18 PURANAMS

List and description of 18 Puranas in Hindu religion

The Puranas are 18 in number and in the first 6 Puranas Lord Vishnu is the predominating deity and in the next 6 Puranas Lord Brahma is the predominating deity and in the last 6 Puranas Lord Shiva is the predominating deity and all the Puranas are written in such a way that which gives wonderful explanation in a poetry manner. It will be wonderful to read about the greatness of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma in all the Puranas. The list of 18 Puranas are as follows along with the verses that are available in each Purana along with the description. 

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Puranas for Lord Vishnu (Sattva Guna):                                                 

1. Vishnu Purana – Vishnu Purana contains description about the varnasrama, description about the angas of the Veda, description about Sveta Varaha Kalpa, description about Vishnu dharmotara, description about the age of Kali.
Vishnu Purana contains totally 23,000 verses.               

         2. Naradiya Purana – This Purana explaning about various places and description about Jagannatha Puri, Dwaraka, Bhadrinatha and various other Places will be given. This Purana contains the synopsis of everything.
Naradiya Purana contains totally 25,000 verses. 

3. Padma Purana – This Purana contains the story of Rama, Ekadasi, Bhrgu, Matsys etc. This Purana also contains the synopsis of everything.
Padma Purana contains totally 55,000 verses
       

4. Garuda Purana – This Garuda Purana is the one that contains the Bhagavath gita subjects and also the reincarnation. Along with this it also contains the description of Tarsya Kalpa and also the Vishnu Sahasra Nama.
Garuda Purana contains totally 19,000 verses. 

5. Varaha Purana – The Varaha Purana explains about the glory of the Lord Vishnu. Varaha Purana also describes different Vratas.
Varaha Purana contains totally 24,000 verses.                 
     

6. Bhagavata Purana – Bhagavata Purana also explains about Lord Vishnu.
Bhagavata Purana contains totally 18,000 verses.
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                 7.Puranas of Lord Brahma (Rajo Guna):
Brahmanda Purana – This Brahmanda Purana provides description about Adi Kalpa. Description about Vedangas is also given in Brahmanda Purana.
Brahmanda Purana contains totally 12,000 verses.

    8. Brahmavaivarta Purana – It contains the pastimes of Radha and Krishna and also the glories of the Radha and Krishna.
Brahmavaivarta Purana contains totally 18,000 verses.

       

9. Markandeya Purana – It contains the stories of Rama and Krishna together.
Markandeya Purana contains totally 9,000 verses

               

10. Bhavisya Purana – It contains the devotional service along with the glories and prediction of Lord Chaitanya.
Bhavisya Purana contains totally 14,500 verses.

             11. Vamana Purana – It Contains the story of Lord Trivikrama.
Vamana Purana contains totally 10,000 verses.

                             

12. Brahma Purana – It contains the details about the Purushottama Tirtha in the second part and the details about the life and deeds of Rama and Krishna in the first part.
Brahma Purana contains totally 10,000 verses.

Puranas of Lord Shiva (Tamo Guna)

                 

13. Matsya Purana – This Purana provides details about the construction of the temples and provides description about the Vamana and Varaha kalpas.
Matsya Purana contains totally 14,000 verses. 

                   

14. Kurma Purana – This Purana contains the conversation between the Lord Krishna and the Sun God as mentioned in the Bhagvad Gita. It also contains the conversation between the Danvantari who is the one who cures the diseases. This also describes about the Lakshmi Kalpa.
Kurma Purana contains totally 17,000 verses.

               

15. Linga Purana – This Purana contains the glory of Gayatri and also stories of Ambarisa. The Purana explains the Glory of Janardhana and Lord Nrismhadeva.
Linga Purana contains totally 10,000 verses.

       

16. Shiva Purana – Shiva Purana is the one that describes the greatness and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
Shiva Purana contains totally 24,000 verses. 

     

17. Skanda Purana – Skanda Purana is devoted to the Lord Muruga explaining about the life and deed of karthikeya. It also contains the greatness of Lord Shiva. Skanda Purana is the largest Purana among all the 18 Puranas.
Skanda Purana contains totally 81,000 verses. 

       

18. Agni Purana – It provides the description about Isana Kalpa. It also contains the description about the Salagrama. 

       

All the Puranas are described and created in such a way to give descriptions on five different subjects. There is also a sloka that gives explanation about the five different subject descriptions. These Puranas also provides the description on various activities and various Dharmas that are carried out. The Puranas are described by the Amarkhosa. The following slokas also provides description. 

                   sargashcha pratisargashcha
                    vamsha manvantarani cha ||
                       vamshanu caritham chapi
                         puraanam pancha lakshanam |||

This sloka provides the five different subjects on which the description is made in the puranas. They are

1. Sarga – This describes about the creation work of the gods.
2. Pratisarga – This describes about the recreation of the Gods.
3. Vamsha – This particular subject is the description about the history of the sages.
4. Manvantara – This explains about the period of Manu and description about Manu.
5. Vamshaanucharita – This particular subject is the description based on the genealogy of the kings based on the Vamsha.