PURANA, puoernna. (Skt., ancient lore). The name of a class of late poetic Hindu works of mixed cosmogonics epic. and didactic character. The word pu-nnnn occurs frequently in the prose texts of the Veda as a designation of the Veda's own eosmogonic and legendary lore; the name is also given to the great epic, the Malrubharata (q.v.). But in its most distinctive sense the word refers to a class of writings which certainly do not date before the sixth century A.D., and some of which may be as late as p.n. 1500. The exist ing Puranas seem to be sectarian religious man uals for the people, written in the interest of either the worshipers of Vishnu (q.v.) or Siva (q.v.). Though the fundamental Hindu Triad, Brahma, Vishnu. and Siva, is recognized the Vislumite Kurma-Purana does not hesitate to say: "Vishnu is the divinity of the gods. Siva of the devils;" to Brahma all alike refer only in a perfunctory fashion. According to ancient tradi tion, the ideal Purana is divided into five parts: (1) Primary creation, or cosmogony; (2) second ary creation, or the destruction and rebuilding of worlds; (3) genealogy of gods and patriarchs; (4) Maarantaras, the periods of reigns of Manus; (5) the history of the dynasties of kings. Though no extant Purana is so divided, yet the subject matter roughly follows that order. The entire type of composition is of secondary importance; it borrows its themes very largely from the epic literature, and represents religion, prac tices, and legends in an exaggerated, fantastic, often distorted fashion. The actual light which
the Puranas shed upon the antiquity they pro fess to illumine is very small. The number of Puranas is said to be eighteen, in the fol lowing order: Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Siva, Bhagavata, Naradiya, Narkandeya, Agni, Blum vishya, Brahmavaivarta, Linga, Varaha. Skanda, Vamana, Firma, Matsya, Garuda, Brahma/Ida. Some lists omit the Agni and replace it by the Vayu-Purana. Of these the second, third, fifth, sixth, tenth, seventeenth, and probably the first are Puranas of the Vishnu sect; the fourth, eighth, thirteenth. fifteenth, and sixteenth belong to the Siva sect. The others are not so well de fined. A great many of the Puranas have been edited and published, or are in course of publica tion, especially in the collection of texts published in Calcutta under the mime of Ribliothrea Of translations there are few; the most accessible specimen in English is the translation in five volumes of time Vishnu-Purana by Wilson, edited by Fitzedward Hall (London, 1864-70). The first nine books of the Blingvata-Purana were trans lated into French by Burnout (Paris, 1840-44).