SECTION SEVENTEEN
Further, the Prabhäsa Khaëòa of the Skanda Puräëa states (5.3.121,122): >
"O best of the twiceborn, I consider the meaning and importance of the Puräëas as firm as that of the Vedas. Without doubt all the subject matter of the Vedas exists in the them. The Vedas fear the man of petty knowledge thinking he will twist the meaning; therefore, in the past the meaning of the Vedas was fixed by means of the Itihäsas and Puräëas. What is not found in the Vedas is found in Småti, but what is not found in both of these is found in the Puräëas. A person is not considered learned if he does not know the Puräëas, even if he has studied the four Vedas along with the Vedäìgas and Upaniñads.">
Although the authority of the Puräëas has been established, the same doubt remains--that their ultimate meaning is also difficult to comprehend by contemporary men of paltry intelligence--because the Puräëas are also not available in their entirety and generally they try to establish the supremacy of different deities. As stated in the Matsya Puräëa (53.65,68,69):
A Puräëa has five characteristics as opposed to an Äkhyäna. (The scriptures are divided into three classes--sättvika, räjasika, and tämasika.) The glory of Lord Hari is greater in the sättvika Puräëas; the glory of Lord Brahmä is more in the räjasika Puräëas; the glory of Lord Çivä and Agni is more in the tämasika Puräëas. In the mixed scriptures the glory of Sarasvaté and the Pitås is explained."
Here the word Agni refers to the various sacrifices performed in fire. The word "ca" (and) in "çivasya ca" includes the wife of Lord Çiva, Durgä; "saìkérëa" means the various scriptures in the mixed modes of sattva, rajas, and tamas. "Sarasvaté", refers to the scriptual statements that indicate the different deities. The çruti says, "karmaëä pitålokaù", by fruitive activities one can attain the abode of the manes; thus the word "pitå" in the verse refers to such fruitive activities.
ÇRÉ JÉVA TOÑAËÉ COMMENTARY
The verse cited from the Matsya Puräëa refers to the five charactristics of a Puräëa. These characteristics are given in another verse of the Matsya Puräëa, 53.65:
"Creation, dissolution, geneology, manvantaras and descriptions of the activities of famous kings, these are the five characteristics of a Puräëa." A detailed discussion of these five occur later in Çré Tattva Sandarbha, Sections 57 and 61.
The eighteen Puräëas have been classified into three divisions namely the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. In the verses cited from the Matsya Puräëa giving these three divisions the word kalpa is used for scriptures or Puräëas, but there is a difference of opinion about its meaning in this context. Kalpa also refers to a day of Brahmä and some commentators on the Matsya Puräëa have used it in this way; however, that meaning is not fitting in this context. According to the Mediné Sanskåt Dictionary (1.21.2), kalpa çästre vidhau nyäye samvarte brähmaëe dine, "Kalpa means scripture, rule, logic, dissolution, and day of Brahmä". Of all these meanings, "scripture" reads best in this context. To use "day of Brahmä" here would imply that there are days of Brahmä in goodness, passion, or in ignorance, but there is no scriptural support for such a notion. Rädhä Mohan Bhaööäcärya, an authorized commentator on Tattva Sandarbha, has explained that kalpa means "scripture like the Puräëas and so on." He is not alone in his conclusion, because some editions of the Matsya Puräëa read "puräëa" in place of kalpa. This is further substantiated by the following verses from the Padma Puräëa, Uttara Khaëòa ( 236. 18-21), which explicitly state that the eighteen Puräëas are divided according to the three modes of nature.:
"Lord Siva said: O beautiful lady, know that the Viñëu, Närada, Bhägavata, Garuòa, Padma and Varäha Puräëas are sättvika; the Brahmäëòa, Brahma-vaivartta, Märkaëòeya, Bhaviñya, Vämana and Brahma Puräëas are räjasika; and the Matsya, Kürma, Liìga, Çiva, Skanda and Agni Puräëas are tämasika."
The verses Çréla Jéva cites from the Skanda Puräëa imply that the Puräëas are as good as the Vedas and should be accepted as such by whoever accepts the Vedas. There are many commentaries on the Vedas, but the Puräëas are the natural commentary written by Çréla Vyäsa, the compiler of the Vedas. The message of the Vedas, therefore, can be understood by study of the Puräëas alone, even without studying the Vedas. On the other hand without studying the Puräëas, study of the Vedas is incomplete and therefore study of the Puräëas is even more important and complete than study of the Vedas. The statement that no one can become learned without studying the Puräëas suggest that they are more important than the Itihäsas.
But just as there are difficulties in studying the Vedas, similar difficulties are encountered in studying the Puräëas. The eighteen major Puräëas and eighteen minor Puräëas together are a vast body of literature to study, and there are no current disciplic successions for most of these Puräëas. Some portions are not available and some have variant readings, and like the Vedas, the conclusion is unclear because each Puräëa seems to establish a different deity as the supreme. The Çiva Puräëa proclaims Lord Çiva to be supreme; the Viñëu Puräëa proclaims Lord Viñëu as supreme, and so on. The result is confusion for one who studies them without proper guidance. He will not know whether to worship Çiva, Viñëu, Devé, or some other deity.
Çréla Jéva Gosvämé gives the solution to this problem in the next section.