Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s2.24

v1.c3.s2.24

Itihāsa, as a kind of literature, is repeatedly mentioned along with Purāṇa in the later texts of the Vedic period. The earliest reference to both occurs in the late fifteenth book of the Atharvaveda.¹ Itihāsa then appears in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,² the Jaiminīya,³ Bṛhadāraṇyaka,⁴ and Chāndogya Upaniṣads.⁵ In the latter it is expressly declared with Purāṇa to make up the fifth Veda, while the Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra⁶ makes the Itihāsa a Veda and the Purāṇa a Veda. The Itihāsa-veda and the Purāṇa-veda appear also in the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa,⁷ while the Śatapatha⁸ identifies the Itihāsa as well as the Purāṇa with the Veda. In one passage Anvākhyāna and Itihāsa are distinguished⁹ as different classes of works, but the exact point of distinction is obscure; probably the former was supplementary. The Taittirīya Āraṇyaka¹⁰ mentions Itihāsas and Purāṇas in the plural.