Introduction to Purana

Purana is a Sanskrit word that contains a mythological account of early times. In non-Vedic Sanskrit studies, Purana is considered the smriti category of scripture, which means it is holy writing containing traditional knowledge on religion, domestic and social practice. Puranas are created by humans and passed from one generation to another generation. Smriti means memory in Sanskrit. The Purana includes a broad classification of ritual lore and myth of Indian literature. The initial versions of several Puranas were composed in the middle of the 3rd and 10th centuries. There are 18 major Puranas and 18 minor Puranas, with more than 400,000 poems. The Purana deals with cosmogony, the creation of God and human beings, and the origin and creation of the universe. Purana consists of guidelines for ritual practice to invoke God. It has several mythological stories related to different gods.

The Purana

The Purana is a religious text composed in Sanskrit. Purana is the part of the sacred literature of Hinduism, which comprises the Veda, Brahmans, Aranyakas, Upanishad, and the great epic. There are 18 major Puranas and 18 minor Puranas with over 400,000 poems. The first versions of numerous Puranas were likely to have been composed in the middle of the 3rd and 10th centuries. Purana is considered a Smriti (Hindu holy writing containing cultural teaching on religious, domestic and social practice) category of scripture which generally means they are created by humans and passed from one generation to another. Purana is the central part of Indian culture on which Sanatana Dharma, commonly called Hinduism, was built. Purana deals with cosmogony, the origin, and creation of the universe, creation of God and human beings. The Purana is based on five Points:

• The creation of the universe.

• Secondary creation after the periodic annihilation.

• The gods and supernatural.

• The era of humans.

• History of solar and lunar dynasties.

Classification of Purana

Puranas are divided into two classes namely Mahapurana (Mukhya Purana) and minor Purana (UpaPuranas); the class has eighteen Puranas each. Mahapurana is again divided into three types- 

• Brahma: In this class, the stories of Puranas talk about Raja guna (the kingly nature of the characters on which it is built). This Purana contains six more Puranas: Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Brahma Purana, Vamana Purana, Markandeya Purana, and Bhavishya Purana.

• Vishnu: In this class, the stories of Puranas talk about Sattva guna (the honesty of the characters on which it is built). This Purana contains six more Puranas: Narada Purana, Vishnu Purana, Srimad Bhagavat Purana, Padma Purana, Garuda Purana, and Varaha Purana.

• Shiva – In this class of Purana, the stories in Puranas talk about Tamas guna (enlightenment of the character on which it is built). This Puranas also contains six more Puranas: Agni Purana, Shiva Purana, Matsya Purana, Linga Purana, Kurma Purana, and Skanda Purana.

Vedic Cosmology

Vedic cosmology is one of the main topics present in old Sanskrit histories known as Puranas, Puranas include universal formation by the Superconsciousness (Vishnu) and successive formation by Superhuman beings (mainly Brahma). 

In Puranas, the estimated time mentioned by the Big Bang to form this universe by the Superconsciousness is around 13.820 billion years ago. Similarly, The age of the sun mentioned in Puranas is around 4.565 billion years ago. Permian mass extinction was mentioned in the Puranas around 251.150 million years ago.

The Puranas cosmogony describes so many other scientific things accurately that have only recently been understood, like The different stages of foetal development in the womb, The first origin of life on Earth, the cyclic nature of the Universe, the time taken for the initial formation of stars within the universe.

Conclusion

The Purana is a religious text composed in Sanskrit. Purana is the part of the sacred literature of Hinduism, which comprises the Veda, Brahmans, Aranyakas, Upanishad, and the great epic. The Purana cosmogony is particularly about myth and other ritual lore. Purana comprises the guidelines for ritual practice to invoke God and has many mythological stories related to different gods. 

Purana is considered the Smriti category of scripture, which generally means they are created by humans and passed from one generation to another. Purana is the central part of Indian culture on which Sanatana Dharma, commonly called Hinduism, was built. Primarily Puranas contain the stories of Gods and a few kings who were equal to those Gods. Since Hinduism has so many Gods, we have a significant number of Puranas that have their special characters, unique and essential in the history of Hinduism. Puranas are mainly written in Sanskrit, but some are also in Tamil and other Indian languages. Puranas are named after Hindu Gods like Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Brahma, etc. Generally, the Puranas were written by sages. The sages also included religious contexts and the Gods’ stories, which make the Puranas more sacred.