Scriptures & Texts
Vishnu Purana
Hinduism
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One of the eighteen Mahapuranas of Hindu tradition and among the most systematically organized, the Vishnu Purana sets out Vaishnava cosmology, the cyclical structure of time in kalpas, manvantaras and yugas, the genealogies (vamsha) of solar and lunar dynasties and of the gods, and an account of Krishna's life that later Puranas, especially the Bhagavata Purana, expand at far greater length. Traditional dating places its core compilation in the early centuries of the Common Era, with later interpolation, as is typical of the Purana genre; authorship is traditionally credited to the sage Vyasa, the legendary compiler of the entire Puranic corpus, though modern scholarship treats this as an attribution rather than a historical claim about a single author.
Facts
Origins
Attributed Author / CompilerTraditionally attributed to the sage Vyasa, the legendary compiler of the Puranic corpus; modern scholarship treats the text as a composite work assembled and expanded over centuries rather than a single author's composition. 1 Structure
StructureSix books (amsha), covering cosmology and creation, the genealogies of gods and sages, the four ages and duties (varna and ashrama), the dynastic lists of the solar and lunar lines including the life of Krishna, and closing with teaching on liberation and the dissolution of the universe. 1 Status
Canonical Status Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 1 Text
Literary FormCosmogony / creation myth 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Vishnu directly: "the most systematically organized, the Vishnu Purana sets out Vaishnava cosmology, the cyclical structure of time in kalpas, manvantaras and yugas, the genealogies (vamsha) of solar and lunar..."
Vyasa, Figures This source names Vyasa directly: "is traditionally credited to the sage Vyasa, the legendary compiler of the entire Puranic corpus, though modern scholarship treats this as an attribution rather than a historical claim about a..."
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