Friends,

Among the maahaatmya-s listed by Mr. Taylor, I was told that the Kaa"siikha.n.da is being recited (at least in the month of kaarttika) in Varanasi; the Brahmottarakha.n.da is a very important religious text highly venerated by the saiva-s of Tamilnadu. It has been rendered into tamil verse by one of the descendants of later Pandya kings in the 16th century and has been published.

I think the Brahmottarakha.n.da does not so much deal with the greatness of Varanasi. Some of the religious and even philosophical doctrines of Saivasiddhanta are discussed in that. It is the Kaa'siikha.n.da that excusively deals with Varanasi. There is a valuable commentary also for this which has been published.

The Setumaahaatmya also has been Translated into Tamil verse under the name Cettuppuraa.nam.

Long back I heard that the Venkatachalamaahaatmya used to be recited or expounded during Navaraatri celebrations in some parts of Karnataka, especially by vaishnava-s.

Kaarttikamaahaatmya is being regularly recited during that month in Varanasi and I have even heard it being recited (interspersed with Hindi explanations) some years back in a Siva temple in Amritsar.

With the best wishes,

Ganesan

Dr.T.Ganesan
Senior Researcher in Saivasiddhanta
French Institute of Pondicherry
UMIFRE 21 CNRS-MAEE
11, St. Louis Street
P.B. 33 PONDICHERRY-605001
INDIA
Tel: +91 - 413 - 233 4168 ext. 123
E mail: ganesan@ifpindia.org
Web: www.ifpindia.org

----- Original Message -----

From: McComas Taylor

To: INDOLOGY@liverpool.ac.uk

Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 10:18 AM

Subject: [INDOLOGY] Contemporary recitation of Skandapurāṇ a māhātmya?

Dear colleagues

I am interested in the contemporary uses of puranic texts, in particulary the Skandapurāṇa. Below is a list of the main māhātmya of the Skanda.

Do any of you good folk know if any of these texts are still recited or at least drawn on or employed in ritual in their relevant situations?

Thanks in advance

McComas



Section no.

Section title

Contents of section

1.2

Kaumārika-khaṇḍa (KKh)

māhātmya of Mahīsāgarasaṃgama tīrtha, (Kambath, Gujarat)

2.1

Veṅkaṭācala-māhātmya (VM)

Mt Tirumali, near Tirupati, AP

2.2

Puruṣottamakṣetra- māhātmya (PM)

Puri, Orissa

2.3

Badarikāṣrama-māhātmya (BM)

Badrinath, Uttarakhand

2.4

Kārttikamāsa-māhātmya (KM)

various rites to be performed during this month

2.6

Bhāgavata-māhātmya (BhM)

māhātmya of Bhāgavata-purāṇa

2.7

Vaiśākhamāsa-māhātmya (VaiśM)

rites performed for Viṣṇu in month of Vaiśākha

2.8

Ayodhyā-māhātmya (AM)

tīrthas around Ayodhyā, UP

2.9

Vāsudeva-māhātmya (VāsM)

churning of the ocean, description of the earth, dharma of varṇa and āśrama

3.1

Setu-māhātmya (SM)

Ramsetu, TN ‘Adam’s Bridge’

3.3

Brāhmottara-khaṇḍa (BKh)

greatness and glorification of Śiva

4.1-4.2

Kāśī-khaṇḍa

Varanasi

5.3

Revā-khaṇḍa

tīrthas and temples on banks of Narmadā R

6

Nāgara-khaṇḍa

Hāṭakeśvarakṣetra and Vaḍnagara, Gujarat

7.2

Vastrāpathakṣetra- māhātmya (Vaṅga.)

Gujarat

7.4

Dvārakā-māhātmya

Kṛṣṇa’s capital after flight from Mathurā, traditionally associated with Gujarat

--
McComas Taylor
Head, South Asia Program
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Tel: +61 2 6125 3179
Location: Baldessin Precinct Building, 4.24
Website: http://arktos.anu.edu.au/chill/index.php/mct
Learn about my courses: Sanskrit 1 | Indian Epics

Section no.	Section title	Contents of section
1.2	Kaumārika-khaṇḍa (KKh)	māhātmya of Mahīsāgarasaṃgama tīrtha, (Kambath, Gujarat)
2.1	Veṅkaṭācala-māhātmya (VM)	Mt Tirumali, near Tirupati, AP
2.2	Puruṣottamakṣetra- māhātmya (PM)	Puri, Orissa
2.3	Badarikāṣrama-māhātmya (BM)	Badrinath, Uttarakhand
2.4	Kārttikamāsa-māhātmya (KM)	various rites to be performed during this month
2.6	Bhāgavata-māhātmya (BhM)	māhātmya of Bhāgavata-purāṇa
2.7	Vaiśākhamāsa-māhātmya (VaiśM)	rites performed for Viṣṇu in month of Vaiśākha
2.8	Ayodhyā-māhātmya (AM)	tīrthas around Ayodhyā, UP
2.9	Vāsudeva-māhātmya (VāsM)	churning of the ocean, description of the earth, dharma of varṇa and āśrama
3.1	Setu-māhātmya (SM)	Ramsetu, TN ‘Adam’s Bridge’
3.3	Brāhmottara-khaṇḍa (BKh)	greatness and glorification of Śiva
4.1-4.2	Kāśī-khaṇḍa	Varanasi
5.3	Revā-khaṇḍa	tīrthas and temples on banks of Narmadā R
6	Nāgara-khaṇḍa	Hāṭakeśvarakṣetra and Vaḍnagara, Gujarat
7.2	Vastrāpathakṣetra- māhātmya (Vaṅga.)	Gujarat
7.4	Dvārakā-māhātmya	Kṛṣṇa’s capital after flight from Mathurā, traditionally associated with Gujarat