Purana - Ancient Indian Literature, Truth and Myth - 4th Part (Last).

                          TRIDEV - L to R - Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh.

12. – Linga Purana – In it there are 11,000 verses. 

Linga Discusses Lingam, it is the symbol of Lord Shiva, and origin of the universe.

It also contains many stories of Lingam, one of which entails how Agni Lingam solved a dispute of Supremacy between Vishnu and Brahma.

13. – Narada Purana – It has 25,000 verses. 

This is also known as Naradiya Purana. 

It discusses the Four Vedas   and the Six Vedanta .

It has dedicates one chapter each, from Chapters 92 to 109, to summarize the other 17 Maha Puranas and itself. 

It lists major rivers of India and places of pilgrimage, and a short tour guide for each.

In it there are discussion of various philosophies, Soteriology, Planets, Astronomy, Myths and Characteristics of major Deities including Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Krishna, Rama, Lakshmi and others.

14. – Padm Purana - In it there are 55,000 verses. 

It has large compilation of diverse topics. 

The north Indian manuscripts of Padm Purana are very different than South Indian versions.

There are various recessions in both groups in different languages (Devanagari and Bengali,for example) shows major inconsistencies. 

Padm Purana describes cosmology, the world and nature of life from the perspective of Vishnu. 

It also discusses festivals, numerous legends, geography of rivers and regions from North-west India to Bengal to the kingdom of Tripura.   

Major sages of India, various Avatars of Vishnu and his cooperation with Shiva, the story of Rama-Sita that is different than the Hindu epic Ramayana. 

Like Skanda Purana, it is a detailed treatise on travel and pilgrimage centres in India.

15. – Shiv Purana – It has 24,000 verses. 

This Purana discusses about Shiva and his stories.

16. - Skand Purana – In this Purana there are 81,100 verses.  

This Purana describes the birth of Skanda (Karthikeya), son of Shiva. 

This Purana is the longest Purana; it is an extraordinarily meticulous pilgrimage guide, containing geographical locations of pilgrimage centres in India, with related legends, parables, hymns and stories.

Many untraced quotes are attributed to this text.

17. – Vaman Purana – It has 10,000 verses. 

It describes North India, particularly Himalayan foothills region. 

18. – Varah Purana – In it there are 24,000 verses. 

This Purana is dedicated to Lord Vishnu’s Varah Avtar.

It is Vishnu-related worship manual, with large Mahatmya sections or travel guide to Mathura and Nepal. 

Presentation focuses on Varaha as incarnation of Narayana, but rarely uses the terms Krishna or Vasudeva. Many illustrations also involve Shiva and Durga.

All major Puranas contain sections on  Devi (goddesses) and  Tantra. 

But of these the six most significant ones are: Markandaya Purana, Shiv Purana, Linga Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana, Agni Purana, and Padm Purana.      

  

The Padm Purana, Uttara Khanda (236.18-21), itself a Vishnu Purana. 

It classifies the Puranas in accordance with the three (3) Guna) character or qualities; - 

truth, passion and ignorance.

 The 3 Guna (character or quality) are -  

a.      Sattva  (truth) - Varah Purana,  Padm Purana, Narada Purana, Garuda Purana,       Vishnu Purana , Bhagwat Purana.

b.      Rajas (Passion) - Brahmanda Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana, Vishnu Purana, Markandaya Purana, Brahma Purana, Vaman Purana.

c.       Tamas (Ignorance) - Agni Purana, Matasaya Purana, Linga Purana, Kurma

 Purana, Shiv Purana, Skand Purana.  

                                          This is the End of Purana .