SECTION FOURTEEN
In the Väyu Puräëa (60.16-18 and 60.21-22) Süta Gosvämé explains why the Itihäsas and Puräëas are considered the fifth Veda: >
"The almighty Supreme Lord (Vyäsa) accepted me as the qualified speaker of the Itihäsas and Puräëas. In the beginning there was only one Veda, the Yajurveda, which was divided into four by Çréla Vyäsa. These four divisions gave rise to the four activities called Cäturhotra, which constitutes a sacrifice.
"The Yajurveda explains the duties of the Adhvaryu priest, the Ågveda, those of the Hota priest, the Sämaveda, those of the Udgätä, and the Atharvaveda, those of the Brahmä priest ". >
Süta Gosvämé further states:
"O best of the twice born, after that Çréla Vyäsa, the best knower of the meaning of the Puräëas, compiled them and the Itihäsa by combining various Äkhyänäs, Upäkhyänäs, and Gäthäs. The portion that remained after compiling the four Vedas was also Yajurveda. This is the conclusion of the scriptures." >
The Puräëas are also employed in the formal study of the Vedas, called Brahma yajïa: yad brähmaëänitéhäsa puräëani, (Sahavai 13) "The Itihäsas and Puräëas are vedas". This would not be mentioned if they were not Vedic in their meaning.
Therefore, in the Matsya Puräëa (53.8,9), the Supreme Lord says:
"O best of the twice born, by the influence of time, when people become incapable of holding the original Puräëa, assuming the form of Vyäsa, I abridge it in every yuga". The meaning is that Çréla Vyäsa condenses the already existing Puräëa for easy comprehension.
Matsya Puräëa verses 9-11 state: "The Puräëa, which consists of four hundred thousand verses, is divided into 18 parts and made popular on the earth in every Dväpara-yuga. Even today the Puräëa having one billion verses exists in the worlds of demigods. The essence of that Puräëa is condensed into these four hundred thousand verses".
The statement of Süta that 'the remaining portion was also Yajurveda' indicates that the essence of the original Puräëa, which was the remaining portion of the Yajurveda, formed the abridged version, the Puräëas of four lakh verses in the world of mortals. It is not a different composition.
ÇRÉ JÉVA TOÑAËÉ COMMENTARY
The Itihäsas and Puräëas are called the fifth Veda because they are a compilation of the original Veda, the Yajurveda. This is explained in the Väyu Puräëa in the section defining the cäturhotå priests. There are four Åtviks, or priests, needed to perform a Vedic sacrifice and their duties were known from the Yajurveda. But later on, for simplification and easy comprehension, the Veda was divided into four. The duties of the four priests, Adhvaryu, Udagätä, Hotä and Brahmä, are known from each of these four divisions. The Adhvaryu is associated with the Ågveda and his duty is to prepare the sacrificial area, it's shape, size, and so forth. The Udgätä priest studies the Sämaveda and chants hymns during the sacrifice to propitiate the Lord. The Hotä priest decorates the altar, pours oblations and studies the Yajurveda. The Brahmä priest is a student of the Atharvaveda and acts as the supervisor and coordinator of sacrificial ceremonies.
After Çréla Vyäsa compiled the four Vedas there still remained one billion verses from the original Yajurveda. This became the original Puräëa, which is still available on the heavenly planets. Out of compassion for the people of Kali-yuga, Vyäsadeva extracted the essential five hundred thousand verses out from this original Puräëa. Four hundred thousand verses he divided into the eighteen Puräëas. The remaining verses formed the Itihäsa called Mahäbhärata. Thus, being made up from the original Veda, the Itihäsa and Puräëas are called the fifth Veda. Another reason the Puräëas and Itihäsas are considered the fifth Veda and distinct from the four vedas is that the above four Åtviks do not use them in sacrifical ceremonies, but they are studied along with the Vedas.
In his commentary on the Viñëu Puräëa (3.6.16), Çrédhara Svämé gives the following explanation of Äkhyäna, Upäkhyäna, and Gäthä:
"An Äkhyäna is a narration witnessed by the speaker; Upäkhyäna is heard by the speaker but not witnessed. Gäthä refers to stories and songs about the forefathers and earthly beings".
Yacchiñöam tu yajurveda, "the remaining part was also called Yajurveda" signifies that the Itihäsas and Puräëas are apauruñeya, not composed by a mortal, thus they have the same authority as the Vedas, because Çréla Vyäsa took the verses that came from the breathing of the Lord to compile the Itihäsas and Puräëas. While compiling the Puräëas and Itihäsas He included some of His own statements to make the narration comprehensible. For example, in the Bhagavad-gétä the words "Arjuna said" and "Kåñëa said" are written by Çréla Vyäsa for the reader's easy comprehension. Even these statements should not be considered as written by a mortal being, since Vyäsa is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. This is evident from the verse of the Matsya Puräëa quoted in the text.
An objection may be raised that from the Båhadäraëyaka Upaniñad (2.4.10) it is clear that the four Vedas individually appeared from the Supreme Lord. Why is it said that Vyäsadeva divided the one Veda into four? It is true that they all emanated from the Lord, but originally they were all called the Yajurveda because that Veda is much bigger than the other three. Generally, the highest number in a set represents the whole set. In Sanskåt this is called ädhikyena vyapadeçäù bhavanti, or the law that the highest constituent represents the whole set. A herd of cows with just a few buffaloes in it, for example, is still called a herd of cows, or the four fingers and one thumb is usually called the five fingers. The four Vedas had become disordered and Çré Vyäsa clearly defined the duties of the four priests and arranged the Vedic texts accordingly for them. How the Vedas came to be mixed up owing to a curse by Gautama Åñi is told in the sixteenth anuccheda.
In the next anuccheda, Çréla Jéva Gosvämé further substantiates his conclusion about the Vedic nature of the Itihäsas and Puräëas, and explains the meaning of the name Veda Vyäsa.