About Hindu Scriptures
By Swami Sivananda
A. The 18 Main Puranas
They are divided into three groups of six Puranas each: 1) Sattvic Puranas, glorifying Lord Vishnu; 2) Rajasic Puranas, glorifying Lord Brahma; 3) Tamasic Puranas, glorifying Lord Shiva.
These main Puranas are:
1. Bhagavat Purana by Sage Vyasa. The life and legends of Shri Krishna. (18,000 verses)
2. Vishnu Purana (23,000 verses)
3. Naradiya Purana (25,000 verses)
4. Garuda (Suparna) Purana (19,000 verses)
5. Padma Purana (55,000 verses)
6. Varaha Purana (10,000 verses)
7. Brahma Purana (24,000 verses)
8. Brahmanda Purana (12,000 verses)
9. Brahma Vaivarta Purana (18,000 verses)
10. Markandeya Purana (9,000 verses)
11. Bhavishya Purana (14,500 verses)
12. Vamana Purana (10,000 verses)
13. Matsya Purana (14,000 verses)
14. Kurma Purana (17,000 verses)
15. Linga Purana (11,000 verses)
16. Siva Purana (24,000 verses)
17. Skanda Purana (81,100 verses)
18. Agni Purana (15,400 verses)
B. The 18 Upa-Puranas
The eighteen subsidiary Puranas are:
1. Sanat Kumara
2. Narasimha
3. Brihannaradiya
4. Sivarahasya
5. Durvasa
6. Kapila
7. Vamana
8. Bhargava
9. Varuna
10. Kalika
11. Samba
12. Nandi
13. Surya
14. Parashara
15. Vasishtha
16. Devi-Bhagavata
17. Ganesha
18. Hamsa
C. The Tamil Puranas
These are all Puranas glorifying Lord Shiva, as he incarnated Himself in the form of Dakshinamurti to teach the four Kumaras (sons of Brahma).
These Tamil Puranas are:
1. Siva Purana
2. Periya Purana
3. Siva Parakramam
4. Tiruvilayadal Purana
