Studies in the Epics and Puranas c10.48

c10.48

Apart from these considerations there are independent grounds, both positive and negative, internal and external, to show the applicability of the characteristics of a Mahāpurāṇa in the case of the Vāyu and its antiquity, and lateness and non-Mahāpurāṇa character of the Śiva Purāṇa.²⁷ In the first place, the Śiva has been ranked by some texts as an Upapurāṇa; the Vāyu has never been so classed²⁸ showing thereby that the Mahāpurāṇa character of the Vāyu was never challenged. The Vāyu Purāṇa has been assigned the oldest date among the Purāṇas by all Purāṇic scholars beginning with Professor H. H. Wilson. Mr. Chaudhury brings in the evidence of the Mahābhārata to show the antiquity and genuineness of the Vāyu Purāṇa.²⁹ The passage states that the Vāyu Purāṇa deals with the past and future (अतीतानागत) i.e. genealogies. It is to be noted in this connection that the Vāyu Purāṇa, as printed in the Bibliotheca Indica or the Ananda-srama Series, contains not only chapters on genealogies, but the text of the Vāyu has been proclaimed to be the oldest with regard to genealogies