Fifth Veda: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 22:47, 29 May 2025

The notion of a fifth Veda (Sanskrit: pañcama veda), that is, of a text which lies outside the four canonical Vedas, but nonetheless has the status of a Veda, is one that has been advanced in a number of post-Vedic Hindu texts, in order to accord a particular text or texts and their doctrines with the timelessness and authority that Hinduism associates with the Vedas.^[1] The idea is an ancient one, appearing for the first time in the Upanishads, but has over the centuries since then also been applied to more recent Sanskrit and vernacular texts.

Sanskrit texts: the "Panchama Veda"[edit | edit source]

The earliest reference to a fifth Veda is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (7.1.2),^[2] which applies the term to the "histories" (Itihasa-Purana, "ancient traditions") of its day,

itihāsapurāṇaṃ pañcamaṃ vedānāṃ

This reference to itihasa-purana is used by the Mahabharata, which belongs to the class of epic literature called "itihasa", to refer to itself as the fifth Veda.^[3] Relying also on its attribution to Vyasa, the legendary compiler of the Vedas, the Mahabharata declares itself a new Veda for a new era, intended for all people, and which is the equal of, and in some ways superior to, the four canonical Vedas.^[4] The other major Hindu epic, the Ramayana, also makes a claim to be the fifth Veda. But, since the Mahabharata itself contains an abbreviated version of Ramayana, so the Mahabharata itself is considered as the fifth Veda.^[1]

Similar claims are made in the Puranas, which claim to be the fifth Veda together with the itihasas, frequently referring to themselves as the "Itihasa-Purana-Veda".^[5] The Bhagavata Purana elaborates on the Chandogya Upanishad's statement concerning the fifth, by stating that after the four Vedas emerged from each of Brahma's four mouths, the fifth Veda - itihasapurana - emerged from his fifth mouth^[1] or all his mouths.^[6] It then declares itself supreme over all other puranas, on the grounds that it was Vyasa's crowning achievement.^[5] Similarly, the Skandapurana, too, suggests that the puranas are the Fifth Veda, thus giving itself scriptural authority.^[1]^[7]

The नाट्यशास्त्र Natya Shastra, a text dealing with performative theory, also applies to itself the label of "Fifth Veda" (1.4) although strictly speaking, it is a branch of the Gandharvaveda, an upaveda of the Samaveda (Monier-Williams). The Natyashastra says that it was formulated by Brahma, incorporating elements of the other four Vedas,^[8] the idea being that the dramatic or musical performance of sacred stories, which, through the events they related, symbolised divine processes, could draw individuals to holier thoughts.^[9] Other works that have been characterised as the "Fifth Veda" include, texts on ayurveda (Veda concerning the maintenance of "life"), a system of traditional South Asian medicine.^[10]

Non-Sanskrit texts[edit | edit source]

Several non-Sanskrit texts have also had the status of Veda assigned to them. An example is the Ramcharitmanas, a 17th-century retelling of the story of the Ramayana in Awadhi, which is often called the "Fifth Veda" and is viewed by devotees as equalling or superseding the four canonical Vedas in authority and sanctity as the text for the Kali Yuga.^[11]^[12]

Several Tamil texts have been assigned the status of being a new Veda by the adherents, who usually term the text in question the "Tamil Veda" or "Dravida Veda".^[13] The Kural is traditionally praised with several epithets and alternative titles, including "the Tamil Veda" and "the Divine Book."^[14]^:156^[15] The Tamil Vaishnavite bhakti community of the Alvars conferred this status on the Tiruvaymoli^[16] (and, later, the Divya Prabandham in general), a claim which was also accepted in secular works such as the Lilatilakam, a 14th-century grammar of Kerala Manipravalam.^[17] As with the Natyashastra,^[18] authors seeking to confer the status of a Veda on the Tiruvaymoli argued that unlike the canonical Vedic texts reserved for the Brahmins, this new Tamil Veda was accessible to all classes.^[19] Similarly, the Tamil Shaivite community conferred upon the hymns of the Tevaram the status of a Tamil Veda, a claim which several of the poets themselves made.^[20] Tamil Shaivites saw the designation "Tamil Veda" as making the Tevaram an alternative to the Sanskrit Veda, whereas Vaishnavites saw their equivalently designated texts as being a parallel track, rather than an alternative.^[21]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Smith, Brian K. (August 1987). "Exorcising the Transcendent: Strategies for Defining Hinduism and Religion". History of Religions. 27 (1): 32–55. doi:10.1086/463098. JSTOR 1062532. S2CID 161100582. at p. 46.
↑ Lidova, Natalia R. (Autumn 1997). "Review of: The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation and Ritual by Vasuda Narayanan". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 65 (3): 681–684. doi:10.1093/jaarel/65.3.681. JSTOR 1465662. at p. 684
↑ Fitzgerald, James (1985). "India's Fifth Veda: The Mahabharata's Presentation of Itself". Journal of South Asian Literature. 20 (1): 125–140.
↑ Sullivan, Bruce M. (October 1994). "The Religious Authority of the Mahābhārata: Vyāsa and Brahmā in the Hindu Scriptural Tradition". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 62 (2): 377–401. doi:10.1093/jaarel/LXII.2.377. JSTOR 1465271. at p. 385.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Holdrege, Barbara A. (2000). "Mystical Cognition and Canonical Authority: The Devotional Mysticism of the Bhagavata Purana". In Katz, Steven T. (ed.). Mysticism and Sacred Scripture. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 184–209. ISBN 978-0-19-509703-0. at pp. 193-196.
↑ Bhagavata Purana, 3.12.37-3.12.39.
↑ Skandapurana 5.3.1.18 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine: purāṇaṃ pañcamoveda iti brahmānuśasanaṃ
↑ Ley, Graham (2000). "Aristotle's Poetics, Bharatamuni's Natyasastra, and Zeami's Treatises: Theory as Discourse" (PDF). Asian Theatre Journal. 17 (2): 191–214. doi:10.1353/atj.2000.0020. hdl:10036/48013. S2CID 163154226. at pp. 194-195.
↑ Bahm, Archie J. (1965). "Comparative Aesthetics". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 24 (1). The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 24, No. 1: 109–119. doi:10.2307/428253. JSTOR 428253. at p. 110.
↑ Larson, Gerald James (July 1987). "Ayurveda and the Hindu Philosophical Systems". Philosophy East and West. 37 (3). Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 3: 245–259. doi:10.2307/1398518. JSTOR 1398518.
↑ Lamb, Ramdas (1991). "Personalizing the Ramayan: Ramnamis and Their Use of the Ramcaritmanas". In Richman, Paula (ed.). Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 235–251. ISBN 978-0-520-07589-4. at pp. 237-238.
↑ Lutgendorf, Philip (1990). "The Power of Sacred Story: Ramayana Recitation in Contemporary North India". Ritual and Power. 4 (1): 115–147..
↑ "What is Tamil Veda?".
↑ Zvelebil, Kamil (1973). The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India. Leiden: E.J. Brill. ISBN 9004035915. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
↑ Cutler, Norman (1992). "Interpreting Thirukkural: the role of commentary in the creation of a text". The Journal of the American Oriental Society. 112 (4): 549–566. doi:10.2307/604470. JSTOR 604470.
↑ Clooney, Francis X. (April 1992). "Extending the Canon: Some Implications of a Hindu Argument about Scripture". The Harvard Theological Review. 85 (2): 197–215. doi:10.1017/S0017816000028856..
↑ Freeman, Rich (February 1998). "Rubies and Coral: The Lapidary Crafting of Language in Kerala". The Journal of Asian Studies. 57 (1). The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 57, No. 1: 38–65. doi:10.2307/2659023. JSTOR 2659023. at p. 57.
↑ The similarity between the vedicisation of the Tiruvaymozhi and earlier moves to declare Sanskrit texts as the "Fifth Veda" is pointed out in Lidova, Natalia R. (Autumn 1997). "Review of: The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation and Ritual by Vasuda Narayanan". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 65 (3): 681–684. doi:10.1093/jaarel/65.3.681. JSTOR 1465662. at pp. 683-684.
↑ Narayanan, Vasudha (1994). The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual. Studies in Comparative Religion. University of South Carolina Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-87249-965-0.
↑ Peterson, Indira V. (1982). "Singing of a Place: Pilgrimage as Metaphor and Motif in the Tēvāram Songs of the Tamil Śaivite Saints". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 102 (1). Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 1: 69–90. doi:10.2307/601112. JSTOR 601112. at p. 77.
↑ Cutler, Norman; Peterson, Indira Viswanathan; Piḷḷāṉ; Carman, John; Narayanan, Vasudha; Pillan (1991). "Tamil Bhakti in Translation". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 111 (4). Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 111, No. 4: 768–775. doi:10.2307/603406. JSTOR 603406. at p. 770.

[smith1987-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Smith, Brian K. (August 1987). "Exorcising the Transcendent: Strategies for Defining Hinduism and Religion". History of Religions. 27 (1): 32–55. doi:10.1086/463098. JSTOR 1062532. S2CID 161100582. at p. 46.

[2] Lidova, Natalia R. (Autumn 1997). "Review of: The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation and Ritual by Vasuda Narayanan". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 65 (3): 681–684. doi:10.1093/jaarel/65.3.681. JSTOR 1465662. at p. 684

[3] Fitzgerald, James (1985). "India's Fifth Veda: The Mahabharata's Presentation of Itself". Journal of South Asian Literature. 20 (1): 125–140.

[4] Sullivan, Bruce M. (October 1994). "The Religious Authority of the Mahābhārata: Vyāsa and Brahmā in the Hindu Scriptural Tradition". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 62 (2): 377–401. doi:10.1093/jaarel/LXII.2.377. JSTOR 1465271. at p. 385.

[Holdrege2000-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Holdrege, Barbara A. (2000). "Mystical Cognition and Canonical Authority: The Devotional Mysticism of the Bhagavata Purana". In Katz, Steven T. (ed.). Mysticism and Sacred Scripture. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 184–209. ISBN 978-0-19-509703-0. at pp. 193-196.

[6] Bhagavata Purana, 3.12.37-3.12.39.

[7] Skandapurana 5.3.1.18 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine: purāṇaṃ pañcamoveda iti brahmānuśasanaṃ

[8] Ley, Graham (2000). "Aristotle's Poetics, Bharatamuni's Natyasastra, and Zeami's Treatises: Theory as Discourse" (PDF). Asian Theatre Journal. 17 (2): 191–214. doi:10.1353/atj.2000.0020. hdl:10036/48013. S2CID 163154226. at pp. 194-195.

[9] Bahm, Archie J. (1965). "Comparative Aesthetics". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 24 (1). The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 24, No. 1: 109–119. doi:10.2307/428253. JSTOR 428253. at p. 110.

[Larson1987-10] Larson, Gerald James (July 1987). "Ayurveda and the Hindu Philosophical Systems". Philosophy East and West. 37 (3). Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 3: 245–259. doi:10.2307/1398518. JSTOR 1398518.

[11] Lamb, Ramdas (1991). "Personalizing the Ramayan: Ramnamis and Their Use of the Ramcaritmanas". In Richman, Paula (ed.). Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 235–251. ISBN 978-0-520-07589-4. at pp. 237-238.

[12] Lutgendorf, Philip (1990). "The Power of Sacred Story: Ramayana Recitation in Contemporary North India". Ritual and Power. 4 (1): 115–147..

[13] "What is Tamil Veda?".

[14] Zvelebil, Kamil (1973). The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India. Leiden: E.J. Brill. ISBN 9004035915. Retrieved 7 March 2018.

[15] Cutler, Norman (1992). "Interpreting Thirukkural: the role of commentary in the creation of a text". The Journal of the American Oriental Society. 112 (4): 549–566. doi:10.2307/604470. JSTOR 604470.

[16] Clooney, Francis X. (April 1992). "Extending the Canon: Some Implications of a Hindu Argument about Scripture". The Harvard Theological Review. 85 (2): 197–215. doi:10.1017/S0017816000028856..

[17] Freeman, Rich (February 1998). "Rubies and Coral: The Lapidary Crafting of Language in Kerala". The Journal of Asian Studies. 57 (1). The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 57, No. 1: 38–65. doi:10.2307/2659023. JSTOR 2659023. at p. 57.

[18] The similarity between the vedicisation of the Tiruvaymozhi and earlier moves to declare Sanskrit texts as the "Fifth Veda" is pointed out in Lidova, Natalia R. (Autumn 1997). "Review of: The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation and Ritual by Vasuda Narayanan". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 65 (3): 681–684. doi:10.1093/jaarel/65.3.681. JSTOR 1465662. at pp. 683-684.

[19] Narayanan, Vasudha (1994). The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual. Studies in Comparative Religion. University of South Carolina Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-87249-965-0.

[20] Peterson, Indira V. (1982). "Singing of a Place: Pilgrimage as Metaphor and Motif in the Tēvāram Songs of the Tamil Śaivite Saints". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 102 (1). Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 1: 69–90. doi:10.2307/601112. JSTOR 601112. at p. 77.

[21] Cutler, Norman; Peterson, Indira Viswanathan; Piḷḷāṉ; Carman, John; Narayanan, Vasudha; Pillan (1991). "Tamil Bhakti in Translation". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 111 (4). Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 111, No. 4: 768–775. doi:10.2307/603406. JSTOR 603406. at p. 770.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Text which lies outside the four canonical Vedas}}
 {{Redirect|Panchama Veda|the film|Panchama Veda (film)}}
 The notion of a '''fifth Veda''' ([[Sanskrit]]: ''{{IAST|pañcama veda}}''), that is, of a text which lies outside the four canonical [[Vedas]], but nonetheless has the status of a Veda, is one that has been advanced in a number of post-Vedic Hindu texts, in order to accord a particular text or texts and their doctrines with the timelessness and authority that [[Hinduism]] associates with the Vedas.<ref name="smith1987">{{cite journal | last = Smith | first = Brian K. | title = Exorcising the Transcendent: Strategies for Defining Hinduism and Religion | journal = History of Religions | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages =32–55 |date=August 1987 | doi = 10.1086/463098 | jstor=1062532
-}} at p. 46.</ref>  The idea is an ancient one, appearing for the first time in the [[Upanishads]], but has over the centuries since then also been applied to more recent Sanskrit and vernacular texts.
+| s2cid = 161100582 }} at p. 46.</ref>  The idea is an ancient one, appearing for the first time in the [[Upanishads]], but has over the centuries since then also been applied to more recent Sanskrit and vernacular texts.
 == Sanskrit texts: the "Panchama Veda" ==
@@ Line 9: / Line 10: @@
 This reference to ''itihasa-purana'' is used by the [[Mahabharata]], which belongs to the class of [[Indian epic poetry|epic literature]] called "itihasa", to refer to itself as the fifth Veda.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Fitzgerald | first = James | title = India's Fifth Veda: The Mahabharata's Presentation of Itself | journal = Journal of South Asian Literature | volume = 20 | issue = 1 | pages =125–140 | year = 1985 }}</ref> Relying also on its attribution to [[Vyasa]], the legendary compiler of the Vedas, the Mahabharata declares itself a new Veda for a new era, intended for all people, and which is the equal of, and in some ways superior to, the four canonical Vedas.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Sullivan | first = Bruce M. | title = The Religious Authority of the Mahābhārata: Vyāsa and Brahmā in the Hindu Scriptural Tradition | journal = Journal of the American Academy of Religion | volume = 62 | issue = 2 | pages =377–401 |date=October 1994 | doi = 10.1093/jaarel/LXII.2.377 | jstor=1465271
-}} at p. 385.</ref>  The other major Hindu epic, the [[Ramayana]], also makes a claim to be the fifth Veda. But, since the Mahabharata itself contains an abbreviated version of Ramayana, so the Mahabharata itself is considered as the fifth Veda. <ref name="smith1987" />
+}} at p. 385.</ref>  The other major Hindu epic, the [[Ramayana]], also makes a claim to be the fifth Veda. But, since the Mahabharata itself contains an abbreviated version of Ramayana, so the Mahabharata itself is considered as the fifth Veda.<ref name="smith1987" />
 Similar claims are made in the [[Puranas]], which claim to be the fifth Veda together with the itihasas, frequently referring to themselves as the "Itihasa-Purana-Veda".<ref name="Holdrege2000">{{Cite book | first = Barbara A. | last = Holdrege | editor-last = Katz | editor-first = Steven T. | contribution = Mystical Cognition and Canonical Authority: The Devotional Mysticism of the Bhagavata Purana | title = Mysticism and Sacred Scripture | url = https://archive.org/details/mysticismsacreds00katz | url-access = limited | year = 2000 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/mysticismsacreds00katz/page/n194 184]–209 | place = New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn =  978-0-19-509703-0}} at pp. 193-196.</ref>  The [[Bhagavata Purana]] elaborates on the Chandogya Upanishad's statement concerning the fifth, by stating that after the four Vedas emerged from each of [[Brahma]]'s four mouths, the fifth Veda - ''itihasapurana'' - emerged from his fifth mouth<ref name="smith1987"/> or all his mouths.<ref>Bhagavata Purana, 3.12.37-3.12.39.</ref> It then declares itself supreme over all other puranas, on the grounds that it was Vyasa's crowning achievement.<ref name="Holdrege2000" />  Similarly, the [[Skanda Purana|Skandapurana]], too, suggests that the puranas are the Fifth Veda, thus giving itself scriptural authority.<ref name="smith1987"/><ref>Skandapurana [http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/skanda_purana/skanda_purana_05avanti_03reva.pdf 5.3.1.18] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171408/http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/skanda_purana/skanda_purana_05avanti_03reva.pdf |date=2016-03-03 }}: ''{{IAST|purāṇaṃ pañcamoveda iti brahmānuśasanaṃ}}''</ref>
-The [[Natya Shastra]], a text dealing with performative theory, also applies to itself the label of "Fifth Veda" (1.4) although strictly speaking, it is a branch of the [[Gandharvaveda]], an [[upaveda]] of the [[Samaveda]] ([[Monier-Williams]]).  The Natyashastra says that it was formulated by Brahma, incorporating elements of the other four Vedas, but unlike them, open to all castes,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ley | first = Graham | title = Aristotle's Poetics, Bharatamuni's Natyasastra, and Zeami's Treatises: Theory as Discourse | journal = Asian Theatre Journal | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages =191–214 | year = 2000 | doi = 10.1353/atj.2000.0020 | url = https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/10036/48013/1/Aristotle%27s%20Poetics.pdf | hdl = 10036/48013 | hdl-access = free }} at pp. 194-195.</ref> the idea being that the dramatic or musical  performance of sacred stories, which, through the events they related, symbolised divine processes, could draw individuals to holier thoughts.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Bahm | first = Archie J. | title = Comparative Aesthetics | journal = The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism | volume = 24 | issue = 1 | pages =109–119 | year = 1965 | doi = 10.2307/428253 | publisher = The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 24, No. 1 | jstor = 428253}} at p. 110.</ref> Other works that have been characterised as the "Fifth Veda" include, texts on [[ayurveda]] (Veda concerning the maintenance of "life"), a system of traditional South Asian medicine.<ref name = "Larson1987">{{cite journal |last=Larson |first=Gerald James |date=July 1987 |title=Ayurveda and the Hindu Philosophical Systems |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=245–259 |doi=10.2307/1398518 |publisher=Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 3 |jstor=1398518}}</ref>
+The नाट्यशास्त्र [[Natya Shastra]], a text dealing with performative theory, also applies to itself the label of "Fifth Veda" (1.4) although strictly speaking, it is a branch of the [[Gandharvaveda]], an [[upaveda]] of the [[Samaveda]] ([[Monier-Williams]]).  The Natyashastra says that it was formulated by Brahma, incorporating elements of the other four Vedas,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ley | first = Graham | title = Aristotle's Poetics, Bharatamuni's Natyasastra, and Zeami's Treatises: Theory as Discourse | journal = Asian Theatre Journal | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages =191–214 | year = 2000 | doi = 10.1353/atj.2000.0020 | url = https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/10036/48013/1/Aristotle%27s%20Poetics.pdf | hdl = 10036/48013 | s2cid = 163154226 | hdl-access = free }} at pp. 194-195.</ref> the idea being that the dramatic or musical  performance of sacred stories, which, through the events they related, symbolised divine processes, could draw individuals to holier thoughts.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Bahm | first = Archie J. | title = Comparative Aesthetics | journal = The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism | volume = 24 | issue = 1 | pages =109–119 | year = 1965 | doi = 10.2307/428253 | publisher = The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 24, No. 1 | jstor = 428253}} at p. 110.</ref> Other works that have been characterised as the "Fifth Veda" include, texts on [[ayurveda]] (Veda concerning the maintenance of "life"), a system of traditional South Asian medicine.<ref name = "Larson1987">{{cite journal |last=Larson |first=Gerald James |date=July 1987 |title=Ayurveda and the Hindu Philosophical Systems |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=245–259 |doi=10.2307/1398518 |publisher=Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 3 |jstor=1398518}}</ref>
 == Non-Sanskrit texts ==
-Several vernacular texts have also had the status of Veda assigned to them.  An example is the [[Ramcharitmanas]], a 17th-century retelling of the story of the Ramayana in [[Awadhi]], which is often called the "Fifth Veda" or "Hindi Veda" in northern India, and is viewed by devotees as equalling or superseding the four canonical Vedas in authority and sanctity as the text for the [[Kali Yuga]].<ref>{{Cite book | first = Ramdas | last = Lamb | editor-last = Richman | editor-first = Paula | contribution =  Personalizing the Ramayan: Ramnamis and Their Use of the Ramcaritmanas | title = Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia | year = 1991 | pages = 235–251 | place = Berkeley | publisher = University of California Press | isbn =  978-0-520-07589-4}} at pp. 237-238.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Lutgendorf | first = Philip  | title = The Power of Sacred Story: Ramayana Recitation in Contemporary North India | journal = Ritual and Power| volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages =115–147 | year = 1990}}.</ref>
+Several non-Sanskrit texts have also had the status of Veda assigned to them.  An example is the [[Ramcharitmanas]], a 17th-century retelling of the story of the Ramayana in [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]], which is often called the "Fifth Veda" and is viewed by devotees as equalling or superseding the four canonical Vedas in authority and sanctity as the text for the [[Kali Yuga]].<ref>{{Cite book | first = Ramdas | last = Lamb | editor-last = Richman | editor-first = Paula | contribution =  Personalizing the Ramayan: Ramnamis and Their Use of the Ramcaritmanas | title = Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia | year = 1991 | pages = 235–251 | place = Berkeley | publisher = University of California Press | isbn =  978-0-520-07589-4}} at pp. 237-238.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Lutgendorf | first = Philip  | title = The Power of Sacred Story: Ramayana Recitation in Contemporary North India | journal = Ritual and Power| volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages =115–147 | year = 1990}}.</ref>
-Several [[Tamil language|Tamil]] texts have been assigned the status of being a new Veda by the adherents, who usually term the text in question the "Tamil Veda" or "Dravida Veda".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyo.in/variety/tamil-veda-tamil-marai-thirukkural-thevaram-divya-prabandham/story/1/17210.html|title=What is Tamil Veda?}}</ref> The [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[Vaishnavite]] ''[[bhakti]]'' community of the [[Alvars]] conferred this status on the [[Tiruvaymoli]]<ref>{{cite journal | last = Clooney | first = Francis X. | title = Extending the Canon: Some Implications of a Hindu Argument about Scripture | journal = The Harvard Theological Review | volume = 85| issue = 2 | pages =197–215 |date=April 1992| doi = 10.1017/S0017816000028856 }}.</ref> (and, later, the [[Divya Prabandham]] in general), a claim which was also accepted in secular works such as the [[Lilatilakam]], a 14th-century grammar of Kerala [[Manipravalam]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Freeman | first = Rich | title = Rubies and Coral: The Lapidary Crafting of Language in Kerala | journal = The Journal of Asian Studies | volume = 57| issue = 1 | pages =38–65 |date=February 1998 | doi = 10.2307/2659023 | publisher = The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 57, No. 1 | jstor = 2659023}} at p. 57.</ref> As with the Natyashastra,<ref>The similarity between the vedicisation of the Tiruvaymozhi and earlier moves to declare Sanskrit texts as the "Fifth Veda" is pointed out in {{cite journal |last=Lidova |first=Natalia R. |date=Autumn 1997|title= Review of: The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation and Ritual by Vasuda Narayanan| journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=65  |issue=3 |pages=681–684 |jstor=1465662|doi=10.1093/jaarel/65.3.681 }} at pp. 683-684.</ref> authors seeking to confer the status of a Veda on the Tiruvaymozhi argued that unlike the canonical Vedic texts reserved for the Brahmin caste, this new Tamil Veda was accessible to all [[Varna in Hinduism|varna]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Narayanan |first=Vasudha |title=The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual |year=1994 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |series=Studies in Comparative Religion |page=[https://archive.org/details/vernacularvedare00nara/page/26 26] |isbn=0-87249-965-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/vernacularvedare00nara/page/26 }}</ref>  Similarly, the Tamil [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] community conferred upon the hymns of the [[Tevaram]] the status of a Tamil Veda, a claim which several of the poets themselves made.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Peterson | first = Indira V. | title = Singing of a Place: Pilgrimage as Metaphor and Motif in the Tēvāram Songs of the Tamil Śaivite Saints | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 102 | issue = 1 | pages =69–90 | year = 1982 | doi = 10.2307/601112 | publisher = Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 1 | jstor = 601112}} at p. 77.</ref>  Tamil Shaivites saw the designation "Tamil Veda" as making the Tevaram an alternative to the Sanskrit Veda, whereas Vaishnavites saw their equivalently designated texts as being a parallel track, rather than an alternative.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Cutler | first = Norman | title = Tamil Bhakti in Translation | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 111 | issue = 4 | pages =768–775 | year = 1991 | doi = 10.2307/603406 | last2 = Peterson | first2 = Indira Viswanathan | last3 = Piḷḷāṉ | last4 = Carman | first4 = John | last5 = Narayanan | first5 = Vasudha | last6 = Pillan | publisher = Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 111, No. 4 | jstor = 603406}} at p. 770.</ref>
+Several [[Tamil language|Tamil]] texts have been assigned the status of being a new Veda by the adherents, who usually term the text in question the "Tamil Veda" or "Dravida Veda".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyo.in/variety/tamil-veda-tamil-marai-thirukkural-thevaram-divya-prabandham/story/1/17210.html|title=What is Tamil Veda?}}</ref> The [[Kural]] is traditionally praised with several epithets and alternative titles, including "the Tamil Veda" and "the Divine Book."<ref>{{cite book |last=Zvelebil |first=Kamil |title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA155 |access-date=7 March 2018|year=1973 |publisher=E.J. Brill |location=Leiden|isbn=9004035915 }}</ref>{{Rp|156}}<ref>{{cite journal | last =Cutler | first =Norman | title =Interpreting Thirukkural: the role of commentary in the creation of a text | journal =The Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume =112 | issue =4 | pages =549–566 | year =1992 | jstor= 604470 | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/604470| ref={{sfnRef|Cutler, 1992}}| doi =10.2307/604470 | url-access =subscription }}</ref> The [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[Vaishnavite]] ''[[bhakti]]'' community of the [[Alvars]] conferred this status on the [[Tiruvaymoli]]<ref>{{cite journal | last = Clooney | first = Francis X. | title = Extending the Canon: Some Implications of a Hindu Argument about Scripture | journal = The Harvard Theological Review | volume = 85| issue = 2 | pages =197–215 |date=April 1992| doi = 10.1017/S0017816000028856 }}.</ref> (and, later, the [[Divya Prabandham]] in general), a claim which was also accepted in secular works such as the [[Lilatilakam]], a 14th-century grammar of Kerala [[Manipravalam]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Freeman | first = Rich | title = Rubies and Coral: The Lapidary Crafting of Language in Kerala | journal = The Journal of Asian Studies | volume = 57| issue = 1 | pages =38–65 |date=February 1998 | doi = 10.2307/2659023 | publisher = The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 57, No. 1 | jstor = 2659023| doi-access = free }} at p. 57.</ref> As with the Natyashastra,<ref>The similarity between the vedicisation of the Tiruvaymozhi and earlier moves to declare Sanskrit texts as the "Fifth Veda" is pointed out in {{cite journal |last=Lidova |first=Natalia R. |date=Autumn 1997|title= Review of: The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation and Ritual by Vasuda Narayanan| journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=65  |issue=3 |pages=681–684 |jstor=1465662|doi=10.1093/jaarel/65.3.681 }} at pp. 683-684.</ref> authors seeking to confer the status of a Veda on the Tiruvaymoli argued that unlike the canonical Vedic texts reserved for the Brahmins, this new Tamil Veda was accessible to all classes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Narayanan |first=Vasudha |title=The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual |year=1994 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |series=Studies in Comparative Religion |page=[https://archive.org/details/vernacularvedare00nara/page/26 26] |isbn=0-87249-965-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/vernacularvedare00nara/page/26 }}</ref>  Similarly, the Tamil [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] community conferred upon the hymns of the [[Tevaram]] the status of a Tamil Veda, a claim which several of the poets themselves made.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Peterson | first = Indira V. | title = Singing of a Place: Pilgrimage as Metaphor and Motif in the Tēvāram Songs of the Tamil Śaivite Saints | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 102 | issue = 1 | pages =69–90 | year = 1982 | doi = 10.2307/601112 | publisher = Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 1 | jstor = 601112}} at p. 77.</ref>  Tamil Shaivites saw the designation "Tamil Veda" as making the Tevaram an alternative to the Sanskrit Veda, whereas Vaishnavites saw their equivalently designated texts as being a parallel track, rather than an alternative.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cutler | first1 = Norman | title = Tamil Bhakti in Translation | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 111 | issue = 4 | pages =768–775 | year = 1991 | doi = 10.2307/603406 | last2 = Peterson | first2 = Indira Viswanathan | last3 = Piḷḷāṉ | last4 = Carman | first4 = John | last5 = Narayanan | first5 = Vasudha | last6 = Pillan | publisher = Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 111, No. 4 | jstor = 603406}} at p. 770.</ref>
 ==See also==

Fifth Veda: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 22:47, 29 May 2025

Contents

Sanskrit texts: the "Panchama Veda"[edit | edit source]

Non-Sanskrit texts[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]