• Opening
• Teachings

Opening

Padma means lotus. The Padma Purana is named after a lotus that the Creator was born on. The story on how gods and demons once worked together to churn the Ocean of Milk is found here too.

Suta, who was sitting alone, was once told by Lomaharsana to go the hermitages of the sages and explain righteous conduct in brief to them. "Go carefully and with restraint after this rotating, matchless wheel, and you will reach the place," said Lomaharsana.

Suta did, and in due time came to the Naimisa forest.

The sages said: "Suta, where have you come from, and why are you here?"

Suta said: "I was told to come here and describe various kinds of duties."

The sages then asked him to tell the Padma Purana to them. "How was the lotus produced? How did the Creator come into being there? Do tell us how he caused the creation after he had sprung up from the lotus."

Suta: "I shall tell it as I learnt it."

He told there are three goals of human life (Dharma, Artha and Kama), and that the Creator once ordered the Upholder of the worlds to take the form of a horse and bring back the Vedas when all the worlds had nothing left of them, for an Asura had taken them. The Upholder gallopped away and then took the form of a fish and snatched back the Vedas in the ocean of water.

While remaining in the water, the Upholder told all the Veda to Creator-God, and he in turn told the Vedas to sages.

After some time, however, the Creator saw that people did not appreciate the Vedas full well, and asked Vyasa to collect and divide up the material. He did. (Chap 1, retold).

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Teachings

The Supreme Ruler is the Lord of souls and the Observer of the worlds. (2.3)

[The worlds appear:] In the golden egg, the excellent birth of Brahma (took place) first. The egg was covered by water, and water by light (or heat). It (i.e. light) was covered by air; air by ether; that by the source of the elements . . . ; that source of elements too was covered by Mahat, and Mahat by the Invisible. (2.9-11)