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Purana (Sanskrit पुराण, purāṇa, meaning "ancient" or "old") is the name of a genre (or a group of related genres) of Indian written literature (as opposed to oral literature). Its general themes are history, tradition and religion. It is usually written in the form of stories related by one person to another. There are many texts that are designated as 'Purana', the most important of which are:

The designation 'Purana' implicitly confers on a text a kind of factual aura, somewhat similiar to the designation 'History' in Western discourse.

Contents

Mahapuranas and Upapuranas

Structure and content

Mahā- (sanskrit 'Great', 'Mighty') and Upa- (Sanskrit 'Lower', 'Additional') Puranas are written in Sanskrit by Brahmins. Traditionally they are thought to narrate five subjects, the so called Pancalaksana (sanskrit 'Five distinguishing marks') which are:

Most Mahapuranas and Upapuranas deal with these subject matters, although the bulk of their narration consists of legends and religious lore. As can be seen these 'distinguishing marks' are shared by other traditional religious scriptures of the world (e.g. the Bible) 'Purana as Brahminic Ideology', Velcheru Narayana Rao in Purana Perennis - Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts - edited by Wendy Doniger,p. 85-100. ISBN 0-7914-1381-0 . A Purana usually gives prominence to a certain Hindu 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.

Classification

Traditionally it is said that there are 18 Mahapuranas and 18 Upapuranas, but the actual number is much larger than this and the canonical lists vary from place to place and from time to time. Some of the most important mahapuranas are: Brahma Purana, Brahmānda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Mārkandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vāmana Purana, Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Nāradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana, Shiva Purana, Vāyu purana, Linga Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana, Matsya Purana, Kūrma purana. Some Upapuranas are : Sanatkumara, Narasimha, Brihannaradiya, Sivarahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa and Hamsa, etc. These had been most thoroughly studied by the Bengali scholar R. C. Hazra. See his Studies in the Upapuranas, vol. I, Calcutta, Sanskrit College, 1958. Studies in the Upapuranas, vol. II, Calcutta, Sanskrit College, 1979. Studies in Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, Delhi, Banarsidass, 1975. And, more recently, by Ludo Rocher in The Puranas - A History of Indian Literature. Vol. II, fasc. 3, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1986. Most of these have not been critically edited yet, and are available mostly through devotional publications, in multiple versions and recensions. As usual with Brahmin lore, the Puranas are enumerated and classified in multiple ways and means. One classification is, the above mentioned, 18 Mahapuranas and 18 Upapuranas, but the lists are multiple and conflicting. Other classification methods are according to the main Guna of the text (Satva, Rajas, Tams), but, this classification (like all others) is subjective and, at many times, politically motivated.

Disemmination and Author

These texts were probably written all over India, and are being rewritten end reedited to the present day. It has to be stressed that, being written in Sanskrit, these puranas are ususally not accessible to the common man as read texts, but 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 Bhakti overtones). Traditionally the puranas are said to have been composed by Vyasa, a sage who is also the alleged narrator of the Mahabharata epic. However, Vyasa in Sanskrit means 'Divider' and may be taken simply as a term designating 'Editor'. Purana Perennis - Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts - edited by Wendy Doniger. ISBN 0-7914-1381-0

Notable Puranas

Sthalapuranas

This corpus of texts narrates the virtues and myths connected with a certain temple or shrine (the word 'Sthala' means 'Place' in Sanskrit). There are numerous Sthalapuranas, most are written in vernaculars, some have Sanskrit versions as well (most claim to have a Sanskrit origin, but this is not factual), some of the Sanskrit versions have been incorporated into a Mahapurana or an Upapurana. Some Tamil Sthalapuranas had been admirably researched by David Dean Shulman. Tamil Temple Myths - Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the South Indian Saiva Tradition - David Dean Shulman. ISBN 0691064156

Kulapuranas

These are mostly Caste Puranas (the word 'Kula' means 'Family' or 'Tribe' in Sanskrit). , dealing with a caste's origin myth, its stories and legends. It is a very 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. 'Kulapuranas' - Pulikonda Subbachary in Folklore in Modern India edited by Jawaharlal Handoo, p. 125-142. ISBN 81-7342-055-6 This subgenre has been, regretfully, little researched. however , it is rather well documented in the Caste section of the British Census of India Report and the various Gazzeteers. See for example, Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vols I-V, Thurston Edgar. Cosmo Publication, Delhi.

Other Puranas

There are many other narratives that go by the name of Purana. Most are written in vernaculars and usually are concerned with mythical and historical narration. These texts, such as the Padmapurana of Bengal and Assam (narrating the story of the goddess Manasā), are vast in number and scattered all over the Indian subcontinent. `Verbal Narratives: performance and Gender of the Padma Purana', by T.N. Sankaranarayana in Chanted Narratives - The Katha Vachana Tradition Edited by Molly Kaushal, p. 225-234. ISBN 81-246-0182-8

Non Hindu Puranas

There are many Jain Puranas, dealing with Jain myths, history and legends. 'Jaina Puranas: A Puranic Counter Tradition' - Padmanabh S. Jaini in Purana Perennis, p. 207-49. And 'An Overview of the Jaina Puranas' - John E. Cort in Purana Perennis, p.185-206. Studies and translations of this particular genre are meagre. Arguably, some Buddhist Mahāyāna Sūtras seem to have some characteristics of Puranas.

References

External links

Texts
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]
    • Other
  • [Bhagavat Purana in Gujarati with reference of characters]
  • [Bhãgavata Purãna] the Story of the Fortunate One; in English and Dutch, Sanskrit and word for word transliterations.
  • [Garuda Purana] extensive extracts
  • [Vedabase.net] Vaishnava literature with word for word translations from Sanskrit to English, incl. full Bhagavata Purana

    • Puranas
    Brahma Purana | Brahmānda Purana | Brahma Vaivarta Purana | Mārkandeya Purana | Bhavishya Purana | Vāmana Purana | Vishnu Purana | Bhagavata Purana | Nāradeya Purana | Garuda Purana | Padma Purana | Varaha Purana | Vāyu Purana | Linga Purana | Skanda Purana | Agni Purana | Matsya Purana | Kūrma Purana

     

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