Guest guest Posted April 7, 2001 Report Share Posted April 7, 2001 > Have our acaryas elaborated on how the srutis are like sisters and the > Puranas like brothers? Dear Maharaja, ___o_ Jiva Gosvami in his Tattva-sandarbha, anuccheda 26, quotes from Muktaphala about this: 26) atra yady api tatra srivyasanaradau tasyapi guruparama- guru tathapi punas tanmukhanihsrtam sribhagavatam tayor apy asrutacaram iva jatam ity evam srisukas tav apy upadidesa desyam ity abhiprayah / yad uktam sukamukhad amrtadrava- samyutam iti / tasmad evam api sribhagavatasyaiva sarvadhi- kyam / matsyadinam yat puranadhikyam sruyate tat tv apeksi- kam iti / aho kim bahuna srikrsnapratinidhirupam evedam / yata uktam prathamaskandhe krsne svadhamopagate dharmajnanadibhih saha // kalau nastadrsam esa puranarko 'dhunoditah /iti / eta eva sarvagunayuktarvam asyaiva drstam dharmah projjhita- kaitavo 'tra ityadina vedah puranam kavyam ca prabhur mitram priyeva ca / bodhayantiti hi prahus trivrd bhagavatam punah // iti muktaphale hemadrikaravacanena ca / tasman manyantam va kecit puranantaresu vedasapeksatvam sribhagavate tu tatha sambhavana svayam eva nirastety api svayam eva labdham bhavati / ata eva paramasrutirupatvam tasya / yathoktam katham va pandaveyasya rajarser munina saha / samvadah samabhut tata yatraisa satvati sruti // iti / atha yat sarvam puranajatam avirbhavyetyadikam purvam uktam tat tu prathamaskandhagatasrivyasanaradasamvadenaiva prameyam // 26) Even though Vyasa, Suka's guru, and Narada, his grandguru, were both present there, still, the Bhagavata flowed forth from Suka's lips in such a manner that it seemed to them as if they had never heard it before. This is the sense in which it is said that Suka instructed the all of them as well. As it was said, "...whose nectar-like juice flows from the lips of Suka." (Bh.P.1/1/3) Thus, the superiority of the Bhagavata is seen in this sense also. Those statements, then, which one hears regarding the superiority of other Puranas, such as the Matsya etc., are only relatively true. But what is the need for so much argument? The Bhagavata is Krsna's very own representative. As stated in the first skandha: "Now that Krsna has returned to his own abode, along with dharma and knowledge, etc., this Purana has risen like the sun for those bereft of sight in the Kali Yuga." (Bh.P.1/3/43,44) The Bhagavata is thus seen to be endowed with all virtues, as demonstrated in the verse, "The supreme dharma, devoid of all ulterior motive, is found in this Bhagavata." (Bh.P.1/1/2) This fact is further demonstrated by the words of Vopadeva in the Muktaphala: "The Vedas, Puranas, and Kavya give council like a ruler, a friend, and a beloved, but the Bhagavata is said to give council like all three combined." Thus, even if some consider other Puranas to be dependent on the Vedas, the same supposition with regard to the Bhagavata is dispelled by the Bhagavata itself; this is also self-evident. Therefore the Bhagavata represents the highest form of Sruti. As it is said, "How then, my child, did the dialogue between the royal sage Pariksit and the sage Suka come about, as a result of which this Satvati Sruti became manifest?" (Bh.P.1/4/7) And the fact that Vyasa composed the Bhagavata only after completing all of the other Puranas, as stated earlier, can be verified by examining the dialogue between Vyasa and Narada, recorded in the first skandha. Hope this helps ys bh. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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