In Sanskrit, Puranas means an 'Ancient or Old'. There are 18 Maha Puranas (Great Puranas) and 18 Upa Puranas (Minor Puranas), with over 400,000 verses. The Puranas are group of religious texts that narrates the history of the Universe, its creation and destruction. These are vast genre of literature about wide range of topics of myths and legends such as such as cosmogony, cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar, mineralogy, humor, love stories, as well as theology and philosophy.
Vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata, credited as the compiler of the Puranas.
Mahapuranas - Verses
1. Brahma Purana [10,000]
2. Padma Purana [55,000]
3. Vishnu Purana [10,000]
4. Shiva Purana [24,000]
5. Vamana Purana [10,000]
6. Markandeya Purana [9,000]
7. Varaha Purana [24,000]
8. Agni Purana [15,400]
9. Kurma Purana [17,000]
10. Bhagavad Purana [18,000]
11. Linga Purana [11,000]
12. Narada Purana [25,000]
13. Skanda Purana [81,100]
14. Garuda Purana [19,000]
15. Matsya Purana [14,000]
16. Vayu Purana [24,000]
17. Bhavishya Purana [14,000]
18. Brahmanda Purana [12,000]
The Upapuranas are eighteen in number, with disagreement as to which canonical titles belong in that list of eighteen. They include among many: Sanat-kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesha, Mudgala, and Hamsa, with only a few having been critically edited.
According to the scriptures, Brahmaji was born on the lotus that had arisen from the navel of eternal omnipresent Lord Narayan Vishnu. During the period of deluge (Pralaya) all the creations was destroyed and the creatures that had gone into Maharloka (the fourth of the upper worlds according to the Puranas),
take birth again on the earth as per their deeds. God who keeps an account of the innumerable deeds of those innumerable creatures and arrange for their incarnations is called Brahma.
Scriptures describe the appearance of Brahmaji thus:
CHATURMUKHD VEDADHARAH SAKSHASUTRA KAMANDALUH |
HANSARUDHO RAKTAVASA BRAHMALOKA PITAMAH ||
Meaning: He has four heads, holds Vedas, Rosary, Yagyopavita (Sacred thread) and Kamandalu (bowl); wears red cothes and rides a swan. He is none other than Brahmaji, grandfather of all of us.
Appearance of Sarasvati
Literally, Saraswati means SARAH - Knowledge, STHANAMYASYAH ASTITI. Thus, Saraswati is the goddess who rules all kinds of knowledge without worshipping her no one can be a learned person. Hence followers of other religious also worship Saraswati, though the name and appearance may differ slightly.
Appearance of Lord Vishnu
Worship of Lord Vishnu is extremely essential for those who wish to receive the supreme salvation. A common rule of worship is that the worshipper must essentially have the virtues of the worshipped. Hence, Lord Vishnu gives his virtues through physical appearance.
Goddess Lakshmi presents an example of an ideal spouse before the world.The supreme duty of a woman is described in the service of her husband. Second aspect of the message is for the people who want to get rich, that if they want the wealth, they must develop a devotion for the feet of Narayana, for Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth) is to be found there and no where else.