Q: Who created the Vedas and Puranas?
Srila Vyasadeva - the literary incarnation of God - put the Vedas and Puranas into writing, about 5000 years ago.
Before that the Vedas and Puranas had existed in an aural tradition going back to the beginning of time.
So the Vedas and Puranas are not created, rather, they contain the eternal knowledge, given by God, about the history and religion of the world.
In the West there is a tendency to ridicule the Vedic literature, which, according to them, are merely products of some primitive jungle-dwellers that lived in India long time ago.
But what kind of jungle-tribes would write in a language so perfect in grammar and composition that it takes modern linguists at least 10 years to even master the basic grammar? Students of linguistics today agree that Sanskrit is the oldest language and probably the mother of all languages.
What kind of primitives would more than 5000 years ago formulate units of time based on the movements of atoms rating from 1/10.000 parts of a second up to the total duration of the universe? (Re. Bhagavat Purana 3.11.1-12)
What kind of primitives would give an exact description of the planets in our solar-system, some of which have only recently been discovered by modern science? -what to speak of planets in the universe that are still unknown to scientists. (Re. Srimad Bhagavatam, Surya Siddhanta, and most Puranas)
What kind of primitives would be able to list and categorize all existing species of life in the universe according to their conscious development, including 400.000 human species? (Re. Padma Purana)
The Vedic literature contain highly systematic and detailed knowledge on such topics as:
Medicine
Ayurveda and Garuda Purana contain a highly sophisticated science of medicine and diagnosis.
A skilled Ayurvedic doctor can determine your disease and its cure by taking the pulse three places on the wrist. There are Ayurvedic clinics in most of the world today and they are highly successful and appreciated.
Music
Vedic music is of the most intricate and complicated in the world, where certain rythms and scales are connected with certain moods and times of day (raga). It was known in Vedic culture that certain sound vibrations affect the mind in different ways.
Politics
The political structure of Vedic society allowed the population to live peaceful, prosperous lives under saintly kings and rulers, who possessed keen insight into human psychology. The Varnasrama-dharma social system guaranteed that everyone was engaged according to their psycho-physical make-up, at the same time ensuring they could gradually advance in spiritual realization culminating in ultimate liberation from the material world. All continents were known and regular trade and exchanges took place. (Re. Mahabharata, Bhagavat and other Puranas)
Architecture
The construction of temples and other buildings were conducted according to scriptural injunctions (Shilpa sastra). To this day it is possible to observe some of the wonders of Vedic architecture (Kanchi Puram and Jagannath Puri to just mention a few).There are still impressive buildings constructed from solid blocks of stone that has not even been surpassed by the most advanced modern technology. The walls were imbued with precious stones (they were all later plundered by invading Muslims and British).
Those buildings had air condition based on a system of water canals, perfect acoustics etc. The carvings in stone speak for themselves. In the Puranas we find descriptions of interiors which by far surpasses any modern equivalent, with furniture decorated with precious stones and indoor swimming pools. These descriptions are collaborated in the writings of Moguls and other invaders (1100 - 1500 AD), as well as the Diary of an India Traveller by Tavernier, who was also the one who brought the Hope and Koh-i-noor diamons to Europe.
Mathematics
It is from the Vedas (Shulba sastra) that we have the decimal system, the number 0, equations with unknown factors represented by letters, and the modern system of numbers. The first examples of arithmetic, cubic roots, geometry, and trigonometry, are to be found in the Vedas, and it was Aryabhatta in 1497 who calculated Pi to be 3.1416.
War-fare
During the Vedic times it was only Kshatriyas (members of the warrior caste) that were engaged in war and violence. Civilians were never involved in or victims of acts of war, which were always conducted on remote battlefields according to specific rules and regulations. To name a few examples, one who turned his back, one who was afraid or panicking, one who was confused, or someone who ran away, was not to be harmed or killed.
The fighting ceased as soon as the sun set. Warriors who possessed heavenly weapons (weapons released by mantra) would only use them against warriors who also possessed them. Vedic soldiers knew about a psychic technology which is unknown today, and which enabled them to release elements like fire, water, or air and direct them against an enemy. They could also by mantra release what is known as the brahmastra, the ultimate destructive weapon, which is a controlled, localized atomic weapon (Re. Mahabharata and Bhagavat Purana).
The Dhanur Veda was the Veda that described the art of war. After the battle on Kurukshetra the brahmins placed a curse on it to ensure that it could not be used any more in Kali-yuga.
Art
Drama, theater, poetry, sculpture, dance, and other arts are being described in minute detail in the Vedic literature. The carvings decorating temples, Bharat-natyam and other forms of dance, as well as the more than 3 million stanzas that constitute the Vedic literature in and of itself prove that the Vedic tradition was extremely sophisticated regarding the arts and sciences. It is said that only 7 percent of the Vedic literature has survived.
A great deal of temples, scripture, and libraries were systematically being destroyed by Muslim invaders. Besides, many other subject matters are being delineated in the Vedas - spiritual, metaphysical, philosophical as well as worldly subjects dealing with economics, psychology and sense-enjoyment.
Krishna says:
I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas. (Bg. 15.15)
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