Padma Purana (पद्म पुराण )
Padma Purana (पद्म पुराण) is a revered Vaishnav Purana composed by Maharshi Vedavyasa. This sacred text consists of 7 sections, 697 chapters, and approximately 55,000 verses. The Padma Purana beautifully narrates the stories of Lord Vishnu’s avatars, especially the Vamana avatar, the tale of Tuladhara, and the account of Nandi Dhenus, illustrating the essence of truth through these enchanting stories.
Exploring the Padma Purana
Maharshi Vedavyasa’s creation stands as one of the eighteen Puranas written in Sanskrit. Among these eighteen Puranas, the ‘Padma Purana’ holds the second position. In terms of verse count, it is also in second place, following the Skanda Purana. The term ‘Padma’ means ‘lotus’. As the creator of the universe, Lord Brahma expanded the knowledge of creation from the lotus navel of Lord Narayana, giving this Purana its name.
This unique scripture delves deeply into the glory of Lord Vishnu, the characters of Lord Shri Ram and Shri Krishna, the significance of various holy places, the essence of Shaligrama, and the beautiful descriptions of different vows.
Significant Sections of the Padma Purana
पद्मपुराण के छह खण्ड प्रसिद्ध हैं:
- सृष्टि खण्ड
- भूमि खण्ड
- स्वर्ग खण्ड
- ब्रह्म खण्ड
- पाताल खण्ड
- उत्तर खण्ड
The Padma Purana reportedly contains around 55,000 verses. Notably, the authentic version of the Padma Purana was prepared by ‘आनन्दाश्रम मुद्रणालय, पुणे’ and presented in the years 1893-94, marking a significant milestone. With the assistance of numerous scholars, efforts were made to present the Padma Purana in as authentic a form as possible. This edition comprises a total of 48,452 verses.
Between 1956-58, a version was published by ‘मनसुखराय मोर, 5, क्लाइव राॅ, कोलकाता’, which was based on an ancient edition published by ‘वेंकटेश्वर प्रेस, बंबई’. This was done since the ‘आनन्दाश्रम’ edition had fewer verses than the 55,000 originally assumed. However, the verses from the Venkateshwar Press edition were not counted, leading to the presumption of the 55,000 verses count.
For those who wish to explore the complete details and wisdom of the Padma Purana, we have made a comprehensive PDF available for download below. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to deepen your understanding of this revered text and its teachings!