Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa

Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, “the lineage of Hari”

The Hari Vaṃśa Parva (Section on the Dynasty of Hari) is a foundational text of great importance. Tradition holds it to be a supplement (Khila-Bhāga or Appendix) to the vast itihāsa, the Mahābhārata, and it was composed by Maharshi Veda Vyāsa. The work is given wholly to the lineage and the full life of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa (an Avatāra of Vishṇu, known as Hari). It begins where the main Mahābhārata ends its account of Kṛshṇa, and gives the long backstory of the Yadu dynasty, the clan into which Kṛshṇa was born. The Hari Vaṃśa is a bridge between the ancient Vedic tradition and the later Bhakti (devotional) movements, and it presents Kṛshṇa as the Pūrṇa Avatāra (Complete Incarnation) and Supreme Being. It is a key source for the Līlās (divine sports) of Kṛshṇa’s childhood and youth, and its accounts often come before those of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa traces the lineages that descend from Brahmā through Svāyambhuva Manu to the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka dynasties, and ends with the coming of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa into the world. The text opens at Naimishāraṇya, where Śaunaka Maharshi asks Sūta to narrate the lineages of the Vṛshṇis and Andhakas that the main Mahābhārata does not tell at length. Sūta repeats the account that Vaiśampāyana gave to Janamejaya.

Significance

The Hari Vaṃśa Parva holds great importance as a canonical text that completes the great itihāsa.

• Mahābhārata Appendix: It completes the narrative cycle of the Mahābhārata, giving the theological and genealogical background of Kṛshṇa, who guides the events of the itihāsa.
• Theological Development: It gives the earliest long, ordered narrative of Kṛshṇa’s life before the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, telling of his birth in Mathurā, his youth in Vṛndāvana and his later move to Dvārakā.
• Genealogical Source: As a Vaṃśa (dynasty) text, it sets out with care the lineage of the Yadu clan, tracing its origins back to the Soma Vaṃśa (Lunar Dynasty), and gives a time-frame for the ancient history of Bhārata.

Opening and setting

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa begins with a salutation to Nārāyaṇa, to Nara (the best of men, who is Nārāyaṇa’s own aṃśa, portion) and to Sarasvatī Devī. It praises the glory of hearing the Bhārata composed by Vyāsa Maharshi, and places the puṇya (merit) of reciting or gifting the Hari Vaṃśa above even a hundred Aśvamedha yajñas. One who writes out the Hari Vaṃśa, the text says, cannot be parted from the lotus feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu, just as a bee cannot leave the lotus flower.

The outer frame is a dialogue at Naimishāraṇya. Śaunaka, the kula-pati (head) of the gathered ṛshis, asks Sūta to narrate the deeds and lineages of the Vṛshṇis and Andhakas, which were not told at length in the Mahābhārata. Sūta then tells what Vaiśampāyana narrated to King Janamejaya at the snake yajña.

Narrator and Audience

The narrative framework of the Hari Vaṃśa Parva is firmly rooted in the tradition of the Mahābhārata:

• The Prime Narrator: The text is mainly narrated by Vaiśampāyana (the disciple of Vyāsa), who tells it to King Janamejaya (the great-grandson of the Pāṇḍavas).
• The Compiler: The whole work is held to be one of the Khila-Bhāgas (supplementary sections) compiled and composed by Veda Vyāsa himself.

The text works on several levels of narration:

• Outermost: Sūta narrates to Śaunaka and the ṛshis gathered at Naimishāraṇya.
• Inner: Vaiśampāyana narrates to Janamejaya at the sarpa-satra (snake yajña).
• Content: the sacred history of creation, the lineages, and the coming of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Vyāsa Maharshi is praised as greater than Brahmā himself. He is the son of Parāśara Maharshi and Satyavatī Devī, born with an aṃśa of Nārāyaṇa, the treasury of the Vedas, whose words pour out like amṛta for the whole world to drink.

Structure

The Hari Vaṃśa Parva is usually divided into three major Parvans (sections or books), moving in order from cosmology to history and divine Līlā:

1. Hari Vaṃśa Parva (The Dynasty of Hari): The foundational section, telling of the cosmic creation (Sarga), the genealogies of kings, and the early history of the Yadu dynasty.
2. Vishṇu Parva (The Section on Vishṇu): The longest section and the richest in bhakti, given wholly to the birth, childhood, youth and heroic deeds of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.
3. Bhavishya Parva (The Future Section): Dealing with the future Kalpas (cosmic cycles), descriptions of the Kaliyuga (dark age) to come, and the final dissolution (Pralaya), often with Śaiva and Śākta themes.

Contents

Hari Vaṃśa Parva: Genealogy and Creation

This section begins with the origin of the cosmos, telling the origins of the world and the various Vaṃśas (dynasties).

• Yadu and Soma Vaṃśa: It gives a careful Vaṃśānucarita (genealogical account), tracing the lineage from Manu (the progenitor of mankind) through the Soma Vaṃśa (Lunar Dynasty) to Yadu, the ancestor of Kṛshṇa‘s clan.
• The Śāpa: It tells of the śāpa (curse) that led to the later destruction of the Yādava clan, setting the stage for events later in the Mahābhārata.

The first section has at least fifty-five adhyāyas (chapters). They cover:

• the first creation, beginning with Nārāyaṇa and Brahmā;
• the lineage of Svāyambhuva Manu and his descendants;
• the children of Daksha Prajāpati through his sixty daughters, given to Dharma, Kaśyapa, Candra and others;
• the children of Kaśyapa’s twelve wives: the Ādityas from Aditi, the Daityas from Diti, the Dānavas from Danu, the Nāgas from Surasā, Garuḍa from Vinatā, the Rudras from Surabhi, and many more;
• the fourteen Manus (past, present and future), the Saptarshis and deva-gaṇas (groups of devas) of each Manvantara, and the reckoning of cosmic time (kāshṭhā, kalā, muhūrta, yuga, manvantara, kalpa);
• the Sūryavaṃśa, beginning with Vaivasvata Manu: Yama, Yamī, the Aśvinī-kumāras, the line of Ikshvāku, Dhruva, Pṛthu, the Pracetasas, Sagara, Bhagīratha and Śrī Rāma;
• the Candravaṃśa (Lunar dynasty) through Purūravas.

Vishṇu Parva: Kṛshṇa’s Līlās

This section is the heart of the Hari Vaṃśa, in teaching and in narrative:

• Birth and Childhood: It narrates the divine birth of Kṛshṇa and Balarāma (Kṛshṇa’s elder brother) in Mathurā and how they were carried to Gokula to escape the tyranny of Kaṃsa (the asura king). It tells the tender and playful Bāla-Līlās (childhood sports) of Kṛshṇa with Yaśodā (his foster mother).
• Defeat of the asuras: It tells how Kṛshṇa bravely protected the people of Gokula by defeating the many asuras sent by Kaṃsa, such as Pūtanā, Śakaṭāsura and Tṛṇāvarta.
• Rāsa Līlā and Govardhana: It includes the celebrated Govardhana Līlā (lifting of the Govardhana mountain) and gives accounts of the Rāsa Līlā (dance with the Gopīs). The Rāsa Līlā is also told in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.
• Return to Mathurā: It ends with Kṛshṇa and Balarāma’s return to Mathurā, the slaying of Kaṃsa, and the founding of the Yādava capital at Dvārakā.

The Vishṇu Parva tells the Kṛshṇāvatāra in detail: the birth of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in the Vṛshṇi dynasty, his childhood at Gokula and Vṛndāvana, the slaying of many asuras, the Govardhana episode, the Rāsa-līlā, the events leading to the Kurukshetra war, and related narratives.

The second half of the Vishṇu Parva (chapters 38–134) covers:

• the genealogy of Yadu and the founding of cities by Yadu’s sons;
• Paraśurāma‘s counsel at Gomanta;
• the Pārijāta-haraṇa (taking of the Pārijāta tree), with the Śiva stotras of Kaśyapa and of Kṛshṇa;
• the teachings of the Puṇyaka-vrata and the Umā-vrata;
• the Shaṭpura-vadha (slaying at the six cities);
• the Andhakāsura-vadha;
• the campaign against Vajranābha and the narrative of Prabhāvatī;
• Nārada‘s praise of Kṛshṇa;
• the list of Kṛshṇa’s children;
• the genealogy down to Yugaṃdhara.

Bhavishya Parva: Prophecies and Synthesis

This section deals with the end of the ages and brings traditions together:

• The Future: It gives prophecies about the future of the world, above all the marks and hardships of the Kaliyuga (the current dark age).
• Śaiva-Śākta Themes: This last Parva has long narratives that glorify Bhagavān Śiva and Devī (the Divine Mother, Śakti), and confirms that Vishṇu and Śiva are aspects of the same Supreme Reality.

The Bhavishya Parva is the third and last section of the Harivaṃśa, with 136 chapters. It centres on events from the later period of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa‘s stay at Dvārakā. It opens with the episode of the piśācī (a female spirit) and the setting of the Pauṇḍraka narrative, and then turns to the great early history of the daitya kings. It covers:

• the Hiraṇyāksha-Varāha episode (chapters 38–40);
• the Hiraṇyakaśipu-Narasiṃha narrative, with Brahmā‘s stotra (chapters 41–47);
• the great wars of the devas and daityas under Bali Cakravartī, with single combats of champions and Agni‘s stotra (chapters 48–65);
• the Vāmana avatāra, with Kaśyapa‘s stotra, Nārada‘s stotra for Bali’s release, and the promise of the Sāvarṇi Manvantara (chapters 66–73);
• Kṛshṇa’s journey north to Kailāsa; the release of Ghaṇṭākarṇa at Badarikāśrama (chapter 78); Kṛshṇa’s twelve years of tapas; the meeting of Kṛshṇa and Śiva, each singing a stotra to the other; and Śiva’s long teaching on Kṛshṇa-tattva to the gathered ṛshis (chapters 74–91);
• the episode of Pauṇḍrakavāsudeva and the death of Ekalavya (chapters 92–103);
• the wars of Haṃsa and Ḍimbhaka at Pushkara and Govardhana, ending in Haṃsa’s death and Ḍimbhaka’s suicide (chapters 104–130);
• Yaśodā and Nanda visiting Kṛshṇa at Govardhana (chapter 131);
• Kṛshṇa’s return to Dvārakā (chapter 132);
• the pārāyaṇa-vidhi (rite of reciting) of the Harivaṃśa (chapter 133);
• the Tripura-vadha, with Vishṇu as a bull (chapter 134);
• the full anukramaṇikā (index) of the Harivaṃśa (chapter 135);
• the phalaśruti (chapter 136).

Main themes

Cosmogony and the first creation

The text opens with Nārāyaṇa creating the first waters (nāra) and placing his vīrya (seed) in them. This became the Hiraṇya-aṇḍa (golden egg), from which Brahmā came forth. Brahmā split the egg to form the earth and the sky, with the space between them. From his mind he created the Saptarshis, then Rudra. Then, after dividing his own body into male and female, he brought about the increase of beings (Hari Vaṃśa Parva, chapter 1).

Genealogies from Brahmā to the Vṛshṇi dynasty

A central concern of the Hari Vaṃśa Parva is to set out an unbroken lineage from Brahmā, through the Manus, down to Kṛshṇa‘s own ancestors in the Vṛshṇi and Yādava clans. This places Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s descent within sacred history.

Manvantara cosmology

Chapters 7 and 8 give a detailed account of the fourteen Manvantaras: their presiding Manus, the Saptarshis and the deva-gaṇas of each period. The text gives exact measures of time (Hari Vaṃśa Parva, chapter 8):

• 15 nimeshas = 1 kāshṭhā
• 30 kāshṭhās = 1 kalā
• 30 kalās = 1 muhūrta
• 30 muhūrtas = 1 day
• 71 catur-yugas = 1 Manvantara
• 1000 yugas = 1 day of Brahmā (1 kalpa)

Śrāddha-kalpa

The text teaches on śrāddha (rites for the ancestors). It says that the kṛshṇa-paksha (dark fortnight) is the daytime of the pitṛ-devatās and the śukla-paksha (bright fortnight) is their night; this is why śrāddha is performed in the kṛshṇa-paksha (Hari Vaṃśa Parva, chapter 8).

The Tārakāmaya war

The war of the devas and asuras, told in connection with the lineages of the Daityas and Dānavas who descend from Kaśyapa‘s wives, runs as a background thread through the cosmic narrative of the text.

The Kṛshṇāvatāra

Vaiśampāyana states plainly that the Vaivasvata Manvantara is the most important to narrate, because it is in this manvantara that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa was born in the Vṛshṇi dynasty, to destroy the asuras and to benefit humanity (Hari Vaṃśa Parva, chapter 8).

Phala Śruti (Fruits of Recitation)

The devoted study or recitation of the Hari Vaṃśa Parva is held to bring great merit (Puṇya).

• Attainment of Wealth and Offspring: The text promises the fulfilment of worldly desires (Artha and Kāma), above all wealth, fame and virtuous children.
• Destruction of Pāpa: Listening to the Līlās of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa is said to purify the Jīva (individual soul) from all pāpa (sin) committed in this life and in past lives.
• Supreme Devotion: The highest fruit is deep, personal Bhakti (devotion) to Bhagavān Hari (Kṛshṇa), so that the bhakta reaches Vishṇu Loka (Vaikuṇṭha) after death.

Per Bhavishya Purāṇa

The Madhyama Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, after the rule for hearing the Purāṇas, says that for hearing the Harivaṃśa, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Dharmaśāstra the vidhi is told as the reverse of this, and that one should hear or read by the stated vidhi.

In the Uttara Parva, Pulastya Muni tells King Bhīma of Vidarbha that in the rite of the Bhīma Dvādaśī the yajamāna (the keeper of the rite) passes the night in jāgaraṇa (vigil), amid the auspicious acts, hearing the Harivaṃśa, the Sauparṇika ākhyāna, the Mahābhārata and the like.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 7–8; Uttara Parva, Chapters 73–74

The Hari Vaṃśa among the texts

The Hari Vaṃśa Parva is both a supplement to the itihāsa and a major text of bhakti:

• The Mahābhārata and the Hari Vaṃśa: The main Mahābhārata shows Kṛshṇa as statesman, advisor and strategist (Yogeśvara). The Hari Vaṃśa centres almost wholly on Kṛshṇa as divine child and hero (Avatāra).
• The Bhāgavata Purāṇa and the Hari Vaṃśa: The Bhāgavata Purāṇa contains the most detailed accounts of Kṛshṇa’s life, with their deep inner meaning. The Hari Vaṃśa is the older text and presents the Kṛshṇa Līlā in a plain, historical and genealogical setting.
• Focus on Vaṃśa: The Purāṇas contain Vaṃśas (lineages) as one of their five or ten marks. The Hari Vaṃśa is given wholly to the Yadu Vaṃśa, which makes it an essential text for history and genealogy.

Sources

• Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Hari Vaṃśa Parva (chapters 1, 7 and 8)
• Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva (chapters 38–134)
• Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Bhavishya Parva (chapters 1–136)
• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 7–8; Uttara Parva, Chapters 73–74

Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa's Bhavishya ParvaHari Vaṃśa Purāṇa's Hari Vaṃśa ParvaHari Vaṃśa Purāṇa's Vishṇu Parva