Puranas Totally Explained

Everything about Puranas totally explained

Purana (Sanskrit: ), meaning "belonging to ancient or olden times," is the name of an ancient Indian genre (or a group of related genres) of Hindu or Jain literature (as distinct from oral tradition). They primarily are post-Vedic texts containing a narrative of the history of the Universe, from creation to destruction, genealogies of the kings, heroes and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy and geography.
   Puranas are called the Friendly Treatises or Suhrit-Sammitas, and are usually written in the form of stories related by one person to another. Vyasa Rishi is considered to be the compiler of the Puranas.
   An early reference to Purana in its present sense can be traced to the Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.2), in which the sage Narada refers to . Thus the Chandogya Upanishad ascribes to the Puranas, together with Itihas, the status of a fifth Veda, or Panchama Veda.
   There are many texts designated as 'Purana'. The most important are:

s and, the main Puranic corpus
s, scriptures usually extolling the virtues of a certain Hindu temple. They narrate stories of the temple's creation and spiritual history.
- Scriptures that deal with the origin and legends of a particular caste.

The s are dated philologically to between roughly the 3rd and the 12th centuries, the bulk of the texts likely originating in the Gupta period (320-500 CE), with incremental additions well into medieval times. According to Hindu tradition, the Puranas were composed by Vyasa at the end of Dvapara Yuga.
In the opinion of Gavin Flood they're said to narrate five subjects, called Pancha Lakshana ("five distinguishing marks"):

Sarga - The creation of the universe.

Pratisarga - Secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution.

Vamśa - Genealogy of gods and sages.

Manvañtara - The creation of the human race and the first human beings.

Vamśānucaritam - Dynastic histories. Manvantras is the period of Manu's rule consisting of 71 celestial Yugas or 308,448,000 years. Swami Sivananda

Most Mahapuranas and Upapuranas deal with these subject matters, although the bulk of their text consists of historical and religious narratives. Some scholars have suggested that these 'distinguishing marks' are shared by other traditional religious scriptures of the world (for example the Bible). A Purana usually gives prominence to a certain deity (Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna, Durga) and depicts the other gods as subservient. Most use an abundance of religious and philosophical concepts in their narration, from Bhakti to Samkhya.
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 travelling brahmin settles for a few weeks in a temple and narrates parts of a Purana, usually with a Bhakti perspective).

Mahapuranas

Traditionally it's said that there are 18 Mahapuranas and 18 Upapuranas. Each Mahapurana lists eighteen canonical puranas, but the contents of each list vary reflecting differences in time and place. Combining the lists, Dimmitt and van Buitenen have collated twenty names:

Agni (15,400 verses)

Bhagavata (18,000 verses). The most celebrated and popular of the Puranas. It is concerned with Vishnu Bhakti, telling of the exploits and deeds of Vishnu's Avataras. Its tenth canto (its longest) narrates the deeds of Krishna and, probably for the first time in Sanskrit, tells of his exploits as a child, a theme later elaborated by many Bhakti movements.

Bhavishya (14,500 verses)

Brahma (24,000 verses)

Brahmanda (12,000 verses; includes Lalita Sahasranamam, a text some Hindus recite as prayer)

Brahmavaivarta (18,000 verses)

Garuda (19,000 verses)

Harivamsa (16,000 verses; more often considered itihāsa)

Kurma (17,000 verses)

Linga (11,000 verses)

Markandeya (9,000 verses; includes Devi Mahatmyam, an important text for Shaktas)

Matsya (14,000 verses)

Narada (25,000 verses)

Padma (55,000 verses)

Shiva (24,000 verses)

Skanda (81,100 verses), probably the longest of all, containing parables, legends and stories, with multiple versions and recensions. Many untraced quotes from a Purana are conveniently attributed to this Purana.

Vamana (10,000 verses)

Varaha (10,000 verses)

Vayu (24,000 verses)

Vishnu (23,000 verses)

Classification by Trimurti

The Mahapuranas are also classified by the three aspects of Trimurti,

Brahma Puranas: Brahma Purana, Brahmānda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Mārkandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana,

Vishnu Puranas: Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Nāradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana,Vāmana Purana,Kūrma Purana, Matsya Purana, Kalki Purana

Shiva Puranas: Shiva Purana, Linga Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana, Vāyu Purana

Classification by guna

A reference from the Puranas themselves classifies the various Puranic texts in accordance with the three gunas (qualities of material nature) -- goodness, passion and ignorance. Of the Mahapuranas it's said that six are more effective for readers in the guna of goodness, six for those in the guna of passion, and six to people in the guna of ignorance. According to the Padma Purana, these are the Mahapuranas and their corresponding qualities:

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

Authorship, name and chronology

Traditionally, the Puranas are said to have been composed by the sage Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata epic. Vyasa in Sanskrit means 'Divider,' and some scholars therefore take this simply as a term meaning 'Editor'. The texts, these scholars say, were probably written all over India and are being rewritten and reedited to the present day all over the world.
   The term purana, which means "belonging to ancient times" or "an ancient tale or legend", appears in the Vedas (for example Atharvaveda 11.7.24 ). And the term itihasa purana, "account of ancient times", occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad, Nirukta, Maitrayana Brahmana Upanisad and the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, where the text thus referred to is considered the "fifth Veda."
   The specific corpus of the Mahapuranas, as opposed to generic purana "ancient tale", is sometimes estimated by Western scholars to date to the Early Middle Ages, or to roughly between the fifth and tenth centuries, but to contain older material; according to Pargiter, an "original Purana" may date to the time of the final redaction of the Vedas. Pargiter has argued that in the Puranas the Puranic Krta Yuga "ended with the destruction of the Haihayas [byRama 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". The Puranas themselves state that these lists are incomplete. In Arrian's Indica, Megasthenes is quoted as stating that the Indians counted from Shiva (Dionysos) to Chandragupta Maurya (Sandracottus) "a hundred and fifty-three kings over six thousand and forty-three years." The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (4.6.), ca. 8th century BCE, mentions 57 links in the Guru-Parampara ("succession of teachers"). This would mean that this Guru-Parampara would go back about 1400 years, although the accuracy of this list is disputed. The list of kings in Kalhana's Rajatarangini goes back to the 19th century BCE.
   The Puranic genealogies indicate that Manu Vaivasvata lived 95 generations before the Bharata War.

Upapuranas

Upapuranas are eighteen in number, namely: Sanat-kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesha, Mudgala, and Hamsa. The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are sectarian Upapuranas devoted to Ganesha.
Most of these have not been critically edited yet and are available mostly through devotional publications, in multiple versions and recensions.
The Devi-Bhagavata Purana extols the virtues of the goddess Durga as the supreme being. It has become (along with the Devi Mahatmya of the Mārkandeya Purana) a basic text for Devi worshipers.

Other Hindu Puranas

Sthala Puranas

This corpus of texts narrates the virtues and stories connected with a certain temple or shrine (the word 'Sthala' means 'Place' in Sanskrit). There are numerous Sthala Puranas, most written in vernaculars, some with Sanskrit versions as well. Most claim to have a Sanskrit origin, and some of the Sanskrit versions also appear in a Mahapurana or an Upapurana. Some Tamil Sthala Puranas have been researched by David Dean Shulman.

Kula Puranas

These are mostly caste-focused Puranas (the word 'Kula' means 'Family' or 'Tribe' in Sanskrit). They deal with a caste's origin myth, stories and legends. The caste purana is an important source for caste identity and is usually contested by other, rival, castes. This subgenre is usually in the vernacular and might at times be oral.
This subgenre has been little researched. But it's rather well documented in the caste section of the British Census of India Report and the various Gazzeteers.

Other

There are many other narratives that go by the name of Purana. Most are written in vernaculars and are usually concerned with mythical and historical narrations. These texts, such as the Padma Purana of Bengal and Assam (narrating the story of the goddess Manasā), are vast in number and scattered all over the Indian subcontinent.

Jain and Buddhist Puranas

There are many Jain Puranas, dealing with Jain myths, history and legends. Studies and English translations of this particular genre are meagre. The best known of them is the Mahapurana of Acharya Jinasena. The Jain Puranas form a major part of the early Kannada literature. Swayambhu Purana, a Buddhist Purana, is major source of the history of the Kathmandu valley. Arguably, some Buddhist [[Mahayanasutras|]] seem to have some characteristics of Puranas.

Further Information

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