The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c24.16

v1.c24.16

The eighteen Purāṇas are associated with an equal number of Upapurāṇas. Traditional lists, in which all of these Purāṇas and Upapurāṇas are arranged in a definite order of precedence, have been preserved in the works themselves. In these the Brahmā Purāṇa stands first; and, as this position and its alternative title 'Ādi' or 'the First' would alike seem to indicate, it is probably the oldest. There would appear to be nothing in its earlier portions to discountenance this claim; but it has received late additions, and on the evidence of these Wilson ascribed it to the thirteenth or fourteenth century. This affords a signal instance of the misconception which may be caused by failure to discriminate between the ages of different parts of a work. All the Purāṇas without exception have been altered. The Vishṇu Pur., which stands third in the list, has apparently suffered less than the others.