The Upapuranas (Sanskrit: Upapurāṇa) are a genre of Hindu religious texts consisting of many compilations differentiated from the Mahapuranas by styling them as secondary Puranas using the prefix Upa (secondary). Though only a few of these compilations originated earlier than most of the extant Mahapuranas, some of these texts are extensive and important.[1]
Similar to the case of the Mahapuranas, a claim has been made in a number of Puranas and Smritis that the Upapuranas are also eighteen in number and give evidence of their knowledge of the existence of a larger number of the Upapuranas. But, unlike the case of the Mahapuranas, the different lists of eighteen Upapuranas seldom agree with one another with regard to the names of these texts. Lists of eighteen Upapuranas occur in a number of texts, which include the Kurma Purana, the Garuda Purana, the Brihaddharma Purana, the Sanat Kumara Purana, the Ekamra Purana, the Vāruṇa Purāṇa, the Pārāśara Purāṇa, the Skanda Purana, the Padma Purana, the Brahmavaivarta Purana, the Aushanasa Purāṇa, Hemadri's Caturvargacintamani and Ballal Sena's Dana Sagara. In spite of the mention of a particular Upapurana in different lists under different names, these lists provide us the names of much more than eighteen texts as the Upapuranas. In fact, by examining all the Sanskrit texts which mention the names of these texts, the actual number of the Upapuranas are found to be near a hundred, including those mentioned in the different lists. But, it can not be denied that many of these texts have been lost without leaving any trace.[1]
Unlike the Mahapuranas, most of the Upapuranas have been able to preserve their older materials along with their distinctive sectarian character. All extant Upapuranas can be broadly divided into six groups according to the sectarian views found in these texts: Vaishnava, Shakta, Shaiva, Saura, Ganapatya and non-sectarian.[1]
The extant Narasimha Purana comprises 68 chapters. The extant Vishnudharma Purana comprises 105 chapters.
Shakta Upapuranas
Among the Shakta Upapuranas, the most important extant texts are the Kalika Purana (or Sati Purana), the Mahabhagavata (Devi) Purana and the Candi Purana (or Candika Purana).[1]
The extant Kalika Purana comprises 98 chapters.
Shaiva Upapuranas
The notable Shaiva Upapuranas are the Saura Purana, the Shivadharmapurva Purana, the Shivadharmottara Purana, the Shivarahasya Purana, the Ekamra Purana, the Parashara Purana, the Varuna Purana, and the Maheshwara Purana.[1]
The extant Saura Purana comprises 69 chapters. The extant Parashara Upapurana consists 18 chapters. The extant Shivadharma Purana comprises 24 chapters and deals only with the religious rites and duties of the worshippers of Shiva. It mentions itself as a shastra or dharmashastra.[2]
Saura Upapuranas
The only extant text which can be called an exclusive Saura Purana is the Samba Purana.[1] It comprises 84 chapters.
This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page.(October 2020)
Dr. R. C. Hazra's magnum opus for which he earned a D. Litt was a detailed catalogue of contents, comparison of manuscripts of Upapuranas; popularly known as Studies in the Upapurāṇas. It was series of five volumes of equal length, a part of the Calcutta Sanskrit College Research Series (out of which only two were published by Munshiram Manoharlal, both generally edited by Gaurinath Sastri and Hazra's handwritten papers of the other three volumes are kept with the College); on a descriptive study of all more than hundred Upapuranas, which, even to this day, remains an important but ignored field of Sanskrit literature.
References
^ abcdefghiHazra, R.C. (1962, reprint 2003). The Upapuranas in S. Radhakrishnan (ed.) The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol.II, Calcutta:The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, ISBN81-85843-03-1, pp.271-286
^Rocher, Ludo (1986). "The Purāṇas". In Jan Gonda (ed.). A History of Indian Literature: Epics and Sanskrit religious literature, Fasc.3. Vol. 2. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 228. ISBN3-447-02522-0.
February 09, 2023
upapurana, sanskrit, upapurāṇa, genre, hindu, religious, texts, consisting, many, compilations, differentiated, from, mahapuranas, styling, them, secondary, puranas, using, prefix, secondary, though, only, these, compilations, originated, earlier, than, most, . The Upapuranas Sanskrit Upapuraṇa are a genre of Hindu religious texts consisting of many compilations differentiated from the Mahapuranas by styling them as secondary Puranas using the prefix Upa secondary Though only a few of these compilations originated earlier than most of the extant Mahapuranas some of these texts are extensive and important 1 Contents 1 Definition and number 2 Major Upapuranas 3 Sthala Kula and Minor Upapuranas 4 Sectarian divisions 4 1 Vaishnava Upapuranas 4 2 Shakta Upapuranas 4 3 Shaiva Upapuranas 4 4 Saura Upapuranas 4 5 Ganapatya Upapuranas 4 6 Non sectarian Upapuranas 5 Scholarship 6 ReferencesDefinition and number EditSimilar to the case of the Mahapuranas a claim has been made in a number of Puranas and Smritis that the Upapuranas are also eighteen in number and give evidence of their knowledge of the existence of a larger number of the Upapuranas But unlike the case of the Mahapuranas the different lists of eighteen Upapuranas seldom agree with one another with regard to the names of these texts Lists of eighteen Upapuranas occur in a number of texts which include the Kurma Purana the Garuda Purana the Brihaddharma Purana the Sanat Kumara Purana the Ekamra Purana the Varuṇa Puraṇa the Parasara Puraṇa the Skanda Purana the Padma Purana the Brahmavaivarta Purana the Aushanasa Puraṇa Hemadri s Caturvargacintamani and Ballal Sena s Dana Sagara In spite of the mention of a particular Upapurana in different lists under different names these lists provide us the names of much more than eighteen texts as the Upapuranas In fact by examining all the Sanskrit texts which mention the names of these texts the actual number of the Upapuranas are found to be near a hundred including those mentioned in the different lists But it can not be denied that many of these texts have been lost without leaving any trace 1 Major Upapuranas EditSl No Upapurana name Chapters number Status Comments01 Sanat kumara Puraṇa Nineteen Published It is narrated by Sanatkumara 02 Narasimha Puraṇa Sixty eight Published It discusses the Lord s Nṛsimha incarnation 03 Nanda Puraṇa Fifty two Unpublished manuscript available It is narrated by Nandi 04 Sivadharma Puraṇa Twenty four Published It talks about Saivaism 05 Samba Purana Eighty four Manuscript unavailable It is narrated by Durvasa 06 Naradiya Puraṇa Thirty eight Published It is narrated by Narada 07 Kapila Puraṇa Twenty one Published It discusses Kapila s Samkhya Philosophy 08 Manava Puraṇa Manuscript unavailable It is narrated by Manu 09 Ausanasa Puraṇa Manuscript unavailable It is narrated by Usana 10 Mudgala Purana Manuscript unavailable It discusses lord Ganesh 11 Varuṇa Puraṇa Twelve Published It is narrated by Varuṇa 12 Kalika Puraṇa Ninety eight Published It discusses Parvati 13 Maheswara Puraṇa Twelve Unpublished manuscript available It discusses Siva s family 14 Ganesha Purana Eighty four Published It narrated life of lord Ganesha 15 Saura Puraṇa Sixty nine Published It is discusses Siva s family 16 Vishwakarma Purana Eighteen Published It is narrated by Vishwakarma 17 Vishnudharmottara Purana Fifteen Published It is narrated to Brahma18 Bhargava Puraṇa Forty Published Its narrated by Vasiṣṭha Sthala Kula and Minor Upapuranas EditAlso called Aupapuranas or Atipuranas Bṛhaddharma Puraṇa Gaṇesa Puraṇa Maudgalya Puraṇa Kalkya Puraṇa Ṣivarahasya Puraṇa Kriyayogasara Puraṇa Yuga Puraṇa Lakṣmi Puraṇa Bhavisyottara Puraṇa Devanga Puraṇa Siva Puraṇa Nilamata Puraṇa Malla Puraṇa Basava Puraṇa Periya Puraṇa Dharma Puraṇa Mahabhagavata Devi Puraṇa Viṣṇudharma Puraṇa Kartava Puraṇa Ṛju Puraṇa Pasupatya Puraṇa Ekamra Puraṇa Parananda Puraṇa Dattatreya Puraṇa Visvakarma Puraṇa Vasuki Puraṇa Atma Puraṇa Caṇḍi Puraṇa Bhairava Puraṇa Viṣṇurahasya Puraṇa Sukra Puraṇa Kubera Puraṇa Saraswati Puraṇa Govinda Puraṇa Bhugola PuraṇaSectarian divisions EditUnlike the Mahapuranas most of the Upapuranas have been able to preserve their older materials along with their distinctive sectarian character All extant Upapuranas can be broadly divided into six groups according to the sectarian views found in these texts Vaishnava Shakta Shaiva Saura Ganapatya and non sectarian 1 Vaishnava Upapuranas Edit The most significant texts among the Vaishnava Upapuranas are the Manava Purana the Vishnudharmottara Purana the Narasimha Purana the Brihannaradiya Purana and the Kriyayogasara 1 The extant Narasimha Purana comprises 68 chapters The extant Vishnudharma Purana comprises 105 chapters Shakta Upapuranas Edit Among the Shakta Upapuranas the most important extant texts are the Kalika Purana or Sati Purana the Mahabhagavata Devi Purana and the Candi Purana or Candika Purana 1 The extant Kalika Purana comprises 98 chapters Shaiva Upapuranas Edit The notable Shaiva Upapuranas are the Saura Purana the Shivadharmapurva Purana the Shivadharmottara Purana the Shivarahasya Purana the Ekamra Purana the Parashara Purana the Varuna Purana and the Maheshwara Purana 1 The extant Saura Purana comprises 69 chapters The extant Parashara Upapurana consists 18 chapters The extant Shivadharma Purana comprises 24 chapters and deals only with the religious rites and duties of the worshippers of Shiva It mentions itself as a shastra or dharmashastra 2 Saura Upapuranas Edit The only extant text which can be called an exclusive Saura Purana is the Samba Purana 1 It comprises 84 chapters Ganapatya Upapuranas Edit Only two extant Upapuranas profess the views of the Ganapatya sect These are the Mudgala Purana and the Ganesha Purana 1 Non sectarian Upapuranas Edit The Upapuranic works which do not profess any particular sectarian views are the Bhavishyottara Purana the Kapila Purana and the Brihaddharma Purana 1 Scholarship EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints or discuss the issue on the talk page October 2020 Dr R C Hazra s magnum opus for which he earned a D Litt was a detailed catalogue of contents comparison of manuscripts of Upapuranas popularly known as Studies in the Upapuraṇas It was series of five volumes of equal length a part of the Calcutta Sanskrit College Research Series out of which only two were published by Munshiram Manoharlal both generally edited by Gaurinath Sastri and Hazra s handwritten papers of the other three volumes are kept with the College on a descriptive study of all more than hundred Upapuranas which even to this day remains an important but ignored field of Sanskrit literature References Edit a b c d e f g h i Hazra R C 1962 reprint 2003 The Upapuranas in S Radhakrishnan ed The Cultural Heritage of India Vol II Calcutta The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture ISBN 81 85843 03 1 pp 271 286 Rocher Ludo 1986 The Puraṇas In Jan Gonda ed A History of Indian Literature Epics and Sanskrit religious literature Fasc 3 Vol 2 Wiesbaden Otto Harrassowitz Verlag p 228 ISBN 3 447 02522 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Upapurana amp oldid 1114974498, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
