[1] The idea is an ancient one, appearing for the first time in the Upanishads, but has over the centuries since then also been applied to more recent Sanskrit and vernacular texts.
[1][7] The Natya Shastra, a text dealing with performative theory, also applies to itself the label of "Fifth Veda" (1.4) although strictly speaking, it is a branch of the Gandharvaveda, an upaveda of the Samaveda (Monier-Williams).
The Natyashastra says that it was formulated by Brahma, incorporating elements of the other four Vedas,[8] the idea being that the dramatic or musical performance of sacred stories, which, through the events they related, symbolised divine processes, could draw individuals to holier thoughts.
[13] The Kural is traditionally praised with several epithets and alternative titles, including "the Tamil Veda" and "the Divine Book.
"[14]: 156 [15] The Tamil Vaishnavite bhakti community of the Alvars conferred this status on the Tiruvaymoli[16] (and, later, the Divya Prabandham in general), a claim which was also accepted in secular works such as the Lilatilakam, a 14th-century grammar of Kerala Manipravalam.