The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu religious texts that provide information about ancient Indian history, genealogies of kings, devas, and sages, and various rituals. There are 18 main Puranas that cover topics like cosmology, genealogy, and mythology. The oldest Purana is the Vishnu Purana, which focuses on Vishnu and his avatars. The largest Purana is the Skanda Purana, which influenced Hindu traditions related to the god Skanda. The Puranas have had a major impact on Indian traditions, festivals, rituals, arts, culture, and pilgrimage sites.

1. The Purana
s
पुराण
AMIT KUMAR
Batch-A (MBA 2018-2020)
Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel
Management
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Image courtesy: Wikipedia/puranas

2. What are the Puranas ?
• Sanskrit meaning of purāṇa is ‘of ancient time’.
• Literature of Vedic tradition.
• Written almost entirely in narrative couplets.
• Earliest written versions were
compiled during the Gupta empire.
Image courtesy: Wikipedia

3. Pancha Lakshana
• Sarga
• Pratisarga
• Vamśa
• Manvañtara
• Vamśānucaritam
Image courtesy: Google/images

4. 18 PURANAS
Agni
Bhagavata
Bhrama
Brahmanda
Brahmavaivarta
Graruda
Kurma
Linga
Markandeya
Matsya
Narada
Padma
Shiva
Skanda
Vamana
Varaha
Vayu
Vishnu

5. Largest Purana: Skanda Purana
• Titled after Skanda who is also known
as Kartikeya and Murugan.
• It put influence on the Hindu traditions related
to the war-god Skanda.
• Tirtha Mahatmya (pilgrimage tourist guides)
Image courtesy: Google/images

6. Oldest Purana: Vishnu Purana
• It primarily centers around the Hindu
god Vishnu and his avatars such
as Krishna.
• Who is Vishnu?
Out of Vishnu this universe has arisen,
in him its exists, he is the one who
governs its existence and destruction,
he is the universe.
Image courtesy: Google/images

7. Impact of Puranas
Our Traditions and Value System
Our Festivals
Rituals (pujas)
Arts and Culture
Pilgrimage
Image courtesy: Google/images

8. Pilgrimage
Image courtesy: Wikipedia
• Famous pilgrimage Places in India
and some are quite Famous in
relation to Puranas.
• Orange Dots are UNESCO world
Heritage Site .

9. • Samudra mantham mythology,
depicted in above sculpture, is
described in the Vishnu Purana.
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
Image courtesy: Google/images

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wikipedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puranas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirtha_(Hinduism)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu_Purana
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skanda_Purana
Google/Images
The Speaking Tree/How old are Puranas?
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Purana