History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.25.2

v7.c90.25.2

In the Uttarabhāga (by the son of Bāṇa) of the Kādambarī it is stated that in all āgamas (sacred works tradition-ally handed down) such as Purāṇas, Rāmāyaṇa and Bhārata there are many stories about curses. The placing of Purāṇas first shows that they were probably more honoured or popular than the Rāmāyaṇa and the Bhārata. In the Harṣacarita¹³⁴³ it is stated that the book-reader Sudṛṣṭi treated Bāṇa and his relatives and friends to a musical recitation of the Purāṇa promulgated by Vāyu, that was sung by the sage (Vyāsa), that is very exten-sive, that is world-wide (i.e. known everywhere), that is holy and that is not different from the career of Harṣa (to which also all the adjectives applied to the Purāṇa are applicable). Here it appears that the Vāyu is expressly mentioned (as *Pava-mānaprokta* and *Pāvana*) and it is further stated that the Purāṇas contained a description of the several divisions of the world. This description applies to such Purāṇas as the Vāyu, Matsya (chapters 114–128), Brahmāṇḍa (II. 15 ff). It may be argued that the Purāṇa mentioned by Bāṇa may be the Brah-māṇḍa since that Purāṇa says1343a in the beginning as well as at the end (IV. 4. 58ff) that Brahmā imparted it to Vāyu, from whom it passed on to several divine and semi-divine personages and ultimately sūta received it from Vyāsa.