Puranas are Older than Vedas

The Puranas are presented as being primordial, with their essence remembered by Brahma even before the Vedas. Several Puranas, including the Vayu, Matsya, and Skanda, state that the Purana was the first of all scriptures remembered by Brahma, after which the Vedas issued from his mouths [^3, ^5, ^7, ^9].

Vayu Purana (as quoted in The Purana Index) 

 Prathmam sarvaśāstrānām puranam brahmană smṛtam |

 Anantaram cha vaktrebhyo vedāstasya vinissṛtāh || [^9]

 (Translation: It was Brahma who first remembered the Purana, the first of all shastras. And then the Vedas issued out of his mouths.)

This concept is further elaborated by explaining that originally, in a previous Kalpa, there was only one Purana, a vast and meritorious text of a hundred crore verses that was the means for achieving the three aims of life (`trivarga-sādhana`) [^2, ^3, ^7]. At the time of cosmic dissolution (`pralaya`), the Lord, sometimes in the form of a horse (`vājirūpa`) or a fish (`matsyarūpa`), preserves this knowledge along with the Vedas and retells it to Brahma at the beginning of the new Kalpa [^2, ^6, ^7].

The term `Purana` itself is etymologically defined as "that which lives from very remote times" (`Yasmāt purā hi anati idam purānam`) [^9]. This is interpreted to mean that the mythological and legendary lore existed from remote times and was handed down traditionally, even before the Vedas were compiled [^9]. The cosmogonic hymns of the Rig Veda are seen as precursors to the Puranas [^9].

The antiquity of the Puranas is also attested within the Vedic literature itself. Texts like the Atharva Veda, Shatapatha Brahmana, and Chandogya Upanishad mention the Purana, often referring to `Itihasa-Purana` as the fifth Veda [^2, ^4].

> **Chandogya Upanishad 7.1.2**
> > इतिहासपुराणं पञ्चमं वेदानां वेदम्
> (Translation: ...the Itihasa-Purana, the fifth of the Vedas.) [^4]

While the lore is ancient, the texts also describe a process of compilation and abridgment. In every Dvapara Yuga, the Lord, in the form of Vyasa, notices the declining intellect of people and abridges the vast Purana—which is said to still exist in Devaloka in its hundred-crore-verse form—into a more manageable four hundred thousand verses, which he then divides into the eighteen Mahapuranas for the mortal world [^3, ^5, ^7].

Furthermore, the Puranas are described as essential for the proper understanding of the Vedas. It is said that one should supplement (`samupabṛṃhayet`) the Veda with the Itihasa and Purana, because the Veda fears a person of little learning, thinking, "He will distort me" (`bibhetyalpaśrutādvedo māmayaṃ prahariṣyati`) [^5, ^10, ^12]. The Puranas and Itihasas are said to elaborate on the histories that are only briefly stated in the Vedas [^1]. Therefore, the tradition holds that the Puranic lore is primordial, remembered even before the Vedas, and the compiled texts serve as an indispensable companion to the Vedas for revealing their full meaning.

 

  • 1. The Ancient History Of Bharata Varsha:"Puranas and Itihasas elaborate the histories briefly stated in Vedas."↩︎
  • 2. Brihad Naradiya Puranam purva bhag SANSKRIT HINDI:"पुराणमेकमेवासीत्तदा कल्पान्तरेऽनघ । त्रिवर्गसाधनं पुण्यं शतकोटिप्रविस्तरम् ।।... मत्स्यरूपेण च पुनः कल्पादावुदकार्णवे ।। अशेषमेतत्कथितमुदकान्तर्गतेन च ।"↩︎
  • 3. SKANDA PURANA COMPLETE WITH VENKATACHALA MAHATYAM:"Among all scriptural treatises it was the Purāņa that was remembered at the outset by Brahmā. Thereafter the Vedas issued forth from his mouths. In this Kalpa and Manvantara there was only one Purana, O sage. It was the means of acquiring the three aims of life. The meritorious text consisted of a hundred crores of verses."↩︎
  • 4. Chaturvarnya Samskriti Vimarshah:"ऋचः सामानि छन्दासि पुराणं यजुषा सह । उच्छिष्टाज्जज्ञिरे सर्वे दिवि देवा दिवि थिताः (१।११।१७/२४) इतिहासपुराणं पञ्चमं वेदानां वेदम् ( छा० ७७१।२)"↩︎
  • 5. Dharmakosha Varnashramadharmakanda:"पुराणं सर्वशास्त्राणां प्रथमं ब्रह्मणा स्मृतम् ।... इतिहासपुराणाभ्यां बेदं समुपबृंहयेत् ॥ बिभेत्यल्पश्रुताद्वेदो मामयं प्रहरिष्यति ॥"↩︎
  • 6. SKANDA PURANA COMPLETE WITH VENKATACHALA MAHATYAM:"Brahmanda Purana is the most ancient of all scriptural texts. Thereafter the Vedas came out of his mouth. There was only one Purana in that Kalpantara. It was the means of achieving the three aims (i.e. Virtue, Wealth and Love). It is meritorious and extended to a hundred crore (of verses)."↩︎
  • 7. Chaturvarga Chintamani of Hemadri Iby Pt Bharata Chandra Shiromani:"पुराणं सर्व्वशास्त्राणां प्रथमं ब्रह्मणा स्मृतम् । अनन्तरञ्च वक्तेभ्यो वेदास्तस्य विनिर्गताः ॥ पुराणमेकमेवासीदस्मिन् कल्पान्तरेऽनघ । त्रिवर्गसाधनं पुण्य ं शतकोटिप्रविस्तरम् ॥"↩︎
  • 8. The Purana Index:"The etymology of the term Purana is furnished by the Vayu Purāna, (verse 203, Chap Ⅰ) which runs thus. Yasmāt purā hi anati adam purānam i.e that which lives from very remote times In other words it means some very ancient account or very old narrative."↩︎
  • 9. The Purana Index:"Prathmam sarvaśāstrānām puranam brahmană smṛtam | Anantaram cha vaktrebhyo vedāstasya vinissṛtāh || (Vayu I 60) As if to confirm this statement, in the Matsya Purana it is also said that it was Brahma who first remembered the Purana and then revealed the Vedas. This means that originally there was only one Purana... even long before the age of the Vedas, the Purana was thought of and was in existence."↩︎
  • 10. Shri Vishnu Mahapuran Sanskrit:"अंगानि वेदाश्चत्वारो मीमांसान्यायविस्तरः ॥ पुराणं धर्मशास्त्रं च विद्या होताश्चतुर्दश ॥... इतिहासपुराणाभ्यां वेदं समुपबृंहयेत्"↩︎
  • 11. Linga Maha Purana Dwarika Prasad Mishra Shastri Series:"पुराणन्यायमीमांसा. १.७०२८९. पुराणसंहितां दिव्यां १.१.१३"↩︎
  • 12. Saur Samhita Alm shelf Skanda Purana manuscript:"पुराणैखे वेदार्थो विस्य ष्टोजा पत्ते खलु विभेनि मामवंय वेदः मुराणानिच कानिचित् साक्षाद विरुद्दा... (The meaning of the Veda is made clear by the Puranas. The Veda fears one of little learning...)"↩︎
  • 13. Purana Samhita Krishna Priyacharya:"पुराणसंहितां च चक्रे पुराणार्थविशारदः ।’ वि० पु० ३।६।१५। ‘पुराणसंहितां चक्रे सूतो व्यासप्रसादतः ।’ अ० पु० १५०।३१। इत्यादिग्रंथैर्ज्ञायते हि भगवान्वेदव्यासो वेदशंकराभ्यामधिगतां परायाः परां परब्रह्मविद्यामिमां सूतायैवोपदिष्टवान्"↩︎
    • 14. Purana Samhita Krishna Priyacharya:"पुराणसंहितां च चक्रे पुराणार्थविशारदः ।’ वि० पु० ३।६।१५। ‘पुराणसंहितां चक्रे सूतो व्यासप्रसादतः ।’ अ० पु० १५०।३१। इत्यादिग्रंथैर्ज्ञायते हि भगवान्वेदव्यासो वेदशंकराभ्यामधिगतां परायाः परां परब्रह्मविद्यामिमां सूतायैवोपदिष्टवान्"
     

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