PURĀNA (Purāṇa), Skt., “ancient narratives.” In contrast to the older Itihāsas, which describe the legendary deeds of human heroes, the eighteen Purānas and the eighteen Upa-Purānas (Secondary Purānas) that are classified beneath them present legends of the gods. They are steeped in devotion (bhakti) and therefore constitute the chief scriptures of the worshipers of Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahmā; hence they are divided into Vaishnava-, Shaiva-, and Brāhmana-Purānas. Vedic religion couched its deep spirituality in a nature symbolism that the common people seldom penetrated; for this reason, popular worship was directed toward the outer manifestations of nature. In the Purānas, with their trinity of the three great gods Brahmā (the creator), Vishnu (the sustainer), and Shiva (the destroyer of everything, including all evil and ignorance), the symbolic character of the three divine figures was easier to comprehend and could therefore satisfy the people’s inner religious need. Thus the mythological Purānas represent the true storehouse of the Hindu religion and are today still of vital importance for Hindu belief.
The six Vaishnava-Purānas are: Vishnu-, Bhagavata-, Padma-, Nārada-, Garuda-, and Varāha-Purāna. The six Shaiva-Purānas are Matsya-, Linga-, Skanda-, Kūrma-, Shiva-, and Agni-Purāna. The Agni-Purāna is sometimes replaced by the Vayu-Purāna, apparently the oldest Purāna. The six Brahmana-Purānas are Brahma-, Brahma Vaivarta-, Vāmana-, Brahmānda-, Mārkandeya, and Bhavishya-Purāna. The most famous and most traditional of the Purānas are the Vishnu-Purāna and the Bhāgavata-Purāna; the latter tells the story of Krishna and has influenced —and continues to influence— most intensely the beliefs of Hindus.
All the Purānas are written in verse form (between 5,600 and 81,000 couplets) and are in the form of a dialogue between an enlightened master and his disciple, in which dialogues and observations of other characters are inserted. Each Purāna is supposed to contain five characteristics (pañcha-lakshana) in the form of the following themes: (1) creation; (2) the destruction and renewal of the world; (3) the genealogy of the gods and heroes; (4) the rule of the various Manus during the various stages of human development; (5) life and works of the descendants, of the Manus. However, not all Purānas adhere to this pattern of lakshanas.
The Vayu-Purāna is presumed to go back as far as the sixth century, whereas others may have arisen only in the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. The one thing that seems certain is that all of them were revised, since each individual Purāna enumerates all the preceding ones.
Aside from the eighteen Purānas and the Upa-Purānas, there are also the Sthala-Purānas, which tell of the history and the merit of sacred sites (sthala); at such places recitation from these Purānas constitutes an important element in the daily worship services.
As a whole, the Purāna complex represents to some extent “a kind of encyclopedia of Hindu religious forms and their countless traditions, which interweave, cross, and overlap one another” (Mario Vallauri).
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Documents on the Puranas
Books on the Puranas
External links: Puranas / Mahapuranas
Brahma-Purana / Padma-Purana / Vishnu-Purana / Shiva-Purana / Bhagavata-Purana / Narada-Purana / Markadeya-Purana / Agni-Purana / Bhavishya-Purana / BrahmaVaivarta-Purana / Linga-Purana / Varaha-Purana / Skanda-Purana / Vamana-Purana / Kurma-Purana / Matsya-Purana / Garuda-Purana / Brahmanda-Purana