Harivamsa

The Harivamsa (Sanskrit: हरिवंश, lit. 'The genealogy of Hari', IAST: Harivamśa^[1]) is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the anustubh metre. The text is also known as the Harivamsa Purana. This text is believed to be a khila (appendix or supplement) to the Mahabharata^[2]^[3] and is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa. The most celebrated commentary of the Mahabharata by Neelakantha Chaturdhara, the Bharata Bhava Deepa also covers the Harivamsa. According to a traditional version of the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa is divided into two parvas (books) and 12,000 verses.^[2] These are included with the eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata.^[3] The Critical Edition has three parvas and 5,965 verses.^[4]

The Adi Parva of Harivamsa describes the creation of the cosmos and the legendary history of the kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties leading up to the birth of Krishna. Vishnu Parva recounts the history of Krishna up to the events prior to the Mahabharata.^[5] Bhavishya Parva, the third book, includes two alternate creation theories, hymns to Shiva and Vishnu and provides a description of the Kali Yuga.^[6] While the Harivamsa has been regarded as an important source of information on the origin of Vishnu's incarnation Krishna, there has been speculation as to whether this text was derived from an earlier text and what its relationship is to the Brahma Purana, another text that deals with the origins of Krishna.^[7]

^ "South Asian arts - Sanskrit: epic and didactic literature (400 bc–ad 1000) | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b Datta, Manmathanatha, [Manmatha Nath Dutt], (1895). A prose English translation of the Mahabharata (tr. literally from the original Sanskrit text), Adi Parva, Mahabharata 1.2.377-378, Printed by H.C. Dass, Calcutta, p. 21: "There are Harivansa and Vavisya in its appendix. The number of slokas composed by the great Rishi in the Harivansa, is twelve thousand. These are the contents of the chapters called Parva Sangraha in the Bharata."
^ ^a ^b The Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book I: Chapter 2 in sacred-texts.com website, (MBh.1.2.69): "hari vaṃśas tataḥ parva purāṇaṃ khila saṃjñitam bhaviṣyat parva cāpy uktaṃ khileṣv evādbhutaṃ mahat." ["Hari Vamsa Purana known as Khila (supplement) and Bhavishya Parva also spoken as Khila are wonderful and great"].
^ Debroy, Bibeck, (2016). Harivamsha, Penguin Books India, Gurgaon, "Introduction": "There are thus 5,965 shlokas in all of Harivamsha. Non-Critical versions will often have doubled this number, reflective of the slashing."
^ Maurice Winternitz (1981), History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-0836408010, pages 426-431
^ Maurice Winternitz (1981), History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-0836408010, pages 432-435
^ Ruben, Walter, (1941). "The Kṛṣṇacarita in the Harivaṃśa and Certain Purāṇas", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 61, No. 3, p.115.

[1] "South Asian arts - Sanskrit: epic and didactic literature (400 bc–ad 1000) | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 1 April 2022.

[Datta-2] Datta, Manmathanatha, [Manmatha Nath Dutt], (1895). A prose English translation of the Mahabharata (tr. literally from the original Sanskrit text), Adi Parva, Mahabharata 1.2.377-378, Printed by H.C. Dass, Calcutta, p. 21: "There are Harivansa and Vavisya in its appendix. The number of slokas composed by the great Rishi in the Harivansa, is twelve thousand. These are the contents of the chapters called Parva Sangraha in the Bharata."

[mahabharata-3] The Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book I: Chapter 2 in sacred-texts.com website, (MBh.1.2.69): "hari vaṃśas tataḥ parva purāṇaṃ khila saṃjñitam bhaviṣyat parva cāpy uktaṃ khileṣv evādbhutaṃ mahat." ["Hari Vamsa Purana known as Khila (supplement) and Bhavishya Parva also spoken as Khila are wonderful and great"].

[4] Debroy, Bibeck, (2016). Harivamsha, Penguin Books India, Gurgaon, "Introduction": "There are thus 5,965 shlokas in all of Harivamsha. Non-Critical versions will often have doubled this number, reflective of the slashing."

[mw426-5] Maurice Winternitz (1981), History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-0836408010, pages 426-431

[6] Maurice Winternitz (1981), History of Indian Literature, Vol. 1, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-0836408010, pages 432-435

[7] Ruben, Walter, (1941). "The Kṛṣṇacarita in the Harivaṃśa and Certain Purāṇas", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 61, No. 3, p.115.

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