SECTION TWELVE

              But at present (the complete text of the Vedas is unavailable and owing to a decrease in human memory,) it is difficult to study the whole body of the Vedas. Further, because of their abstruse nature the available portions are difficult to understand. In addition great thinkers, commentators on the Vedas,  give contradictory conclusions to the Vedic statements. Analyzing the Itihäsas and Puräëas is worthwhile, therefore, as they have the same nature as the Vedas and are decisive in giving the meaning of the Vedas.

            Besides, the meaning of the unavailable (or difficult) portions of the Vedas can be inferred with the help of the Itihäsas and Puräëas. Thus at present only the Itihäsas and Puräëas are capable of yielding valid knowledge. Therefore the Mahäbhärata and Manu Småti state, "One should explain the meaning of the Vedas with the help of the Itihäsas and Puräëas". (M.B. Ädi Parva 1.267) Elsewhere it is stated, "The Puräëas are called by that name because they complete (Puräëa)". One cannot explain the meaning of the Vedas with something that is not Vedic in nature, just as one cannot add lead to an incomplete golden necklace to make it complete."

            But the doubt arises that if the word Veda includes the Itihäsas and Puräëas then we must search for separate books called Itihäsas and Puräëas, otherwise they will have no oneness with the Vedas. The answer is that the verses in the Vedas, and the Itihäsas and Puräëas are apauruñeya in nature and contain knowledge about the Lord and His energies, as such there is no difference between them. Still, there is a difference, because of accent and word order, which is strictly followed in the Vedas.

            Oneness of the Itihäsas and Puräëas with the Åg and other Vedas, with respect to their apauruñeya nature, is indicated in the Mädhyandina Çruti, "My dear Maitreyé, the Åg, Yajur, Säma, and Atharva veda, Itihäsas and Puräëas...are manifest from the breath of the Supreme Lord" (Båhadäraëyaka 2.4.10).

ÇRÉ JÉVA TOÑAËÉ COMMENTARY

             In the previous anucchedas Çréla Jéva Gosvämé established the Vedas as the valid means of acquiring knowledge about the Supreme. Specifically, he established the validity of the Åg, Yajur, Säma, and Atharva Vedas as apauruñeya çabda. Now he points out the practical difficulties in studying them. The first difficulty is the unavailability of the complete text of the Vedas. Originally the Veda was one, then at the advent of Kali-yuga Çréla Vyäsadeva divided it into four, vyadadhäd yajïasantatyai vedamekaà caturvidham (S.B. 1.4.19). Then, as explained in the Kürma Puräëa (52.19,20), the four Vedas were further divided into 1130 branches:

 "The Ågveda was divided into 21 branches and the Yajurveda into 100 branches, the Sämaveda into 1,000 branches and the Atharvaveda into 9 branches."

   Further, every branch has four subdivisions called Saàhitä, Brähmaëa, Äraëyaka, and Upaniñad. So all in all, the vedas consist of 1130 Saàhitäs, 1130 Brähmaëas, 1130 Äraëyakas, and 1130 Upaniñads, a total of 4520 titles. By the influence of time, however, many texts have been lost. At present only about 11 Saàhitäs, 18 Brähmaëas, 7 Äraëyakas, and 220 Upaniñads are available. This is less than 6% of the original Vedas.

            The second difficulty is language. The Vedas are written in Sanskåt, which is of two types--vaidika and laukika. Only vaidika Sanskåt is used in the Vedas and to understand it one has to learn extra rules of grammar, which require years of study. Even so the Vedic verses are cryptic and it is impossible to decipher them without hearing from a bonafide guru, coming in disciplic succession.

            And again, even before studying the Vedas one must study their six limbs called vedäìga. These six limbs are: 1. Çikñä, the science of pronunciation; 2. Kalpa, the process of performing sacrifice; 3. Vyäkaraëa, the rules of grammar; 4. Niruktam, the meanings of difficult words used in the Vedas and their derivations; 5. Jyotiña, astronomy and astrology; 6. Chandas, Vedic meters. Each of these limbs is extensive and requires years of study.

            To further complicate matters, the coming of Kali-yuga has brought a decrease in human memory. In former times there were no printing facilities. A student had to memorize all he learnt from his spiritual master simply by hearing, but this is no longer possible. In this age food, water, and air are polluted. All these factors have taken their toll on human memory making it difficult to study even the available 6% of the Vedic texts, what to speak of the entire four Vedas and their branches. The conclusion of Çréla Jéva Gosvämé is that although the four Vedas are çabda pramäëa, in the present age it is not practical to go through them for enquiring after the Absolute Truth.

            As an alternative, someone may suggest that even if all the Vedas are not available and they are difficult to understand, why not just study the Vedänta Sütras, the summary of the Vedic conclusions?  To this Jéva Gosvämé replies that various thinkers differ over the meaning of Vedänta Sütra, so this will only lead to confusion. Besides, there are thinkers like Gautama, Kapila, Jaimini, and others, who have other philosophies, why accept Vedänta rather than one of their explanations? For all these reasons it will be impossible to understand sambandha, abhideya, and prayojana even with the help of the Vedas. To resolve this dilemma Çréla Jéva Gosvämé proposes an alternative, study the Itihäsas and Puräëas.

            The Itihäsas and Puräëas are easier to understand than the Vedas, because they are written in laukika, or spoken Sanskåt, in contrast to the Vedas which are written in Vedic Sanskåt, which is not spoken. Further, the esoteric meanings of the Vedas are more accessible, because the Itihäsas and Puräëas are told in story form. And whereas only the dvijas, or the twice born people, are allowed to study the Vedas that restriction does not apply to the Itihäsas and Puräëas. Anyone may study them. Even their prime speaker, Süta Gosvämé, is not a dvija. They carry the same conclusions as the Vedas and having come from the same source, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are free from the four human defects and are also çabda pramäëa. Thus the Itihäsas and Puräëas are as reliable as the four Vedas.

            The Itihäsas and Puräëas are identical with the Vedas, but that does not mean that they are one with the Vedas in every sense. Otherwise the words Itihäsa and Puräëa would simply be a different name for the Vedas. The Vedas are written in Vedic Sanskåt, which contains accent--Udätta (high), Svarita (medium) and Anudätta (low). Hence the meaning of a word can change according to the change of accent. An example of this is in the history of the demon Våträsura, who was created by means of a mantra during a sacrifice. This demon was supposed to kill Indra, but during the sacrifice the priests pronounced the mantra--indra çatro vivardhasva--with the wrong accent. The result was just the opposite: Indra killed Våträsura.

            Another significant difference between the four Vedas and the Itihäsas and Puräëas is the word order, which is fixed in the case of the Vedas. Nobody has the authority to change even a syllable of the Vedic texts and it has been maintained in this order since the beginning of creation. Techniques have been devised, such as Pada-päöha, Krama-päöha, Ghana-päöha, Jaöä-päöha, and so on for keeping the word order intact. No interpolation or juggling is possible; the Itihäsas and Puräëas are not so rigid and therefore the readings may be different in different yuga cycles. This does not occur with the four Vedas. Because no special techniques are used to keep the order of the words of the Puräëas and Itihäsas intact we find differences in readings between different editions.

            The Mahäbhärata, an Itihäsa, was compiled by Çréla Vyäsa for people of this age specifically because they are not qualified to understand the Vedas. This is stated in the Çrémad Bhägavatam 1.4.25:

 "Out of compassion, the sage thought it wise that this would enable men to achieve the ultimate goal of life. Thus he compiled the great historical narration called the Mahäbhärata for women, laborers, and friends of the twice born, who are not qualified to study the Vedas."

            Çréla Jéva Gosvämé says that the Puräëas are called so because they make the Vedas complete. Does he mean the Vedas are incomplete? No, but the Puräëas are a form of explanatory, supplementary literature that help us to understand the terse, cryptic message of the Vedas. Like the Vedas, they convey knowledge of the Absolute Truth. To perform this function they must be of the same transcendental quality as the Vedas. The Skanda Puräëa (4.95.12) therefore states:

 "In the Vedas, Rämäyaëa, Puräëas, and in Mahäbhärata Lord Hari is glorified everywhere--in the beginning, middle, and end."

            The Itihäsas and Puräëas, therefore, having emanated from the same source as the Vedas and having the same conclusion as the Vedas, they have equal authority to the four Vedas.

            Next, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé explains further about the Itihäsas and Puräëas not being inferior to the Vedas.