Pû-rä'nä, n.

n. [Skr. purāṇa, prop. old, ancient, from purā, old, past.] One of a class of sacred poetical works in the Hindoo language which treat of the creation, destruction, and renovation of worlds, the genealogy of gods and heroes, the reigns of the Manus, and the transactions of their descendants. The Puranas are eighteen in number.