History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c91.47.4

v7.c91.47.4

It was, therefore, that earlier *nibandha* writers like Śrīdatta were prepared to allow śūdras to recite Paurāṇika¹⁴⁷⁹ mantras. But when centuries had elapsed after Buddhism had disappeared from India, orthodox brāhmaṇa writers like Kamalākara¹⁴⁸⁰ (who wrote his N. S. in 1612 A. D.) showed a stiffer attitude by confining śūdras merely to the listening to Purāṇas read by a brāhmaṇa and by not allowing them even to recite a Paurāṇika mantra. It may be noted that the Narasimhapurāṇa in laying down the duties of śūdras provides that they should listen to the reading of purāṇas by a brāhmaṇa (reader) and should worship Narasimha (*avatāra* of Viṣṇu). The relation of Śruti, Smṛti and Purāṇas and their spheres of application are summed up in the Nāradīyapurāṇa as follows:— "The Veda exists in different forms; there is the Veda which has the performance of sacrificial rites (as its sphere); smṛtis are the Veda for the householder's stage; both those are centered in (or supported by) the Purāṇas. Just as this wonderful world sprang from the ancient Being (God), there is no doubt that all this literature arose from the Purāṇas. I hold that the meaning (or purpose) of the Purāṇas is more extensive (or superior to) than the meaning (or purpose) of the Veda. All the Vedas always rest on the Purāṇas; the Veda is afraid of the man of little learning (with the thought that) that man may harm it.