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Q1. What is the purpose of Puranas?
The Puranas aim to impress on the minds of the masses the teachings of the Vedas and to generate in them devotion to God, through concrete examples, myths, stories, legends, lives of saints, kings, and great men, allegories, and chronicles of great historical events.
The Darshanas or schools of philosophy of Vedas are very stiff. They are meant only for the learned few or scholars. The Puranas are meant for the masses with low intellect. Religion is taught in a very easy and interesting way through the Puranas. Children hear the stories from their grandmothers, the general public from Pundits and Purohits at their religious discourses.
Q2. Which Purana is most important?
The Bhagavata Purana is considered to be the purest and greatest of all the Puranas, authored by Great Sage Veda Vyasa. It is considered "The Beautiful Story of God." It invokes devotion towards Lord Vishnu and his various incarnations, primarily focusing on Krishna.
Vedavyasa felt discontent even after compiling the Vedas, Puranas, Mahabharata, and Vedanta-sutra. So he approached Narada Muni regarding the same. Narada then advised Vyasji to broadcast the sublime and spotless glories of the Godhead. “That philosophy which does not satisfy the transcendental senses of the Lord is considered worthless," Narada told him. Therefore on being advised, Vyasji meditated and the Bhagavata was manifest to him.
Q3. Which is the first Purana?
The Matsya Purana is the oldest and best preserved Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the half-human and half-fish avatar of Vishnu. Although Shaivism works, it is not exclusively so. It simultaneously praises various Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The Matsya Purana has 291 chapters and 14000 verses.
A history written with five characteristics is called a Purana, states Matsya Purana, otherwise, it is called Akhyana. These are - cosmogony, secondary creations wherein the universe goes through the cycle of birth-life-death, genealogy and mythology of gods, Manvantaras, and legends of kings and people including solar and lunar dynasties.
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