veda-gamyaṁ paraṁ śuddham iti satyā parā śrutiḥ
veda-gamyaṁ paraṁ śuddham iti satyā parā śrutiḥ |
(Mahābhārata: 12.220.97)
“‘The pure Supreme is knowable through the Veda.’ This śruti [i.e., statement] is supremely true.”
Vedas
veda-gamyaḥ paro’cintya iti paurāṇikā viduḥ
veda-gamyaḥ paro’cintya iti paurāṇikā viduḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.220.96)
“The ancients know, ‘The Supreme is inconceivable and knowable through the Veda.’”
bhagavān brahma kārtsnyena trir anvīkṣya manīṣayā
bhagavān brahma kārtsnyena trir anvīkṣya manīṣayā |
tad adhyavasyat kūṭa-stho ratir ātman yato bhavet ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.2.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.567; Bhakti Sandarbha: 7, 29, 94)
“After thrice one-pointedly deliberating over the entirety of the Veda (Brahma), Bhagavān [i.e., Brahmā] determined with his discernment that because of which rati for the Ātmā [i.e., Śrī Hari] can come about.”
vedānta-vākya-kusuma-grathanārthatvāt sūtrāṇām
vedānta-vākya-kusuma-grathanārthatvāt sūtrāṇām |
(Śārīraka-bhāṣya of Śaṅkarācārya on Vedānta-sūtra: 1.1.2)
“The purpose of the sūtras is tying together the flowers of the statements of the Vedānta [i.e., the Upaniṣads].”
brāhmaṇena niṣkāraṇo dharmaḥ ṣaḍaṅgo vedo’dhyeyo jñeya iti
brāhmaṇena niṣkāraṇo dharmaḥ ṣaḍaṅgo vedo’dhyeyo jñeya iti |
pradhānaṁ ca ṣaṭsv aṅgeṣu vyākaraṇam |
pradhāne ca kṛto yatnaḥ phalavān bhavati |
(Mahābhāṣya)
“Dharma, the six aṅgas [of the Veda], and the Veda are to be received and learned by a brāhmaṇa without cause [i.e., without any selfish motive, and without questioning the reason why this should be done]. Among the six aṅgas, vyākaraṇa (grammar) is the foremost, and exertion done in regard to that which is foremost becomes fruitful.”
chandaḥ pādau tu vedasya hastau kalpo’tha pathyate
chandaḥ pādau tu vedasya hastau kalpo’tha pathyate |
jyotiṣāmayanaṁ cakṣur niruktaṁ śrotam ucyate ||
śikṣā ghrāṇaṁ tu vedasya mukhaṁ vyākaraṇaṁ smṛtam |
tasmāt sāṅgam adhītyaiva brahmaloke mahīyate ||
(Pāṇinīya-śikṣa: 41)
“Chanda (meter) is called the feet of the Veda and kalpa (ritual) the hands. Jyotiṣa (astrology) is said to be the eye and nirukta (etymology) the ear. Śikṣā (pronunciation) is known as the nose of the Veda and vyākaraṇa (grammar) the mouth. Therefore, by studying the Veda with its aṅgas [i.e., these six aforementioned supporting parts], one becomes exalted in Brahmaloka.”
pratyakṣeṇānumityā vā yas tūpāyo na budhyate
pratyakṣeṇānumityā vā yas tūpāyo na budhyate |
enaṁ vidanti vedena tasmād vedasya vedatā ||
(Sāyaṇācārya)
“People know through the Veda the means [to higher attainments] which cannot be understood through pratyakṣa and anumāna. Therefore, the Veda has the quality of being veda [i.e., ‘knowledge’].”
kṛṣṇa-bhakti rasa-svarūpa śrī-bhāgavata
kṛṣṇa-bhakti rasa-svarūpa śrī-bhāgavata |
tāte veda-śāstra haite parama-mahattva ||
ataeva bhāgavata karaha vicāra |
ihā haite pābe sūtra-śrutira artha sāra ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.25.150, 153)
“Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa and, therefore, is of greatness superior to [even] the Veda-śāstra. Therefore, engage in deliberation upon Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. From this you will find the essence of the meaning of the sūtra [i.e., Vedānta-sūtra] and the Śrutis [i.e., the Vedas].”
nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam |
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayaṁ
muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.3)
“O relishers of rasa! O aesthetes! Drink continuously and [even] beyond [the attainment of] liberation the rasa of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the fruit of the wish-fulfilling tree of the Vedas, which has fallen from the mouth of Śuka [i.e., Śukadeva Gosvāmī] and is constituted of liquid nectar.”
adhītya caturo vedān sarva-śāstrāṇy anekaśaḥ
adhītya caturo vedān sarva-śāstrāṇy anekaśaḥ |
brahma-tattvaṁ na jānāti darvī pāka-rasaṁ yathā ||
(Muktikā Upaniṣad: 2.65)
“[Even] After repeatedly studying the four Vedas and all the śāstras, one does not understand the nature of Brahman, just as a spoon does not know the taste of cooked food [i.e., to realize Brahman one has to not only acquire knowledge of Brahman but also purify the mind of saṁsārika vāsanās].”