The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c16.s1.5

c16.s1.5

Firstly one of the major features of Indian civilization is the dominant role of religion and philosophy in the various spheres of life. Hence even *Itihasa* or history, which has been declared as one of the five essentials of a Purana, has been distorted. All the traditional works have been interpolated with extra material suitable to the various sects. Sukthankar, of the Mahabharata fame, has given us an interesting account of such sectarian interests in the texts. When P.C. Ray's Bengali vulgate edition of Mahabharata was published, a gentleman from the South complained that "many portions supporting the *Advaita* and *Visistadvaita* doctrines, but unfavourable to the *Sakti* worshippers of the north have been omitted......and many verses quoted by the great philosophers of the South in support of their doctrine are not to be found in Mr. Protapachandra Ray's edition".¹ This gives a classical example of the way in which each sect or religion in India has created its own version of the epics and puranas.