who composed the puranans
Answers
Answer:
vyasa
i hope it is understand
Answer:
Tradition ascribe the 18 Maha Puranas (major) and 18 Upapuranas (minor) to one Veda Vyāsa and give them an unbelievable date of thousands years ago.
More credibly the authors are many and unknown and the earliest version were probably composed around the 2nd or 3rd century of the Common Era.
The references to “Puranas” in the Brahmanas, Upanishads and allied Vedic literature is not to the 36 Puranas that are existent today. The term Purāṇa simply means “ancient legends” and refers to the traditional stories and legends which were recited in the evening, during the long sacrificial sessions of the Vedic times to entertain the attendees and to explain and give reasons for the ritual activities.
Over the centuries they became an independent body of work, expanded and extended and today are like encyclopaedias covering every conceivable topic from Arial vehicles to Zoology. Their subject matter is random and confused with an abundance of contradictions, conflations, and errors of every sort of “ology” imaginable.
A brief survey of their contents is as follows:–
Philosophy and theology
Cosmogony and Geography
Yugas - time epochs and their happenings
Mantras — linguistic occultism
Yantras — mystical diagrams for meditation
Mandalas
Yoga — spiritual practice
Daily routines for all stages of life.
Art, architecture and sculpture
Dharma — rules of social conduct and domestic duties, rules and regulations.
Saṁskāra — sacraments
Pūjā & Havan vidhi — making offerings and fire rituals
Icons and their installation
Fasts, feasts and festivals
The glory and benefits of pilgrimage sites
Gifts and their benefits
Heavens and hells
Legends of Gods, Kings and Sages
Gems and their qualities
Ayur Veda and medicines
Horse and cattle breeding
Astrology
Calendar and calculations of important dates and auspicious times.
Grammar, Poetry and metres
Etc. etc. etc.
So one can see from the vast scope of the contents that there is abundant opportunity for copiers and scribes to insert whatever they want or think appropriate and to redact whatever they disagree with. The style of writing also changes frequently which would also testify to different authors.
I think of the Puranas as a disorganised and rambling antique shop containing thousands of items - most of which are junk or useless, but if one spends the time and has the patience to sift through the subject matter and random items one frequently finds absolute gems of inestimable value - for one with a discerning eye of course.