The Puranas (Sanskrit: पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times") are a genre of important Hindu (or Jain and Buddhist) religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.[1]
Puranas usually give prominence to a particular deity, employing an abundance of religious and philosophical concepts. They are usually written in the form of stories related by one person to another. The Puranas are available in vernacular translations and are disseminated by Brahmin scholars, who read from them and tell their stories, usually in Katha sessions (in which a traveling brahmin settles for a few weeks in a temple and narrates parts of a Purana, usually with a Bhakti perspective).
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Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata, is traditionally considered the compiler of the Puranas.[2] However, the earliest written versions date from the time of the Gupta Empire (third-fifth century CE) and much material may be dated, through historical references and other means, to this period and the succeeding centuries. The texts were probably written all over India.
The date of the production of the written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas.[3] On one hand, they existed in some oral form before being written[3] while at the same time, they have been incrementally modified well into the 16th century[3][4] and perhaps down to the present day.
An early reference is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.2). (circa 500BCE.) The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad refers to purana as the "fifth Veda"[5], itihāsapurāṇaṃ pañcamaṃ vedānāṃ, reflecting the early religious importance of these myths, presumably then in purely oral form. The term also appears in the Atharvaveda 11.7.24.[6][7]
According to Pargiter,[6] the "original Purana" may date to the time of the final redaction of the Vedas. Gavin Flood connects the rise of the written Purana historically with the rise of devotional cults centring upon a particular deity in the Gupta era: the Puranic corpus is a complex body of materials that advance the views of various competing cults.[8]
Although these texts are related to each other, and material in one is found in another, they nevertheless each present a view of ordering of the world from a particular perspective. They must not be seen as random collections of old tales, but as highly selective and crafted expositions and presentations of worldviews and soteriologies, compiled by particular groups of Brahmins to propagate a particular vision, whether it be focused on Viṣṇu, Śiva, or Devī, or, indeed, any number of deities.
Common ideas are found throughout the corpus but it is not possible to trace the lines of influence of one Purana upon another so the corpus is best viewed as a synchronous whole.[8]
The All India Kashiraj Trust, formed under Vibhuti Narayan Singh, the Maharaja of Kashi, dedicated itself to publishing editions of the Puranas.[9]
According to Matysa Purana, [10] they are said to narrate five subjects, called Pancha Lakshana pañcalakṣaṇa ("five distinguishing marks", though some scholars have suggested that these are shared by other traditional religious scriptures):[11] [12]
The Puranas also lay emphasis on keeping a record of genealogies, as the Vayu Purana says, "to preserve the genealogies of gods, sages and glorious kings and the traditions of great men."[13] The Puranic genealogies indicate, for example, that Sraddhadeva Manu lived 95 generations before the Bharata war.[14] In Arrian's Indica, Megasthenes is quoted as stating that the Indians counted from "Dionysos" (Shiva) to "Sandracottus" (Chandragupta Maurya) "a hundred and fifty-three kings over six thousand and forty-three years."[15] The list of kings in Kalhana's Rajatarangini goes back to the 19th century BCE.[16]
Pargiter has argued that the Puranic Krta Yuga—in the Vayu Purana the four Yugas are divided into 4800, 3600, 2400, and 1200 years—"ended with the destruction of the Haihayas [by Rama Jamadagnya]; the Treta began approximately with Sagara and ended with Rama Dasarathi's destruction of the Raksasas; and the Dvapara began with his reinstatement at Ayodhya and ended with the Bharata battle".[17][18]
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Of the many texts designated 'Puranas' the most important are the Mahāpurāṇas. These are always said to be eighteen in number, divided into three groups of six, though in fact they are not always counted in the same way. Combining the various lists Cornelia Dimmitt and J.A.B. van Buitenen have collated twenty names:[19]
The Mahapuranas are frequently classified according the three aspects of the divine Trimurti,
According to the Padma Purana,[24] the texts may be classified in accordance with the three gunas or qualities; truth, passion, and ignorance:
The Upapurāṇas are lesser or ancillary texts: these are sometimes also said to be eighteen in number, with still less agreement as to the canonical titles. Few have been critically edited. They include: Sanat-kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesha, Mudgala, and Hamsa.[25]
The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha.[26][27] The Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which extols the goddess Durga, has become (along with the Devi Mahatmya of the Mārkandeya Purana) a basic text for Devi worshipers.[28]
There are many others all over the Indian subcontinent.[29]
This corpus of texts tells of the origins and traditions of particular temples or shrines—the word sthala means "spot" in Sanskrit. There are numerous Sthala Puranas, most written in vernaculars, some with Sanskrit versions as well. Some appear in Sanskrit versions in the Mahapuranas or Upapuranas. Some Tamil Sthala Puranas have been researched by David Dean Shulman.[30]
These Puranas deal with a caste's origin myth, stories, and legends (the word kula means "family" or "tribe" in Sanskrit). They are important sources for caste identity though usually contested by rival castes. This subgenre is usually in the vernacular and may at times remain oral.[31] These have been little researched, though they are documented in the caste section of the British Census of India Report and the various Gazetteers.[32]
Jain Puranas deal with Jain myths, history and legends and form a major part of early Kannada literature.[33] [34] The best known is the Mahapurana of Acharya Jinasena. Among Buddhist Puranas, Swayambhu Purana narrates the mythological history of Nepal and describes Buddhist pilgrimage sites inside the Kathmandu Valley.
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| The Puranas (unknown translator) |
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The Puranas are part of Hindu Smriti; these religious scriptures discuss devotion and mythology. They were written c.400-1000; the eighteen Puranas with six each are rendered to members of the Hindu Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and Shakti, God's Power personified. Perhaps, the best known Purana is the Bhagavata-Purana.
The following are the following 18 major puranas:
The following are the 18 minor puranas:
The texts of major puranas can be obtained from [1]. The texts can be found by going to the corresponding menu option under Spiritual Library /Puranas.
Puranas
   | Contents of 18 Puranas and a list of Upapuranas (lesser Puranas) - VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia, Bhakti-yoga in vedas, Library |
| | The Vishnu Purana - The Vishnu Purana Index |
| | Agni Purana - A synopsis - Hindu Puranas - Spiritual Literature Of India - Agni Purana |
| | The Puranas - Purana - Scriptures S |
| | GRETIL - GRETIL - Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages |
| | Garuda Purana - VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia, Bhakti-yoga in vedas, Library |
| | Puranas at Sacred Texts - Sacred-Texts: Hinduism |
| | Vedabase.net - Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network |
| | Synopsis of Puranas at Urday.com - Page has moved |
| | Samsara - tour of this universe and beyond - VEDA - Vedas and Vedic Knowledge Online - Vedic Encyclopedia, Bhakti-yoga in vedas, Library |
| | Bhagavata Purana (Srimad-Bhagavatam) - Home | Krishna.com |
| | Puranas - Manas: Religious texts of India, Puranas |
| | 18 Puranas at Bharatadesam.Com - Indian Festivals Calendar 2009, Hindu Festivals 2009, Biographies of Indians, Stories of Birbal, Panchatantra, Arabian Nights, Telugu Novels, Hindu Scriptures and Epics, Hindu Pilgrim Centers |
| | S'rîmad Bhâgavatam (bhâgavata purâna) - SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM (Bhagavata Purana); the story of Krishna |
| | Bhagavata.net: - Bhagavata.net - the Book, the Lord and the Devotees |
| | Lexicon - Lexicon of Names, Essential Terms and Sanskrit Words to the S'rîmad Bhâgavatam and the Bhagavad Gîtâ |
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