Śaṅkaraon Brahma Sūtra 3.4.23

‘ Y^f^avalkya had two wives, Maitreyi and KAtyayani’ (Bri. Up. IV, 5, 1) ; ‘ Pratardana, forsooth, the son of Divodasa came to the beloved abode of Indra’ (Kau. Up. Ill, 1); ‘There lived once upon a time Ganamiti Paiitr^ya;?a, who was a pious giver, giving much and keeping open house’ (Kh. Up. IV, 1, 1); with regard to these and similar stories met with in the Vedanta portions of scripture there arises a doubt whether they are meant to subserve the performance of the pariplava^, or to introduce the vidyas standing in proximity to them. The piirvapakshin maintains that those scriptural stories subserve the pariplava because they are stories like others, and because the telling of stories is enjoined for the pariplava. And from this it follows that the Vedanta-texts do not chiefly aim at knowledge, because like mantras they stand in a complementary relation to sacrificial performances. This conclusion we deny ‘ on account of the specification.’ Under the heading ‘he is to recite the pariplava,’ scripture specifics certain definite stories such as that of ‘Manu Vivasvat’s son the king.’ If, now, for the reason that all tales as such are alike, all tales were admitted for the pAriplava, the mentioned specification would be devoid of meaning. We therefore conclude that those scriptural stories are not meant to be told at the pariplava;