Anantavratakathā, circa 1700-1850.
अनन्तव्रतकथा

Format:

Manuscript

Standardized Title:

Puranas. Bhaviṣyottarapurāṇa. Selections.

Language:

Sanskrit

Subjects (All):

Rites and ceremonies--India.

Rites and ceremonies.

India.

Women in Hinduism.

Menstruation--Religious aspects.

Menstruation--Mythology.

Marriage--Religious aspects.

Marriage--India.

Marriage.

Krishna (Hindu deity).

Yudhiṣṭhira (Hindu mythology).

Vratas.

Dharma.

Devotional literature, Sanskrit.

Genre:

dialogues

prayers (compositions)

manuals (instructional materials)

Manuscripts, Sanskrit.

Manuscripts.

Physical Description:

1 item (20 leaves) : paper ; 25 x 14 cm

Contained In:

Collection of Indic Manuscripts. Item 372, Item 373, Item 374

Place of Publication:

circa 1700-1850.

१७००-१८५०.

Language Note:

In Sanskrit (Devanāgarī)

Summary:

Instructions for and myths about performing special rites for Hindu women during auspicious times of year. The first part, Anantavratakathā, is a ceremony honouring the deity Viṣṇu (in the form of Ananta) on the day of the full moon in the month of Bhādra (August-September), taking the structure of a dialogue between the deity Kṛṣṇa and the legendary king Yudhiṣṭira; rite is intended to bring longevity and prosperity to a marriage and is performed by both partners. This text is followed by a short text calling itself Pūjākrama. The second part, Haritālikāvratakathā, takes the structure of a dialogue between the deity Śiva (as Hara) and Pārvatī (as Gaurī); rite is performed by both married and unmarried women to either extend the life of their husbands (and so avoid widowhood) or to procure a husband. The third part, Ṛṣipañcamīvratakathā, takes the structure of a dialogue, also between Kṛṣṇa and Yudhiṣṭira; rite is performed by young woman and is intended to remove sins between menstrual cycles and discusses accumulated karma (and sins) of previous births.

Contents:

(Part 1) Anantavratakathā, Pūjākrama

(Part 2) Haritālikāvratakathā

(Part 3) Ṛṣipañcamīvratakathā.

Notes:

Title from incipit (Part 1, f. 1r).

Written in 7-10 lines per leaf.

20 leaves foliated (Part 1) 1-9, (Part 2) 1-6, (Part 3) 1-5, upper left and lower right verso.

Colophon (Part 1): iti śrī bhaviṣyottarapurāṇe kṛṣṇayudhiṣṭirasaṃvāṃde anaṃtavratakathāsaṃpūrṇaṃ // (f. 9v).

Colophon (Part 2): iti śrī bhaviṣyottarapurāṇe haragaurisaṃvāde haritālikāvratakathāsaṃpūrṇaṃ // (f. 6v).

Colophon (Part 3): iti śrī bhavi[ṣyottara]purāṇe ṛṣipaṃcami[vrata]samāptā // (f. 5v).

Mistakes blacked out; some corrections and additions in margins; significant syllables, words, or phrases highlighted in red throughout; vertical margins marked with double red line.

Previously housed with Item 371; previously listed as three separate manuscripts: Item 372, Item 373, and Item 374, but all manuscripts are part of the same purāṇic work, on the same general topic (women's vows), and in the same scribal hand on the same paper.

Non-Latin script record.

Cited in:

Listed in H. I. Poleman, Census of Indic Manuscripts in the United States and Canada (New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society, 1938), Poleman 1222, 1287, and 1243 (UP 372, UP 373, UP 374).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Coll. 390, Item 372, Item 373, Item 374

Contains:

Pūjākrama.

R̥ṣipañcamīvratakathā.

Haritālikāvratakathā.

OCLC:

782938302