Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c8.9

c8.9

*Purāṇa* and *itihāsa*, apart from their application to compilations, are applied to single stories.² *Purāṇa* means any ‘old tale’, or ‘ancient lore’ generally,³ and *itihāsa* would seem properly to denote a story of fact in accordance with its derivation *iti ha āsa*, which rather denotes actual traditional history.⁴ But the line between fact and fable was hardly definite and gradually became blurred, especially where the historical sense was lacking, and so no clear distinction was made, particularly in brahmanic additions to the Puranas. Hence both words tended to become indefinite. The Vedārthadīpikā calls all the old stories it cites *itihāsas*, and never uses the word *Purāṇa*, I believe, except once, and then of a quotation from ‘the Puranas’, which agrees with the Mahābhārata.⁵ *Purana* is applied to a single story, whether quasi-historical⁶ or mythological⁷ or instructive;⁸ and so also an *itihāsa* may be an ordinary tale⁹ or quasi-historical,¹⁰ fanciful,¹¹ mythological¹² or even didactic.¹³ In later additions to the Puranas any kind of tale is called an *itihāsa*, and spurious antiquity was ascribed to stories, fables, and other matters that are manifestly late by adding the epithet purātana.¹ Moreover no strong distinction was made in later times between these terms and ākhyāna, and they are not seldom treated as synonymous.²