Puranas and ithihasas

[Guest guest]

I do not agree that just because there were interpolations a work

should be abandoned.It cannot be compared with a drop of poison in a

glass of milk but rather to adding water to milk. and the real seekers

should be like hamsas and learn how to separate milk from water.The so

called interpolations unless proved by whom and when, should not be

given much credit. Moreover the interpolations were themselves ancient

and not done in our age.These texts are old and the interpolations if

any, must have been done by well meaning souls who wanted to teach

something to mankind for its own benefit.It is quite another story with

alla upanishad etc. because islam and christianity are proved to be much

later than the vedic period.If you dump all the texts you suspect of

interpolations there will be no texts that teach dharma and bhakthi.

Vedas do not propagate bhakthi and the philosophy of the upanishads will

be incomprehensible without the puranas and ithihasas, and even if one

could do that it is difficult to follow. Jnana without bhakthi is a

river-bed without water and bhakthi without jnana is water falling on a

desert.

 

Mrs. Saroja,

 

Ramanuja identified himself as the author of Sri Bashya, the commentary.

So also, Shankara identified hinesf as the author of his commentaries.

 

BUT, I have a serious problem when someone later pens a commentary in

the name of Vyasa or Vasishata or Pururavas or another ancient rishi -

or inserts their own text in the name of a great one. The only reason

these charlatans hid their identity under another is that what they

inserted wouldn't be credible by itself. This is called forgery and

fraud in modern legal parlance. The net effect of these interpolations

in the Puranas is that text often contradicts itself or has outright

rubbish in it. So, if you cant tell what is right from wrong in a text

it is of no use. Why would you drink a glas of milk with a few drops of

poison in it?

 

Even the Manusmriti has a few interpolations. In the later chapters we

see an injunction specifically against eating beef, whereas in the

earlier ones there are indications that beef was not taboo.

 

There are versions of the Mahabharatha that have 15000, 20000 and 25000

verses penned under the orders of a raja Bhoja - he himself stopped it

after becoming sick of what those he paid to write came up with. It is

worthwile to note that Veda Vyasa himself notes that he penned only 4500

verses and his immediate disciples penned another 5,500 for a toal of

10000.

 

Then there is even this " Upanishad " called AlloUpanishad which has

numerous verses on Varuna and Mitra and Alla and Rasul all in one line.

Mohamadans point out that this is proof that the coming of islam was

foretold in the Vedas/Upanishads. It turns out that it was penned under

the orders of the mughal savage akbar and is full of grammatical errors

to top it.

 

The rule of thumb is when in doubt go to the source, and that is what we

must do.

 

Genghis