Epics in Imprints-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

PURANAS: The Reading glasses for
the Vedas
Kanchi Paramacharya
1. As a reading glass shows small letters
as big ones, the Puranas enlarge the laws
of Dharma, enunciated succinctly in the
Vedas.
2. A short version may not touch the heart.
The same, told in the form of a long story
will make a deep impression. The Veda
says just “Satyam vada”. The story of
Harischandra narrates in a number of
chapters, the glory of speaking the truth.
What is mentioned in the Veda just in two
words ‘Dharmam chara’ ‘Practise
righteousness’, is reexpressed in a long
story in the Mahabharata as the life of
Dharmaputra. The Vedic dictum – ‘Matru
devo bhava’, ‘Pitru devo bhava’; ‘(Let your
father be your god; Let your mother be
your goddess)’ is enlarged by the lenses of
Sri Rama’s story. The commands of the
Vedas in the form of humility, forbearance,
compassion, chastity and other Dharmas
have been taken up by the heroes and
heroines of Puranas. Through their lifestories,
the Vedic commands are
illuminated. Listening to them and reading
them, we develop a keen interest in these
Dharmas.
3. These noble characters have been
subjected to trials and difficulties, much
more than us, the erring mortals. They
have undergone terrible tribulations. Yet
when we read their stories we do not feel
‘The practice of dharma would lead us only
to misery. “Let us abandon Dharma!” We
never feel so.
The mental clarity and peace these
characters achieved-that alone touches
our minds and hearts. They never budged
in the face of their trials and stood firm
like a rock. Our hearts melt when we hear
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of their suffering and this cleanses our
hearts. The final victory and fame they
achieve make us hold on to Dharma firmly.
4. Some scholars do not consider the
Puranas as history. They quote them
whenever it suits them-to ‘prove’ the Arya
- Dravida divisive theories. And they
discard the Puranic references to the
miracles, supernatural events as fiction
and myth. As they believe the supersensorial
events to be untrue, they reject
the Puranas as historical evidence.
5. The Puranas also repeat themselves as
History repeats itself. But Puranas lead
the readers on the moral path. History
does not have any such message.
6. Though Puranas are also histories, they
teach the basic lessons on merit and sin
to the people and select only such
educative stories for the readers. They
teach us that people of righteous
behaviour win in this birth itself and
adharmins lose here itself. There is no
Puranic story that does not teach us the
effects of papa and punya.
7. Though the Puranas list the names of
kings of the Solar and Lunar dynasties,
they dwell on the lives of meritorious
characters for long and dismiss others in
a line or two. For example, the Bhagavata
describes in extenso the story of Dhruva,
a living example of Devotion, constancy of
effort and firmness. Dhruva’s father,
Uttanapada, Dhruva’s son etc are disposed
off in just two or three lines.
8. The Englishmen called our Puranas,
Myths, untrue statements. But when they
wrote our History, they incorporated in it
their ‘Divide and Rule’ ideology in the form
of the ‘Race theory’, pretending that they
were objective researchers. Now efforts are
on, to reconstruct Indian history and free