The Purana Index v1.c3.s4.3

v1.c3.s4.3

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa contains almost the same accounts as given in the Vāyu Purāṇa. It is divided into four books and furnishes the impression that it is one of the oldest Purāṇas. But what interests us is the Lalitopakhyānam portion of the Purāṇa which forms the fourth book and consists of more then forty chapters. At this time the popular practices and beliefs about the Śakti cult were crude and strictly local. In introducing the Lalitopakhyāna portion in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, the compiler of the Purāṇa must have felt that what may be regarded as the most debased side of Hinduism must be put an end to, and literature dealing with Her immanence was a crying necessity. The term Lalitā means lovely, elegant, or charming.*