Indian Mythology (by ApamNapat) |
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Purana (पुराण) literally means ancient. In addition to the Vedas, Upanishads and the epics Ramayana, and Mahabharata, these texts are major sources of the tales from Indian Mythology. There are said to be eighteen major Puranas.
The generally accepted list of puranas contains:
The general form of a Purana is that of a dialogue, in which some person relates its contents in reply to the inquiries of others. This dialogue is interwoven with others, and is often repeated as having been held, on other occasions, between different individuals, arising out of similar questions having been asked. Generally, the immediate narrator is Lomaharshana, the disciple of Vyasa, who is said to have learned these Puranas from his perceptor.
The Puranas can be classified into three groups, based on the deity among the Trinity they are associated with. For instance, the Vishnu, Narada, Bhagavata, Garuda, Padma and Varaha Puranas belong to Vishnu. The Matsya, Kurma, Linga, Shiva, Skanda and Agni Puranas are associated with Shiva, and the Brahmanda, Brahma Vaivarta, Markandeya, Bhavishya, Vamana and Brahma are associated with Brahma.
In general, the Puranas deal with:
Last Modified At: Sun Nov 7 16:21:04 2004 | © ApamNapat, All rights reserved |