Taking rhetorical leads from the epics, many of the Purāṇas frame possession in the same way; indeed, possession in the same key appears in the Purāṇas with remarkable regularity. It is no exaggeration to say that the Mahābhārata is the most influential text in Indian history, and the tone and timbre of possession, in both its positive and negative manifestations, is established in the Sanskrit epics.(4) Because of certain important conceptual links between the epics and the Purāṇas, specifically the way devotion frames possession, it is essential to have a brief look at possession in the Purāṇas as well.