Written by London swaminathan

Date : 3 September  2015

Post No. 2121

Time uploaded in London : 20-03

Veda Vyasa, the black sage of India, spent his life time in compiling the Four Vedas, writing the longest epic in the world – Mahabharata and compiling 18 Puranas. This is unparalleled in any part of the world and no one could beat him at any time to enter the Book of Records. He showed the world that India was the most civilized and most literate in the ancient world.

But after writing 800,000 lines in 18 Puranas (Hindy Mythology), ie. Four million words, he gave the gist in one line:

Paropakaara Punyaaya, Paapaaya para piidanam

Helping others is good; harming others is sin!

This is the message he conveyed to the world according to Panchatantra of Vishnusarman. His Panchatantra (Animal fables) itself was translated into other languages from fifth century CE. He says,

“Ashtaadasapuraaneshu Vyaasaaya Vachandvayam

Paropakaara Punyaaya, Paapaaya para piidanam – Pancha tantra.

(In the eighteen Puranas Vyasa made made two statements: Helping others is Punya (good, meritfl) and hurting others is Paapa (sin)

Ancient Hindu wisdom is always given in formulas (Sutras)

Following are the 18 Puranas with the number of Slokas (couplets) they contain:

Agni                        16,000

Bhagavata              18,000

Bhavisya                 14,500

Brahma                  10,000

Brahmanda            12,000

Brahmavaivavarta18,000

Garuda                   18,000

Kurma                    18,000

Linga                       11,000

Markandeya          9000

Matsya                   14,000

Naradiya                25,000

Padma                    55,000

Skanda                   81,000

Vaman                    10,000

Varaha                    24,000

Vayu                       24,000

Vishnu                    23,000

Total : About Four hundred thousand couplets= 800000 lines X 5 words a line = Four million words!

Largest Purana: Skanda Purana

Shortest Purana: Makandya Purana

Oldest Purana: Vishnu Purana: (in the present form -300 AD)

They alone live…………….

There is another beautiful saying about helping others in Tamil, Sanskrit and English with the same message. Great men think alike:

“Param Paropakaaraartham Yo Jiivati Sa Jiivati” – Subhasita Ratna Bhandaagaaram

Those who live for others are only live (their life).

Swami Viekananda said,

“They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive”.

The same message is in Tamil Veda Tirukkural,

“Only those, who know and practise social cooperation, live their life;

The others are as good as dead” – Kural 214

German philosopher and poet Goethe also said,

“A useless life is only an earthly death”

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