---
type: Reference
bundle: cosmology-creation
bundle_version: "0.7.2"
id: brahma-purana
title: "Brahma Purāṇa"
description: "One of the eighteen maha-puranas; creation narratives and tirtha accounts."
timestamp: "2026-07-01T00:00:00Z"
iast: "Brahma Purāṇa"
devanagari: "ब्रह्म पुराण"
text: "Brahma Purāṇa"
text_division: "246 Chapters"
language: "Classical Sanskrit"
approximate_date: "c. 400-700 CE"
tags: [purana, brahma, cosmology, creation, brahmanda, tirtha]
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Brahma Purāṇa

## Text Overview

The Brahma Purāṇa is listed first among the 18 Mahā-Purāṇas and is hence sometimes called the Ādi Purāṇa ("first Purāṇa"). It contains 246 chapters covering cosmogony, geography of the sacred sites of Bhāratavarṣa (particularly Oḍiśa and Puruṣottama-kṣetra / Jagannāth Purī), genealogies, dharma, and cosmological frameworks. Its focus on pilgrimage geography makes it somewhat distinct from the more philosophically elaborate Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas.

## Key Passages for Cosmology-Creation Bundle

**Chapters 1-3 (Primary Cosmogony):**
- Opening cosmogonic sequence: Brahman as undifferentiated source; emergence of Brahmā from the lotus born from Viṣṇu's navel; Brahmā's secondary creation through Mahat, Ahaṃkāra, and the tattva sequence
- The Brahmāṇḍa (cosmic egg) described as the container for Brahmā's 14-Loka creative activity

**Chapter 2 (Kāla System):**
- Yuga definitions consistent with the Viṣṇu Purāṇa standard
- Brahmā's 100-year lifespan: 1 year of Brahmā = 360 days of Brahmā; each day = 1 Kalpa; consistent with Bhāgavata framework

**Chapters 45-50 (Cosmography):**
- Description of the seven Dvīpas and seven seas
- Mount Meru as the cosmic axis at the center of Bhūrloka; the arrangement of Lokas above and below

## Role in This Bundle

The Brahma Purāṇa is a supporting reference for the cosmological framework rather than a primary philosophical source. It corroborates the standard Purāṇic consensus on the Kāla system, the 14-Loka cosmography, and the Sṛṣṭi sequence through Brahmā. Its primary contribution to the bundle is:
- Confirming that the cosmological framework is shared across Purāṇas (not unique to the Bhāgavata)
- Providing the "first Purāṇa" context for the Brahmāṇḍa concept

## Primary Concepts Using This Reference

- brahma-the-creator.md
- brahmanda.md
- sapta-loka.md
- kalpa.md
