Introduction to Eighteen Puranas

the word Purana itself means ancient story, Puranas are the oldest texts of world literature, the knowledge and morals written in them are still relevant, invaluable and They are the foundation stone of human civilization, the language and style of the Vedas is difficult, the Puranas are simple and interesting versions of the same knowledge.

In them, complex facts have been explained through stories, the subjects of Puranas are morality, thought, geography, astronomy, politics, culture, social traditions, science and many other subjects, the special fact is that in the Puranas there are stories about Gods and Goddesses, Along with kings and sages, stories of common people have also been mentioned, which gives a depiction of all aspects of the mythological period.

Maharishi Vedvyasji has compiled eighteen Puranas in Sanskrit language, Brahmadev, Shri Hari Vishnu Bhagwan and Lord Maheshwar are the main deities of those Puranas, six Puranas have been dedicated to each God form of the Trinity, in addition to these eighteen Puranas, there are sixteen sub- There are Puranas also, but to keep the topic limited, I am giving only a brief introduction of the main Puranas.

Brahma Purana is the oldest of all,

this Purana has two hundred and forty-six chapters and fourteen thousand verses, in this book, apart from the greatness of Brahmaji, the stories of the origin of creation, descent of Ganga and Ramayana and Krishna avatar are also compiled, the origin of creation is from this book. Some information can be obtained from this to the Indus Valley Civilization.

The second is Padmapuran,

which has fifty-five thousand verses and this book is divided into five sections, whose names are Srishti Khand, Swarg Khand, Uttar Khand, Bhumikhand and Patal Khand. In this book, the origin of the earth, sky and constellations is mentioned in detail. It has been said that living beings are born in four ways, which have been categorized as Udibhaj, Svedaj, Andaj and Jaryuj, this classification is completely based on scientific basis.

There is also a detailed description of all the mountains and rivers of India, in this Purana there is the history of many ancestors from Shakuntala Dushyant to Lord Ram, the name of our country changed from Jambudip to Bharatkhand and that after the name of Shakuntala Dushyant’s son Bharat. All of us brothers and sisters should read this Padma Purana, because in this Purana we get a detailed description of our geographical and spiritual environment.

The third Purana is Vishnupuran,

which has six parts and twenty-three thousand verses, in this book the stories of Lord Shri Vishnuji, child Dhruvji, and Krishnavatar are compiled, apart from this, the story of Emperor Prithuji is also included, due to which our earth was named Prithvi. This Purana contains the complete history of the Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi kings.

uttaran yatsamudrasy himaadreshchaiv dakshinam.

varshan tad bhaaratan naam bhaaratee yatr santatih.

The national identity of India is centuries old, the proof of which is in this verse of Vishnu Purana, in general terms it means that the geographical area which is surrounded by the Himalayas in the north and the ocean in the south, is the country of India and people living in it All of us are saints of the country of India, what could be a clearer identity of the country of India and its people than this? Vishnu Purana is actually a historical text.

The fourth Purana is Shivpuran,

which is also respectfully called Shiv Mahapuran, this Mahapuran has twenty-four thousand verses, and it is divided into seven Samhitas, in this book the greatness of Lord Shiva and the events related to him have been depicted, this book is called Vayu. Puranas also say that in this the description and importance of Mount Kailash, Shivling and Rudraksha has been shown in detail.

The creation of the names of the seven days of the week, description of Prajapatis and victory over Kama have been described in detail. The names of the days of the week are based on the planets of our solar system, and are used even today almost all over the world. It is said that the devotees of Lord Shiva should read Shiv Mahapuran regularly with reverence and devotion, Lord Shankarji is very kind and innocent, whoever reads this Shiv Puran with devotion is assured of his welfare.

The fifth is Bhagwat Puran,

which has eighteen thousand verses and twelve cantos, this book contains discussions on spiritual topics, the greatness of devotion, knowledge and renunciation has been shown in Bhagwat Puran, the stories of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu and Lord Govind have been elaborated. Apart from this, stories of many kings, sages and demons before the Mahabharata period are also compiled.

In this book, details of the death of Shri Krishna after the Mahabharata war, the submergence of the city of Dwarika and the destruction of the Yadav dynasty are also given.

Narada Purana is the sixth Purana

which is adorned with twenty-five thousand verses, and it also has two parts, in both the parts the essence of all the eighteen Puranas is given, in the first part there are mantras and rules and regulations after death, the story of Ganga’s descent. is also explained in detail, in the second part the knowledge of the seven notes of music, mandra, middle and chord positions of the octave, morchhanas, pure and false tones and swaramandal is written.

This knowledge of musical method is the basis of Indian music even today. For those who get astonished by the glamor of western music, the remarkable fact is that even several centuries after Narada Purana, there were only five notes in western music, and the music The development of the theory was equal to zero,The scale of western music has been created on the basis of foolishness. All music lovers, those who have considered music as their career, or the Brahmin who sees music and spirituality together, must read Narad Purana.

The seventh is Markandeya Purana,

which is the shortest Purana compared to other Puranas, Markandeya Purana has nine thousand verses and one hundred and thirty-seven chapters, in this book there is a conversation between Rishi Markandeyaji and Rishi Jaiminiji about social justice and yoga; Apart from this, stories related to Bhagwati Durgaji and Lord Shri Krishna are also compiled.All Brahmo Samaj should read this Purana, at least the descendants of Markandeyaji Rishi should try to read this Purana little by little, study of Markandeya Purana gives spiritual eternal happiness.

The eighth is Agnipuran,

Agni Puran has three hundred eighty-three chapters and fifteen thousand verses, this Puran can be called the encyclopedia of Indian culture or Wikipedia in today’s language, in this book God had come in the incarnation of Matsyaavatar, it is described, Brief stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata period are also compiled, apart from this, there are discussions on many subjects, among which Dhanurveda, Gandharva Veda and Ayurveda are the main ones, Dhanurveda, Gandharva Veda and Ayurveda are also called Upa-Veda.

The ninth is Bhavishyapuran, Bhavishya Purana

has one hundred and twenty-nine chapters and twenty-eight verses, in this book there is a discussion on the importance of Sun God, creation of twelve months of the year, social, religious and educational laws of India and many other topics, this Puran Important information related to the identification of snakes, poison and poison has also been given in it. Many stories of this Bhavishya Purana also match the stories of the Bible. Apart from the old dynasties, the future Nanda dynasty and Maurya dynasties are also described in the Bhavishya Purana. Is.

Apart from this, there is also a description of the stories of Vikram Betal and Betal Pachisi, the story of Lord Shri Satya Narayan is also taken from this Purana, this Bhavishya Purana is an important source of Indian history, on which research work should be done, and its teachings are followed every day. It should be taught to the students and from the first class itself, all the teachers and teachers associated with education must read this Purana called Bhavishya Purana, so that your understanding increases, and bring spiritual awakening in the society.

The tenth is Brahmavaivartapuran,

which is adorned with eighteen thousand verses and has two hundred and eighteen chapters. In this book, the greatness of Brahmaji, Ganeshji, Tulsi Mata, Savitri Mata, Lakshmi Mata, Saraswati Mata and Lord Shri Krishna has been depicted, and they Stories related to it are compiled, knowledge related to Ayurveda is also compiled in this Purana, for those who are serious about the subject of healthy body in Ayurveda and Indian tradition, this Brahmavaivarta Purana will become your guide.

Next is the eleventh Linga Purana,

in this holy Linga Purana there are eleven thousand verses and one hundred and sixty-three chapters, the origin of the universe and the table of Yuga, Kalpa in the astronomical period are described, among the descendants of Lord Suryadev’s Surya, King Ambarishji was born, Ramji was among them. He was incarnated in the family of King Ambarishji, the story of King Ambarishji is also written in this Purana, in this book it has also been mentioned about Aghor Mantras and Aghor Vidya.

The twelve Purana is Varahapuran,

Varaha Purana has two hundred and seventeen sections and ten thousand verses, in this book the story of Varaha incarnation of Lord Shri Hari, and apart from this, Bhagwat Geeta Mahatmya has also been described in detail, in this Purana the story of creation. Description of development, heaven, underworld and other worlds is also given, Shraddha method, reasons for sun’s Uttarayan and Dakshinayan movement, new moon and full moon are described.

The important thing is that the geographical and astronomical facts which are compiled in this Purana, were known to the scientists of the western world only after the fifteenth century. All the brothers and sisters who believe in Sanatan Dharma must read this Varaha Purana. Varaha Purana is incomparable for the devotee who imagines heaven while he is alive, in which Lord Shri Vedvyasji has described heaven and hell very well.

The thirteenth Purana is Sakanda Purana,

Sakanda Purana is the largest Purana, and this Purana has eighty-one thousand verses and six sections, Sakanda Purana contains the geographical description of ancient India, in which there are twenty-seven constellations, eighteen rivers, the beauty of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It includes the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Bholenath located in Bholenath and the stories of Ganga’s descent.In the same Purana, the Syahadri mountain range and the Kanya Kumari temple have also been mentioned. In the same Purana, there is also an ornamental story of the origin of Somdev, Tara and their son Buddha.

The fourteenth Purana is Vamanpuran,

Vaman Puran has ninety-nine chapters and ten thousand verses, and has two parts, only the first part of this Puran is available, in this Puran the story of Lord’s Vaman incarnation is told in detail, which is in Bharuchakchha ( Apart from this, this book also mentions creation, origin of Jambudupi and other seven islands, geographical position of the earth, important mountains, rivers and parts of India.

The fifteenth Purana is Kurma Purana,

Kurma Purana has eighteen thousand verses and four sections, in this Purana the essence of the four Vedas is given in brief form, in Kurma Purana the story of Sagar Manthan related to Kurma incarnation is written in detail, in this There is also a detailed description of the origin of Brahmaji, Shivaji, Vishnuji, Mother Earth, Mother Ganga, accurate information about the four eras, the four ashram religions of human life, and the Chandravanshi kings.

The sixteenth Purana is Matsya Purana,

Matsya Purana has two hundred ninety chapters and fourteen thousand verses, in this book the story of Matsya incarnation has been mentioned in detail, the origin of creation and all the planets of our solar system, the four eras and the Chandravanshi kings. History is described, the interesting story of Kach, Devayani, Sharmistha and King Yayati is also in this Matsya Purana. Brothers and sisters who want to know about social issues must read Matsya Purana.

The seventeenth Purana is Garudapurana,

Garudapurana has two hundred and eighty nine chapters and eighteen thousand verses; In this book, events after death, ghost world, Yama world, hell and the hellish life of eighty-four lakh species have been explained in detail. This Purana also contains description of many Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi kings. Common people can read this book. Hesitant to read because? This book is read only after the death of a relative or acquaintance.

In fact, in this Purana, the scientific condition of the embryo situated in the womb after rebirth after death has been described symbolically, which has been given the name of Vaitarani River. Till that time there was no scientific information about the development of the embryo, Then our Garuda Purana gave direction to science and scientists, by reading this Purana any human can save himself from going to hell.

The eighteenth and last Purana is Brahmandapuran,

Brahmandpuran has twelve thousand verses and three parts, East, Middle and North, it is believed that Adhyatma Ramayana was a part of the first Brahmand Purana which is now a separate book, in this Purana situated in the universe. The planets have been described in detail, the history of many Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi kings has also been compiled, since the origin of the universe till now seven Manovantara (times) have passed, which have been described in detail in this book. .

The story of Lord Shri Parshuramji is also given in this Purana, this book can be called the world’s first astronomy, the sages of India had taken the knowledge of this Purana to the entire universe, the evidence of which we have been getting, Hindu mythology. Like history, in other countries too, stories of great humans, demons, gods, kings and ordinary citizens are prevalent; the names of many have been distorted due to the difference in pronunciation and languages, such as Harikul Ish to Hercules, Kashyap Sagar to Caspian Sea, and Shambhu Singh became Shin Bu Sin etc.

In the name of Takshak, Takshashila and Takshakhand became Tashkent, these details definitely indicate some or the other historical event. In ancient times, Itihasa, Akhyana, Samhita and Purana were used in the same sense, to write history. There was no custom, the kings also linked their genealogies with the sun and moon dynasties through the powers of imagination, hence the mythological stories are a mixture of history, literature and legends.

Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas are valuable sources of our ancient history, which have been left untouched by considering them as mere literature. To reconnect the lost chains of history, we will have to do research on Puranas and epics. The educated young generation of today This is a call to let go of what has been left, try to understand the spiritual heritage that is left, assimilate the teachings written in the Puranas in your life.