Upapurana

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 a disparaging 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]

The extent

Main article: Studies in the Upapurāṇas

Defination and notes

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 Devi Bhagavata 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]

The Major Upapuranas

Sl. No.	Upapurana name	Chapters number	Comments
01	Ādi Purāṇa	Nineteen	This Upapurana has already been published. It is narrated by Sanatkumāra.
02	Nārasimha Purāṇa	Sixty-eight	This Upapurana has already been published. It talks about Nṛsimha.
03	Nānda Purāṇa	Fifty-two	This Upapurana has not yet been published, manuscript is available. It is narrated by Nandi.
04	Śivadharma Purāṇa	Twenty-four	This Upapurana has already been published. It talks about Śaivaism.
05	Āścarya Purāṇa		This Upapurana's manuscript is unavailable. It is narrated by Durvāsā.
06	Nāradīya Purāṇa	Thirty-eight	This Upapurana has already been published. It is narrated by Nārada.
07	Kāpila Purāṇa	Twenty-one	This Upapurana has already been published. It talks about Kapila.
08	Mānava Purāṇa		This Upapurana's manuscript is yet unavailable. It is narrated by Manu.
09	Auśanasa Purāṇa		This Upapurana's manuscript is yet unavailable. It is narrated by Uśanā.
10	Brahmānda Purāṇa		This Upapurana's manuscript is yet unavailable. It talks about the Universe.
11	Vāruṇa Purāṇa	Twelve	This Upapurana has already been published. It is narrated by Varuṇa.
12	Kālikā Purāṇa	Ninety-eight	This Upapurana has already been published. It talks about Pārvatī.
13	Māheśwara Purāṇa	Twelve	This Upapurana has not yet been published, manuscript is available. It talks about Śiva's family.
14	Sāmba Purāṇa	Eighty-four	This Upapurana has already been published. It talks about Śiva's family.
15	Saura Purāṇa	Sixty-nine	This Upapurana has already been published. It is narrated by Sūrya.
16	Pārāśara Purāṇa	Eighteen	This Upapurana has already been published. It is narrated by Parāśara.
17	Mārīca Purāṇa	Five	This Upapurana has not yet been published, manuscript is available. It is narrated to Marīcī.
18	Bhārgava Purāṇa	Forty	This Upapurana has already been published. Its narrated by Vaśiṣṭha.

Sthala and Kula Tamil Puranas and other Minor Upapuranas

Also called Aupapuranas or Atipuranas.

1. Bṛhaddharma Purāṇa
2. Gaṇeśa Purāṇa
3. Maudgalya Purāṇa
4. Kālkya Purāṇa
5. Ṣivarahasya Purāṇa
6. Kriyāyogasāra Purāṇa
7. Yuga Purāṇa
8. Lakṣmi Purāṇa
9. Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa
10. Bhaviśyottara Purāṇa
11. Devānga Purāṇa
12. Śiva Purāṇa
13. Nīlamata Purāṇa
14. Malla Purāṇa
15. Basava Purāṇa
16. Periya Purāṇa
17. Dharma Purāṇa
18. Mahābhāgavata (Devī) Purāṇa
19. Viṣṇudharma Purāṇa
20. Kārtava Purāṇa
21. Ṛju Purāṇa
22. Pāśupatya Purāṇa
23. Ekāmra Purāṇa
24. Pārānanda Purāṇa
25. Dattātreya Purāṇa
26. Viśvakarma Purāṇa
27. Vāsuki Purāṇa
28. Ātma Purāṇa
29. Caṇḍī Purāṇa
30. Bhairava Purāṇa
31. Viṣṇurahasya Purāṇa
32. Śukra Purāṇa
33. Kubera Purāṇa
34. Saraswati Purāṇa
35. Bhūgola Purāṇa

Sectarian divisions

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 Vaishnava Upapuranas

The most significant texts among the Vaishnava Upapuranas are the Vishnudharmapurva 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.

The Shakta Upapuranas

Among the Shakta Upapuranas, the most important extant texts are the Kalika Purana (or Sati Purana) , the Mahabhagavata (Devi) Purana, the Devi Bhagavata (or Bhāgavatya Purana), and the Candi Purana (or Candika Purana).[1]

The extant Kalika Purana comprises 98 chapters.

The Shaiva Upapuranas

The notable Shaiva Upapuranas are the Shiva Purana, 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]

The Saura Upapuranas

The only extant text which can be called an exclusive Saura Purana is the Samba Purana.[1] It comprises 84 chapters.

The Ganapatya Upapuranas

Only two extant Upapuranas profess the views of the Ganapatya sect. These are the Mudgala Purana and the Ganesha Purana.[1]

The non-sectarian Upapuranas

The Upapuranic works, which do not profess any particular sectarian views are the Bhavishyottara Purana, the Kapila Purana and the Brihaddharma Purana.[1]

See Also

Studies in the Upapurāṇas

Notes

1. Hazra, R.C. (1962, reprint 2003). The Upapuranas in S. Radhakrishnan (ed.) The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol.II, Kolkata:The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, ISBN 81-85843-03-1, pp.271-286
2. Rocher, Ludo (1986). "The Purāṇas". In Jan Gonda (ed.). A History of Indian Literature. Vol.II, Epics and Sanskrit religious literature, Fasc.3. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 228. ISBN 3-447-02522-0.