Can Puranas or Ramayana and Mahabharata be considered as the Fifth Veda?

 

Chandogya-upanishad mentions that Nārada went to Sanatkumāra for spiritual instruction and said

ṛgvedaṃ bhagavo'dhyemi yajurvedaṃ sāmavedamātharvaṇaṃ caturthamitihāsapurāṇaṃ pañcamaṃ vedānāṃ vedaṃ pitryaṃ rāśiṃ daivaṃ nidhiṃ vākovākyamekāyanaṃ devavidyāṃ brahmavidyāṃ bhūtavidyāṃ kṣatravidyāṃ nakṣatravidyāṃ sarpadevajanavidyāmetadbhagavo'dhyemi || 7.1.2 ||

Sir, I have read the Ṛg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda, and the fourth—the Atharva Veda; then the fifth—history and the Purāṇas; also, grammar, funeral rites, mathematics, the science of omens, the science of underground resources, logic, moral science, astrology, Vedic knowledge, the science of the elements, archery, astronomy, the science relating to snakes, plus music, dance, and other fine arts. Sir, this is what I know.

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Mahabharata contains the following mention.

vedān adhyāpayām āsa mahābhārata pañcamān
sumantuṃ jaiminiṃ pailaṃ śukaṃ caiva svam ātmajam| 74|

prabhur variṣṭho varado vaiśampāyanam eva ca
saṃhitās taiḥ pṛthaktvena bhāratasya prakāśitāḥ | 75|

The boon-giving great Vyasa then taught Sumanta, Jaimini, Paila, his son Suka, and Vaisampayana, the Vedas having the Mahabharata for their fifth. And the compilation of the Bharata was published by him through them separately.

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Thus, it can be seen that while Chandogya-upanishad says itihāsas and Purāṇas - itihāsapurāṇaṃ - as the Fifth veda, the Mahabharata says only Mahabharata as the Fifth veda.

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The term itihāsapurāṇaṃ in Chandogya-upanishad can be interpreted in two ways:

• itihāsas and Purāṇas: It can refer to both itihāsas (historical texts, like the Mahabharata and Ramayana) and purāṇas as distinct categories of literature.
• itihāsas narrated in Purāṇic Style: It can also imply that the itihāsas are presented or narrated in a style similar to that of the purāṇas, which often include stories, genealogies, and teachings.

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Having said that the following interesting issue needs to be observed.

Veda has 2 qualities.

1. contains the DIVINE knowledge - matters related to spirituality
2. DIVINE ORIGIN - apauruṣeya (अपौरुषेय)

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There is a mis-conception that apauruṣeya (अपौरुषेय)  indicates a particular text not composed by humans but DIVINITY. For example Rig Veda.

apauruṣeya (अपौरुषेय) refer to text that were composed by humans. However, the ideas in that particular text did not emanate from human intellect but flashed in human minds through DIVINE bliss.

Hence, Rig Veda is called Śruti (श्रुति) - that was heard from DIVINE.

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The texts Puranas and Ramayana, Mahabharata contain DIVINE knowledge, apart from History of kings, they were composed by rishis out of intellect, as stories contained therein are of human origin , but not of DIVINE origin, as is the case with the Rig Veda.

Thus, they are often called Smṛti (स्मृति) - "that which is remembered". It indicates again that the content was drawn from the Veda and stories of Humans.

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Hence, according to my understanding neither the Puranas nor itihāsas like Ramayana and Mahabharata can be considered as the Veda. 

And, stating Puranas as the Fifth Veda is not correct.