The Garuda Purana text is known in many versions, contains 15000+ verses. Its chapters encyclopedically deal with a highly diverse collection of topics.The text contains , relationship between gods, ethics, good versus evil, various schools of Hindu philosophies, the theory of , the theory of "heaven and hell" with "karma and rebirth", ancestral rites and , rivers and geography, types of minerals and stones, testing methods for gems for their quality, listing of plants and herbs, various diseases and their symptoms, various medicines, aphrodisiacs, prophylactics, and its basis, astronomy, moon, planets, astrology, architecture, building home, essential features of a, rites of passage, charity and gift making, economy, thrift, duties of a king, politics, state officials and their roles and how to appoint them, genre of literature, rules of grammar, and other topics. The final chapters discuss how to practice Yoga (Samkhya and Advaita types), personal development and the benefits of self-knowledge.
The categorizes the Purana, along with itself, and , as a Purana (a purana which represents goodness and purity). The text, like all Mahapuranas, is attributed to sage in the Hindu tradition.