Puranas: Encyclopedia - Puranas

Puranas

Shruti

• Vedas
  • Rig Veda
  • Sama Veda
  • Yajur Veda
  • Atharva Veda
• Brahmanas
• Aranyakas
• Upanishads

Smriti

• Itihāsas
  • Mahābhārata
    • Bhagavad Gītā
  • Ramayana
  • Puranas (List)
• Tantras
• Sutras (List)
• Stotras
• Ashtavakra Gita
• Gita Govinda
• Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The Puranas (Sanskrit पुराण, purāṇá "ancient", since they focus on ancient history of the universe) are part of Hindu Smriti; these religious scriptures discuss varied topics like devotion to God in his various aspects, traditional sciences like Ayurveda, Jyotish, cosmology, concepts like dharma, karma, reincarnation and many others. According to tradition they were written by Vyasa at the end of Dvapara Yuga, while modern scholarship dates them to the latter half of the first millennium AD. The eighteen Puranas are divided into three groups of six according to gunas of people they are primarily meant for. Thus rajasika Puranas eulogize Brahma of Hindu Trinity, sattvika Puranas Vishnu and tamasika Puranas Shiva and Shakti, God's Power personified. Perhaps the best known Purana is the Bhagavata Purana.

In all these Puranas the goddess Lakshmi is given a laudable place without any sectarian dispute. In the Vaishnavite Puranas, Shiva starts telling the efficacy of Vishnu to the Goddess Parvati. While Shaiva mythology places goddess Parvati, the consort of Shiva, as one half of His body (ardha naareeshvara tattva), Vaishnavites place the Goddess Lakshmi in the heart of Vishnu itself, as if it were a lotus (hridaya kamala). This is to depict the inseparable union of Universal purusha and prakriti, seed and field, or male and female.

Puranas - List of Puranas

Puranas are named after the three main forms of Brahman: Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Protector of Life and Humanity; and Shiva, the Destroyer. Search those with the bar on the left to learn more.

• Brahma Puranas
  1. Brahma Purana
  2. Brahmānda Purana
  3. Brahma Vaivarta Purana
  4. Mārkandeya Purana (includes Devi Mahatmyam, an important text for Shaktas.)
  5. Bhavishya Purana
  6. Vāmana Purana
• Vishnu Puranas
  1. Vishnu Purana
  2. Bhagavata Purana
  3. Nāradeya Purana
  4. Garuda Purana
  5. Padma Purana
  6. Varaha Purana
• Shiva Puranas
  1. Vāyu purana
  2. Linga Purana
  3. Skanda Purana
  4. Agni Purana
  5. Matsya Purana
  6. Kūrma purana

Puranas - Heaven Hell and other worlds in the Puranas

Puranic cosmology describes numerous worlds, planets and planes of existence (loka). Of the multitude of worlds, heaven (Svarga) and hell (Naraka) stand out as nearest and most relevant to our own planet, the Earth. Svarga, or heaven, is the planet of the demigods, or devas, ruled by King Indra. On Svarga, the ability to enjoy physical senses is enhanced while life in Naraka, the netherworld ruled by the King of Justice, Dharmaraj (Yama) is subjected to pain and misery. It should be noted that both heaven and hell are temporary abodes for life and once the Karma that is responsible for birth in heaven and hell is exhausted, the soul transmigrates to other forms and worlds of existence.

There are many variations and different levels of the temporal planets as seen by different Puranas and often have conflicting views on the nature of the phenomenal universe.

Two of the other most important worlds in Puranic Cosmology are the Satyaloka, the realm of Brahma, the highest plane of existence where souls of extraordinary karma reside before attaining moksha, and the Vaikuntha, the realm of Vishnu, from where there is no return to material worlds.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Puranas", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki