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July, 1964] THE PURANAS AND HINDU RELIGION 335 Many millions of men living in villages and cities owe their
allegiance to Hinduism as propounded in the Pur膩峁嘺s. We there-
fore owe it as a duty to inquire about the authorship, antiquity,
contents and the inspiring ideals of the Pur膩峁嘺 literature. In
matters of religion the Pur膩峁嘺s inculcate an eclectic system which
is extremely elastic to suit the needs of all persons in society.
This attitude is characteristically Indian which is unique in the
world and which has exercised its benign influence on the entire
religious tradition of India. In fact, the door of the Pur膩峁嘺s was
thrown wide open to all the religious disciplines ranging from the
highest Vedic philosophy to the most primitive austric cults rooted
in the soil. It is done with a broadmindedness that fills the
Puranic descriptions with a super-gladenning atmosphere.
The antiquity of the Pur膩峁嘺s goes back to the Vedic times.
The Itihasa-Pur膩峁嘺 literature existed in the time of the Atharva-
veda and there are many legendary elements in the Vedas that
properly belong to the realm of the Pur膩峁嘺s and have the same
style. There is again a reference to the Itihasa-Pur膩峁嘺-Vidy膩
which N膩rada had learnt before he came to Sanatkum膩ra for
instruction in higher Brahma-knowledge. In fact it is stated in
the Pur膩峁嘺s that Brahma first created the Pur膩峁噄c literature even
before he produced the Vedas. The meaning of this statement is
that the metaphysical truths found in the Vedic Mantras were
first cast in the form of legends that belonged to the realm of the
Pur膩峁嘺s, and these must have been current in the legendary lore
of the people in an extensive area from where they were taken into
the Vedic Mantras. Such may be the great legends of Indra and
Vritr膩sura, Indra and Sambara, Indra and Namuchi, Rudra and
his conflict with the demons, A艣vins and their stories of exploits
about Soma, Surya and his wife Sara峁噛奴, etc. Behind all these
tales some cosmogonical truths were implied from the Vedic points
of view, but they were presented as stories which the Pur膩峁嘺s
have presented in amplified form.
About the authorship of the Pur膩峁嘺s it may be said that
they existed much earlier than Veda Vy膩sa himself, but he
organised this literature just as he compiled and classified the