Are Hindu Puranas real?Why do they contradict?Were they tampered?

Question

I've gone through some puranic stories.Most of them differ a lot from one version to another.If there is possibilty for only one situation to occur at a time then why these many versions!
Also I suspect tampering of scriptures.

Even the Srimadbhagavatam and Mahabharat by the same author have contradicting predictions!
The Puranas seem to be differing a lot from what is said in Vedas and Upanishads.Now the devotees are on crossroads coz there is no standard version to follow and practice.Where can we find the original versions or exact points of our culture and history?
Anyone who can really throw some light on this matter?
Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

When the custodians of Santan Dharma i.e Brahaman,s were routed from North India , they made southern India there new home.Southern Indians were all idol worshipers , so to include there belief system in Sanatan Dharma these Brahmins wrote beautiful stories in mythological form which connects there stories to the teachings of Vedas in metaphorical ways.



Puranas are nothing but the stories which have some metaphorical meaning connecting to the knowledge of vedas.



However if one read deep inside it he surely will get goose bumps, but from the top it looks like some beautiful yet Non sense stories.



In simple word Puranas were written in simple story form to convey the message of a difficult text Vedas to average masses.



In short Vedas ( difficult text to understand and follow).............then came Upanishads (based on the core philosophy of vedas).............Then came the Bhagwad geeta (The gist of Vedas)...............Then came the Puranas (Mythological stories to convey the message of vedas in metaphor or symbolism)



That is all :)

Answer 2

Hindu Puranas Stories

Answer 3

My dear friend, Puranas of any religion are not true. Puranas contradict with each other because of course they are various stories which were written by many people at different times. Most of the times the characters within a Purana are imaginary ones and have zero historical base or background.

However, the Puranas serve the purpose of conveying the moral to the people easily.

Any Purana conveys a very important or eternal axiom in a subtle manner which otherwise without any story(i.e Purana) seems less important or gets easily overlooked.

The gravity of the principles which are conveyed through the Puranas can be very well understood.

Any one who reads any Purana must not get engulfed in the story,characters of Purana. Instead he/she must clearly understand the subtle message or the underlying message which the Purana conveys.

This was the vision or the expectation with which the authors had conveyed very important messages through the stories of Puranas thereby making the messages easy to understand and easy to know about their importance.

Answer 4

Great question. I firmly believe he spent time there, and the wise men part rings true. The poisoning on the cross is believable to me because I was poisoned and lay almost dead for a couple of days myself ( I was in the countryside, not a hospital.) As for what is said that conflicts with Hinduism, I think some of what he said was tainted by those who wrote biased by their own beliefs. Some of it does not ring true to what I think Jesus's intentions were. The very first time I read Hindu and Buddist teachings I thought Jesus was an incarnation.

Answer 5

i was having the same intrest from 6 yrs, but now the result is that,

all books after 4 vedas are edited by the kings for there prosperities by using their powers and ruling natures. such as rama and krishna( sorry to say that)

but u can belief on sanatan dharma, which is the real side of hindusm, the oldest hindusm.

worship shiva called as OM and OMKAR. shakti the mother goddess.

Answer 6

All of them are greatest level of imaginations.

Man is a bundle of contradictions.

Take the advice only from them,

to lead a satisfactory life.

Answer 7

I had the same doubt years ago which has now completely vanished since I have completely realized the answer which very less people today know and as a result, engages in useless ignorant arguments. Pls see the accurate answer below:



According to the classification given in Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda (236.18-21), Hindu Puranas have been classified in accordance with the three gunas or qualities as Sattva (Truth and Purity), Rajas (Dimness and Passion) and Tamas (Darkness and Ignorance).



Hence Shri VedaVyasa (partial incarnation of Supreme God Vishnu), while composing these 18 Mahapuranas, has himself categorized them into three types viz. Satvika Puranas, Rajasa Puranas and Tamasa Puranas. While the Satvic puranas are verily valid, Rajasic puranas have some misleading statements also. The Tamasic puranas are predominant with misleading statements and are intended to mislead the ineligible from the truth.



The divisions of the eighteen Puranas is defined by Lord Siva to Goddess Parvati as classification into Satvika, Rajasa and Tamasa in Padmapurana Uttarakhanda 235 Adhyaya.



1) Satvika Puranas (Authentic & True Contents):



वैष्णवं नारदीयं च तथा भागवतं शुभम् ।

गारुडं च तथा पाद्मं वाराहं शुभदर्शने ।

सात्विकानि पुराणानि विज्ञेयानि शुभानि वै ।।



· Vishnu Purana

· Naradiya Purana

· Padma Purana

· Garuda Purana

· Varaha Purana

· Srimad Bhagavata Maha Purana



2) Rajasa Puranas (Truth & Misleading Mixed):



ब्रह्माण्डं ब्रह्मवैवर्तं मार्कण्डेयं तथैव च ।

भविष्यं वामनं ब्राह्मं राजसानि निबोधत ।।



· Brahmanda Purana

· Brahmavaivarta

· Markandeya Purana

· Bhavishya Purana

· Vamana Purana

· Brahma Purana



3) Tamasa Puranas (Mostly Misleading Contents, Very less truth):



मात्सयं कौर्मं तथा लैङ्गम् शैवं स्कान्दं तथैव च ।

आग्नेयं च षडेतानि तामसानि निबोधत ।।



· Matsya Purana

· Kurma Purana

· Linga Purana

· Shiva Purana

· Skanda Purana

· Agni Purana



Pls note that:



सात्विका मोक्षदाः प्रोक्ताः राजसा सर्वदा अशुभाः ।

तथैव तामसा देवि निरयप्राप्तिहेतवः ।। (प.पु. उत्तर 236.21)



Among these puranas, Satvika Puranas lead one to liberation, Rajasa do not cause good and tamasa puranas lead one to hell.



Having said this, not all portions of the Rajasa and Tamasa Puranas are invalid. Wherever they are in accordance with the satvika puranas they are perfectly valid and reliable.



One should bow down to Shri VedaVyasa who has made sure that every body achieves their nature (svabhava) by reading the respective puranas.



Since Supreme God Shri Hari (Vishnu) is impartial he has made sure that everybody is empowered in reaching their respective states.

Answer 8

Test

Answer 9

http://vedabase.net/



If u want original ones. Straight from Lord Krishna via Srila Prabhupada

Answer 10

Different authors.

Different meanings.

meaningless contradictions.

They are all mythological writings.

Answer 11

Ramayana Mahabharata are EPICS

and are written by many authors

and hence no standard.