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 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]

Definition and number

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]

Major Upapuranas
Sl. Chapters
Upapurana name Status Comments
No. number

01 Sanat-kumara Purāṇa Nineteen Published It is narrated by Sanatkumāra.

It discusses the Lord's Nṛsimha

02 Nārasimha Purāṇa Sixty-eight Published
incarnation.
Unpublished, manuscript
03 Nānda Purāṇa Fifty-two It is narrated by Nandi.
available

04 Śivadharma Purāṇa Twenty-four Published It talks about Śaivaism.

05 Samba Purana Eighty -four Manuscript unavailable It is narrated by Durvāsā.

06 Nāradīya Purāṇa Thirty-eight Published It is narrated by Nārada.

It discusses Kapila's Samkhya

07 Kāpila Purāṇa Twenty-one Published
Philosophy.

08 Mānava Purāṇa Manuscript unavailable It is narrated by Manu.

09 Auśanasa Purāṇa Manuscript unavailable It is narrated by Uśanā.

10 Mudgala Purana Manuscript unavailable It discusses lord Ganesh.

11 Vāruṇa Purāṇa Twelve Published It is narrated by Varuṇa.

12 Kālikā Purāṇa Ninety-eight Published It discusses Pārvatī.

Unpublished, manuscript
13 Māheśwara Purāṇa Twelve It discusses Śiva's family.
available

14 Ganesha Purana Eighty-four Published It narrated life of lord Ganesha.

15 Saura Purāṇa Sixty-nine Published It is discusses Śiva's family.

16 Vishwakarma Purana Eighteen Published It is narrated by Vishwakarma.

Vishnudharmottara
17 Fifteen Published It is narrated to Brahma
Purana
18 Bhārgava Purāṇa Forty Published Its narrated by Vaśiṣṭha.

Sthala, Kula, and Minor Upapuranas

Also called Aupapuranas or Atipuranas.

1. Bṛhaddharma Purāṇa 8. Lakṣmi Purāṇa

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

Vaishnava Upapuranas

The most significant texts among the Vaishnava Upapuranas are the Mānava 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

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.

Ganapatya Upapuranas

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

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]

Scholarship
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
1. 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
2. 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.
ISBN 3-447-02522-0.

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