Padma Purana

Padma Purana (Devanagari: पद्म पुराण), also called the gītāmāhātmya (literally, the Majesty of Gita) is one of the major eighteen Puranas. A Hindu religious text, it is divided into five parts and 55,000 verses. The Padma Purana categorizes itself as a Sattva Purana (one which represents goodness and purity).

In the first part of the text, sage Pulastya explains to Bhishma about religion and the essence of the religion. The second part describes in detail Prithvi (earth). In the third part, a description of the cosmos is given, including creation, and description of India (Bharata Varsha). The fourth part describes the life and deeds of Rama. The fifth part is in the style of a dialogue between Shiva and his consort, Parvati, and deals with the essential knowledge about religion.

The Padma Purana was compiled between the 4th and 15th century, with more important contributions being likely between 750 and 1000 CE or the 12th century CE, and with an earlier core. There are a number of later Jaina works also known as Padma Purana.