Introduction: Puranas are 18 in number. The great Sage Veda Vyasa composed them. The word Purana means “ancient tales”. There are references to Epics and Puranas in the vedic texts and also in the Sutra texts of Aapasthamba, Gauthama and others. Even Mahabharatha refers to the old Purana works. These reference show that there were Puranas even in the vedic period describing ancient legends and stories such as the lives of kings, sage and heroes. Many of the previous puranas are extinct now and which are available now are composed by Veda Vyasa.
Principles of Puranas: According to the tradition the purpose of Purana is the expansion of the teachings of the Vedas. The following five are important in the content of Puranas. 1) The creation of the Universe 2) its destruction and fresh creation 3) the genealogies of gods, sages and kings 4) ages of different Manus 5) the history of the dynasties that organised from the Sun and the Moon.
Date of Puranas: It is not possible to find the date of Puranas. In Puranas Lord Vishnu, Siva and Goddess Durga were given importance in worship. Some of these Puranas refer Gupta and Maurya kings. So researchers say that these Puranas must have composed between 3rd BC to 5th AD.
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