Within the Purāṇic tradition, many texts are shaped around devotion to a particular deity, even while acknowledging the wider pantheon and the shared cosmological framework. Among the Vaiṣṇava-oriented works, the Bhagavata Purāṇa stands out for its sustained glorification of Kṛṣṇa as an avatāra of Viṣṇu and as the supreme object of bhakti. Alongside it, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa focuses on Viṣṇu’s various incarnations and cosmic functions, presenting a theologically centered vision of the Lord. The Padma Purāṇa likewise orients itself around Viṣṇu and the practices and traditions associated with his worship. Together, these texts exemplify how the Purāṇas can become vehicles for a focused devotional theology while still operating within a broader mythological and cosmological canvas.

A similar pattern appears in the Śaiva corpus. The Śiva Purāṇa is devoted to Śiva’s stories, forms of worship, and philosophical significance, treating him as the central divine reality. The Liṅga Purāṇa concentrates on Śiva as manifested in the liṅga, exploring both its mythic and symbolic dimensions. The Skanda Purāṇa, while named for Skanda (Kārttikeya), is deeply rooted in Śaiva traditions, narrating the mythology of Śiva’s son and related sacred geographies. These works collectively illustrate how Śaiva Purāṇas articulate a distinct devotional and ritual world centered on Śiva and his immediate divine family.

The Śākta-oriented Purāṇas offer yet another theological emphasis, placing the Goddess at the heart of their vision. The Devi Bhāgavata Purāṇa is dedicated to the Divine Mother, presenting Devī as the supreme reality and source of all power (śakti). The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, though containing diverse narratives, is especially revered for the Devi Māhātmya, which glorifies the Goddess in her various victorious and protective forms. Through these texts, the Purāṇic tradition gives full voice to a devotional path in which the feminine divine is not merely an aspect of another deity, but the ultimate ground of being.

Other Purāṇas also take specific forms or manifestations of divinity as their organizing principle. The Varāha Purāṇa is dedicated to Viṣṇu’s Varāha (boar) incarnation, while the Kurma Purāṇa centers on his Kurma (tortoise) avatāra, each elaborating the theological and cosmological significance of these forms. The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa focuses on Brahmā and the processes of cosmological creation, situating its deity-specific emphasis within a grand vision of the universe’s structure. In this way, the Purāṇic literature as a whole can be seen as a many-faceted jewel: each text turns the light toward a particular deity or form, yet all participate in a shared concern with cosmology, myth, and dharma.