Purana
/pʊˈrɑːnə
/noun (usually Puranas)
Any of a class of Sanskrit sacred writings on Hindu mythology and folklore of varying date and origin, the most ancient of which dates from the 4th century ad.Mythology and Hindu Puranas have many instances of militant heroes, who were still considered to be leaders....
- Smarta means a follower of classical smriti, particularly the Dharma Shastras, Puranas and Itihasas.
- Smarthas follow the Smriti literature, particularly Dharma Shastra, Puranas and the Ithihasas.
Derivatives
Puranic
- Neither the Ramayana nor the Mahabharata, which date back several thousand years, record an event like the Mela, though the Puranic story of the churning of the ocean predates both epics.
- On the other hand, the Hindu Puranic writer merely records events narrated by Sutas.
- It is also well-known that the Vedic or Puranic idea of the age of the universe is some 8 billion years, which is of the order of magnitude of what has been estimated by modern astrophysicists.
Origin
From Sanskrit purāṇa 'ancient (legend)', from purā 'formerly'.