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Puranas
*** Shopping-Tip: Puranas
{{Hindu scriptures}}
The '''''Puranas''''' (
Sanskrit पà¥?राण, ''purāṇá'' "ancient", since they focus on ancient history of the universe) are part of
Hinduism Hindu ''
Smriti''; these
religion religious scriptures discuss varied topics like
devotion to
God in his various aspects, traditional sciences like
Ayurveda,
Jyotish,
Religious cosmology cosmology, concepts like
dharma,
karma,
reincarnation and many others.
Sage
Vyasa is credited with compilation of Puranas from age
Yuga to age, and for the current age, he has been identified and named Krishna Dvaipayana, the son of sage
Parashara.
According to tradition they were
writing written by
Vyasa at the end of
Dvapara Yuga, while modern scholarship dates them to the latter half of the
First millennium first millennium AD.
Objectives
One of the main objectives of the Puranas was to make available the essence of the Vedas to the common man, and the Vedas were basically meant not for the scholars but for the ordinary man. They bring forth the Vedic knowledge and teachings by way of myths; parables, allegories and stories; legends; life stories of kings and other prominent persons; and chronologies of historical events. The Puranas unfolds the principles of Hinduism in a very simple way.
In all these Puranas the goddess
Lakshmi is given a laudable place without any sectarian dispute. In the
Vaishnavite Puranas,
Shiva starts telling the efficacy of
Vishnu to the Goddess
Parvati. While Shaiva mythology places goddess Parvati, the consort of Shiva, as one half of His body (''ardha naareeshvara tattva''), Vaishnavites place the Goddess Lakshmi in the heart of Vishnu itself, as if it were a
Sacred lotus lotus (''hridaya kamala''). This is to depict the inseparable union of Universal ''purusha'' and ''prakriti'', seed and field, or male and female.
Numbers
Puranas (aka Puranams) usually refer to the Mahapuranas. There are also smaller Puranas known as Upapurananas. It is agreed that there are a total of 18 Mahapuranas. However, there is inconsistency in the actual Mahapuranas list. 17 Mahapuranas are consistently mentioned. However, the 18th one is sometimes given as the Shiva Purana, while some refer to the Vayu Purana.
Classification
According to the Matsya Purana (a Tamasika Purana itself), the eighteen Puranas are divided into three groups of six according to
gunas of people they are primarily meant for. It is erroneously believed by some people that Rajasika Puranas eulogize
Brahma (god) Brahma of
Trimurti Hindu Trinity, Sattvika Puranas
Vishnu and Tamasika Puranas
Shiva and
Shakti, God's Power personified. In reality, all Puranas extol the virtues of mainly Vishnu and Shiva, which can be interpreted by
Advaita scholars that Vishnu and Shiva are different aspects of one God, and there are few references to Brahma. Some Shaiva Puranas extol the virtues of Shiva over Vishnu and some Vaishnava Puranas extol the virtues of Vishnu over Shiva.
Names
Puranas are named after the three main forms of Brahman: Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Protector of Life and Humanity; and Shiva, the Destroyer.
*
Brahma Puranas
*#
Brahma Purana
*#
Brahmānda Purana
*#
Brahma Vaivarta Purana
*#
Mārkandeya Purana (includes
Devi Mahatmyam, an important text for
Shaktas.)
*#
Bhavishya Purana
*#
Vamana Purana Vāmana Purana
*
Vishnu Puranas
*#
Vishnu Purana
*#
Bhagavata Purana
*#
Nāradeya Purana
*#
Garuda Purana
*#
Padma Purana
*#
Varaha Purana
*
Shiva Puranas
*#
Shiva Purana
*#
Vayu Purana Vāyu purana
*#
Linga Purana
*#
Skanda Purana
*#
Agni Purana
*#
Matsya Purana
*#
Kurma Purana Kūrma purana
Upapuranas
Apart from the above mentioned eighteen major Puranas, there are an equal number of subsidiary Puranas, called Upapuranas. They are: Sanatkumara, Narasimha, Brihannaradiya, Sivarahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa and Hamsa.
Puranic cosmology
Puranic
Religious cosmology cosmology describes numerous worlds, planets and planes of existence (
loka). Of the multitude of worlds, heaven (''
Svarga'') and hell (''
Naraka'') stand out as nearest and most relevant to our own planet, the Earth. Svarga, or heaven, is the planet of the demigods, or
devas, ruled by King
Indra. On Svarga, the ability to enjoy physical senses is enhanced while life in Naraka, the netherworld ruled by the King of Justice, Dharmaraj (
Yama) is subjected to pain and misery. The Puranas talk about seven levels of the Netherworld. It should be noted that both heaven and hell are temporary abodes for life and once the
Karma that is responsible for birth in heaven and hell is exhausted, the soul transmigrates to other forms and worlds of existence.
There are many variations and different levels of the temporal planets as seen by different Puranas and often describe the nature of the phenomenal universe in various ways which may look conflicting.
Three of the other most important worlds in Puranic Cosmology are the
Satyaloka, the realm of Brahma, the highest plane of existence where souls of extraordinary karma reside before attaining
moksha, the
Vaikuntha, the realm of
Vishnu, from where there is no return to material worlds and Shivaloka, where worshippers of Shiva enjoy eternal bliss.
References
{{unreferenced}}
External links
;Texts
-
The Vishnu Purana Full text of the H.H. Wilson translation at sacred-texts.com
;Synopses
-
Contents of 18 Puranas and a list of Upapuranas (lesser Puranas) (a Java applet)
-
Extensive synopsis of several Maha Puranas
-
Synopsis of Puranas at Urday.com
;More
-
Garuda Purana extensive extracts
-
Vedabase.net Vaishnava literature with word for word translations from Sanskrit to English, incl. full Bhagavata Purana
-
Samsara - tour of this universe and beyond according to Puranas
{{Puranas}}
{{Hinduism-stub}}
Category:Hindu texts
Category:Puranas *
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List of all the articles related to the
puranas.
{{catmore}}
Category:Hindu texts
Category:Hindu mythology
{| align="center" class="toccolours" cellspacing="0"
|-
! bgcolor=orange align=center | '''
Puranas'''||
|-
|align=center|
Brahma Purana .html">Brahmānda Purana
Brahma Vaivarta Purana |
Mārkandeya Purana .html">Bhavishya Purana
Vamana Purana|Vāmana Purana |
Vishnu Purana .html">Bhagavata Purana
Nāradeya Purana |
Garuda Purana .html">Padma Purana
Varaha Purana |
Vayu Purana Vāyu Purana |
Linga Purana .html">Skanda Purana
Agni Purana |
Matsya Purana .html">Kurma Purana
Kūrma Purana
|}
*** Shopping-Tip: Puranas
