Purāṇa

PURĀṆA. - The P., "ancient stories," are encyclopedic works which, according to a tradition handed down by the most important P., should deal with these five subjects: 1) cosmogony; 2) new creation of the world after its periodic destruction; 3) genealogy of the gods and prophets; 4) cosmic ages, each presided over by a progenitor of the human race; 5) history of the ancient royal dynasties. In fact, only a few of the 18 P., the most ancient ones, conform to this outline. The others have a broader content than that encompassed by the five characteristics (lakṣaṇa), and, even if they touch upon these obligatory themes in deference to tradition, they then proceed to deal with entirely different subjects. The Viṣṇu-P. is the one that most faithfully reflects the 5 characteristics. It exalts the greatness of Viṣṇu, proclaimed as the sole and supreme God, with whom even Brahmā and Śiva are identified.

The P. are in verse with some prose passages and contain a total of approximately 400,000 stanzas written in a degraded Sanskrit, not without solecisms. Common to all is a sectarian character, as they have the purpose of glorifying Viṣṇu and Śiva through hymns, rites, and legends (v. INDUISMO). The chronology of the P., which underwent various reworkings at different periods, is uncertain. They are generally assigned to the first half of the 6th century, but the Mārkandeya-P., which takes its name from the seer of the same name, is older because, instead of paying Hinduism (v.), it celebrates Indra and Brahmā Agni (v.) and Sūrya. The "glorification of the goddess" (devimāhātmya), i.e., of Durgā, consort of Śiva, which forms part of the Mārkandeya-P., is a later interpolation. The Vāyu-P., so called because it is supposed to have been revealed by the god of the wind, exalts the power of Śiva and therefore also bears the title of Śiva- or Śaiva-P.; it describes the magnificence of the city of Śiva, the paradise promised to those who practice Yoga by making this god the object of their meditations. The Bhāgavata-P. is the most widely known also in Europe thanks to the excellent French translation by E. Burnouf, published in Paris in 1840. Later than the Viṣṇu-P., upon which it depends and with which it often literally agrees, it surpasses it in importance, being still the sacred text of the Bhāgavata who venerate Viṣṇu under the name of Bhagavat, the Blessed One (v. INDUISMO). This voluminous work of about 80,000 stanzas contains a broad description of the incarnations of Viṣṇu (20 instead of the usual 10), especially that in the form of a boar.

Limiting oneself to this brief mention of the major P., one cannot fail to recall that this immense literature also includes 18 minor P. (upapurāṇa) which celebrate deities of secondary importance, especially female ones. Few Upapurāṇa have been published, and both the major and minor P. still await careful critical processing.