Brahma Purana

The Brahma Purana (Sanskrit: ब्रह्म पुराण, Brahma Purāņa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas genre of Hindu texts in Sanskrit language. It is listed as the first Maha-Purana in all the anthologies, and therefore also called Adi Purana. Another title for this text is Saura Purana, because it includes many chapters related to Surya or the Sun god. The name Brahma Purana is misleading and apocryphal because the extant manuscripts of this text have nothing to do with the Hindu god Brahma, and are actually just a compilation of geographical Mahatmya (travel guides) and sections on diverse topics.

The extant text is likely not the ancient Brahma Purana, but one that was completely changed between the 13th to 16th-century, may be after. The surviving manuscripts comprise 245 chapters. It is divided into two parts: the Purvabhaga (former part) and the Uttarabhaga (latter part). The text exists in numerous versions, with significant differences, and the text was revised continually over time. Further, the Brahma Purana likely borrowed numerous passages from other Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata and Puranas such as the Vishnu, Vayu, Samba, and Markandeya.

The text is notable for dedicating over 60% of its chapters on description of geography and holy sites of Godavari river region, as well as places in and around modern Odisha, and tributaries of Chambal river in Rajasthan. This travel guide-like sections are non-sectarian, and celebrates sites and temples related to Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Surya. The coverage of Jagannatha (Krishna, Vishnu-related) temples, however, is larger than the other three, leading scholars to the hypothesis that the authors of extant manuscripts may have been authors belonging to Vaishnavism. Its presentation of the Konark Sun Temple is notable.

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