[Advaita-l] How to read puranas

[श्रीमल्ललितालालितः]

*श्रीमल्ललितालालितः <http://www.lalitaalaalitah.com>
lalitAlAlitaH <http://about.me/lalitaalaalitah/bio>*



On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 08:18, Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>wrote:

> On Mon, 23 May 2011, श्रीमल्ललितालालितः wrote:
>
> Right but what does "knowledge" of a mantra mean?


Knowledge of their meaning in context.


> As you know in our pathashalas, a brahmachari is taught the correct
> pronounciation above all. To know the rshi, devata, chhanda, and viniyoga of
> a mantra is also important.  Literal meaning is usually omitted altogether
> unless the student goes on to learn bhashya which most do not.


That's problem of pAThashAlAs.


> And for puranas and other smrtis too as they owe their authority solely to
> being founded on, and an amplification of the Shruti.
>

They owe .. regarding part which deals with alaukika things and not laukika
ones.

Not necessarily.


I agree. If puranas say anything laukika which can't be negated by other
pramANa then it's OK. Otherwise we have to seek other meanings as no part of
them is useless.


> Take for example the puranic geography where the Earth is being described
> as a flat or concave disk with Mt. Meru in the middle set upon four
> elephants which themselves rest upon a tortoise.  One of my research
> interests is panchanga ganita and let me tell you, if we were to take the
> puranic account literally, the tithis and muhurtas we rely upon for the
> practice of dharma would become impossible to calculate. Jyotish shastras
> don't do that.  They assume the Earth is round.  Meru is interpreted as the
> Earths axis.  (Sumeru being the North pole and Kumeru the South pole.)  Are
> the jyotish shastras not also Arsha and hallowed by tradition?
>

I'll like to see it in it's original context. If possible please tell me the
place where it is said.