18 Puranas (Purans) in Brief

Bhagavata Purana

Bhagavata Purana.  Divided into twelve Skandhas this contains eighteen thousand shlokas. Many incarnations of Visnu are described in this. The most interesting Skandha is the tenth Skandha in which the author has described the life and activities of Sri Krishna.   Bhagavata accepts Kapila and Buddha as incarnations of Vishnu. The Bhagavatam has been translated into all Indian languages.

https://bhagavata.org/

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/details/devibhagvatpurana%20home.html

https://archive.org/details/BhagavataPuranaMotilalEnglish

Bhavishya Purana

Bhavishya Purana. This is what is told to Manu by Surya (Sun). This contains statements about future events. The book praises the worship of Surya (Sun), Agni (fire) and Naga (serpent). There is an annexure dealing with the several holy places of Bharata and the rights of pilgrims.
Contains the glories of devotional service.
14,500 verses.

http://hinduonline.co/Scriptures/Puranas/BhavishyaPurana.html

https://www.vyasaonline.com/bhavishya-purana/

https://www.astrojyoti.com/bhavishyapurana.htm

Markandeya Purana

Markandeya Purana. This is one of the ancient Puranas. There are many stories regarding Indra, Surya and Agni in this. This includes a division called Devimahatmya containing praises about the goddess Durga. This contains nine thousand verses.
Stories of Rama and Krishna.
9,000 verses.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=-qm2AVNtcp8C   EBook - Free

https://www.pushpak.de/markandeya/markandeya_en.pdf

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/details/markandeya%20purana%20home.html

https://rarebooksocietyofindia.org/book_archive/196174216674_10151214712626675.pdf

Matsya Purana

Matsya Purana. This Purana was taught to Manu by Matsya, the incarnation of Vishnu, The incarnation of Matsya is dealt in this. Several subjects like Jainamata (religion of Jainism), Buddhamata (Buddhism), Natyasastra (histrionics) and Andhraraja-vamsa (kingdom and Kings of Andhra) are discussed in this book. The book contains thirteen thousand verses.  Temple construction; describes Vamana and Varaha Kalpas.
14,000 verses.


https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/103653

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/matsya/bookindex.php

Brahmanda Purana

Brahmanda Purana. This deals with the origin of the universe as told by Brahma. In the beginning there was a golden egg and the prapanca (universe with its activities) was formed out of it. Portions of Adhyatma Ramayana, references to Radha and Krsna and the incarnation of Parasurama are included in this. This book contains twelve thousand verses
Describes the vedangas; describes the Adi Kalpa.
12,000 verses.

https://archive.org/stream/BrahmandaPurana/BrahmandaPuI_djvu.txt

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/brahmandapurana/bookindex.php

Brahmavaivarta

(Viii) Brahmavaivarta Purana. This was instructed to Savarnika by Narada. The theme is the story of Rathantara. There are four kandas in this Purana called Brahma-kanda, Prakrtikanda, Ganesa-kanda and Krsnajanma-kanda. This deals with Prapancasrsti (creation of the universe). It says that Prapanca is nothing but the Vaivarta (transformation) of Brahman.
Contains the glories and pastimes of Radha and Krishna.
18,000 verses.

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/brahma%20vaivartha/bookindex.php

https://archive.org/details/brahma-vaivarta-purana-all-four-kandas-english-translation

Brahma Purana

Brahma Purana. This is in the form of teachings by Brahma to Daksa. This contains twenty-five thousand verses. This is called Adi Purana also. There is a special treatise in this book on Orissa, an ancient holy region of Bharata. There is in this a special annexure explaining the intimacy between Shiva and Surya which is a deviation from other Puranas. Brahma Purana states about a suryakshetra (sun-temple) situated at a place called Konarka near the holy place of Puri, installed there in the year 1241 A.D.
10,000 verses.

https://www.jagatgururampalji.org/en/brahma-puran/

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/brahma/bookindex.php

https://archive.org/details/brahma_purana_english_full

Vamana Purana

Vamana Purana. There is a great similarity between the contents of this Purana and that of Varaha Purana. All the incarnations of Vishnu from Vamana downwards are described in this Purana. The scene of Shiva marrying Parvati is vividly described in this book. This Purana contains ten thousand verses.

Contains the story of Lord Trivikrama.
10,000 verses.

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/vamana/bookindex.php

https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.313087

Varaha Purana

Varaha Purana. The mode of narration is in the form of narrating the story by Varaha, the third incarnation of Vishnu. The theme is about holy places and mantras. It states that the goddess of earth prayed to Mahavishnu and that prayer took the form of a goddess. This book contains fourteen thousand verses.
Describes different vratas; Lord Vishnu’s glories.
24,000 verses.

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/varaha/bookindex.php

https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12972

https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Varaha_Purana.html?id=SJyJfZqQw4EC   

Vayu Purana

Vayu Puran - More Detailed

it is believed that this purana was recited by the wind-god Vayu.  

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/58322

https://indianculture.gov.in/manuscripts/vayu-purana

https://archive.org/stream/VayuPuranaG.V.TagarePart1/Vayu%20Purana%20-%20G.V.Tagare%20-%20Part%201_djvu.txt

Vishnu Purana

Vishnu Purana. This is one of the most important of all the Puranas. This contains the five technical divisions of the Puranas. This is divided into six adisas. This deals with the events of Varahakalpa and contains twenty-three thousand slokas. The theme is the ten incarnations of MahaVishnu. Vishnu Purana is the most ancient of all the Puranas and has got the name Puranaratna (gem of Puranas).

Stories of various devotees; a description of varnasrama; the six angas of the Veda; a description of the age of Kali; description of Sveta-Varaha Kalpa, Vishnu dharmotara.

23,000 verses.

https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/index.htm

https://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/vishnupurana/bookindex.php

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/109525

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/books/TheVishnuPurana_10317354

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=u8m441zg_KgC

https://archive.org/details/Vishnupurana-English-MnDutt

Sources:

http://www.kalki.ru/the-18-puranas-list-of-puranas-with-short-description/

Detailed Explanation of All Purans

http://www.gita-society.com/section3/HinduPuranas16.htm


Updated 16 Oct 2021, 3 September 2017, 11 April 2015