Historicity of पुराण/ इतिहास texts are often questioned by kids/ adults. Some of the event in these texts seem credible while others incredible. The intent behind this question is that in case they are true, one may take them seriously but if untrue, one may ignore them or at best, treat them as works of fiction. This blog attempts to share a simple perspective with which to view our पुराण/ इतिहास texts. 

But before we answer this question directly, we need to be clear on the focus on सनातन धर्म. सनातन धर्म is interested in talking about what is सनातन or eternal. And the classic definition of “real” is something that is eternal. This means that if clay can be converted into a pot, cup, saucer, dust, etc., from the standpoint of सनातन धर्म, what is “real” is the clay. Similarly, from the standpoint of an ornament or bracelet or earring, all of these are “unreal” (because they are temporary) while gold is the only “real” substance. Taking this further, the Sun is real while the planets are “unreal” – the galaxy is real while the Sun is unreal. And when one regresses like this, one infers that there must be a primary substance that is real (call it ब्रह्म or particle) that always exists eternally while the temporal manifestation in the form of galaxies, stars and planets are unreal – since they are not eternal. Even in day-to-day life, can we say that water alone is real but water vapour is unreal (since we cannot see water vapour)? In fact, what is “real” remains unseen, but it determines and drives all that we experience in the changing world of forms – this is why the visible forms are “unreal” while their unseen causes are “real”. 

Let us take our own mind. We may say that our body is real as it can be seen. But what drives our body? Our mind or more specifically the thoughts in our mind. So, can we say that our thoughts are “unreal” and external actions of the body are alone “real”? The specific language that may be used is that it is actually our thoughts that are “real” while our body merely expresses the thoughts in the mind in a physical manner. Similarly, in a puppet show, the storyline of the director is “real” while puppets are merely a physical expression of the director’s mind. Even in the lives of various human beings over millennia, what is real are the emotions like greed, anger, hunger, happiness, loss, death, etc – it is these that keep playing out again and again while the bodies that express these experiences are “unreal” – these are “unreal” since the bodies that express these are temporal but the forces that drive their conduct are real (since they are eternal). Even if one talks of Disney movies, most the movies follow a script as defined by the idea of “Hero’s journey” and while characters and settings change from movie to movie, the 12-step plotline is “real” since that does not change. 

Question may be asked as to why defining “real” in this manner is essential. The answer should be obvious – what is “real” lasts while what is unreal perishes. Gold or clay lasts but pot, saucer, earrings, etc keep changing their forms. Seed becomes a tree which changes to wood which changes to furniture which changes to saw dust which again changes to furniture…. – all that which changes is therefore “unreal” since it keeps changing its form but what is real is changeless. And the very name ascribed to Hindu thought is सनातन धर्म where सनातन means “eternal”; the focus of the religion is to talk about Truth that is eternal. And the quest of सनातन धर्म is the search for the eternal, the सत् पदार्थ (“real” substance) which is called as ब्रह्म or परमात्मा or पुरुष.

Now let us talk of पुराण and इतिहास literature. गुरू’s say very clearly that the principles adopted in these texts is based on the ideas in the वेद ideas. However, व्यास composed these texts because He knew that texts like the वेद and ब्रह्मसूत्र are abstract and dry and thus inaccessible for use by the common man. Even today, complex ideas contained in books of advanced Science (ideas of Quantum Physics, Scientific theories of creation, etc) remain inaccessible to common man and even if the Science journals are made available to the common man, even if he or she knows the language used by the Journal, the ideas contained therein cannot be understood (owing to their technical nature). व्यास therefore took the abstract ideas from the वेद and composed पुराण to convey these ideas to a larger mass of people. Thus, ब्रह्म is शिव in meditation alone and ईश्वर is पुरुष with प्रकृति (शिव with उमा). वेद state that ईश्वर is निराकार (one without form) as well as साकार (one with form). Order of creation as per वेद needs पुरुष to engage with प्रकृति (thus शिव marrying उमा) and their first child is referred to as बुद्धि (at individual level) or महत् (at Cosmic level) and thus गणेश  (representing बुद्धि ) is the son of शिव and उमा. Similarly, सागर मंथन can be seen as fight between positive thoughts within us (देवता) and negative thoughts between us (असुर) – this happens within us all the time and thus the ocean churning becomes an eternal phenomenon.

With the above, many may get disappointed also. Question that may come up is – are we to take all events in the पुराण as imaginations of व्यास? Did none of them really happen in flesh and blood like we see them in movies and serials? One has to state that the primary processes of creation cannot certainly involve human beings with hands and legs; शिव and उमा thus represent primal forces as envisaged in the वेद from which the physical universe has sprung and may not be imagined as humans like us. However, one has to also admit here that the specific आकार (or form) of शिव or दुर्गा or नारायण described in these texts are based on दर्शन of various ऋषि over many millennia. Therefore, such forms are “real” too and not fiction written by व्यास -so personalizing शिव and उमा continues to convey the same meaning as conveyed by the वेद. Even if one takes रामायण, various places mentioned in the इतिहास are present even today in modern India, the relevant places have maintained temples in memory of visit by राम to such a place and there are people who have done dating of the इतिहास based on astrological evidence contained within the text. So, while पुराण certainly has events which are part historical and part imaginary, इतिहास texts are presented as events as they have happened. 

Lastly, one must not forget the purpose of पुराण and इतिहास – व्यास composed them for our benefit. These texts contain धर्म, medical treatises, governance, economics, life after death, description of universe, parallel universes, etc. Most important, they go into great lengths to describe the Truth, the reality behind the diversity that we witness in the universe. There is something for everyone in all these texts. And even without reading the primary texts like the वेद or related सूत्र texts, one can derive benefit from them which in turn will uplift our own lives. And just like for treatment in medicine, we go to a qualified doctor or a specialist for designing our houses, it is best to learn about these texts from a knowledgeable गुरू who is familiar with the वेद including उपनिषद्. And using their wisdom, one can read then these texts directly and derive benefit from them too.

To conclude, the best attitude one must have when reading such texts is to read them as if they are “real”. Without getting into unnecessary debates on historicity in the manner we understand and then negate them based on our own limited understanding, one must read them as if all events contained therein are indeed “real”. And with this understanding and developing श्रद्धा in these texts, we can mould our life appropriately and get closer to the goal of सनातन धर्म viz to attain unity with our own true identity, our आत्मा, our सत्-चित्-आनन्द स्वरूप

ॐ तत् सत्