purana

[Sansc.=old, ancient, from pur a = old, past.] Hinduism: The last great division of Hindu sacred literature. Eighteen principal Puranas are enumerated, called Brahma, Padma, Brahmanda, Agni, Vishnu, Garuda, Brahmavaivarta, Siva, Linga, Naradiya, Skanda, Mark an dey a, Bhavishyat, Matsya, Varaha, Kaurma, Vaman, and Bhagavat. None of them is dated. Some quote from others, and the period of their redaction embraces perhaps a dozen centuries. In their present form none of them appears older than the ninth century A. D. The most celebrated are the Vishnu and the Bhagavat Puranas. They are full of legends relating to holy places and ceremonial rites, with minute fragments of history. Modern Hinduism is largely founded on these compositions, some of which are sectarian productions, advocating the claims of particular divinities to the disparagement of others. In addition to the eighteen principal Puranas, there are eighteen Up a puranas or secondary Puranas, enumerated by H. H. Wilson ( Vishnu Purana, Introd.), and these do not complete the list of Puranic literature.