History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.113

v7.c90.113

The Mahābhārata quotes hundreds of verses (called *ślokas*, *gāthās*, *anuvamśa ślokas*), some of which have a bearing upon Paurāṇika subjects and have a Paurāṇika ring. Some examples may be cited. The Vanaparva¹³⁸⁴ quotes two verses about the spiritual prowess of Viśvāmitra and about his assertion that he was a brāhmaṇa. The Anuśāsanaparva¹³⁸⁵ quotes certain gāthās said to have been sung by the pitṛs about the importance of a son or sons, which agree in letter and spirit with verses on the same subject in the Purāṇas. In the Udyoga-parva¹³⁸⁶ Bhīṣma is said to have addressed a verse to Paraśurāma that was sung by Marutta and declared in a Purāṇa. In the Purāṇas also there are frequent quotations of ślokas,¹³⁸⁷ gāthās and anuvamśaślokas sung by people described as Paurāṇika (in Vāyu 70. 76, 88. 114-116, 88. 168-169, Brahmāṇḍa III. 63. 69-70) or as *purāvidaḥ* or *purāṇajñāḥ* in Vāyu, 88. 171 and 95. 19, Brahmāṇḍa III. 63. 171). Vāyu (93. 94-101) mentions several gāthās as sung by Yayāti, most of which occur in the Ādiparva 75. 50-53 and 85. 12-15, Brahmāṇḍa III. 68. 96-103 and in other purāṇas also. It is quite possible that these gāthās and ślokas said to have been declared by those who knew Purāṇas were taken from the Purāṇa or Purāṇas known to Āpastamba. As Yāj. I. 3 regards Purāṇa as one of the sources of dharma, it follows that some Purāṇas containing smṛti material must have been composed a good deal before that smṛti i. e. before the 2nd or 3rd century A. D. at the latest. This is the third stage in the evolution of Purāṇas. It is difficult to say when the extant Matsya was originally composed but it was revised about the middle (or close) of the 3rd century A D., since it speaks of the downfall of the Āndhra dynasty, but does not refer to the Guptas. But it is possible that the original kernel of the Matsya may be earlier than this by a few centuries. The same applies to Vāyu and Brahmāṇḍa. The Vāyu and Brahmāṇḍa also were compiled or added to about 320-335 A. D., since they refer to the Guptas but do not name any Gupta king. These two in their present form may also be referred to this third stage. Most of the Mahāpurāṇas were composed or completed in the period from the 5th or 6th century A. D. to the 9th century A. D. This represents the 4th stage in the evolution of Purāna literature. The Upapurānas began to be compiled from about the 7th or 8th century A D. and their numbers went on increasing till about the 13th century A. D or even later. This is the last phase. Thus there is enough evidence to hold that the Purānas began to influence Hindu society a few centuries before Christ, that their influence continued in full force till the 17th or 18th century A. D. and that it continues to some extent even now. After the 9th century no further Mahāpurānas appear, but additional matter appears to have been unscrupulously inserted in several Purānas, the worst example of the kind being the third part of the Bhaviṣya, which contains stories of Adam and Eve, of Pṛthvīrāj and Jaicandra, Taimur, Akbar, Caitanya, Bhattoji, Nadirshah and so on.