Puranas is an ancient Hindu literature and the richest collection of mythology in the world . According to tradition, the Puranas were composed by Vyasa at the end of Dvapara Yuga, though modern scholars date them from the 4th century BC to the 1st millennium AD .There are eighteen major Puranas .Each is a long book consisting of various stories of the Gods and Goddesses, hymns, an outline of ancient history, cosmology, rules of life, rituals, instructions on spiritual knowledge. Hence the Puranas are like encyclopedias of religion and culture .The popularity of the Puranas lies in the fact that they are narrated in simple ,lucid language unlike the four Vedas which was beyond the understanding of the commoners .The Puranas are classified into the Mahapuranas (great)and the Upapuranas(lower,additional) and they narrate on five themes called pancalaksana ("five distinguishing marks"), which are:Sarga ( The creation of the universe)Pratisarga (Secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution)Vamsa(Genealogy of gods and sages)Manvañtara (The creation of the human race and the first human beings)Vamsanucaritam (Dynastic histories)

Indian Puranas refer to the oldest scriptures present in India, which are the richest collection worldwide. There are various stories about the Gods and the Goddesses, rights and rituals, hymns, etc. So the Puranas are the novels about religion and culture, which denote the powers and the various works of God. Puranas are told to be the guidebooks of life and society. Thus, these scriptures have been passed from one generation to the other, either by movies, word of mouth or stored scriptures. There are about 18 major Puranas along with some minor ones, which have been merged in various ideas from different faiths.

The Vishnu Purana, Shiva Purana, Bhagavata Purana and Markandeva Purana are the important Puranas, whereas the Vayu, Agni, Linga and Kalki Skanda are other Puranas. All the Puranas have been translated in many Indian languages but only few are translated in English. With respect to the works of devotional literature, the Vishnu purana and the Bhagavata Purana are also known as the Bhagavatam. Bhagavata purana is also the supreme work of Krishna devotional literature. The length of the puranas varies, for example: The Skanda Purana has 80,000 couplets while the Brahma and the Vamana Purana has 10,000 couplets each.

The Puranas are works that represent the deep mythic structuring of Indian civilization. They are viewed as expanding, modifying, and transforming the orthodox Brahmanism of the Vedas, by the quality of bhakti or devotion. The Puranas is about the Gods who had become the objects of people`s devotion and the modes of worship of these Gods. The Puranas speaks about the battle between the Gods and the Demons. One can read the narratives of the struggle within each person between the forces of `light` and the forces of `darkness`. The Puranas describe the religious obligations by which each person is bound. Though the Puranas give detailed information of Hindu lore, religious practices - yoga, vows, puja, prayers, sacrifices and everyday customs, they are not without a sense of humor and irony, and they complement the metaphysical austerity of the Upanishads, the magical and sacrificial lore of the Atharva Veda, and the sacerdotal orthodoxy of the Rig Veda.

A Purana usually gives great importance to a certain deity. Most use an abundance of religious and philosophical concepts in their narration, from Bhakti to Samkhya. Their composition marks the emergence of Vaishnavism and Shaivism, the division that is still prevalent in contemporary Hinduism. Thus, the Puranas are classified into two parts i.e the Mahapuranas and Upapuranas. The Upapuranas includes Sanat-kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa, Mudgala, and Hamsa. The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are sectarian Upapuranas devoted to Ganesha. The Devi-Bhagavata purana is the text for the worshippers of Devi and it praises the virtues of the Goddess Durga as Supreme deity.

The three main and commonly known puranas are the Mahabharata written by Vyasa, the Ramayana written by Valmiki and the author of the Bhagvad Gita is anonymous.

1. Vyasa: Vyasa is also known as the Veda Vyasa, since he has complied the Vedas. He is regarded as an avatar of Vishnu in Vaishanav tradition. He was the son of Satyavati and Parashara, and he soon became one of the greatest rishis. Vyasa`s first book was the Mahabharata, where he also played an important character in it. The five Pandavas and Kauravas, both, were his grand-children. He played a role of a spiritual guide to the young princes. This kinship enabled him to know much about the happenings in the royal family. He And since he lived in a forest, near to the Kurukshetra battle field, this helped him to know the details about the Kurukshetra War, as it took place in front of his eyes.

It is told that Vyasa asked Ganesha to help him in writing the text, but Ganesha had a condition. It was that Vyasa had to narrate the whole story without taking any pause. Even Vyasa then made a counter-condition that Ganesha must understand the verse before he transcribed it. This explains that the Sanskrit used is complicated in some parts of Mahabharata, as recited by Vyasa when he wanted a break.

Many people have accepted the Mahabharata the work as a list of legendary events, philosophy and semi-historical material about ancient India. Thus it is impossible to point out if or when the `historical` Vyasa lived, or to disentangle a possible factual story from any non-factual elements contained in the epic.

2. Valmiki: Valmiki`s real name was Ratnakara and he was the tenth child of Pracheta. Valmiki was from a Kirata Bhil and backward caste community. Valmiki was the name given to him by Maharshi Narada. His first profession was of a highway robber, but later he transformed into a `Brahmarshi`, after being trained by the Maharshi Narada. Thereafter he started chanting the name of Lord Ram for many years. Within these years an anthill had been built around and upon him. Anthill is known as Valmika and so thereafter he is known as Valmiki. It was he, who gave shelter to Sita and taught the epic Ramayana to Sri Ram`s sons (Luv and Kush).

Mahabharata
This epic can also be called as "The Great Tale Of Bharata Dynasty". The important characters in Mahabharata are Bhishma, the five Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhim, Yudhishtira, Nakula and Sahadeva), Kauravas, Draupadi, Emperor Bharat, Krishna, Dhritrashtra, Gandhari, Kunti, Vidura, Dushasana, Balarama, Ganga, Shakuni, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikandi & Hanuman, among others.

Ramayana
It refers to "the travels of Rama". Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses. This is the story of prince Rama whose wife was forcefully taken away by the demon king of Lanka- Ravana. Ramayana consists of the teachings of ancient Hindu sages and presents them in a narrative manner. The story of Rama also inspired a large amount of latter-day literature in various languages. The characters of Ramayana are Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Lakshman, Ravana, Dasharatha, Bharata and Vishwamitra. Since 8th century, the colonisation of Southeast Asia by Indians had started. Many empires like the Khmers, the Champas, the Majapahits, the Sailendras and Sri Vijaya were established. Due to this, Ramayana became popular at many other places also.

Bhagavad-Gita
Bhagavad Gita means "Song of God" or "Divine Song". It is an ancient Sanskrit text comprising 700 verses from Mahabharata. Hindus, especially the followers of Krishna consider it as sacred. This text consists the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place at the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Krishna explains Arjuna his duties as a warrior and a prince and elaborates on a number of different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies. This led the Gita to be described as a concise guide to Hindu Philosophy and a practical, self-contained guide to life. During this serious conversation Krishna revealed his identity of being a Supreme God.

Garuda Purana
The Garuda Purana is one of the Vishnu Puranas. It is in the form of a dialog between Vishnu and Garuda, the King of Birds. The Garuda Purana starts with the details of the afterlife. Following this is an account of funeral procedures, including rituals, the astrological timing of the post-death observances, and ritual gifts. The second section of this Purana deals with death, particularly funeral rites and the metaphysics of reincarnation. Some Hindus use portions of the Garuda Purana as funeral liturgy. Thus, some consider it unlucky to read this text except during funerals. The final part of this text is an appeal to self-knowledge as the key to liberation, going beyond austerities and study of the texts.

There are many other texts which are designated as Puranas The Sthala Puranas and Kula Puranas are two such texts .The Sthala Puranas narrate stories of the temple`s creation and spiritual history while the Kula Puranas deal with the origin and legends of a particular caste.