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varaali

@varaali

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#121

Originally posted by: Vibhishna
Some discussions in DkDM reminded me of this question a friend of mine asked me long ago. I haven't been able to answer it till now. Since its not on Lord Shiva, I'm posting it here.

The question was:

In some legends, Lord Shiva created Lord Vishnu who inturn created Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma is supposed to be the youngest of the Trinity - why does he look the oldest among the three?

I had no idea (still have no idea) how to answer this...

Are you referring to the fact that Brahma is depicted as having long white flowing beard and long white hair?

It is one of the creative liberties taken by cinema and TV serial directors. The Gods are supposed to be eternal. Not for them the usual process of aging- grey / white hair, wrinkled skin and all. So showing Brahma with a long white shaggy mane is itself a mistake.

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varaali

@varaali

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#122

Vrish,

What you are saying is true. But when we read the different stories from the puranas, it is important to see from which POV it is written. For instance, in Vishnu Puran, Srimad Bhagavatham, 4000 Divya Naama Prabandangal (a kind of religious - poetic work in Tamil in praise of Vishnu) Vishnu is considered Supreme.

In Shiva Purana and other works in praise of Shiva, Shiva is considered superior to Vishnu and others. In such cases, he is considered Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. In fact the five faces of Shiva stand for the five functions he performs- Creation, Preservation, Dissolution, Concealment and Grace. According to the Panchanana Stotram, the four Vedas originated from four faces of Shiva while the fifth face is the source of OM.

The definition of Brahma as Creator, Vishnu as preserver and Shiva as destroyer seems to me to be a very shallow one. In several cases, as you have mentioned above, each god has performed multiple functions.

Moreover, the traditional Trinity definition eschews the role of Devi .In the scriptures related to Devi, she is considered the Supreme Power. In fact in one slokas in her praise, it says that the ten avatars of Vishnu were created through her fingernails (karanguli nakhotpanna narayana dashakrithi).

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Vibhishna

@Vibhishna

Dazzler

+ 3

Posted: 13 years ago

#123

Vrish, I once heard an explanation that we have 3 Gods, one for each function (creation, protection, destruction) to portray the fact that no one is absolute and even Gods have to depend on each other. It is the duty of Lord Brahma to create, Lord Vishnu to protect and Lord Shiva to destroy.

I keep forgetting the exact numbers but from what I had read earlier, Brahma's lifetime is much smaller than Vishnu's or Shiva's.

I had the question what exactly does Lord Vishnu protect and what exactly should Lord Shiva destroy.

Varaali, yes, that was what I was referring to. I never found any text that said Brahma had a long beard and white hair. It is said that he has 4 heads (there was 5th which was ripped of by Lord Shiva in some versions).

In the Saivaite legends, it is Lord Shiva who is supreme, in Vaishnavite legends it is Lord Vishnu. Some versions make Adi Shakthi the most supreme.

I wish someday someone will make a series in accordance with our scriptures - with the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Valmiki Ramayan and Vyasa's Mahabharat.The legends by themselves are mesmerising and interesting enough. I wish someone can do it.

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Vrish

@Vr15h

Stunner

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#124

Originally posted by: varaali
Vrish,

The definition of Brahma as Creator, Vishnu as preserver and Shiva as destroyer seems to me to be a very shallow one. In several cases, as you have mentioned above, each god has performed multiple functions.

Varaali

Found the place where this originated - that was what I was curious about for the longest time, since I had no idea where these roles of Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva originated. It's in Shiva Purana

Shiva replied, We are all three parts of the same entity and have been divided into three. Brahma is the creator. Vishnu is the preserver and I am the destroyer. There is another being named Rudra who will be born form my body, but Rudra and I are really one and the same. Let Brahma create now...

What I found interesting was that if Shiva is the source of all 3, that he delegated the creation to Brahma, instead of taking it upon himself. And as you mentioned, he makes no mention about the role of Devi

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varaali

@varaali

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#125

^^^^ That's b'cos the extract you quoted is from Shiva Puran- which will naturally give predominance to Shiva. The Vishnu - oriented scriptures would probably have Narayana as the Supreme One from whom Brahma and Shiva originate.

Edited by varaali - 13 years ago

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Vrish

@Vr15h

Stunner

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#126

But do Vishnu Puranas claim that Shiva originated from Vishnu? Even Shiva Purana says that Brahma emerged from Vishnu.

I know that SB has the story of Krishna defeating Banasura, but aside from that, are there other instances (aside from Bhashmasura) where Vishnu is demonstrated as superior?

Incidentally, how authentic is this website for Shiva purana? Also, any links to Skanda Purana & Devi Purana (in English - I can't read Sanskrit, Varaali 😆)

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varaali

@varaali

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#127

I found this link for Skanda Purana- ( condensed and paraphrased in English)

http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/skanda_purana.php

This link has the original in Sanskrit :

http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/skanda.htm

For an English version of Kanda Puranam (the Tamil equivalent of Skanda Purana)

http://murugan.org/gallery/kanda_puranam/html/kp_00front.htm (This one has references to Surapadman, besides other stories related to Murugan)

This is another link I found for Shiva Purana (apart from the one you have given)

http://shivamahapurana.wordpress.com/

( I can't venture an opinion on its authenticity, since I am no expert, but it seems OK. I haven't gone into it in detail )

Edited by varaali - 13 years ago

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Vrish

@Vr15h

Stunner

+ 6

Posted: 13 years ago

#128

Thanks. Are there any links to Devi Purana? (Devi Bhagvatam is in sacred-texts.com)

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varaali

@varaali

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#129

Originally posted by: .Vrish.
Thanks. Are there any links to Devi Purana? (Devi Bhagvatam is in sacred-texts.com)

No, no idea about Devi Purana. Maybe Minakshi can help.

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Samana Bohara

@Targaryen-gal

Dazzler

Posted: 13 years ago

#130

Hello every1! I hav a question related to vishnuji.
Ram and Parshuram both are believed to be two of the avatars of dashavatar of vishnu. But they both appear at the same place at the same time. Aren't they the purna avatars of Vishnu? Then how is it possible? Plz answer this one for me. Thank u!

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