puranas and ithihasas

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It is ridicupous to say that except the vedas all the rest are to be

avoided in whcih case no one will get to know the truth as the member

has specified they should.Who can understand the vedas and upanishads

but for the assistance supplied by othersastras like Nyaya and

Vyakarana.or understand the beauty of the vedic language without the

acqaintance with lyrics like Megadhutha? Puranas and ithihasas may

contain interpolation but the message is very clear, namely the

understanding of vedic concepts through easy medium and the

interpolations in no way demean the original content and the

authorship of great souls like Vyasa, who codified the vedas and

Parasara his father or Valmiki who were all gifted with divine

insight. When we read a text with the aid of a commentary it only

makes the text more intelligible though the commentator may have

presented his own views. Upanishads have been commented upon by

Sankara, Ramanuja .and Madhva, and if they are avoide how do we

understand the upanishads directly unless we are as wise as the sages

who gave out these truths.Puranas Ithihasas ab nd all other sastras

are like lamps that help to drive away ignorance and if one has a

clear and open mind it is not possible to get confused by studying

the sastras. In my experience I have found that the more you are

exposed to the various lib nes of thought it makes your intellect

sharper and helps to have a clear perception of the truth. I have

studied the philosophies of all the six schools of Indian thought,

namely, vedanta(whcihincludes advaita visishtadvaita and dvaita),

Nyaya, sankhya,Yoga,biiddhism and Jainism and it has helped me to

have a clear undestandin of my chosen subject for my doctorate, that

is , Sribhashya, the commentary of Ramanuja on the vedantasuthras.It

is not the satra or puranaetc. which are to be avoided but the only

thing to be avoided is the narrow minded ignorance of the works of

the great masters.

sarojaRamanujam

 

 

Puranas,Ithihasaas and allied Literature have been

interpolated and are still being interpolated.And

fortunately, the VEDAS alone have not been

interpolated, since the VEDAS should be Chanted ,

heard and learnt which is continued till this

day.Since, they are heard and learnt, the VEDAS are

called SRUTI.The VEDAS should not be read and written

, which is AVAIDAKAM meaning Against Vedas which is

being done these days, hence there is misunderstanding

and misinterpretations of VEDAS.

BCVenkatakrishnan

 

 

I am sorry, but I must politely disagree with you on the subject of

the spiritual content and context of the Puranas. Many parts of

many of the Puranic books would be consiidered legal forgeries under

modern law. Those who chose to make additions or edits to the

Puranas at later dates, with whatever motives, chose to do it not

under their names but in the names of the original authors - leading

to often contradictary and even riduculous text in many of the

Puranas.

 

As you know, the Indian spiritual tradition is all about the

uncompromising search for the TRUTH and nothing but the truth. It is

not about tolerance , non-violence, etc. as Mohandas Gandhi put out.

So, either something is true (as it says in the Veda that the earth

is a sphere) or it is not (as it says in the Koran and the Bible that

the earth is flat).

 

In general, the following is a list of texts that are authentic and

another list of texts that are heavily corrupted and hence to be

avoided:

 

BOOKS APPROVED AND BOOKS CONDEMNED

We have recommended only the books of Rishis for students to study,

because they were men of great learning, masters of all the sciences,

and also imbued with piety. But the books of mean scholars we have

condemned, because they had only a smattering of knowledge, and were

not free from prejudice either. How could their writings, then, be

free from the faults of their authors?

 

Out of all the above-mentioned books (recommended the student to

study), - the Vedaas , Angaas (Limbs),* Upangaas,** (sub-limbs),

Braahmanas*** and Upvedaas**** (sub-Vedaas) - the Vedaas> alone are

held to be Divine in origin, the rest were made by Rishis - seers of

the Veda and Nature.

 

Should anything be found even in their writings contrary to the

teachings of the Vedaas, it is to be rejected, for the Vedaas alone,

being of Divine in Origin, are free from error and aximatic Swataah

Pramaana), in other words the Vedaas are their own authority; whilst

other books such as the Braahmanaas are Prartaahpramaana, i.e.,

dependent upon the Vedaas for their authority. They stand or fall

according to their conformity or conflict with the Vedas.*****

 

The books to be avoided are:-

1. Grammar:-a.Katantra, b. Saaraswata, c. Chandrika, d. Mugdhabodha.

e. Kaumudi, f. Shekhar, g. Monorma, etc.

2. Dictionary - Amarkosha, etc.

3. Prosody - Urittaratnakar, etc.

4. Shiksha is the Science which teaches the proper pronunciation of

words and laws of euphony. Atka Shiksham Pravakshyami Pranamyan matam

yatha.

5. Jotisha (astronomy) - Avoid Shighrabodha, Mahurta, Chintaamani,

ettc. books on astrology. Books on mathematics and astronomy are to

be studied.

6. Poetry - Naya ka bheda, Kuvabja nand, Raghuvansha, Maagha,

Kiratarjunira, etc.

7. Mimansa - Dharmasindhu, Vratarka, etc.

8. Visheshika - Tarkasangraha, etc.

9. Nyaya -Yogdishaa, etc.

10. Yoga - Hathapradipka

11. Saankhya - Yagavashishtha, Pancha dashi

12. Medical Service - Sharangdhar.

13. Smriti - all Smritis except the Manu Smriti barring the

interpolated verses.

14. All Tantras, Puranaas, Upapuraanaas, Ramaayaana by Tulsi Das,

Rukmani Mangala, etc., and all books 9of this kind) written in

Bhaashaa.

 

They ought to be looked upon as snares; once caught in them a student

can never know the truth.

Is there no truth to be found in these books? There is a sprinkling

of truth mixed with a large amount of rubbish, myths and

fabrications; but as even the best food mixed with poison is to be

avoided, so should these books, says Dayanand Saraswati.

 

Our Vedas Ithihaasaas and Puranas are to be treated neither as

history nor as fiction. The reason is, the sages like Valmiki and

Vyasa composed these lyrics as guidebooks of mankind. Actually the

vedas are called Prabhu samhitha as they enjoin the 'do's and 'don'ts

like a master, Prabhu, the command of whom has to be obeyed. The

Ithihasas and Puranas are called Suhrtsamhitha as they, like a

friend, tell us what is good and what is not in a mild manner as a

well wisher in the form of stories. The Kavyas or lyrics are known as

Kanthasamhitha because like a kantha or wife they give the ethics and

lessons for life in a pleasing manner.

Genghis

 

saroja ramanujam wrote

 

You should remember that It was Vyasa who wrote the Mahabharatha and

hence the Gita and not Krishna. So Vyasa put the teachings of the

Gita as a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. Perhaps what happened

was just a look or few words from Krishna which would have put

Arjuna's mind at rest.

 

We study Gita for its contents and not for its context. Gita

should be studied as a guide book for living and its concepts should

be applied in life in order to gain wisdom and spiritual advancement,

if you so aspire. After all God is true only for the one who

believes. We find in our scriptures that few words said by the great

sages give rise to voluminous commentaries like sankarabhashya and

sribhashya for Brahma suthras.

 

The essence of Upanishats were given out in a simpler manner for all

to understand in Gita by Vyasa, who was also called Vedavyasa as he

codified the vedas. As the Upanaishadic texts or vedantic texts of

the vedas as they are known to be, render themselves for different

interpretationsby each school of philosophy the Gita was also

commented upon bydifferent thinkers in different manner.

 

The absolute reality is one asGod is one but different people

understand it in different manneraccording to their ability and

expectations. But the truth can neverbe understood but only

experienced. The Brahma saakshaatkara orrealisaton of Brahman of the

upanishads is said to be beyond thesenses, mind and intellect .

The acharyas due to kindness try to give some guidelines for the

people who strive to get rid of this samsarawhich is sorow-ridden.

Even in our worldly life if one is asked todescribe his experience of

pleasure or pain out of the samecircumstance, each one will come out

with his own interpretation andthe reality can be understood only

when experienced..