Pur¯ an . as Peter C. Bisschop Leiden University, Te Netherlands Te Pur¯ an . as form a prolifc genre of Brahmanical religious literature, composed mainly in Sanskrit but also in some of the major regional Indian languages, that have constituted the backbone of Brahmanical hinduism through the ages. Traditionally there are held to be 18 major (mah¯ a-) and 18 minor (upa-) Pur¯ an . as, but the actual Pur¯ an . ic text corpus far outnumbers this canonical classifcation and is much more complex (Rocher 1986). While the composition of the frst Pur¯ an . a literature may go back to the frst half of the frst millennium ce, most existing Pur¯ an . as were composed several or more centuries later. Te Pur¯ an . as show a tendency to grow and change over time as the texts were copied in a process of “composition-in-transmission” (Bakker 1989), attesting to their lively use in medieval India. In form and appearance the prototypical Pur¯ an . a is composed of narratives of a mythological nature. Te narratives are framed by a dialogue between two esteemed characters from the tradition, such as sages and gods, that lend a stamp of author- ity and authenticity to the teachings. Pur¯ an . as are not attributed to historical authors but are considered to form an additional revelation (see revelation in hindu reli- gion), as is also indicated by the fact that the Pur¯ an . as are sometimes said to consti- tute the “ffh Veda” (see veda). While their dialogical structure may suggest their oral character, this should not obscure their predominantly textual origins and trans- mission. Some Pur¯ an . as, like the Bh¯ agavatapur¯ an . a dedicated to lord Kr . s . n . a, have gained a sacred stature of their own and continue to be recited in rituals involving several days of recitation (Taylor 2016). According to one traditional defnition, a Pur¯ an . a text has fve characteristics (pañcalaks . an . a) that constitute its subject matter: (i) creation of the universe (sarga); (ii) periodic dissolution and recreation of the universe (pratisarga); (iii) genealogy of gods and sages (vam . ´ sa); (iv) time periods ruled by diferent cosmic kings named Manu (manvantara); and (v) dynastic histories (vam . ´ s¯ anucarita). In actual fact, most of the existing Pur¯ an . as go far beyond this classifcation and treat such diverse topics as ritual, devotion, theology, origins of castes, or pilgrimage and sacred space. Some are truly encyclopedic in scope. What ties the treatment of all these various subjects together is a concern for origins, history, time, place, and space. In Fitzgerald’s apt rendering of the term, a Pur¯ an . a (lit. “old, ancient”) gives “a primordial account of primordial things” (Fitzgerald 2014, 42). It may begin with an account of the frst principles and their subsequent development which gives rise to the world as we know it with all its natural, social, and cultural conditions. Pur¯ an . as classify and categorize, and in doing so they provide a blueprint for the workings of cosmos and society. Te Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Religion. Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro (Editors-in-Chief). © 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/9781119009924.eopr0319