The 5th Veda

"The Vedas and Puranas are one and the same in purpose. They ascertain the Absolute Truth, which is greater than everything else. The Absolute Truth is ultimately realized as the Absolute Personality of Godhead with absolute controlling power. As such, the Absolute Personality of Godhead must be completely full of opulence, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation."

Srila Vyasadeva, in kindness to the fallen conditioned souls, supplemented the Vedas with the Puranas, which easily explain the Vedic truths in a way that all people can understand. The Puranas relate the Vedic teachings to historical facts and events that explain the teachings of the Rg, Sama, Atharva and Yajur Vedas. The Puranas, along with Chandogya Upanisad and the Mahabharata, are often referred to as the fifth Veda.

The Itihasas are puranic literatures describing historical events and pastimes of a single hero, or a group or lineage. For example, the Ramayana describes the pastimes of Sri Ramacandra, and the Mahabharata describes the pastimes of the Pandavas in the Kurus lineage. The Bhagavad-gita is part of the epic Mahabharata, and instructs that one surrender all other activities and engage fully in devotional service to Lord Krsna. Similarly, the Ramayana teaches surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Sri Ramacandra.

Another category of puranic literatures is the Kavyas, which are dramatic poetical presentations of historical events from the Itihasas and Puranas. The Raghuvamsa, Meghaduta, and Sakuntala are example of famous Kavyas.