472
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[ Canto 3, Ch. 12 ]
PURPORT
The  Vedas  contain perfect knowledge, which includes all kinds of knowledge necessary for human society, not only on this particular planet but on other planets as well. It is understood that military art is also necessary knowledge for the upkeep of social order, as is the art of music. All these groups of knowledge are called the  Upapurāṇa , or supplements of the  Vedas . Spiritual knowledge is the main topic of the  Vedas , but to help the human being's spiritual pursuit of knowledge, the other information, as above mentioned, forms necessary branches of the Vedic knowledge.
TEXT 39
हतिहासपुराणानि पञ्चमं वेदमीश्वरः । सर्वेभ्य एव वक्त्रेभ्यः ससृजे सर्वदर्शनः ॥३९॥
itihāsa-purāṇāni pañcamaṁ vedam īśvaraḥ sarvebhya eva vaktrebhyaḥ sasṛje sarva-darśanaḥ
itihāsa —histories;  purāṇāni —the  Purāṇas  (supplementary  Vedas );  pañcamaṁ —the fifth;  vedam —the Vedic literature;  īśvaraḥ —the Lord;  sarvebhyaḥ —all together;  eva —certainly;  vaktrebhyaḥ —from his mouths;  sasṛje —created;  sarva —all around;  darśanaḥ —one who can see all time.
TRANSLATION
Then he created the fifth Veda—the Purāṇas and the histories—from all his mouths, since he could see all the past, present and future.
PURPORT
There are histories of particular countries and nations and of the world, but the  Purāṇas  are the histories of the universe, not only in one millennium, but in many  kalpas . Brahmā has knowledge of those historical facts, and therefore all the  Purāṇas  are histories. As originally composed by Brahmā, they are part of the  Vedas  and are called the fifth  Veda .