What are Puranas in Hinduism? How many puranas are there? What is the subject matter of each Purana?

Answer 1

In Hinduism, an encyclopaedic collection of myth, legend, and genealogy. A Purana traditionally treats five subjects: primary creation of the universe, secondary creation after periodic annihilation, genealogy of gods and saints, grand epochs, and histories of the royal dynasties. Written in narrative couplets, the Puranas date from c. 400 to c. 1000. The 18 principal surviving Puranas are grouped according to whether they exalt Vishnu, Shiva, or Brahma. Most popular is the Bhagavata Purana, which treats the early life of Krishna.

Traditionally it is said that there are eighteen Mahapuranas and eighteen Upapuranas. Of the Mahapuranas it is said that six belong to the quality (guna) of goodness, six to passion, and six to ignorance.

According to the Padma Purana,[3] these are the Mahapuranas and their corresponding qualities:

* Goodness (Sattva): Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Naradeya Purana, Garuda Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana

* Passion (Rajas): Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Brahma Purana

* Ignorance (Tamas): Matsya Purana, Kurma purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, Skanda Purana, Agni Purana

Some Upapuranas are: Sanat-kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa, and Hamsa. [4] Most of these have not been critically edited yet, and are available mostly through devotional publications, in multiple versions and recensions.

Apart from the system of classification above mentioned, the Puranas are enumerated and classified in multiple ways. The canonical lists of Puranas vary from place to place and from time to time.

Notable Puranas

* The Bhagavata Purana - 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. [11]
* The Devi-bhagavata Purana - an Upapurana extolling 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. [12]
* The Skanda Purana - probably the longest of all. A vast storehouse of parables, legends and stories, with multiple versions and recensions. Many untraced quotes from a Purana are conveniently attributed to this Purana. [13]
* The Bhavishya Purana - Apart from its other content, it is said to contain references to the Judeo-Christian creation myth (Adam and Eve are referred to as Adama and Havyavati), the Judeo-Christian flood myth, Moses, Jesus (referred to as Iśa - 'God'), Mohammad (referred to as Mahāmada - 'great intoxication/lust'), Queen Victoria (as Queen Vicyavati), etc. It also contains references to a certain Demon language (apparently English) containing words such as 'February'

Answer 2

i could see for the past two three day you have been asking such question how many vedas, how many puranas, parents of Parvathi......................... as you very well know Hinduism is an ocean and do you think you will get a decent answer for these ones? i am proud that some hindu is asking questions related to hinduism, but i feel lot of such questions are unanswered or just cut and pastes.... good job keep the good work.

Answer 3

Purana (Sanskrit पुराण, purāna, meaning "ancient" or "old") is the name of a genre (or a group of related genres) of Indian written literature (as distinct from 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 designated as 'Purana.' The most important are:

Mahāpurānas and Upapurānas - Written in Sanskrit, by Brahmins. They usually adhere to the 'Panca-laksana' typology. They tell of the creation of the universe and the human race, narrate the genealogies of kings and saints, and contain assorted narratives, stories, and philosophical and religious topics.
Included among the texts of distinctly lesser importance that also bear the name Puranas are

Sthala Purānas - Scriptures usually extolling the virtues of a certain Hindu temple. They narrate stories of the temple's creation and spiritual history.
Kula Purānas - Scriptures that deal with the origin and legends of a particular caste.
The designation 'Purana' implicitly confers on a text a kind of factual aura, somewhat similar to the designation 'History' in Western discourse.
Notable Puranas -

A page from the Bhagavatapurana.
Varahapurana.The Bhagavata Purana - 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.
The Devi-bhagavata Purana - an Upapurana extolling 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.
The Skanda Purana - probably the longest of all. A vast storehouse of parables, legends and stories, with multiple versions and recensions. Many untraced quotes from a Purana are conveniently attributed to this Purana.
The Bhavishya Purana - Apart from its other content, it is said to contain references to the Judeo-Christian creation myth (Adam and Eve are referred to as Adama and Havyavati), the Judeo-Christian flood myth, Moses, Jesus (referred to as Iśa - 'God'), Mohammad (referred to as Mahāmada - 'great intoxication/lust'), Queen Victoria (as Queen Vicyavati), etc. It also contains references to a certain Demon language (apparently English) containing words such as 'February'.

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 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 is rather well documented in the Caste section of the British Census of India Report and the various Gazzeteers.

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 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.

Totally, There are eighteen main Puranas and an equal number of subsidiary Puranas or Upa-Puranas. The main Puranas are: Vishnu Purana, Naradiya Purana, Srimad Bhagavata Purana, Garuda (Suparna) Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Matsya Purana, Kurma Purana, Linga Purana, Siva Purana, Skanda Purana and Agni Purana. Of these, six are Sattvic Puranas and glorify Vishnu; six are Rajasic and glorify Brahma; six are Tamasic and they glorify Siva.

Answer 4

WHO CARES !!!