An Investigation of the Most Important Components of Hindu WorldView of Purana Texts

Puranas (sacred literature of Hinduism) are considered as the most influential Hindu texts in forming the way of thinking and theological system of recent and contemporary Hinduism. These texts, according to classical classification of Hindu texts are among the Smruti (unrevealed). Purana texts, with their pantheistic view of the world and by putting thecreatures in the hierarchy of Brahman's manifestation, incorporate multiple Hindu gods into a single theological system(and foster harmony between different god's functions which did not have clear relationships by then. Furthermore, these texts, by providing an idea about the stages and ranks of creation in which creatures are placed in a linear hierarchy in terms of their high and low degree of knowledge, consider that man's creation is positioned in the final stages of the hierarchy of Brahman's final aim of creating creatures, hence granting man a central role in the universe. The present paper tries to make a coherent Hindu world view, based on Purana doctrinesand teachings in three domains of theology, anthropology, and soteriology.