Puranas (Sanskrit: पुराण, lit. 'Ancients') are a vast genre of Indian literature that include a wide range of topics, especially legends and other traditional lore.
The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories.
Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Devi. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism.
The Puranic literature is encyclopedic, and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony, cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, queens, heroes, heroines, sages, other gods, other goddesses, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love stories, theology, philosophy, etc.
The content is highly inconsistent across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves inconsistent.The Hindu Maha Puranas are traditionally attributed to Vyasa, but many scholars considered them likely the work of many authors over the centuries; in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated and their authors assigned.
There are 18 Mukhya Puranas (Major Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), with over 400,000 verses. The first versions of various Puranas were likely to have been composed between 3rd and 10th century CE.
While the Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture in Hinduism and are considered Smritis, they shaped Hinduism more than the Vedas, providing a "culture synthesis" in weaving and integrating the diverse beliefs of a great number of local traditions into the Vedic-Brahmanic fold.
The ancient tradition suggests that originally there was but one Purana. Vishnu Purana (3.6.15) mentions that Vyasa entrusted his Puranasamhita to his disciple Lomaharshana, who in turn imparted it to his disciples, three of whom compiled their own samhitas. These three, together with Lomaharshana's, comprise the Mulasamhita, from which the later eighteen Puranas were derived
18 major puranas are:
Puranic characters are figures from ancient Hindu texts like the Puranas, which include gods, goddesses, sages, kings, and demons, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Lakshmi, Sita, Rama, and Ravana.
They play roles in epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and are central to mythology storytelling in India.
Examples of Puranic characters include the great sages like Vyas, the immortal beings known as the Ashta Chiranjeevis like Hanuman and Ashwatthama, and the Dashavatara (ten avatars) of