History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c90.65.4

v7.c90.65.4

It is doubtful whether by the word Purāṇa, Yāj. refers to the Mahāpurāṇas now extant and whether he knows that there were eighteen of them. If some Upapurāṇas glorify themselves as of equal authority with the Mahāpurāṇas, that is of a piece with what the principal Purāṇas state about themselves viz. that Brahmā first thought of the Purāṇas and then the Vedas issued from his lips Modern scholars should discount all these attempts at self-glorification. Upapurāṇas are due to sages Upapurāṇas are distinguished from Purāṇas in several important respects. Firstly, the 18 purāṇas are attributed to the semi-dıvine Vyāsa, secondly, according to both Matsya and Kūrma, they were summaries of the Purāṇas, thirdly, the ślokas in the Upapurāṇas are not included in the 4 lakhs of verses of all the Purāṇas together; fourthly, early commentators and nibandha writers like the Mitākṣarā and the Kṛtyakalpataru either do not mention any of the Upapurāṇas or at the most only about half a dozen or so and that too rather sparingly; and lastly, as Prof. Hazra himself asserts ('Studies', vol. I. p 23) adherents of various sects such as Śāktas, Sauras, Pāñcarātras interpolated chapters in the Purāṇas of the established group and in some cases wrote new and independent works to propagate their own ideas and styled them Purāṇas.