In the early references, states Coburn, the term Purana occurs in singular unlike the later era which refers to a plural form presumably because they had assumed their 'multifarious form'. Īccording to Thomas Coburn, Puranas and early extra-puranic texts attest to two traditions regarding their origin, one proclaiming a divine origin as the breath of the Great Being, the other as a human named Vyasa as the arranger of already existing material into eighteen Puranas. The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad also refers to purana as the 'fifth Veda'. Īnother early mention of the term 'Itihas-purana' is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.2), translated by Patrick Olivelle as 'the corpus of histories and ancient tales as the fifth Veda'. Further, despite the mention of the term Purana or Puranas in the Vedic texts, there is uncertainty about the contents of them until the composition of the oldest Dharmashastra Apastamba Dharmasutra and Gautama Dharmasutra, that mention Puranas resembling with the extant Puranas. Moreover, it is not unlikely that, where the singular ' Puranam' was employed in the texts, a class of works was meant. In numerous passages the Mahabharata mentions ' Purana' in both singular and plural forms. Therefore, states Kane, that in the later Vedic period at least, the Puranas referred to three or more texts, and that they were studied and recited. The late Vedic text Taittiriya Aranyaka (II.10) uses the term in the plural. Kane, it is not certain whether these texts suggested several works or single work with the term Purana. Similarly, the Shatapatha Brahmana (XI.5.6.8) mentions Itihasapuranam (as one compound word) and recommends that on the 9th day of Pariplava, the hotr priest should narrate some Purana because 'the Purana is the Veda, this it is' (XIII.4.3.13). The Puranic literature wove with the Bhakti movement in India, and both Dvaita and Advaita scholars have commented on the underlying Vedantic themes in the Maha Puranas. The Chaitanya school also rejects outright any monistic interpretation of the purana. But, the dualistic school of Shriman Madhvacharya has a rich and strong tradition of dualistic interpretation of the Bhagavata, starting from the Bhagavata Taatparya Nirnaya of the Acharya himself and later, commentaries on the commentary. The Bhagavata Purana has been among the most celebrated and popular text in the Puranic genre, and is, in the opinion of some, of non-dualistic tenor. The religious practices included in them are considered Vaidika (congruent with Vedic literature), because they do not preach initiation into Tantra. Their role and value as sectarian religious texts and historical texts has been controversial because all Puranas praise many gods and goddesses and 'their sectarianism is far less clear cut' than assumed, states Ludo Rocher. They have been influential in the Hindu culture, inspiring major national and regional annual festivals of Hinduism. The Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture in Hinduism, but are considered as Smritis. The first versions of various Puranas were likely to have been composed between 3rd and 10th century CE. There are 18 Mukhya Puranas (Major Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), with over 400,000 verses. The Hindu Maha Puranas are traditionally attributed to ' Vyasa', but many scholars considered them likely the work of many authors over the centuries in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated and their authors assigned. The content is highly inconsistent across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves inconsistent. The Puranic literature is encyclopedic, and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony, cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love stories, as well as theology and philosophy. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Adi Shakti.

The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Purana ( / p ʊ ˈ r ɑː n ə/ Sanskrit: पुराण, purāṇa literally meaning 'ancient, old' ) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends and other traditional lore.

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