The 18 Puranas

1 Vishnu Purana 7 Bramhanda Purana 13 Matsya Purana

2 Naradiya Purana 8 Brahmavaivarta Purana 14 Kurma Purana
3 Padma Purana 9 Markandeya Purana 15 Shiva Purana
4 Garuda Purana 10 Bhavishya Purana 16 Linga Purana
5 Varaha Purana 11 Vamana Purana 17 Skanda Purana
6 Bhagavata Purana 12 Brahma Purana 18 Agni Purana

1. Vishnu Purana.
This is one of the most important of all the Puranas. This contains the five technical divisions of the
Puranas. This is divided into six adisas. This deals with the events of Varahakalpa and contains
twenty-three thousand slokas. The theme is the ten incarnations of MahaVishnu. Vishnu Purana is the
most ancient of all the Puranas and has got the name Puranaratna (gem of Puranas).

The method of narration is in the form of teaching his disciple Maitreya by sage Parasara. Since there
is a reference in it to the Maurya dynasty it is to be surmised that this was composed in the first or
second century A.D. The narrator himself states thus: "Vyasa an adept in the compositon of Puranas'
composed this Puranasamhita with akhyanas, Upikhyanas, githas and Kalpanirnayas. A Suta named
Romaharsana was Vyasa's chief disciple. The broad-minded Vyasa gave that samhita to that suta.
Romaharsana had six disciples named Sumati, Agnivarcas, Mitrayus. S`arhsapiyana, Akrtavrana, and
Savarni. Of these Akrtavrana, Savarni and 8arirsapayana born in the Kasyapagotra have composed
Puranasamhitas. There is yet another sarirhita composed by komaharsana which was the basis of the
sarirhitas of his three disciples. I have composed Vishnupurana basing on the above four samhitas."

If a man gives as gift a book of Vishnu Purana on the full moon day in the month of asadha (July) with
Jaladhenu he will attain Vishnupada.

Stories of various devotees; a description of varnasrama; the six angas of the Veda; a description of
the age of Kali; description of Sveta-Varaha Kalpa, Vishnu dharmotara.

23,000 verses.

2. Naradiya Purana.
This is in the form of a narration by Narada to Sanatkumara. In this book of twenty-five thousand
verses Narada teaches the dharmas of Brhatkalpa. If this is given as gift on the full-moon day in the
month of Asvina there will be great prosperity.

Contains a synopsis of everything; it describes Jagannatha Puri, Dwaraka, Badrinatha, etc.

25,000 verses.

3. Padma Purana.
This book is divided into six Khandas comprising fifty-five thousand verses. The six Khandas are
Sristikhanda, Bhumikhanda, Svargakhanda, Patalakhanda, Uttarakhanda and Kriyayogasara. The
Uttarakhanda describes the importance of all months and also the lotus, the seat of Brahma. This
contains the stories of Sakuntala and Sri Rama as described by Kalidasa in his works Sakuntala and
Raghuvamsa which has made some believe that this Purana was written after Kalidasa. If this Purana
is given as gift with a cow in the month of Jyestha (June) it brings prosperity.

Contains glory of Srimad-Bhagavatam; stories of Rama, Jagannatha, Matsya, Ekadasi, Bhrgu, etc.

55,000 verses.

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4. Garuda Purana.
This is in the form of instructions to Garuda by Vishnu. This deals with astronomy, medicine,
grammar, and with the structure and qualities of diamonds. This Purana is dear to Vaishnavites. The
latter half of this Purana deals with life after death. The Hindus of north-India generally read this
Purana while cremating the bodies of the dead. This has given great importance to the origin of
Garuda. There are eight thousand verses in this book. This book should be given as gift along with an
image in gold of a swan to get prosperity.

Subject of Bhagavad-gita; reincarnation; vishnu-sahasranama; description of Tarsya Kalpa.

19,000 verses.

5. Varaha Purana.
The mode of narration is in the form of narrating the story by Varaha, the third incarnation of Vishnu.
The theme is about holy places and mantras. It states that the goddess of earth prayed to
Mahavishnu and that prayer took the form of a goddess. This book contains fourteen thousand
verses.

If one copies down this Purana and gives it as gift along with a golden image of Garuda on the full-
moon day in the month of Caitra (April) one will attain Vishnuloka.

Describes different vratas; Lord Vishnu's glories.

24,000 verses.

6. Bhagavata Purana.
This is the most popular and widely circulated of all the Puranas. It is dear to Visnu-devotees. Divided
into twelve Skandhas this contains eighteen thousand shlokas. All the incarnations of Visnu are
described in this. The most interesting Skandha is the tenth Skandha in which the author has
described the life and activities of Sri Krishna. There was once a belief that it was Baladeva who lived
in the thirteenth century A.D. that had composed this Purana. But this belief was smashed when it
was found that Valialasena of Bengal who lived in the eleventh century A.D. had made references to
this Purana in some of his works. Bhagavata accepts Kapila and Buddha as incarnations of Vishnu.

The Bhagavatam has been translated into all Indian languages. This book has to be given as gift on
the fullmoon day in the month of Prosthapada (September). Agni Purana instructs that this book is to
be given along with a golden image of a lion.

18,000 verses.

7. Brahmanda Purana.
This deals with the origin of the universe as told by Brahma. In the beginning there was a golden egg
and the prapanca (universe with its activities) was formed out of it. Portions of Adhyatma Ramayana,
references to Radha and Krsna and the incarnation of Parasurama are included in this. This book
contains twelve thousand verses and it is believed to be uttama (best) to give this book as a gift to a
brahmin.

Describes the vedangas; describes the Adi Kalpa.

12,000 verses.

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8. Brahmavaivarta Purana.
This was instructed to Savarnika by Narada. The theme is the story of Rathantara. There are four
kandas in this Purana called Brahma-kanda, Prakrtikanda, Ganesa-kanda and Krsnajanma-kanda.
This deals with Prapancasrsti (creation of the universe). It says that Prapanca is nothing but the
Vaivarta (transformation) of Brahman. It is considered to be holy to give this book containing eighteen
thousand verses as a gift on the full-moon day in the month of Magha (February).

Contains the glories and pastimes of Radha and Krishna.

18,000 verses.

9. Markandeya Purana.
This is one of the ancient Puranas. There are many stories regarding Indra, Surya and Agni in this.
This includes a division called Devimahatmya containing praises about the goddess Durga. This
contains nine thousand verses and it is considered as uttama (best) to give this book as a gift to a
brahmin on a full-moon day in the month of Karttika (November).

Stories of Rama and Krishna.

9,000 verses.

10. Bhavishya Purana.

This is what is told to Manu by Surya (Sun). This contains statements about future events. The book
praises the worship of Surya (Sun), Agni (fire) and Naga (serpent). There is an annexure dealing with
the several holy places of Bharata and the rights of pilgrims. The book contains fourteen thousand
verses and it is considered to be uttama (best) to give this book along with treacle as a gift to a
brahmin on the full-moon day in the month of Pausha (January).

Contains the glories of devotional service; prediction of Lord Chaitanya.

14,500 verses.

11. Vamana Purana.

There is a great similarity between the contents of this Purana and that of Varaha Purana. All the
incarnations of Vishnu from Vamana downwards are described in this Purana. The scene of Shiva
marrying Parvati is vividly described in this book. This Purana contains ten thousand verses and it is
considered to be uttama (best) to give this book as a gift in the autumn season or at the time of
Visuva to a Brahmin.

Contains the story of Lord Trivikrama.

10,000 verses.

12. Brahma Purana.

This is in the form of teachings by Brahma to Daksa. This contains twenty-five thousand verses. This
is called Adi Purana also. There is a special treatise in this book on Orissa, an ancient holy region of
Bharata. There is in this a special annexure explaining the intimacy between Shiva and Surya which is
a deviation from other Puranas. Brahma Purana states about a suryakshetra (sun-temple) situated at
a place called Konarka near the holy place of Puri, installed there in the year 1241 A.D. If this Purana

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along with Jaladhenu is given as a gift on the full-moon day in the month of Vaisakha (May) the donor
will attain heaven.

10,000 verses.

13. Matsya Purana.

This Purana was taught to Manu by Matsya, the incarnation of Vishnu, The incarnation of Matsya is
dealt in this. Several subjects like Jainamata (religion of Jainism), Buddhamata (Buddhism),
Natyasastra (histrionics) and Andhraraja-vamsa (kingdom and Kings of Andhra) are discussed in this
book. The book contains thirteen thousand verses and this is to be given as gift along with a golden
image of a fish at the time of Visuva.

Temple construction; describes Vamana and Varaha Kalpas.

14,000 verses.

14. Kurma Purana.

This Purana is taught by Kurmamurti (incarnation of Visnu as Kurma (tortoise) while narrating the
story of Indradyumna at Patala. All the seven islands and seven oceans are described in this book.
Bharata is situated in the centre of all these and is called Jambudvipa. Though it is believed that there
were four samhitas for this, only the Brahma-samhita is available now. It includes L varagita and
Vyasagita.

The book is to be given as gift along with a golden image of tortoise.

Contains the conversation between Krishna and the Sun-god (mentioned in Bhagavad-gita);
Danvantari; Describes the Lakshmi Kalpa.

17,000 verses.

15. Shiva Purana.

This contains instructions of Shiva on Dharma sitting in the form of linga (Phallus). The twenty-eight
different forms of Siva are described in this. This contains twelve thousand verses and if this book is
given as a gift to a brahmin with tiladhenu on the full-moon day in the month of Phalguna (March) the
donor will attain Shivasayujya.

Contains the glory of Lord Nrismhadeva; Janardhana; the story of Ambarisha; the glories of Gayatri.

10,000 verses.

16. Linga Purana.

Linga Purana is where Maheshwara, present in the Agni Linga, explained (the objects of life)
virtue, wealth, pleasure, and final liberationat the end of the Agni Kalpa, and this Purana, consists of
eleven thousand stanzas. It is said to have been originally composed by Brahma and the primitive
Linga is a pillar of radiance, in which Maheswara is present

It enunciates many rituals in the text with legends and stories that date back to a hoary period. It gives
details of Shiva Puja and has two parts – ‘Poorva Bhaga’ with 180 chapters and the other ‘Uttara
Bhaga' with 55 chapters

11,000 verses

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17. Skanda Purana.

This Purana is narrated by Skanda. The theme is the slaughter of the demon Tarakdsura by Skanda
(Subrahmanya). There is a great similarity between this Purana and the Kumarasambhava of
Kalidasa. There are eighty-four thousand verses in this Purana and giving this book as a gift is
thought to be good.

81,000 verses.

18. Agni Purana.

This Purana was instructed to the sage Vasishtha by Agnideva. There are several references in this to
Shivalinga and Durgadevi. The incarnations of Rama and Krishna are also dealt with in this. Distinct
from other Puranas this book deals with arts and science like Kavyalankaranatakas (Poems, dramas,
figures of speech), Jyotish shastra (Astronomy) and Shilpakala (architecture). This Purana is capable
of imparting knowledge on all arts and sciences.

15,400 verses.

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