History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.65.1

v7.c90.65.1

The question about the Purāṇas is further complicated by the fact that some of the Purāṇas themselves mention the names of a number of Upapurāṇas, though others ignore them. For example, the Matsya (53. 59-62) names the Nārasiṁha, the Nandi, the Āditya and Sāmba as Upapurāṇas and appears to say that the Nārasiṁha extended to 18000 ślokas and elaborated the description of the Man-Lion *avatāra* declared in the Padma-purāṇa. The Kūrma (I. 1. 16-20), Padma (IV. 111. 95-98), the Devībhāgavata (I. 3. 13-16) set out the names of eighteen Upapurāṇas. Some of the Upapurāṇas bear the same names as those of the principal purāṇas, viz. Skanda, Vāmana, Brahmāṇḍa and Nārādīya. Prof. Hazra¹³⁵⁸ states that the number of Upapurāṇas is 100. Only a few of the Upapurāṇas have been published and those published do not differ much in the matter of subjects from some of the principal purāṇas and almost all belie the definition of Purāṇa as 'pañcalakṣaṇa'. It has been seen above (note 1349) that the number of ślokas in the 18 principal Purāṇas is said to be four lakhs. It must be remembered that this total does *not include* the number of the ślokas assigned to the Upapurāṇas, and no Purāṇa includes the verses of the Upapurāṇas in the total of four lakhs. Further, no one should forget or ignore the significance of the remarks of the Matsya and Kūrma about the Upapurāṇas.