The
Puranas (/pʊˈrɑːnəz/; singular: Sanskrit: पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times") are ancient Hindu texts
eulogizing various deities, primarily the divine Trimurti God in Hinduism
through divine stories. Puranas may also be described as a genre of important
Hindu religious texts alongside some Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably
consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to
destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and
descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.The Puranas are
frequently classified according to the Trimurti (Trinity or the three aspects
of the divine).ThePadma Purana classifies them in accordance with the three
gunas or qualities as Sattva (Truth and Purity), Rajas (Dimness and Passion)
and Tamas (Darkness and Ignorance).
Puranas
usually give prominence to a particular deity, employing an abundance of
religious and philosophical concepts. They are usually written in the form of
stories related by one person to another. The Puranas are available in
vernacular translations and are disseminated by Brahmin scholars, who read from
them and tell their stories, usually in Katha sessions (in which a traveling
Brahmin settles for a few weeks in a temple and narrates parts of a Purana,
usually with a Bhaktiperspective).
