" Eighteen Puranas"

-





There are eighteen main Puranas and an equal number of subsidiary Puranas or Upa-Puranas. The main Puranas are: Vishnu Purana, Naradiya Purana, Srimad Bhagavata Purana, Garuda (Suparna) Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Markandeya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Vamana Purana, Matsya Purana, Kurma Purana, Linga Purana, Siva Purana, Skanda Purana and Agni Purana. Of these, six are Sattvic Puranas and glorify Vishnu; six are Rajasic and glorify Brahma; six are Tamasic and they glorify Siva.


Neophytes or beginners in the spiritual path are puzzled when they go through Siva Purana and Vishnu Purana. In Siva Purana, Lord Siva is highly eulogised and an inferior position is given to Lord Vishnu. Sometimes Vishnu is belittled. In Vishnu Purana, Lord Hari is highly eulogised and an inferior status is given to Lord Siva. Sometimes Lord Siva is belittled. This is only to increase the faith of the devotees in their particular Ishta-Devata. Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu are one.


The best among the Puranas are the Srimad Bhagavata and the Vishnu Purana. The most popular is the Srimad Bhagavata Purana. Next comes Vishnu Purana. A portion of the Markandeya Purana is well known to all Hindus as Chandi, or Devimahatmya. Worship of God as the Divine Mother is its theme. Chandi is read widely by the Hindus on sacred days and Navaratri (Durga Puja) days.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lord Krishna : The Supreme Lord : 8-1,2

-
Image
Lord Krishna : The Supreme Lord : 8-1,2. 28/09/2018 1.A Great Statesman Sri Krishna was a great statesman. The world has not witnessed a greater statesman than Sri Krishna. He was a champion of liberty and a peacemaker. He had wonderful foresight and held extremely liberal views. Even when He was a boy, He taught people the essentials and the true significance of religion, when He rose against the popular worship of Indra for getting rains. Krishna was a king-maker. He was the founder of the city of Dwaraka. He was the towering genius of His age. He was a great historical figure. He was appointed as the peace-maker to stop the civil war that was to be fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Yudhishthira sent Krishna to negotiate with the Kauravas. He made a long and wise exhortation to Duryodhana. The thrilling and soul-stirring speech delivered by Sri Krishna before the court of Dhritarashtra proves that He was the greatest statesman. He said to Duryodhana: "O
Read more

MAHA PURANAS - 6. Swami Sivananda

-
Image
======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23/02/2020. 1.INTRODUCTION : 6. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 13.Shiva Purana:  24,000 verses. Discusses Shiva, and stories about him. 14. Skanda Purana:  81,100 verses. Describes the birth of Skanda (or Karthikeya), son of Shiva. Being the longest Purana, it is an extraordinarily meticulous pilgrimage guide, containing geographical locations of pilgrimage centers in India, with related legends, parables, hymns and stories. Many untraced quotes are attributed to this text. 15. Vamana Purana: 10,000 verses. Describes North India, particularly Himalayan foothills region. 16. Varaha Purana:  24,000 verses. Primarily Vishnu-related worship manua
Read more

Lord Krishna : The Supreme Lord : 11.

-
Image
17/11/2018 11. Call of the Flute : Krishna’s flute is the symbol of Freedom or Pranava. It is this flute that attracted the devoted Gopis, the maidens of Vraja, to meet their beloved Lord on the banks of the sacred Jumna. The sound of this divine flute thrilled the heart with rapturous delight and instilled new life and joy. It produced God-intoxication in all beings and infused life even in insentient objects. The sweetness of the music was unsurpassed. He who heard once the music of Krishna’s flute cared not for the nectar of heaven or the bliss of Moksha. The flute and its music had stirred the souls of the Gopis. They were not masters of themselves. The world was nothing to them. They felt irresistibly drawn towards Sri Krishna. They had neither shame nor fear in leaving their homes. There was a soul-awakening in them. Their mind was not of this world. Their husbands and brothers stopped them in vain. Who can resist the torrent of divine love for the Lord? The love that
Read more