BY: SUN STAFF
Dec 12, CANADA (SUN) —
Tattva Sandarbha
by Srila Jiva Goswami
SECTION SIXTEEN
The Skanda Purana states, "Just as one takes objects from his house and uses them, other people have taken knowledge from the sky of Vyasa's heart for their own use".
A similar statement is seen in Vishnu Purana (3.4.2-5), in the words of the sage Parasara, "Thereafter, in the 28th Manvantara, my son, Lord Vyasa, took the one Veda, consisting of four sections, and divided it into four. Just as intelligent Vyasa divided the Veda, previously all other "Vyasas", including myself, also divided it. O Best of the twice-born, understand that in every cycle of four yugas "Vyasas" come and arrange the Veda into various branches, but, O Maitreya, know that Sri Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa is Lord Narayana Himself, otherwise who else on Earth could have written the great epic, Mahabharata?"
Further, the Skanda Purana states, "In Satya-yuga the knowledge that emanated from Lord Narayana remained pure. It became a little polluted in Treta-yuga and completely so in Dvarpara-yuga. When knowledge was covered by ignorance, because of the curse of the sage Gautama, the disillusioned demigods, under the leadership of Brahma and Rudra, approached the shelter-giving, perfect person, Lord Narayana and informed Him of their purpose. On the request of the demigods, Lord Hari descended as the great Yogi, the son of Satyavati and Parasara, and re-established the forgotten Vedas".
The word Veda here also indicates the Itihasas and Puranas. Thus it is established that study of the Itihasas and Puranas alone is beneficial. Of the two, the excellence of the Puranas is greater. As stated in the Naradiya Purana, "O one with a beautiful face, I consider the importance of the Puranas more than that of the Vedas. All the Vedic meanings can be found in the Puranas, about this there is no doubt. One who disrespects the Puranas (considering them inferior to the Vedas), will take birth as a subhuman, and even if having control of the senses and the mind he will have no good destination".
Sri Jiva Toshani Commentary
The excellence of a product is upheld by the reputation of its manufacturer. The Puranas and Itihasas were compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, who is an incarnation of Lord Narayana. His mind is compared here to the unlimited sky. The significance is that just as the sky accommodates all objects, so all knowledge is contained in Vyasa's mind.
Another significance of comparing His mind to the sky is that the sky is the medium for sound and knowledge is transmitted by sound; Vyasa's mind is the medium for sound wherefrom all knowledge emanates. All other sages, even on the higher planets, thinkers, poets, and writers make use of the knowledge given by Srila Vyasa. There is a saying in Sanskrit, vyaso'cchishtam jagat sarvam, "The whole world is tasting the remnants of Vyasa's knowledge". Whatever idea one may get, it can be found in the writings of Srila Vyasa. All the writers in the past have borrowed from Him, directly or indirectly.
According to Parasara Muni there is a vyasa, or compiler, in every complete cycle of the four yugas and they all arrange the Vedas at the beginning of each Kali-yuga. Sri Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa is the twenty-eighth Vyasa in this reign of Manu. Out of these twenty-eight Vyasas the present one is special, being an incarnation of Lord Narayana Himself. He appeared on the request of the demigods, because in Dvapara-yuga Gautama Muni made a curse that all Vedic knowledge would be covered by ignorance.
In the Varaha Purana, Chapter 171, the account is given of how Gautama, during a severe famine, performed severe austerities to please Lord Brahma. He wanted a boon that he would be able to feed his guests. The boon was granted and benevolent Gautama fed his many brahmana guests for the duration of the famine. When rains finally came the brahmanas desired to leave his hermitage. As a custom Gautama asked them to stay a little longer. They agreed but after some time again desired to leave. Gautama prevailed upon them to stay a while longer. This happened a few times.
Finally, the brahmanas, determined to leave, devised a plan. They made a fake cow and left it near Gautama's ashrama. Gautama wanted to drive away the cow so he threw a few drops of water at her. The fake cow fell to the ground at the touch of the water. The brahmanas, waiting for this opportunity, raised a hue and cry denouncing Gautama as a cow-killer. "We cannot stay here and accept food from a cow-killer" they declared, and left for their respective residences. Later on Gautama performed an atonement and by his mystic power he could understand the true reason behind the incident. Angered at the brahmanas action he cursed them that they would be devoid of all Vedic knowledge. That's why in the Dvarpara-yuga Vedic knowledge was covered by ignorance, creating the need for Vyasa to set them forth again.
When Lord Siva says that the Puranas are more important than the Vedas it is because the meaning of the Vedas is explained in the Puranas. It does not mean that one should never study the Vedas. At the same time, it is the verdict of Vyasadeva that in Kali-yuga, due to less intelligence, people cannot understand their real message, especially when no proper disciplic succession is available. This is evident from the fact that those who attempt to study only the Vedas and Upanishads either take to fruitive activities or to worship of the impersonal Brahman. They do not come to the siddhanta, or perfect conclusion. They do not progress to the conclusion of unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is proof that the conclusion of the Vedas is not easy to discern. Srimad Bhagavatam (11.3.44) states, paroksha-vado vedo'yam, "The Vedas speak indirectly", therefore, in this age it is better to study the Puranas to know the true conclusion of the Vedas. The idea is that the conclusion is more explicit in the Puranas than in the Vedas.
Nevertheless, a serious student of the Puranas must seek out a guru in disciplic succession to understand the siddhanta. This basic requirement is not lessened or removed when one approaches the Puranas. Indeed the Srimad Bhagavatam (11.3.21) states emphatically, tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh shreya uttamam, "Being inquisitive about the highest good, one must surrender to the bonafide spiritual master."
Next, Srila Jiva Gosvami explains the three divisions of the Puranas.
Go to Section Seventeen
Return to Section Fifteen
