The Harivamsa (Sanskrit: हरिवंशHarivamśa, literally "the genealogy of Hari")[1] is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the anustubhmetre. The text is also known as the Harivamsa Purana. This text is believed to be a khila (appendix or supplement) to the Mahabharata[2] and is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa. The most celebrated commentary of the Mahabharata by Neelakantha Chaturdhara, the Bharata Bhava Deepa also covers the Harivamsa. According to a traditional version of the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa is divided into two parvas (books) and 12,000 verses.[3] These are included with the eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata.[2] The Critical Edition has three parvas and 5,965 verses.[4]
The Adi Parva of describes the creation of the cosmos and the legendary history of the kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties leading up to the birth of Krishna. Vishnu Parva recounts the history of Krishna up to the events prior to the Mahabharata.[5] Bhavishya Parva, the third book, includes two alternate creation theories, hymns to Shiva and Vishnu and provides a description of the Kali Yuga.[6] While the Harivamsa has been regarded as an important source of information on the origin of Vishnu's incarnation Krishna, there has been speculation as to whether this text was derived from an earlier text and what its relationship is to the Brahma Purana, another text that deals with the origins of Krishna.[7]
Dwarka is the setting for many chapters in the Harivamsa.[8] The city is described as near the sea, in modern era Gujarat; a painting of the city in the 19th century (lower).
The bulk of the text is derived from two traditions, the pañcalakṣaṇa tradition, that is, the five marks of the Purana corpus one of which is the vaṃśa genealogy, and stories about the life of Krishna as a herdsman.
The text is complex, containing layers that go back to the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE. The origin of this appendix is not precisely known but it is apparent that it was a part of the Mahabharata by the 1st century CE because "the poet Ashvaghosha quotes a couple of verses, attributing them to the Mahabharata, which are now only found in the Harivamsa" (Datta 1858).
Edward Washburn Hopkins considers the Harivamsa the latest parva of the Mahabharata.[citation needed] Hazra has dated the Purana to the 4th century CE on the basis of the description of the rasa lila in it. According to him, the Visnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana belong to the 5th century CE and 6th century CE respectively. According to Dikshit, the date of the Matsya Purana is 3rd century CE. When we compare the biography of Krishna, the account of Raji, and some other episodes as depicted in the Harivaṃśa, it appears to be anterior to the former. Therefore, the Viṣṇu parva and the Bhaviṣya parva can be dated to at least the 3rd century CE.
By its style and contents, the Harivaṃśa parva appears to be anterior to the Viṣṇu parva and Bhaviṣya parva. The verses quoted by Asvaghosa belong to this parva. On this basis, we can safely assume the Harivaṃśa parva (except for the later interpolations) to be at least as old as the 1st century CE.
Editions
The Harivamśa is available in three editions. The vulgate text of the Harivamśa has total 271 adhyāyas (chapters), divided into three parvas, Harivaṃśa parva (55 chapters), Viṣṇu parva (81 chapters) and Bhaviṣya parva (135 chapters). The traditional edition contains 12000 shlokas (verses) 2 sub-parvas, the Harivamsa Parva (187 chapters) and the Bhavishya Parva (48 chapters) with a total of 235 chapters. The Critical Edition or CE (1969–71, Ed. P.L.Vaidya) is around a third (118 chapters in 6073 slokas) of this vulgate edition. Like the vulgate, the chapters in the CE are divided into three parvas, Harivaṃśa parva (chapters 1-45), Viṣṇu parva (chapters 46-113) and Bhaviṣya parva (chapters 114 -118). Vaidya suggests that even the CE represents an expanded text and proposes that the oldest form of Harivamśa probably began with chapter 20 (which is where Agni Purana 12 places its start) and must have ended with chapter 98 of his text.[9]
Translations
City of Dwarka in Harivamsa, as painted for the Mughal emperor Akbar
The Harivamsa has been translated in many Indian vernacular languages; The vulgate version containing 3 books and 271 chapters has not been translated into English yet. The only English translation of the traditional version containing 2 sub-parvas (Harivamsa parva - 187 chapters and Bhavishya parva - 48 chapters, a total of 235 chapters) is by Manmatha Nath Dutt in 1897 and it is in the public domain. The critical edition has been translated into English twice so far, once in 2016 by Bibek Debroy and by Simon Brodbeck in 2019.
It has been translated into French by M. A. Langlois,1834–35. [10]
Original Sanskrit text online with English translation
Manmatha Nath Dutt, Vishnu Purana, English Translation of Book 2 of Harivamsa (1896)
Alexandre Langlois, Harivansa: ou histoire de la famille de Hari, French Translation of Harivamsa (1834)
Discourse on Harvamsha by Dr Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya
August 22, 2023
harivamsa, confused, with, purana, sanskrit, हर, harivamśa, literally, genealogy, hari, important, work, sanskrit, literature, containing, shlokas, mostly, anustubh, metre, text, also, known, purana, this, text, believed, khila, appendix, supplement, mahabhara. Not to be confused with Harivamsa Purana The Harivamsa Sanskrit हर व श Harivamsa literally the genealogy of Hari 1 is an important work of Sanskrit literature containing 16 374 shlokas mostly in the anustubh metre The text is also known as the Harivamsa Purana This text is believed to be a khila appendix or supplement to the Mahabharata 2 and is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa The most celebrated commentary of the Mahabharata by Neelakantha Chaturdhara the Bharata Bhava Deepa also covers the Harivamsa According to a traditional version of the Mahabharata the Harivamsa is divided into two parvas books and 12 000 verses 3 These are included with the eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata 2 The Critical Edition has three parvas and 5 965 verses 4 Parashurama leads Krishna and Balarama toward Mount Gomanta Miniature from a Harivamsha series ascribed to Purkhu of Kangra Kangra c 1800 1815 Government Museum and Art Gallery ChandigarhThe Adi Parva of describes the creation of the cosmos and the legendary history of the kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties leading up to the birth of Krishna Vishnu Parva recounts the history of Krishna up to the events prior to the Mahabharata 5 Bhavishya Parva the third book includes two alternate creation theories hymns to Shiva and Vishnu and provides a description of the Kali Yuga 6 While the Harivamsa has been regarded as an important source of information on the origin of Vishnu s incarnation Krishna there has been speculation as to whether this text was derived from an earlier text and what its relationship is to the Brahma Purana another text that deals with the origins of Krishna 7 Contents 1 Chronology 2 Editions 3 Translations 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksChronology Edit Dwarka Dwarka is the setting for many chapters in the Harivamsa 8 The city is described as near the sea in modern era Gujarat a painting of the city in the 19th century lower The bulk of the text is derived from two traditions the pancalakṣaṇa tradition that is the five marks of the Purana corpus one of which is the vaṃsa genealogy and stories about the life of Krishna as a herdsman The text is complex containing layers that go back to the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE The origin of this appendix is not precisely known but it is apparent that it was a part of the Mahabharata by the 1st century CE because the poet Ashvaghosha quotes a couple of verses attributing them to the Mahabharata which are now only found in the Harivamsa Datta 1858 Edward Washburn Hopkins considers the Harivamsa the latest parva of the Mahabharata citation needed Hazra has dated the Purana to the 4th century CE on the basis of the description of the rasa lila in it According to him the Visnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana belong to the 5th century CE and 6th century CE respectively According to Dikshit the date of the Matsya Purana is 3rd century CE When we compare the biography of Krishna the account of Raji and some other episodes as depicted in the Harivaṃsa it appears to be anterior to the former Therefore the Viṣṇu parva and the Bhaviṣya parva can be dated to at least the 3rd century CE By its style and contents the Harivaṃsa parva appears to be anterior to the Viṣṇu parva and Bhaviṣya parva The verses quoted by Asvaghosa belong to this parva On this basis we can safely assume the Harivaṃsa parva except for the later interpolations to be at least as old as the 1st century CE Editions EditThe Harivamsa is available in three editions The vulgate text of the Harivamsa has total 271 adhyaya s chapters divided into three parvas Harivaṃsa parva 55 chapters Viṣṇu parva 81 chapters and Bhaviṣya parva 135 chapters The traditional edition contains 12000 shlokas verses 2 sub parvas the Harivamsa Parva 187 chapters and the Bhavishya Parva 48 chapters with a total of 235 chapters The Critical Edition or CE 1969 71 Ed P L Vaidya is around a third 118 chapters in 6073 slokas of this vulgate edition Like the vulgate the chapters in the CE are divided into three parvas Harivaṃsa parva chapters 1 45 Viṣṇu parva chapters 46 113 and Bhaviṣya parva chapters 114 118 Vaidya suggests that even the CE represents an expanded text and proposes that the oldest form of Harivamsa probably began with chapter 20 which is where Agni Purana 12 places its start and must have ended with chapter 98 of his text 9 Translations Edit City of Dwarka in Harivamsa as painted for the Mughal emperor AkbarThe Harivamsa has been translated in many Indian vernacular languages The vulgate version containing 3 books and 271 chapters has not been translated into English yet The only English translation of the traditional version containing 2 sub parvas Harivamsa parva 187 chapters and Bhavishya parva 48 chapters a total of 235 chapters is by Manmatha Nath Dutt in 1897 and it is in the public domain The critical edition has been translated into English twice so far once in 2016 by Bibek Debroy and by Simon Brodbeck in 2019 It has been translated into French by M A Langlois 1834 35 10 See also EditFirst book of Mahabharata Adi Parva Previous book of Mahabharata Svargarohana ParvaNotes Edit South Asian arts Sanskrit epic and didactic literature 400 bc ad 1000 Britannica www britannica com Retrieved 1 April 2022 a b The Mahabharata in Sanskrit Book I Chapter 2 in sacred texts com website Mahabharata 1 2 377 378 Bombay edition M N Dutt trans Adi Parva p 21 Debroy B 2016 Harivansha Gurgaon Penguin Books India Introduction Maurice Winternitz 1981 History of Indian Literature Vol 1 Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 0836408010 pages 426 431 Maurice Winternitz 1981 History of Indian Literature Vol 1 Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 0836408010 pages 432 435 Ruben 115 Manmatha Nath Dutt Vishnu Purana Harivamsa 1896 pages 283 286 Harivaṃsa 1969 71 785 XXX and 795 Translations of the HarivamsaReferences EditBowker John The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions New York Oxford University Press 1997 p 410 Winternitz Maurice 1981 History of Indian Literature Vol I Delhi Motilal Banarsidass Ruben Walter 1941 The Krsnacarita in the Harivamsa and Certain Puranas Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol 61 No 3 pp 115 127 Lorenz Ekkehard 2007 The Harivamsa The Dynasty of Krishna in Edwin F Bryant ed Krishna A Source Book Oxford University Press Shastri Rajendra Muni Jaina Sahitya mein Sri Krishna Charita Jaipur Prakrit Bharati Akademi 1991 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harivamsa Original Sanskrit text online with English translation Manmatha Nath Dutt Vishnu Purana English Translation of Book 2 of Harivamsa 1896 Alexandre Langlois Harivansa ou histoire de la famille de Hari French Translation of Harivamsa 1834 Discourse on Harvamsha by Dr Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harivamsa amp oldid 1169623078, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
