The Puranas
Puranas (Sanskrit: पुराण Purāna, “of ancient times”) is a Sanskrit word.
It means “ancient” or “old.”
Puranas are considered one of the most ancient Indian literature about Hinduism. In fact, the Puranas are post-Vedic Texts and are regarded as the fifth Veda.
Sage Vyasa is known to be the compiler of the Puranas from age to age. He is Krishna Dvaipayana, the son of Parasara.
Puranas are encyclopedic and cover various topics including cosmogony, cosmology, folk tales, pilgrimages, theology, medicine, temples, grammar, philosophy, astronomy, and even the genealogies of Gods, Goddesses, Kings, Heroes, Sages, and Demigods.
The Puranas contain a vivid description of the history of the Universe from creation to destruction. It describes Hindu cosmology and geography. It contains narratives of heroes and demigods and even the genealogies of the kings.
By far the most famous Purana stands to be the Bhagavata Purana which narrates the childhood and early life of Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Hindu God, Lord Vishnu. The Bhagavata Purana preaches the practice of Bhakti Yoga.
In fact, the Puranas contain a wealth of information on yogic practices as well as different branches of spiritual practice.
There are as many as 18 main Puranas and 18 minor Puranas (known as Upapuranas). Together they contain over 400,000 verses (slokas).
The 18 main Puranas have been divided into three categories and have been named after the Deity: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Out of the 18 main Puranas:
Six are Satvic or Vaishnava Puranas which glorify Lord Vishnu
Six are Rajasic or Brahma Puranas which glorify Lord Brahma
The remaining (Six) are Tamasic or Shiva Puranas and glorify Lord Shiva
The Vaishnava Puranas include:
Vishnu Purana
Narada Purana
Vamana Purana
Matsya Purana
Garuda Purana
Srimad Bhagavata Purana
The Brahma Puranas include:
Brahma Purana
Bhavishya Purana
Agni Purana
Brahmavaivarta Purana
Brahmanda Purana
Padma Purana
The Shiva Puranas include:
Shiva Purana
Linga Purana
Kurma Purana
Markandeya Purana
Skanda Purana
Varaha Purana
1. Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana contains almost 23,000 verses. It is one of the most popular Maha Puranas.
Vishnu Purana is centred on Hindu God, Lord Vishnu and his avatars such as Lord Krishna. It also praises Brahma and Shiva and asserts that they are one with Lord Vishnu.
The Vishnu Purana forms an important part of the Vaishnavism literature corpus.
It consists of six aṃśas (parts) and 126 adhyāyas (chapters).
In the Vishnu Purana, the contents are presented in Pancalaksana format:
Sarga (cosmogony)
Pratisarga (cosmology)
Vamsa (mythical genealogy of the gods, sages, and kings)
Manvañtara (cosmic cycles)
Vamśānucaritam (it presents the legends which happened during the times of various kings)
Its composition date is unknown and contested.
2. Brahma Purana
The Brahma Purana contains 10,000 verses. It is also known as Adi Purana.
Another title for the Brahma Purana is Saura Purana as it contains many chapters related to Surya or the Sun God.
The text includes 245 chapters. It is written in the Sanskrit language. However, the text has nothing to do with the Hindu God Brahma. It is more of a travel guide and includes sections on diverse topics.
It is divided into two parts:
Purva Bhaga (the former part)
Uttara Bhaga (latter part)
The Brahma Purana has also borrowed passages from other Hindu Texts such as Mahabharata and Puranas such as Vishnu and Vayu.
In fact, 60% of its chapters describe holy sites such as the Godavari River region, places in and around Odisha, and even tributaries of the Chambal River in Rajasthan.
It also celebrates sites and temples related to Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. It covers topics such as cosmology, mythology, genealogy, Manvantara (cosmic time cycles), etc.
3. Shiva Purana
The Shiva Purana contains almost 24,000 verses. It is one of the major Puranas that has been rendered in Sanskrit. It forms part of the Shaivism literature corpus.
Shiva Purana focuses on the Hindu God Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. However, it also refers to and reveres all Gods.
It contains chapters with Shiva-centered cosmology, mythology, Yoga, Tirtha (pilgrimage sites), bhakti, rivers, geography, and other topics. Some of its chapters focus on Advaita Vedanta’s philosophy. It is also loaded with theistic elements of bhakti.
However, the date and authors of Shiva Purana are unknown.
The Puranas contain a complete narrative of the history of the Universe right from creation to destruction. They also contain genealogies of the kings, heroes, and demigods. They offer vivid descriptions of Hindu cosmology and geography.
As you know now, there are 18 Puranas which have been divided into three categories each named after one of the deities such as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
