viSNu puraaNa

One of the oldest. Detailed treatment of vrata-s and tiirtha-s is not found. Spread over six aMs'a-s (sections) and written in a mellifluous language, this puraaNa is highly readable and quite popular. Several commentaries exist. Covers topics such as creation of the world and the deities and the manes, stories of dhruva, prahlaada, jaDabharata and s'rii raama, the veeda-s, varNa-s and aas'rama-s, impact of kali (personification of the Iron Age and irreligiosity) and the story of s'rii kRSNa. viSNu is not one of the trinity here but the origin of all the three, the brahma himself. bhakti (devotion) is the main saadhana (means) of attaining liberation. Philosophy of the veeda-s stand out. The description of kaliyuga, the age we are living now, is astonishingly accurate.