Purana

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Purana \Pu*ra"na\, n. [Skr. pur[=a]?, properly. old, ancient,
     fr. pur[=a] formerly.]
     One of a class of sacred Hindoo poetical works in the
     Sanskrit language which treat of the creation, destruction,
     and renovation of worlds, the genealogy and achievements of
     gods and heroes, the reigns of the Manus, and the


     transactions of their descendants. The principal Puranas are
     eighteen in number, and there are the same number of
     supplementary books called Upa Puranas.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Purana
       n : a body of 18 works written between the first and 11th
           centuries and incorporating legends and speculative
           histories of the universe and myths and customary
           observances