Vishnu Purana

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: What factors do you think might have accounted for the division of Hinduism into sects—primarily Vaishnavism, Shivaism, and the Shaktis—in the early centuries of the Common Era?
• 2.: Most religions at one time or another have had to deal with heterodox or heretical views. How does the Vishnu Purana address the issue of “false” religions such as Buddhism and Jainism? How does Hinduism’s response to supposedly false religious beliefs differ from that of Christianity, as reflected in a document such as the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent?
• 3.: The Vishnu Purana states: “This soul is (of its own nature) pure, and composed of happiness and wisdom. The properties of pain, ignorance, and impurity, are those of nature (Prakriti), not of soul.” How, then, do you think that Hindus who adhere to the teachings of the Vishnu Purana explain the existence of evil people: Adolf Hitler, serial killers, child molesters, and the like?
• 4.: The word Vedic is often used in discussions of the history of Hinduism. To what does this word refer? What meaning would it have for a Hindu?
• 5.: If the Puranas are “ancient stories” that take up such issues as creation, the genealogies and stories surrounding ancient kings, and battles between good and evil, to what extent do they in general, and the Vishnu Purana in particular, resemble the Judeo-Christian Bible, specifically Genesis and Exodus? In what sense do they resemble a work such as the Epic of Gilgamesh?