Vahni-Puranam: Also Referred as Agneya-Puranam

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Indian civilisation elevated by the spiritual insight of the sages and by the socio-political circumstances of the contemporary period as well as the most extensive and varied Indian cultural heritage are seen to have been very much reflected in the legends and narratives of the Puranic literature. According to our Indian tradition, there are eighteen Mahapuranas, all of which are now published, many with translations. It is almost a difficult problem to find out what were exactly the 18 Puranas. As our tradition goes on, the number 18 was considered to be auspicious and prominent; in the Mahabharata this number has found special and qualitative importance. The term Mahapurana is found to be mentioned in the Bhagavatapurana (XII.7. 10. 22) and the Brahmavaivartapurana (IV.131.7). Before these references were made, there was no notable distinction between the Mahapuranas and the Upapuranas, but all such texts were familiar by the name of Purana.

In recent years serious research works are being undertaken by scholars to decipher and edit hand-written manuscripts preserved in Indological libraries throughout our country and abroad. Because of continuing efforts, new texts are being discovered and their critical editions are being brought out with the obvious result that many new and little known works of the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains are being added to the already existing sources of human knowledge. The decipherment and critical edition of a new Purana-text, namely, Vahnipurana, made with utmost labour by Dr. Anasuya Bhowmik, a scholar dedicated to the study of the Puranic literature in the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, will surely enlighten the students in the branch of Indology and she has put a new feather to the large garland strung with a good number of Puranas.

The Puranas are important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages and demigods and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy and geography. Puranas usually give prominence to a particular deity, employing an abundance of religious and philosophical concepts.

The date of the production of written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas. According to some scholars, the Original Purana may date to the time of the final redaction of the Vedas. They existed in oral form and earliest written version date from the time of the Gupta Empire (third-fifth century).

The Agni or Vahni Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. The narrator of the Agni Purana is the fire-god Agni. Agni related the subject matter of the Purana to the sage Vashistha, who in turn, passed on the knowledge to Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva's disciple Suta learnt the Purana from his teacher.