ABSTRACT
The author of the eighteen purāṇas, the great sage Vyāsa, has postulated in the BP (11.20.61) that there are three ways open to those who desire eternal bliss: (1) knowledge (jñāna); (2) action (karma); and (3) devotion (bhakti); and that there are no other means to this end. 1 It is needless to say that the exponents of these three ways have always competed with each other in their efforts to establish the efficacy of their respective ways or systems. Following the spirit of the principle of tolerance, they focused their attention on the merits of their own respective systems, without referring to the other two.
