Aditya Purana is one of the earliest and most popular Upapuranas in Hinduism. Devi Bhagavata specified eighteen Upapuranas of which Aditya Purana is the fifteenth. Some scholars consider it as identical with Bhaskara Upapurana or Saurarupa Purana. Its provenance is not clear, but based on certain chapter-colophons of Sauraupa Purana and references in Skanda and Matsya Puranas, and the verses quoted by Alberuni, it is taken to have been written between the sixth and the seventh centuries CE in northern India.
Aditya Purana deals elaborately with
- Goddess Gayatri
- The geography of earth; names and position of the seven nether worlds – atala, vitala, sutala, talatala, mahatala, rasatala and patala
- The names and position of the seven worlds – bhuh, bhuvah, suvah, mahah, janah, tapah and satyam
- Of mortals and immortals
- The description and measurement of Mount Meru
- A discourse on kalpa (cycle of time)
- The verses of Aditya Purana quoted in Smriti Nibandhas show that it also deals elaborately with various subjects relating to socio-religious ritualistic ceremonies like shraddha, death and cremation, purity-impurity (caused by death, birth or miscarriage in the family), marriage, right conduct, donation norms, public service, fasts and festivals and detailed description of deities.