such as those in the Markandeya Purana, but even
these are juxtaposed with stories from the other
two sects.
Included in the category of purana are very
important local stories, usually in Sanskrit, but
sometimes in local languages. In particular, the
Tamil language of South India contains many sto-
ries like this. These sthala puranas, or puranas of
“place,” tell the origin stories of the vast number of
local divinities who populate the Indian landscape.
An example of this would be the Tiruvilayadal
Puranam, written in Tamil in the 16th century,
which tells the story of MINAKSHI from the Brah-
minical point of view, showing how she became
subordinated to SHIVA, who became her husband.
Further reading: Vettam Mani, Puranic Encyclopaedia:
A Comprehensive Work with Special Reference to the
Epic and Puranic Literature (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
2002); David Shulman, Tamil Temple Myths: Sacrifice
and Divine Marriage in the South Indian Saiva Tradition
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1980).
Pururavas and Urvashi See APSARAS.
purusha
The term purusha has two meanings. In the
ancient RIG VEDA, X. 90, the Purusha (usually
spelled in English with a capital P) is the divine
being who existed before time and was sacrificed
to create both the transcendent and the material
realms. The major Vedic ritual, the AGNICHAYANA,
was seen as a reenactment of this primordial cre-
ation, and Purusha was seen as being sacrificed
once again to mirror the myth. In that context the
Purusha began to be called PRAJAPATI.
The second sense of the word purusha is found
in the SAMKHYA and YOGA traditions, where puru-
sha is the individual self. In the early understand-
ing the purushas were infinite in number and all
eternally distinct from one another. In the later
understanding, affected by VEDANTIC thinking, the
purushas merged with the ultimate self, or ATMAN,
when they achieved liberation. In current yoga,
the term purusha is just another term for atman
or “worldly self.”Further reading: S. N. Dasgupta, History of Indian Phi-
losophy, 5 vols. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1971–75;
Klaus Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1994); Heinrich Zimmer,
Philosophies of India (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1974).purusharthas See ENDS OF LIFE, FIVE.
Purvas (c. 700 B.C.E.)
The Purvas are 14 Prakrit (a language derived from
SANSKRIT) language works that are understood to
be the original texts of the Jain canon; they are no
longer extant. BHADRABAHU (c. 300 B.C.E.) is said to
be the last Jain teacher to know all 14 of these texts
by heart. Brief descriptions of the Purvas appear in
later literature. They must have included cosmol-
ogy, speculations on the karmic substance that
holds a soul in transmigration, polemics, astrology,
astronomy, and disquisitions on esoteric powers
and YOGAs. The Purvas were transmitted orally
and preached by MAHAVIRA, the last TIRTHANKARA
(saint) of our half-era.Further reading: Padmanabh S. Jaini, The Jain Path of
Purification (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990).Pushan
Pushan is a Vedic divinity associated with the Sun.
He is the guardian of travelers and herd animals.
He is frequently linked in the VEDAS to SOMA
(who in addition to being a divine drink taken by
BRAHMINS at the Vedic ritual is also the god of the
Moon). Pushan is known to be an escort on the
path to the next world. He is often listed as one of
the 12 ADITYAS.K 338 Pururavas and Urvashi