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Indian tradition assigns some kind of holyness to the number eighteen. The eighth chapter of the Satapatha Brahamana speaks of the evolution of seventeen kinds of worlds from Prajapati. Together with Prajapati one arrives at the number eighteen. The year consists of twelve months and five seasons, amounting to that same number by adding the year (Samvatsara) to it. The Mahabharata has eighteen sections. The Gita consists of eighteen chapters. No wonder that the Puranas as well as the Upa-Puranas are also said to be eighteen in number. A verse in the Devi Bhagavata clearly suggests the names of these eighteen puranas: c HELI TERH vacatustayam | anapalingagakuskani puranani prthak prthak || The term ma-dvayam suggests Matsya and Markandeya Puranas; bha-dvayam refers to Bhavisya Purana and Bhagavata Purana; bratrayam indicates Brahma Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana and Brahmanda Purana and the expression of Vacatustayam is intended to refer to the Vayu Purana, Visnu Purana, Vamana Purana and Varaha Purana. The term a-na-pa-linga, ga-ku-skani includes Agni Purana,

121 Narada Purana, Padma Purana, Linga Purana, Garuda Purana, Kurma Purana and Skanda Purana. Besides, the Puranas are divided into two classes: i) Mahapurana and ii) Upa-Purana. Each class consists of eighteen Puranas. Totally they are thirty six in number. The Maha Puranas have further been sub-divided into three categories, according to their preferential treatment to Visnu, Siva and Brahma. The Puranas glorifying Visnu are styled as Sattvika, those glorifying Brahma as Rajasa, and those glorifying Agni and Siva as Tamasa. 26 According to this description the eighteen Mahapuranas may be classified into Sattvika, Rajasa and Tamasa as Under : Sattvika Visnu, Naradiya, Bhagavata, Garuda, Padma and Varaha. Rajasa Brahamanda, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya, Brahma, Vamana and Bhavisya Tamasa : Matsya, Kurma, Linga, Siva, Agni and Skanda In the list of Tamasa Puranas, the Garuda Purana mentions Aditya Purana instead of Naradiya. 27 The Skanda Purana enumerates 26. satvikesu puranesu mahatmyamadhikam hareh | VaAg a Herculudi daruit fag: || tadvadagnesca mahatmyam tamasesu sivasya ca | aghufg anden: fuqui a faraa 11. Matsya Purana 53. 68-69. 27. Garuda Purana III.1.55.

122 ten Puranas as describing the greatness of Siva, four of Brahma and two each of Devi and Hari.2 28 The Puranas are not unanimous on this division. For instance, among the Sattvika Puranas, the Padma Purana 29 omits Matsya, Kurma and Vayu which are replaced by Narada, Padma and Varaha, retains only the Bhagavata, Visnu and Garuda of the Garuda list. Among the Rajasa Puranas, the Padma Purana retains only the Vamana Purana, but leaves out Skanda, Padma, Varaha and Agni from the Rajasa list which are replaced by Brahmanda, Brahma, Brahmvaivarta, Markandeya and Bhavisya. Among the Tamasa Puranas, Padma retains only the Linga Purana but omits Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta, Brahma Markandeya and Aditya of the Garuda list. Instead, it includes Matsya, Kurma, Siva, Skanda, Agni. Thus, we find that there is confusion in this kind of classification which becomes more complicated by the statement of Skanda Purana which assigns ten Puranas to Siva, four to Brahma, two each to Devi and Visnu. 28. astadasapuranesu dasabhirgiyate sivah | caturbhirbhagavan brahmaddhabhyam devi tatha harih || Skanda Purana Kedarakhanda, 1. 29. matsyam kaurmyam tatha lainkam saivam skandam tathaiva ca | agneyam ca sadaitani tamasani nibodha me | vaisnavam naradiyam ca tatha bhagavatam subham | garudam ca tatha padmam varaham subhadarsane satvikani puranani vijneyani subhani vai || brahmandam brahmavaivartam markandeyam tathaiva ca | bhavisyam vamanam brahmam gajasani nibodha me | Padma Purana Uttarakhanda 263, 81-84.