z:\ ambedkar\vol 04\vol4 03.indd MK SJ YS 21 9 2013/YS 8 11 2013 59
RIDDLE NO. 7 59
As has been noted there was a time when the Puranas were not included in the Shruti. In later times however a striking change seems to have taken place. The Puranas which were considered as too profane to be included in the Shruti were given a superiority over the Vedas.
The Vayu Purana says [1] :
“First, of all the Shastras, the Purana was uttered by Brahma, Subsequently the Vedas issued from his mouth.”
The Matsya Purana not only claims priority of creation for the Puranas as against the Vedas, but also the qualities of eternity and identity with sound, which was once predicated of the Vedas alone.
It says [2 ] :
“Pitamaha (Brahma), first of all the immortals, took shape ; then the Vedas with their Angas and Upangas (appendages and minor appendages), and the various modes of their textual arrangements, were manifested. The Purana, eternal, formed of sound, pure, extending to the length of a hundred crores of verses, was the first of the Sastras which Brahma uttered ; and afterwards the Vedas, issued from his mouth ; and also the Mimansa and the Nyaya with its eightfold system of proofs.
The Bhagawat Purana claims equality of authority with the Vedas. It says [3 ] :
“(Bramharatra) declared the Purana called the Bhagavata, which stands on an equality with the Veda.”
The Brahma-Vaivartta Purana has the audacity to claim superiority over the Vedas. It says [4 ] :
“That about which venerable sage, you have inquired, and which you desire, is all known to me, the essence of the Puranas, the pre-eminent Brahma-Vaivartta, which refutes the errors of the Puranas and Upapuranas, and the Vedas.”
This is the second acrobatic performed by the Brahmins in assigning priority, precedence, and authority to their sacred books.
This does not complete the story of the suppression of the Vedas. The worse is yet to come. The Puranas were followed by another class of literature called the Tantras.* [5] Their number is also quite formidable. Shankaracharya refers to 64 Tantras. There might be many more.
1 Muir Sanskrit Texts, Vol. III. p. 27.
2 Ibid., p. 28.
3 & 4 Quoted by Muir, Vol. III.
- [5] For further discussion on Smarth Dharma and Tantrik Dharma, please see Appendices IV & V of this Part.— Editors.