Just a marginal addition: a comparable idea is also found in Pāñcarātra and in Viśiṣṭādvaita, when it is claimed that there used to be a single original Veda (ekāyanaveda), of which we only possess fragments. Some texts claim to be fragments of this ekāyanaveda and the whole theory probably aims at claiming a Vedic status for the Pāñcarātra (Marzenna Czerniak-Drożdżowicz spoke about the ekāyanaveda in the last WSC).
The ekāyanaveda-theory  is sometimes found in connection with the Prābhākara Mīmāṃsā claim that beside the Veda we know there is another Veda which is nityānumeya (always only inferable [through other works which are too good not to be rooted in the Veda]). Since this is only inferable, it does not exist as such in heaven or in any other "world".

Best,
 elisa freschi


Dr. Elisa Freschi
research fellow of Sanskrit
Facoltà di Studi Orientali
Università di Roma 'La Sapienza'
via Principe Amedeo 182b, 00185 Rome (Italy)
fax +39 06 49385915



On 14/feb/12, at 16:16, Dean Michael Anderson wrote:

I first ran across this idea when reading the Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva.

It says that the number of verses in the extant text are only a subset of a larger text that exists in heaven. Depending on the situation on earth a different number of verses might manifest.

I've since run across it in passing in some tantric writings as well.

Does anyone know the origin of this idea of a large heavenly corpus in contrast to a smaller earthly one? Or have any citations for texts that mention it?

Best,

Dean