History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c91.44

v7.c91.44

The influence of the Purāṇas went on increasing gradually. At first it was said¹⁴⁷⁴ that the dharma understood from the Veda was the highest, while the dharma declared in the Purāṇas and the like was inferior. This gradually changed and dharma was said to be of three kinds, Vaidika, Tāntrika and Miśra and it was said in the Bhāgavata¹⁴⁷⁵ and the Padma that one may worship god Viṣṇu in any one of the three ways that one desired. The Padma adds that the Vaidika and Miśraka methods are declared to be proper for brāhmaṇas and the like, while the Tāntrika method of worship is meant for a devotee of Viṣṇu and also for śūdras. The Devībhāgavata (XI. 1. 21-23) states that Śruti (Veda) and Smṛti are the eyes of dharma and Purāṇa its heart, and that that is dharma which is declared by these three and that *dharma* can be found nowhere else than in these, that in Purāṇas sometimes what is found in Tantras is put forward as dharma, but one should not accept that.