Vishnu Purana

Impact

The way the Buddha story is cast in the narrative, it appears that the text was purposefully composed to consolidate the traditional Vedic religious practice and dissuade people from opting for other religions. Although it legitimizes other heterodox faiths by stating that they were the creations of Vishnu himself, it disparages and demonizes them and sanctifies the Vedic religious order as the only true and original one. Similarly, the second excerpt on yoga is completely theologized, and Yoga is defined from the Vaishnava perspective. As Vishnu is now the ultimate God in whom and from whom everything emanates, yoga becomes the definite means for one’s unity with God and therefore for ultimate liberation.

While yoga philosophy was originally not theistic, the nonsectarian theological conception slowly entered the practice through the time of its refinement by Patanjali (ca. 200 BCE). Later, depending on the sectarian affiliation, yoga was related to a particular deity, such as Shiva or Vishnu or other forms of divine power. The theologization of yoga in the sectarian fashion (that is, as a means to reach a particular deity) must have served the needs of diverse peoples wishing to incorporate the philosophy in their religious doctrine. Nonetheless, because of the lack of information regarding the immediate historical setting of the Vishnu Purana, it is difficult to assess the impact of the text on contemporary people.

In the modern era, puranic works are often recited in Sanskrit—the language in which the texts were originally transmitted and codified—in a public setting. The recitation of a particular puranic text is then followed by storytelling in the vernacular language suitable to the public gathered to celebrate the occasion and listen to the divine narratives. Among orthodox Hindus, belief in puranic stories is very strong, and most such followers regard the stories as real happenings of the past. However, more liberal-minded Hindus tend to take the puranic stories just as a means to inspire devotion to a particular form of god or goddess.