मैत्रेय उवाच। ज्ञातमेतन्मया त्वत्तो यथा सर्वमिदं जगत् । विष्णुर्विष्णौ विष्णुतश्च न परं विद्यते ततः
Maitreya said: I have learned from you how all this world is Vishnu, in Vishnu, and from Vishnu; nothing exists beyond him.
एतत्तु श्रोतुमिच्छामि व्यस्ता वेदा महात्मना । वेदव्यासस्वरूपेण यथा तेन युगेयुगे
I wish to hear how the great soul, in the form of Vyasa, divides the Vedas in every age.
यस्मिन्यस्मिन्युगे व्यासो यो य आसीन्महामुने । तंतमाचक्ष्व भगवञ्छाखाभेदांश्च मे वद
In each age, who was Vyasa, O great sage? Tell me about each, and also about the divisions of the branches.
श्रीपराशर उवाच । वेदद्रु मस्य मैत्रेय शाखाभेदास्सहस्रशः । न शक्तो विस्तराद्वक्तुं संक्षेपेण शृणुष्व तम्
Śrī Parāśara said: O Maitreya, the divisions of the Veda and its branches are countless; I am unable to describe them in detail, so listen to them in brief.
द्वापरेद्वापरे विष्णुर्व्यासरूपी महामुने । वेदमेकं सुबहुधा कुरुते जगतो हितः
In every Dvapara, O great sage, Vishnu, in the form of Vyasa, divides the single Veda into many for the welfare of the world.
वीर्यं तेजो बलं चाल्पं मनुष्याणामवेक्ष्य च । हिताय सर्वभूतानां वेदभेदान्करोति सः
Observing the diminished strength, energy, and power of humans, he divides the Vedas for the benefit of all beings.
ययासौ कुरुते तन्वा वेदमेकं पृथक्प्रभुः । वेदव्यासाभिधाना तु सा च मूर्तिर्मधुद्विषः
By whatever body he divides the single Veda separately, that form of the enemy of Madhu is called Vedavyasa.
यस्मिन्मन्वंतरे व्यासा येये स्युस्तान्निबोध मे । यथा च भेदश्शाखानां व्यासेन क्रियते मुने
In whichever Manvantara the Vyasas are, learn from me who they are, and how the divisions of the branches are made by Vyasa, O sage.
अष्टविंशतिकृत्वो वै वेदो व्यस्तो सहर्षिभिः । वैवस्वतेंतरे तस्मिन्द्वापरेषु पुनःपुनः
The Veda has been divided twenty-eight times by sages in the Dvapara ages of the Vaivasvata Manvantara, again and again.
वेदव्यासा व्यतीता ये ह्यष्टाविंशति सत्तम । चतुर्धा यैः कृतो वेदो द्वापरेषु पुनःपुनः
O noble one, the twenty-eight past Vedavyasas, by whom the Veda was divided into four in each Dvapara, are as follows.
द्वापरे प्रथमे व्यस्तस्स्वयं वेदः स्वयंभुवा । द्वितीये द्वापरे चैव वेदव्यासः प्रजापतिः
In the first Dvapara, the Veda was divided by Svayambhu; in the second Dvapara, Vedavyasa was Prajapati.
तृतीये चोशना व्यासश्चतुर्थे च बृहस्पतिः । सविता पंचमे व्यासः षष्ठे मृत्युस्समृतः प्रभुः
In the third, Vyasa was Ushanas; in the fourth, Brihaspati; Savita was Vyasa in the fifth, and in the sixth, Mrityu, the Lord, was Vyasa.
सप्तमे च तथैवेंद्रो वसिष्ठश्चाष्टमे स्मृतः । सारस्वतश्च नवमे त्रिधामा दशमे स्मृतः
In the seventh cycle, Indra is remembered; in the eighth, Vasiṣṭha; in the ninth, Sārasvata; in the tenth, Tridhāmā is recalled.
एकादशो तु त्रिशिखो भरद्वाजस्ततः परः । त्रयोदशो चांतरिक्षो वर्णी चापि चतुर्दशो
The eleventh is Triśikha; after him, Bharadvāja; the thirteenth is Āntarikṣa; and the fourteenth is Varṇī.
त्रय्यारुणः पंचदशो षोडशो तु धनंजयः । क्रतुंजयः सप्तदशो तदूर्ध्वं च जयस्स्मृतः
The fifteenth is Trayyaruṇa; the sixteenth is Dhanaṃjaya; the seventeenth is Kratuṃjaya; and beyond him, Jaya is remembered.
ततो व्यासो भरद्वाजो भरद्वाजाच्च गौतमः । गौतमादुत्तरो व्यासो हर्य्यात्मा योभिधीयते
Then Vyāsa, son of Bharadvāja; from Bharadvāja, Gautama; from Gautama, the next Vyāsa, known as Haryātmā.
अथ हर्य्यात्मनॐते च स्मृतो वाजश्रवा मुनिः । सोमशुष्कायणस्तस्मात्तृणबिंदुरिति स्मृतः
After Haryātmā, the sage Vājaśravā is remembered; from him, Somaśuṣkāyaṇa; from him, Tṛṇabiṃdu is recalled.
ऋक्षोभूद्भार्गवस्तस्माद्वाल्मीकिर्योभिधीयते । तस्मादस्मत्पिता शक्तिर्व्यासस्तस्मादहं मुने
From Ṛkṣa, Bhūdbhārgava; from him, Vālmīki is known; from him, my father Śakti; from Vyāsa, I myself, O sage.
जातुकर्णोभवन्मत्तः कृष्णद्वैपायनस्ततः । अष्टाविंशतिरित्येते वेदव्यासाः पुरातनाः
From me, Jātukarṇa arose; after him, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana; thus, these twenty-eight ancient compilers of the Veda are known.
एको वेदश्चतुर्द्धा तु तैः कृतो द्वापरादिषु
The single Veda was divided into four by them during the Dvāpara and other ages.
भविष्ये द्वापरे चापि द्रौ णिर्व्यासो भविष्यति । व्यतीते मम पुत्रेस्मिन् कृष्णद्वैपायने मुने
In the future Dvāpara, Drauṇi will become Vyāsa; after my son Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, O sage.
ध्रुवमेकाक्षरं ब्रह्म ओमित्येव व्यवस्थितम् । बृहत्वाद्बृंहणत्वाच्च तद्ब्रह्येत्यभिधीयते
Certainly, the one-syllabled Brahman is established as 'Om'; because of its greatness and its capacity to expand, it is called Brahman.
प्रणवावस्थितं नित्यं भूर्भुवस्स्वरितीर्य्यते । ऋग्यजुस्सामाथर्वाणो यत्तस्मै ब्रह्मणे नमः
The eternal Pranava is established as 'bhūḥ', 'bhuvaḥ', and 'svaḥ'; to that Brahman, which is the essence of Ṛg, Yajus, Sāma, and Atharva, I offer reverence.
जगतः प्रलयोत्पत्त्योर्यत्तत्कारणसंज्ञितम् । महतः परमं गुह्यं तस्मै सुब्रह्मणे नमः
That which is named the cause of the creation and dissolution of the world, which is the supreme and most secret beyond the great, to that sublime Brahman I offer reverence.
अगाधापारमक्षय्यं जगत्संमोहनालयम् । स्वप्रकाशप्रवृत्तिभ्यां पुरुषार्थप्रयोजनम्
The unfathomable, boundless, imperishable abode that bewilders the world, whose own light and activity serve the purpose of human pursuits.
संख्यज्ञानवतां निष्ठा गतिश्शमदमात्मनाम् । यत्तदव्यक्तममृतं प्रवृत्तिर्ब्रह्म शाश्वतम्
It is the foundation for those who know Sāṃkhya, the path for those who are self-controlled; that imperceptible, immortal, eternal Brahman is the source of activity.
प्रधानमात्मयोनिश्च गुहासंस्थं च शब्द्यते । अविभागं तथा शुक्रमक्षयं बहुधात्मकम्
It is called the primordial substance and the source of the self, residing in the cave; undivided, pure, imperishable, and of manifold nature.
परमब्रह्मणे तस्मै नित्यमेव नमोनमः । यद्रू पं वासुदेवस्य परमात्मस्वरूपिणः
To that supreme Brahman, which is the true form of Vāsudeva, the Supreme Self, I offer constant reverence.
एतद्ब्रह्म त्रिधा भेदमभेदमपि स प्रभुः । सर्वभेदेष्वभेदोसौ भिद्यते भिन्नबुद्धिभिः
This Brahman, the Lord, is threefold in distinction and also undivided; in all distinctions, it remains undivided, but is perceived as divided by those with divided understanding.
स ऋङ्मयस्साममयः सर्वात्मा स यजुर्मयः । ऋग्यजुस्सामसारात्मा स एवात्मा शरीरिणाम्
He is composed of Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajus, the essence of all; he is the soul of Ṛg, Yajus, and Sāma, and is the self of all embodied beings.