Sanskrit: पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times"
A genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Jain Puranas deal with Jain myths, history and legends and form a major part of early Kannada literature.
The best known is the Mahapurana of Acharya Jinasena.