The Puranas (Sanskrit: पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times") are a genre of important Hindu, 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versions date from the time of the Gupta Empire (third-fifth century CE) and much material may be dated, through historical references and other means, to this period and the succeeding centuries.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. Importantly, the most famous form of itihāsapurāṇaṃ is the Mahabharata. 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]
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]
| Purana name | Verses number | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Agni | 15,400 verses | Contains details of Vastu Shastra and Gemology |
| Bhagavata | 18,000 verses | The most celebrated and popular of the Puranas,[20] telling of Vishnu's ten Avatars. Its tenth and longest canto narrates the deeds of Krishna, introducing his childhood exploits, a theme later elaborated by many Bhakti movements.[21] |
| Bhavishya | 14,500 verses | |
| Brahma | 10,000 verses | Describes about Godavari and its tributaries.Shortest among Puranas. |
| Brahmanda | 12,000 verses | includes Lalita Sahasranamam, a text some Hindus recite as prayer |
| Brahmavaivarta | 17,000 verses | Describes Worshipping protocols of Devis,Krishna and Ganesha |
| Garuda | 19,000 verses | Most hallowed Purana regarding the death and its aftermaths. |
| Harivamsa | 16,000 verses | more often considered itihāsa |
| Kurma | 17,000 verses | |
| Linga | 11,000 verses | Staunch Shaiva Theological Purana |
| Markandeya | 09,000 verses | The Devi Mahatmya, an important text for the Shaktas is embedded in it |
| Matsya | 14,000 verses | |
| Narada | 25,000 verses | Describe the greatness of Veda and Vedangas. |
| Padma | 55,000 verses | |
| Shiva | 24,000 verses | |
| Skanda | 81,100 verses | The longest Purana, it is an extraordinarily meticulous pilgrimage guide, containing geographical locations of pilgrimage centers in India, with related legends, parables, hymns and stories. Many untraced quotes are attributed to this text.[22] |
| Vamana | 10,000 verses | Mostly describes about North India and areas around Kurukshetra. |
| Varaha | 24,000 verses | |
| Vayu | 24,000 verses | |
| Vishnu | 23,000 verses |
Puranas are classified according to qualification of persons who can understand them: "Purāṇas are supplementary explanations of the Vedas intended for different types of men. All men are not equal. There are men who are conducted by the mode of goodness, others who are under the mode of passion and others who are under the mode of ignorance. The Purāṇas are so divided that any class of men can take advantage of them and gradually regain their lost position and get out of the hard struggle for existence."[23]
The Mahapuranas are frequently classified according the three aspects of the divine Trimurti[24]:
According to the Padma Purana,[26] the texts may be classified in accordance with the three gunas or qualities; truth, passion, and indifference:
| Sattva ("truth; purity") | Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Naradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana |
| Rajas ("dimness; passion") | Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana |
| Tamas ("darkness; ignorance") | Matsya Purana, Kurma purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana |
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.[27]
The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha.[28][29] 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.[30]
There are many others all over the Indian subcontinent.[31]
This corpus of texts tells of the origins and traditions of particular Tamil Shiva temples or shrines. There are numerous Sthala Puranas, most written in vernaculars, some with Sanskrit versions as well. The 275 Shiva Sthalams of the continent have puranas for each, famously glorified in the Tamil literature Tevaram. Some appear in Sanskrit versions in the Mahapuranas or Upapuranas. Some Tamil Sthala Puranas have been researched by David Dean Shulman.[32]
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.[33] These have been little researched, though they are documented in the caste section of the British Census of India Report and the various Gazetteers.[34]
Jain Puranas deal with Jain myths, history and legends and form a major part of early Kannada literature.[35] [36] 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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