Dating the Bhagavatha Puranas

[Guest guest]

Dear Listeners,

 

I have two queries. Both relate to the dating of the various Puranas. It is

commonly accepted that

mArkandeYa, vishnu, BrahmAnda and vAyu are the earliest among the puranas

with the first two

dated around 3rd Cent CE and portions of the last two dated between 4th and

5th Cent CE. I'd like

to know,

 

1) Where do the BhAgavatha Purana figure in the list? Given the logical

ordering and sequencing

of chapters in the text and the preponderance of references to Krishna as

the Supreme God throughout

the text, it seems to have a late origin. But how late..and I find there are

several archaic verses akin

to the language of the Vedas, in the 4th, 5th Skandhas that could imply an

earlier origin?

 

2) Where do the DevI BhAgavatha Purana fit in? Some puranas include the DB

among the list of

18 Puranas and exclude the BhAgvatha Purana. However there are several

references to Radha worship

and Goloka in the DB that definitely point to a late origin (akin to the

Brahma Vaivartha and Bhavishya

Puranas).