The 18 Mahapuranas are the Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva, Bhagavata, Narada, Markandeya, Agni, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Linga, Varaha, Skanda, Vamana, Kurma, Matsya, Garuda and Brahmanda Puranas. The Vishnu Purana (3.6.20-23) and the Bhagavata Purana (12.13.4-8) give them in this same order. Some lists, such as the Matsya Purana (chapter 53), put the Vayu Purana in fourth place instead of the Shiva Purana.
| # | Name | Verses (Bhagavata) | Subject (Matsya Purana) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brahma Purana | 10,000 | The first of all the Puranas (Vishnu Purana 3.6.20); told by Brahma to Marichi |
| 2 | Padma Purana | 55,000 | The account of the age when the world was a golden lotus (padma), hence the name |
| 3 | Vishnu Purana | 23,000 | Parashara tells the dharmas, set in the Varaha kalpa; the Purana itself says Vishnu is described in every part of it (3.6.25-26) |
| 4 | Shiva PuranaVayu Purana in its place in some lists | 24,000 | The glory of Shiva. The Matsya Purana counts the Vayu Purana here: told by Vayu, with the greatness of Rudra, 24,000 verses (53.18) |
| 5 | Bhagavata PuranaShrimad Bhagavatam | 18,000 | Begins with the Gayatri, includes the slaying of Vritra, set in the Sarasvata kalpa (53.20-22) |
| 6 | Narada PuranaNaradiya Purana | 25,000 | Narada tells the dharmas, set in the Brihat kalpa (53.23) |
| 7 | Markandeya Purana | 9,000 | Dharma and adharma discussed through birds, told by Markandeya (53.25-26); the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya) is part of it |
| 8 | Agni Purana | 15,400 | Told by Agni to Vasishtha, set in the Ishana kalpa (53.28) |
| 9 | Bhavishya Purana | 14,500 | Brahma tells Manu the glory of the Sun; mostly about events to come (53.31-32) |
| 10 | Brahmavaivarta Purana | 18,000 | Savarni tells Narada the greatness of Krishna, set in the Rathantara kalpa (53.34-35) |
| 11 | Linga Purana | 11,000 | Maheshvara, standing within the linga of fire, tells of dharma, artha, kama and moksha (53.37-38) |
| 12 | Varaha Purana | 24,000 | Vishnu tells the Earth the greatness of the Varaha form, set in the Manava kalpa (53.39-40) |
| 13 | Skanda Purana | 81,100 | Shanmukha (Skanda) tells the Shaiva dharmas, set in the Tatpurusha kalpa (53.42-43); the largest by verse count |
| 14 | Vamana Purana | 10,000 | Brahma tells the greatness of Trivikrama (Vamana) (53.45-46) |
| 15 | Kurma Purana | 17,000 | Vishnu as the tortoise, in Rasatala, tells of dharma, artha, kama and moksha through the story of Indradyumna (53.47-48) |
| 16 | Matsya Purana | 14,000 | Vishnu as the fish tells Manu at the start of a kalpa, including the Narasimha story (53.50-51) |
| 17 | Garuda Purana | 19,000 | Told by Krishna (Vishnu), starting from the birth of Garuda from the cosmic egg in the Garuda kalpa (53.53-54) |
| 18 | Brahmanda Purana | 12,000 | Brahma tells the greatness of the cosmic egg and of the kalpas to come (53.55-56) |
The verse that counts the 18 Puranas
मद्वयं भद्वयं चैव ब्रत्रयं वचतुष्टयम् ।अनापलिंगकूस्कानि पुराणानि पृथक्पृथक् ॥What makes a Purana
According to the Vishnu Purana (3.6.24) and the Matsya Purana (53.65), a Purana has five marks: sarga (creation), pratisarga (dissolution and re-creation), vamsha (the lineages of gods and rishis), manvantara (the ages of the Manus) and vamshanucharita (the history of royal dynasties). The same chapter (3.6.15-16) says Vyasa compiled a Purana Samhita from tales, episodes and verses and gave it to his disciple, the Suta Romaharshana.
Mahapuranas and Upapuranas
The Vishnu Purana calls these eighteen the Mahapuranas and adds that the sages have also told Upapuranas (3.6.23-24). The Upapuranas are usually counted as 18 too, but the lists differ from text to text. The Devi Bhagavata (1.3) and Madhusudana Sarasvati’s Prasthanabheda both include the Sanatkumara, Narasimha, Naradiya, Durvasa, Kapila, Manava, Aushanasa, Varuna, Kalika, Maheshvara, Samba, Saura and Parashara Upapuranas. The Prasthanabheda itself says the Upapuranas are counted in many ways.
About the verse counts
The verse counts in the table are those of the Bhagavata Purana (12.13.4-8), which gives the total of all the Puranas as four hundred thousand verses (12.13.9); the subject column is from chapter 53 of the Matsya Purana, which names the narrator and kalpa of each Purana. The Matsya Purana also gives four hundred thousand in all, but different figures for some Puranas. The printed editions of today need not match these numbers.
Where the sources differ
- Shiva or Vayu: the Vishnu Purana (3.6.21), the Bhagavata (12.7.23 and 12.13.4) and the Prasthanabheda count the Shiva Purana fourth; the Matsya Purana (53.18) and the Devi Bhagavata (1.3) count the Vayu Purana in its place.
- Which Bhagavata: the Devi Bhagavata (1.3) places the Shiva Purana and a ‘Bhagavata’ among the Upapuranas. The Shakta tradition takes the ‘Bhagavata’ of the eighteen Mahapuranas to be the Devi Bhagavata, the Vaishnava tradition the Shrimad Bhagavatam.
- Bhagavata 12.7.23-24 gives the same eighteen names in another order, shaped by the metre: Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva, Linga, Garuda, Narada, Bhagavata, Agni, Skanda, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya, Vamana, Varaha, Matsya, Kurma, Brahmanda.
- The Matsya Purana (53) gives other verse counts for some Puranas than the Bhagavata: Brahma 13,000, Agni 16,000, Kurma 18,000, Brahmanda 12,200.
Frequently asked questions
What are the names of the 18 Puranas in order?
Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva (or Vayu), Bhagavata, Narada, Markandeya, Agni, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Linga, Varaha, Skanda, Vamana, Kurma, Matsya, Garuda and Brahmanda. This is the order of Vishnu Purana 3.6.21-23 and Bhagavata 12.13.4-8.
Which verse helps remember the names of the 18 Puranas?
The Devi Bhagavata Purana (1.3.2): “madvayaṃ bhadvayaṃ caiva bratrayaṃ vacatuṣṭayam, anāpaliṅgakūskāni purāṇāni pṛthak pṛthak”. It counts the Puranas by their first syllable: two with ma, two with bha, three with bra, four with va, and one each with a, na, pa, li, ga, ku and ska. This count has the Vayu Purana, not the Shiva Purana.
Which is the largest of the 18 Puranas?
The Skanda Purana. The Bhagavata Purana (12.13.7) gives it 81,100 verses and the Devi Bhagavata (1.3.12) 81,000; by both counts it is the largest, and the Padma Purana (55,000 verses) comes second.
Which is the smallest Purana?
The Markandeya Purana. The Bhagavata (12.13.5) and the Devi Bhagavata (1.3.3, ‘grahasahasram’, that is nine thousand) both give it 9,000 verses, the fewest among the 18 Mahapuranas. The Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya) is part of this Purana.
Who wrote the 18 Puranas?
By tradition, Vyasa. The Vishnu Purana (3.6.15-16) says Vyasa compiled the Purana Samhita and gave it to the Suta Romaharshana, and the Prasthanabheda calls the eighteen Puranas the work of Badarayana (Vyasa).
Is the Vayu Purana or the Shiva Purana among the 18?
It depends on the list. The Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata count the Shiva Purana, the Matsya Purana and the Devi Bhagavata the Vayu Purana. Both texts are honoured in the tradition.
How many Upapuranas are there?
Usually 18, but the list of names changes from text to text. Names such as Sanatkumara, Narasimha, Kalika, Samba and Saura appear in most lists.
What are the 4 Vedas, the 6 shastras and the 18 Puranas?
The four Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. ‘The six shastras’ is said in two senses: the Hindi Shabdasagar gives ‘shatshastra’ as the six darshanas of the Hindus (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta), while a Nepali dictionary gives it as the six Vedangas (phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, metre and jyotisha). The 18 Puranas: Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva (or Vayu), Bhagavata, Narada, Markandeya, Agni, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Linga, Varaha, Skanda, Vamana, Kurma, Matsya, Garuda and Brahmanda.
Sources
- Vishnu Purana 3.6.15-28 (Sanskrit text, GRETIL; H. H. Wilson’s translation, wisdomlib.org)
- Bhagavata Purana 12.7.22-24 and 12.13.3-15 (Sanskrit text, GRETIL; vedabase.io)
- Matsya Purana, chapter 53 (Sanskrit text, GRETIL)
- Devi Bhagavata Purana, book 1, chapter 3, verses 1-16 (Sanskrit text, sa.wikisource; Swami Vijnanananda’s translation, wisdomlib.org)
- Shrimad Devi Bhagavata, book 1, chapter 3 (Gita Press, Gorakhpur, with Hindi translation, pp. 75-76; Khemraj Shrikrishnadas, Bombay, with Hindi commentary; both on archive.org)
- Madhusudana Sarasvati, Prasthanabheda (Sanskrit text, archive.org)
- Hindi Shabdasagar, ‘shatshastra’, p. 4831 (dsal.uchicago.edu); Nepali-English dictionary, ‘shatshastra’ (wisdomlib.org)
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