SB 6.1.20
atra codaharantimam
itihasam puratanam
dutanam visnu-yamayoh
samvadas tam nibodha me
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In this regard, learned scholars and saintly persons describe a very old historical incident involving a discussion between the order carriers of Lord Visnu and those of Yamaraja. Please hear of this from me.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Puranas, or old histories, are sometimes neglected by unintelligent men who consider their descriptions mythological. Actually, the descriptions of the Puranas, or the old histories of the universe, are factual, although not chronological. The Puranas record the chief incidents that have occurred over many millions of years, not only on this planet but also on other planets within the universe. Therefore all learned and realized Vedic scholars speak with references to the incidents in the Puranas. Srila Rupa Gosvami accepts the Puranas to be as important as the Vedas themselves. Therefore in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu he quotes the following verse from the Brahma-yamala:
sruti-smrti-puranadi-
pañcaratra-vidhim vina
aikantiki harer bhaktir
utpatayaiva kalpate
“Devotional service of the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the Upanisads, Puranas and Narada-pañcaratra is simply an unnecessary disturbance in society.” A devotee of Krsna must refer not only to the Vedas, but also to the Puranas. One should not foolishly consider the Puranas mythological. If they were mythological, Sukadeva Gosvami would not have taken the trouble to recite the old historical incidents concerning the life of Ajamila. Now the history begins as follows.