Read on Twitter
Are the Puranic legends based on truth?
A
Much depends on what you mean by truth and what you mean by Puranic. The Puranas are a bunch of ancient works written over several centuries, beginning with Vyasa’s Bhagavatam. There are some 36 important Puranas followed by a
1/
A
Much depends on what you mean by truth and what you mean by Puranic. The Puranas are a bunch of ancient works written over several centuries, beginning with Vyasa’s Bhagavatam. There are some 36 important Puranas followed by a
1/
large no of Upapuranas or subsidiary Puranas. They abound in legends regarding gods, sages, great kings and other important characters.
But when we speak of Puranic stories, we do not keep the meaning of the word confined to the stories from these books,
2/
But when we speak of Puranic stories, we do not keep the meaning of the word confined to the stories from these books,
2/
but all the stories appearing in the Upanishads (older than the Puranas), the epics, namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and, of course the Puranas.
3/
3/
Coming to the concept of truth, there are several planes of truth: factual truth, social and moral truth, psychological and spiritual truth. Often the Puranic legends combine in them truths of several planes.
4/
4/
Let us take, for example, the legend of Nachiketa. Probably you know the story.
His father, while performing a Yajna, was giving away whatever he possessed. The young Nachiketa asked him, “To whom do you give me?”
The father, as if annoyed, said, “To Yama.”
5/
His father, while performing a Yajna, was giving away whatever he possessed. The young Nachiketa asked him, “To whom do you give me?”
The father, as if annoyed, said, “To Yama.”
5/
The boy forthwith proceeded to the abode of Yama, who is the god of Death, and stood three days waiting for the god who was away. At last the god arrived and offered him three boons. For the last boon Nachiketa wished to know all about death - what happens to one after the
6/
6/
body falls away, so on and so forth. The god, at first reluctant to reveal the mystery, ultimately granted the boy the knowledge he sought.
There is every reason to believe that Nachiketa was a real character.
7/
There is every reason to believe that Nachiketa was a real character.
7/
There was nothing unnatural in his father performing a Yajna and giving away whatever he possessed. These could be truths at the factual plane. But when he told Nachiketa that he had given him away to Yama, what he meant was,
8/
8/
he assigned the boy the task of meditating on the mystery of death.
The boy waiting for Yama for three days meant he received his enlightenment after a deep concentration and quest for three days.
This is how the physical truths are mixed with spiritual or symbolic truths
9/
The boy waiting for Yama for three days meant he received his enlightenment after a deep concentration and quest for three days.
This is how the physical truths are mixed with spiritual or symbolic truths
9/
in several important Puranic legends.
It is not easy to appreciate the spirit of a remote past, the values that prevailed then, and the style in which the sages recorded their experiences.
10/
It is not easy to appreciate the spirit of a remote past, the values that prevailed then, and the style in which the sages recorded their experiences.
10/
We have to understand them in their right perspective. That is not easy. Hence there is the tendency to dismiss them as mere tales.
11/
11/
