Puranic Cosmology in Vishnu Purana and Vayu Purana Compared with the Qur’anic Cosmology

Abstract

The beginning and end of the world, together with its constituent elements, occupy a significant position in teachings of religions and their sacred scriptures. Cosmological concepts have held a central place within comparative religion studies. Both Islam and Hinduism have frequently addressed such cosmological questions in their canonical texts. This dissertation adopts a phenomenological approach to examine cosmological ideas in Islam and Hinduism. Within the Puranic literature of Hinduism, especially from classical era (after 200 C.E.), five main thematic areas are discernible; three of which relate directly to creation of the world, its destruction, and cycles of cosmic renewal. The Qur’an also presents distinct cosmological perspectives. Puranas, composed in praise of three deities Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, form a major corpus of Hindu sacred literature. Among them, the Vishnu Purana and Vayu Purana, representing Vaishnavite and Shaivite traditions, respectively, contain particularly detailed cosmological narratives. These two texts, therefore, constitute the principal focus of the study. The research first outlines the general cosmological ideas of Hinduism and their intellectual background, then examines the Puranic cosmology, particularly in the Vishnu Purana and Vayu Purana, and subsequently explores the cosmological concepts of the Qur’an based on exegetical sources. We conclude by identifying the similarities and differences between these two sacred cosmologies.