The Purana Index v1.c3.s1.17

v1.c3.s1.17

It would appear that even men of letters went to hear the expositions of these Purāṇas. An instance in point is as furnished by the Harṣacharita, that Bāṇa himself went to hear the Vāyu Purāṇa in his village. In general the Purāṇas contain many forms of worship and prayer, superstitions, a crude knowledge of geography and history, legendary descriptions of places of pilgrimage and rituals, some knowledge of astronomy and astrology, different schools of philosophy, easy methods of attaining salvation and others. These and other topics of a common place interest would cater largely to the taste of the common person. In this way the Purāṇic literature contributed largely to general culture.