|
|
|
Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
|
|
|
Apart from the 18 major Puranas there are an equal number of Upapuranas.
Among them are the Vinayaka Purana and the Kalki Purana.
There are also, in addition, a number of minor Puranas. The Puranas that
speak of the glory of various months such as the Tula Purana, the Magha
Purana and the Vaisakha Purana are parts included into the 18 major
Puranas or Upa-puranas. There are also what are called Sthala Puranas,
some of them part of the Puranas mentioned above and some existing
independently. The puranas that sing the glory of the Kaveri and the
Ganga exist both separately and as part of the major Puranas or of the
Upa-puranas. In the Tula Purana, for instance, the importance of the
Kaveri is the theme. It mentions how auspicious it is to bathe in that
river
in the month of Tula (October-November).
If there are Puranas devoted to the deities there are also those dealing
with devotees. The Tamil Periyapuranam tells the story of the 63 Saiva
saints called Nayanmars. The same is available in the Sanskrit as
Upamanyu Bhaktavilasa. Bhakta-Vijaya deals with poet-saints like
Tukaram and Namadeva who were specially devoted to the deity
Panduranga of Pandharpur. |
|
|
