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Mahapuranas Agni
The Agni Purana is one of the eighteen Puranas that talk about the rules and regulations and belong to the class of Shiva Puranas also called Tamasika. The eighteen puranas are classified into three groups each and the Agni Purana falls into the Tamasika classification.
This Purana is supposed to have been recited by Agni, the fire god and hence the book was named on his behalf. Going by the earlier historic records, Agni apprised Vashishta on the contents of the book. Vyasadeva got a handle of this from Vashishta and then went on to spread this to the external world through Suta who was one of his disciples. The main say of the Agni Purana is that it broke all the customary regulations of who could read it and who could not unlike the other religious books and it was open to all to read it and to follow the guidelines for a better life. It broke the myth of the earlier books and took the common man closer to spiritual values and this was the biggest achievement of the Agni Purana.
Origin
Agni, who is referred to as the fire god in Hindu mythology is the one who is supposed to have been the reason for the genesis of this Purana and that is why the book is honoured with his name. The book is in the form of a conversation between the fire God and a holy man by name Vashistha. The greatness and the philosophies of the book spread to the people by word of mouth through the sage when he mentioned this to Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva recited the whole book to Suta.
It is believed that Shounaka, a holy sage along with other sages were performing some prayers in the forest called Naimisharanya. Suta had just got a download of the Agni Purana and when he saw the congregation of the sages he started narrating the same to them and thus the Agni Purana and it stories spread to the entire world.
The Structure of the Book
The Agni Purana is not very sophisticated in its structure and is very simply categorized into three hundred and eighty three partitions. There are stories that are found in other Puranas as well and these general overlaps between the stories of the Puranas are a common element. Since there are multiple references to the same mythological events in different contexts, these are commonly seen. However, the inferences and the general guidelines to be followed by the common man are all explained very uniquely in each of the Puranas and the same is the case with the Agni Purana as well.
The other main feature about this book is that this is a very simplified version of the mythological events, thereby making it very easy even for the lay man to understand and follow the rules and the rituals that have been mentioned herein. Most of the other Hindu books are in Sanskrit and beyond the comprehending power of the common man, but this is not so. This makes the Agni Purana easily read and understood and imbibed by even the most common of the people. This has also increased the reach of the book.
Agni Purana talks about the worship of Lord Vishnu, considered to be a pivotal force amongst the Hindu Trinity. The book goes on to describe in detail the ten Avatars that lord Vishnu took as animals and human for the wellbeing of the common man. The verses in this book talk more about the rituals than the story or the descriptions of the characters. For example, if we have to be more precise, the Ramayana considered to be the greatest epic, describes the features and characters of Ram in detail. The Agni Purana, in contrast, talks about the deeds and the rituals that Rama followed and talks less about his features and characteristics. The same can be said of another Avatar of Vishnu, Lord Krishna in the Mahabharat.
The book, apart from talking about the incarnations of Lord Vishnu also talks in detail about the process of worship that has to be conducted for most other Hindu Gods, like Ganesh, Shiva and Shakti. There are specific verses in the book that are quite famous for their power of controlling the enemies and to gain victory over them. There are believers who have found these verses to be very powerful and the knowledge about the Purana has spread wide and far.
Other Religions Popularity
The Agni Purana in spite of being a primary Hindu religious book, has been extensively translated into foreign languages of English and Bulgarian suggesting that the followers of other religions have also been interested to read the books and understand the stories associated with it.