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Riddles in Hinduism

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RIDDLES IN HINDUISM<br />

Manvantara and Kalpa is uncerta<strong>in</strong>.<br />

But this does not matter very much for our present purposes. For the present it is enough to conf<strong>in</strong>e our<br />

attention to Kalpa.<br />

The idea underly<strong>in</strong>g ' Kalpa ' is closely connected with the creation and dissolution of the Universe. The<br />

creation of the world is called Srashti. The dissolution of the universe is called Pralaya. Time between Srashti<br />

and Pralaya is called Kalpa. The idea of the orig<strong>in</strong> of the Vedas is thus more <strong>in</strong>timately connected with the<br />

idea of Kalpa.<br />

Accord<strong>in</strong>g to this scheme of th<strong>in</strong>gs, what is supposed to happen is that when a Kalpa beg<strong>in</strong>s creation<br />

beg<strong>in</strong>s. With the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the creation there comes <strong>in</strong>to be<strong>in</strong>g a new series of Vedas. What Kulluka Bhatt<br />

wants to convey is that though <strong>in</strong> a sense every new Kalpa has a new series of Vedas the same old Vedas<br />

are reproduced by Brahma from his memory. That is why he says the Vedas are Sanatan i.e., eternally preexist<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

What Kalluka Bhatt says is that the Vedas are reproduced from memory. The real question is who<br />

made them and not who reproduced them. Even if one accepts the theory of reproduction at the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />

of each Kalpa the question still rema<strong>in</strong>s who made the Vedas when the First Kalpa began. The Vedas could<br />

not have come <strong>in</strong>to be<strong>in</strong>g ex-nihilo. They must have a beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g though they may have no end. Why don't the<br />

Brahm<strong>in</strong>s say openly? Why this circumlocution?<br />

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