Studies in the Epics and Puranas c7.1

c7.1

The epic literature in India consists of Itihāsa and Purāṇa, which convey the sense of the epic and the Pañcalakṣaṇa, the former comprising the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa and the latter the Mahāpurāṇas and Upa-purāṇas. The study of Itihāsa and Purāṇa has been rightly stressed as necessary for the correct interpretation of the Vedas.¹ The epics and the Purāṇas constitute an important source of the cultural history of India as they throw a flood of light on the various aspects of the life of the time. They occupy an intermediate position, broadly speaking, between the Vedic age and the period of classical literature. They have been influencing the life of the people throughout the centuries and are valuable as supplying materials for the critical study of such diverse subjects as religion and philosophy, folklore and ethnology, literature and sciences, history and geography, politics and sociology. Classical poets and dramatists are indebted to these for the themes and plots of their works. The Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas are regarded and style themselves as "the fifth Veda"² while the Rāmāyaṇa is the "Ādi-Kāvya". The hold of the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas on the everyday life of the Hindus even at the present time may be seen from the occurrence of the word श्रुतिस्मृतिपुराणोक्त in the Saṃkalpa of almost every ritual, where स्मृति includes the Mahābhārata.