History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.65.2

v7.c90.65.2

The Matsya¹³⁵⁹ speaks of the Upapurāṇas as sub-sections (upabhedas) of the principal eighteen Purāṇas and emphatically asserts 'know that whatever is declared as distinct from the eighteen Purāṇas came forth (or issued from) these (18)'. The Kūrma is no less clear. It states that¹³⁶⁰ the Upapurāṇas are the summaries or abridgments of the 18 (principal) Purāṇas made by sages after studying them. The lists of Upapurāṇas given by several works, most of which are set out by Prof. Hazra in his paper on Upapurāṇas (in ABORI vol. XXI. at pp. 40-48) and in his Studies (pp. 4-13) diverge a good deal from each other. As the Matsya mentions by name only four Upapurāṇas it is not unreasonable to hold that more than four were not in existence at the time when this passage of the Matsya was inserted in it or at least that more than four had not been accepted as Upapurāṇas at that time. A good many of the Upapurāṇas are of late date. Only a few of the rest such as the Narasiṁha, the Viṣṇudharmottara, the Devī, can possibly be held to be as old as the 7th or 8th century A D. I do not accept the view of Prof. Hazra, who places the period of the formation of the group of eighteen Upapurāṇas between 650-800 A. D (in ABORI. vol. XXI. at p 50 and also in 'Studies in Upapurāṇas' vol. I. by Dr.