Falsity in categorization of Puranas

It is generally noticed that the Padma Purana verse is quoted to prove that the Puranas are actually classified into Satwika, Rajasika and Tamasika Puranas. However any one with an ounce of sense will not really believe this. Suppose a mother is giving food to her children, will she give more poisonous food to one, less poisonous food to another and completely non-poisonous food to some. Obviously not , she will give the best food to her children depending upon the tastes of her children. Similarly Vyasa, who has the same kind of love for humanity will not give Puranas in this way. He will give Satwika Puranas to all. However logic does not generally function for Vaishnavas as a whole, they love quoting the same old nonsense and logic makes hardly any effect on them. As they have given up reasoning completely. Now let us see the Padma Purana verse

Satvika Puranas:

वैष्णवं नारदीयं च तथा भागवतं शुभम् ।
गारुडं च तथा पाद्मं वाराहं शुभदर्शने ।
सात्विकानि पुराणानि विज्ञेयानि शुभानि वै ।।

Vishnu Purana, Naradiya Puran, Padma Purana, Garuda Purana, Varaha Purana, Srimad Bhagavata Purana are sAttvika(236.18)

Rajasa Puranas:

ब्रह्माण्डं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं मार्कण्डेयं तथैव च ।
भविष्यं वामनं ब्राह्मं राजसानि निबोधत ।।

Brahmanda Purana, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana are rAjasika (236.19)

Tamasa Puranas :

मात्सयं कौर्मं तथा लैङ्गम् शैवं स्कान्दं तथैव च ।
आग्नेयं च षडेतानि तामसानि निबोधत ।।

Matsya Purana, Kurma Purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana are tAmasika (236.20)

सात्विका मोक्षदाः प्रोक्ताः राजसा सर्वदा अशुभाः ।
तथैव तामसा देवि निरयप्राप्तिहेतवः ।।

Satwika Puranas give Moksha, Rajasa Puranas are inauspicious and Tamasa Puranas oh Devi are sources for Naraka.

प.पु. उत्तर 236.21

Now the irony here is that the Padma Purana places itself in the Satwika Category, also if one notices it slyly puts the Vishnu related Puranas as Satwika and the Shiva Purana as Tamasika, not even Rajasika. Also another thing to note is that Padma Purana is a Vaishnava Purana. Another excuse used by Vaishnavas is the Matsya Purana verse as follows

sāttvikeṣu purāṇeṣu māhātmyamadhikaṃ hareḥ /rājaseṣu ca māhātmyam adhikaṃ brahmaṇo viduḥ //tadvadagneśca māhātmyaṃ tāmaseṣu śivasya ca

“In the Puranas in the mode of goodness, the focus is the glories of Lord Hari. Those in the mode of passion, the focus is on the glories of Lord Brahma. Similarly, those in the mode of ignorance, the focus is on the glories of Lord Siva and Agni.

So in short it is Vaishnava Puranas which state that Vishnu related Puranas are Satwika, where as Shiva Puranas are Tamasika.

Now let us look at the classification of Skanda Purana.

दशशैव पुराणानि सात्विकानि विदुर्भुदः ।

श्रध्देयाणि द्विजवरै: तेशम् धर्मस्तुतत्रयेत् ।।

श्लोक 45, शाम्भव खण्ड, शिवरहस्य खण्ड, शंकर संहिता, स्कन्द पुराण

Translation: The ten Shaiva Puranas are Satwika in nature as known by wise men. The Brahmanas have Shraddha in them and follow the Dharma told in them.

वैष्णवानि च चत्वारि तामसानि मुनिश्वरः ।

क्षत्रियाणां श्रुथा धर्म तेषु तत्देवता हरि: ।।

Translation: The 4 Vaishnava Puranas are Tamasa in nature, O Muni, the Dharma told in them is for Kshatriyas, the Devata for them is Hari.

श्लोक 49, शाम्भव खण्ड, शिवरहस्य खण्ड, शंकर संहिता, स्कन्द पुराण

Hence this shows clearly that Skanda Purana, a Shaiva text is telling that all Shaiva Puranas are Satwika, where as Padma Purana a Vaishnava text is telling that Vishnu Purana is Satwika.

This shows that the categorization of the Puranas based on the Gunas is absolutely unreliable. This means both Pramanas contradict each other.

So now let us see how we can proceed with the categorization now, we have contradictory Pramanas, since both Pramanas contradict each other, none of their categorisations are valid. The categorization is maximum sectarian in nature nothing more.

So now let us take another Pramana which is seen as Pramana by almost all sects of Hinduism. The Srimad Bhagavat Gita , following is a verse from it

मूल श्लोकः
सर्वभूतेषु येनैकं भावमव्ययमीक्षते

अविभक्तं विभक्तेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि सात्त्विकम्।।18.20।।

English Translation By Swami Sivananda

18.20 That by which one sees the one indestructible Reality in all beings, not separate in all the separate beings know thou that knowledge to be Sattvic.

Meaning wherever there is knowledge of the oneness or all pervading reality or Ishwara talked about, that knowledge is Satwika. Or if it helps in seeing Advaita or Non-duality that is Satwika knowledge. This is as per the Bhagavat Gita verse. Hence if any Purana talks about oneness or Advaita, such a Purana should be considered to be a Satwika Purana.

Now Vishnu Purana and Padma Purana are seen as Satwika Puranas, well if they talk about the Satwika Jnanam or knowledge talked about in Bhagavat Gita then they are Satwika Puranas otherwise they are not Satwika Puranas.

Let us see verses from Vishnu Purana

Vishnu Purana Book 1 Chapter 22, verse 87

अहं हरिः सर्वमिदं जनार्दनो
नान्यत्ततः कार्यकारणजातम् ।

ईद्दङ्मनो यस्य न तस्य भूयो
भवोद्भवा द्वन्द्व गता भवन्ति ।

Translation:I am Hari, all of this is Janardhana , nothing other than this exists in this world of cause and effect . He who has this type of mind , would not again come back to this world of opposites .

Vishnu Purana Book 1 Chapter 2 verse 39

यदेतद् दृश्यते मूर्त्तमेतज्ज्ञानात्मनस्तव ।

भ्रान्तिज्ञानेन पश्यन्ति जगद्रूपमयोगिनः ।।

Translation:Whatever seen as constituted or formed is nothing but in essence your awareness or consciousness , but on account of false knowledge “Bhraanti Jnaana” people see it as the world , such people are without Wisdom or Yoga .

Like this there are many verses in the Vishnu Purana, hence this proves that Vishnu Purana is a Satwika Purana as it gives knowledge of oneness as confirmed by Bhagavat Gita.

Let us look at Padma Purana once

Padma Purana Srushti Khanda Chapter 2 verse 35
व्यक्ताव्यक्तं परित्यज्य सत्वं ब्रह्मणि संस्थितम्३५
नानात्व दर्शनात्सुस्थस्ततस्तदभिवर्त्तते

Translation: Beyond manifest and in manifest is the nature of Brahman situated and established, in all of this variety Brahman’s existence is seen.

Padma Purana Srushti Kanda Chapter 2 verse 36

ततस्तापत्रयातीतोविरूपाख्योनिरंजनः
आनन्दंब्रह्मणाः प्राप्तोनबिभेतिकुतश्चन ।

Translation:Hence it is beyond misery , without form , stainless , he who attains this blissful Brahman has no more fear . (Similar verse is present in the Upanishads ).

So this again shows that Padma Purana is also talking about oneness, hence it is also Satwika Purana since it gives Satwika Jnana.

Now let us go to the so called Tamasika Puranas, let us see if they give knowledge of oneness or Satwika Jnana as told in Bhagavat Gita.

Let us look at the Shiva Purana which is claimed to be a Tamasa Purana

Shiva Purana Kailasa Samhita (Section 6) Chapter 17 Verse 3

श्रीसुबह्मण्य उवाच ।
अद्वैतशैववादोऽयं द्वैतन्न सहते क्वचित् ।
द्वैतं च नश्वरं ब्रह्माद्वैतम्परमनश्वरम् ॥ ३ ॥

Translation:This is the Śaivite philosophy of non-dualism. Nowhere does it brook duality. Duality perishes and the non-dualism remains imperishable.

Shiva Purana Kailasa Samhita (Section 6) Chapter 19 Verse 8

प्रज्ञानात्मा यदेवेह तदमुत्रेति चिन्तयेत् ।
यः स एवेति विद्वद्भिस्सिद्धान्तिभिरिहोच्यते ॥ ८ ॥

Translation:The Ātman is the perfect knowledge: what is here is there; he who is here is there.” The concept is very well interpreted by the scholars.

So in fact we see even in Shiva Purana, oneness is being told, meaning Satwika Jnana is being given, This means even Shiva Purana is a Satwika Purana.

Now lastly let us look at some verses in the Linga Purana as well

Linga Purana Purva Bhaga Chapter 17 verse 17

अहमेव परं ज्योतिः परमात्मा त्वहं विभुः।।
यद्यदृष्टं श्रुतं सर्वं जगत्यस्मिंश्चराचरम्।। १७.२७ ।।Translation: I am the Supreme Awareness, I am the Paramatma and all pervasive, whatever is seen and heard , moving , unmoving , all of this world is me.

Linga Purana Purva Bhaga Chapter 17 verse 18

तत्तद्विद्धि चतुर्वक्त्र सर्वं मन्मयमित्यथ।।
मया सृष्टं पुराव्यक्तं चतुर्विशतिकं स्वयम्।। १७.२८ ।।

Translation: All of that (as illustrated in verse 17) is full of me, it has been projected by me, and made manifest in the beginning, which is of 24 Tatvas.

Linga Purana Uttara Bhaga Chapter 15 verse 15

न किंचिच्च शिवादन्यदिति प्राहुर्मनीषिणः।।
अपरब्रह्मरूपं तं परब्रह्मात्मकं शिवम्।। १५.१५ ।।

Translation: Nothing in this world in the least is different from Shiva as told by wise men. Shiva is both Aparabrahman and Parabrahman.

Linga Purana Uttara Bhaga Chapter 15 verse 18

शंकरस्य परस्यैव शिवादन्यन्न विद्यते।।
विद्याविद्यास्वरूपी च शंकरः कैश्चिदुच्यते।। १५.१८ ।।

Translation: Other than Shankara, other than Shiva there is nothing. He is the essence of both knowledge and ignorance.

So even Linga Purana talks about oneness, this means that even Linga Purana is a Satwika Purana.

I think these quotes justify completely that categorisation of Puranas into Satwika, Rajasika and Tamasika is not correct. If at all they have to be categorised, the standard that has to be taken is the Bhagavat Gita verse which talks about Satwika knowledge. So any Purana that gives this Satwika knowledge can be considered as a Satwika Purana. It is my belief that all 18 Puranas are Satwika Puranas.

As a final note I would like to add that inspite of this, if Vaishnavas still feel that they are correct then they face a problem here, they cannot claim that Hari is completely Satwa ,as Padma Purana describes all the Puranas are body parts of Hari, the translation and reference is as given below

1. Brahma Purana is said to be the ‘forehead’ of Sri Hari,
2. Padma Purana is said to be the ‘heart’ of Sri Hari,
3. Vishnu Purana is said to be the ‘right arm’ of Sri Hari.
4. Shiva Purana is said to be the ‘left arm’ of Sri Hari.
5. Srimad Bhagawat is said to be his ‘thigh’,
6. Narada Purana is said to be his ‘navel’,
7. Markendeya Purana is said to be his ‘right-foot’.
8. Agni Purana is said to be his ‘left foot’,
9. Bhavishya Purana is said to be his ‘right-knee’,
10. Brahma Vaivrata Purana is said to be his ‘left-knee’.
11. Linga Purana is said to be his ‘right ankle’,
12. Varaha Purana is said to be his ‘left ankle’,
13. Skanda Purana is said to be the hair on the body of ‘Sri Hari’.
14. Vamana Purana is said to be his ‘skin’.
15. Kurma Purana is said to be his ‘back’.
16. Matsya Purana is said to be his ‘stomach’.
17. Garuda Purana is said to be his ‘bone-marrow’.
18. Brahmanda Purana is said to be his ‘bone’.

Padma Purana, svarga khaNDa (62.2-7)

This means as all Puranas form the body of Hari they have to be Satwa since Hari is full of Kalyana Gunas as per Vaishnavas, if they argue otherwise then they have to admit that Hari is not full of Kalyana Gunas, since there are Gunas in Hari which lead to Naraka also.