

Next...:)
i thiki t should be M theory, which combines all the 5 string theories.

[DavidC]

i thiki t should be M theory, which combines all the 5 string theories.

I have already read what I can about that (I am a math/computing student.)

Thanks for the recommendations and explanations. Something else I am curious about is whether the Puranas have any pre-Vedic mythology/philosophy. I have read about a pre-Vedic Trimurti called Nari & Nara & Brahm. Once I thought I saw a book that discussed pre-Vedic traditions.

[amra]

I would recommend studying astronomy. Understanding the basics like movement of the luminaries and planets along the ecliptic, the precession of the equinoxes etc. Learn these from a geocentric point of view and then studying puranic cosmology will be more fruitful. The descriptions in the puranas are amazingly complex and multi-layered. The description of jambudvipa encircled by concentric rings is in fact a stenographic projection of the movement of the heavens. There is an excellent documentary I saw about the cosmology of the srimad bhagvatam i will try to find it for you.

Also bear in mind these texts are written in coded language and not meant to be taken only at face value. You must have the keys to unlock the meanings. Where you can find the keys i don't know but until you find them, you will have to worship and approach the Puranas submissively like a beggar if you want anything.

[saidevo]

I came across this book that I think could be helpful:

A Study of the Bhagavata Purana
or Esoteric Hinduism
Purnendu Narayana Sinha
http://www.archive.org/download/studyofbhagavata00benaiala/studyofbhagavata00benaiala.pdf

[amith vikram]

google search for vishnu puran pdf.

[Sahasranama]

I would recommend studying astronomy. Understanding the basics like movement of the luminaries and planets along the ecliptic, the precession of the equinoxes etc. Learn these from a geocentric point of view and then studying puranic cosmology will be more fruitful. The descriptions in the puranas are amazingly complex and multi-layered. The description of jambudvipa encircled by concentric rings is in fact a stenographic projection of the movement of the heavens. There is an excellent documentary I saw about the cosmology of the srimad bhagvatam i will try to find it for you.


If you still have the links to the documentary, I would be interested.

[Deva Dasa]

google search for vishnu puran pdf.
I agree with this.

The Vishnu Purana describes time dilation and the twins paradox which Albert Einstein plagiarized for his so-called Theory of General Relativity in the twentieth century.

[Adhvagat]

There is an excellent documentary I saw about the cosmology of the srimad bhagvatam i will try to find it for you.

Any word on this documentary?


I agree with this.

The Vishnu Purana describes time dilation and the twins paradox which Albert Einstein plagiarized for his so-called Theory of General Relativity in the twentieth century.

Does anyone have more information on this?