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.
स भिद्यते वेदमयस्स्ववेदं करोति भेदैर्बहुभिस्सशाखम् । शाखाप्रणेता स समस्तशाखाज्ञानस्वरूपो भगवानसंगः
He, being the embodiment of the Veda, divides himself and makes the Veda manifold through many branches; the promulgator of the branches, the Blessed One, free from attachment, is the very form of knowledge of all the branches.
पराशर उवाच । आद्यो वेदश्चतुष्पादः शतसाहस्त्रसम्मितः । ततो दशगुणः कृत्स्नो यज्ञोऽयं सर्वसामधुक्
Parāśara said: The original Veda is fourfold and consists of one hundred thousand verses; from that, this entire sacrifice, ten times greater, arises, which is the essence of all chants.
ततोऽत्र मत्सुतो व्यासो ह्मष्टाविंशतिमेऽन्तरे । वदमेकं चतुष्पादं चतुर्धा व्यभजत् प्रबुः
Then, in the twenty-eighth cycle, my son Vyāsa, the great sage, divided the single fourfold Veda into four parts.
यथा तु तेन वै व्यस्ता वेदव्यासेन धीमता । वेदास्तथ समस्तैस्तेर्व्यस्ता व्यासैस्तथा मया
Just as the wise Vyāsa divided the Vedas, so too have all the other Vyāsas divided them, and so have I.
तदनेनैव वेदानां शाखाभेदान् द्रिजोत्तम । चतुर्युगेष्वारचितान् समस्तेष्वववधारय
Therefore, O best of the twice-born, understand by this the divisions of the branches of the Vedas, established in all the four ages.
कृष्णदू पायनं व्यासं विद्धि नारायणं प्रबुम् । कोऽन्यो हि भुवि मैत्रेय ! महाभारतकृदू भवेत्
Know that the dark-complexioned Dvaipāyana Vyāsa is Nārāyaṇa, the Lord; for who else on earth, O Maitreya, could be the author of the Mahābhārata?
तेन व्यस्ता यथा वेदा मत्पुत्रेण महात्मना । द्रापरे ह्मत्र मैत्रेय! तस्मिन् श्वृणु यथार्थतः
By him, my great-souled son, the Vedas were divided in the Dvāpara age, O Maitreya; now listen to how this was done in truth.
ब्रह्मणा चोदितो व्यासो वेदान् व्यस्तुं प्रचक्रमे । अथ शिष्यान् स जग्राह चतुरो वेदपारगान्
Commanded by Brahmā, Vyāsa began to divide the Vedas; then he took four disciples who had mastered the Vedas.
ऋगुवेदश्वावकं पैलं जग्राह स महामुनिः । वैशम्पायननामानं यजूर्वेदस्य चाग्रहीत्
The great sage took Paila for the Ṛgveda, and Vaiśampāyana for the Yajurveda.
जैमिनि सामवेदस्य तथैवाथर्ववेदवित् । सुमन्तुस्तस्य शिष्योऽबूदू वेदव्यासस्य धीमतः
Similarly, Jaimini was the knower of the Sāmaveda, and Sumantu became the disciple of the wise Vedavyāsa for the Atharvaveda.
रोमहर्षणनामानं महाबुद्धिं महामुनिः । सूतं जग्राह शिष्यं स इतिहास-पुराणयोः । सूतं जग्राह शिष्यं स इतिहास-पुराणयोः
The great sage, of great intellect, took Romaharṣaṇa, the Sūta, as a disciple for the Itihāsa and Purāṇas.
एक आसीदू यजुर्वेदस्तं चतुर्धा व्यकल्पयत् । चातुर्होत्रमभूदू यस्मिस्तन यज्ञमथाकरोत्
Once there was only one Yajurveda; he divided it into four parts, from which the fourfold priesthood arose, and then he performed the sacrifice.
आध्वर्यवं यजुभिंस्तु ऋगूभिर्होत्रं तथा मुनिः । औदूगात्रं सामभिश्चक्र ब्रह्मत्वं चाप्यथर्वभिः
With the Yajus mantras he made the office of Adhvaryu, with the Ṛg mantras the Hotṛ, with the Sāma mantras the Udgātṛ, and with the Atharva mantras the Brāhmaṇa.
ततः स ऋचमुद्ध त्य ऋग्वेदं तृतवान् मुनिः । यजूषि च यजुर्वेदं सामवेदञ्च सामभिः
Then the sage separated the Ṛg mantras to form the Ṛgveda, the Yajus mantras to form the Yajurveda, and the Sāma mantras to form the Sāmaveda.
राज्ञस्त्वथर्ववेदेन सर्वकर्माणि च प्रभुः । कारयामास मैत्रेय! ब्रह्मत्वञ्च यथास्थिति
By means of the Atharvaveda, the Lord caused all royal rituals to be performed, O Maitreya, and established the office of Brāhmaṇa as appropriate.
सोऽयमेको महावेदस्तरुस्तेन पृथकूकृतः । चतुधा तु ततो जातं वेदपादपकाननम्
Thus, this one great Veda tree was divided by him; from that, the fourfold division of the Veda arose, like branches from the trunk.
बिभेद प्रथमं विप्र! पैल ऋगूवेदपादपम् । इन्द्रप्रमितये प्रादाद बास्कलाय चसंहिते
First, O brāhmaṇa, Paila divided the Ṛgveda into two collections; he gave one to Indrapramati and the other to Bāskala.
चतुर्धा स बिभेदाथ बास्कलिद्रिज!संहिताम् । बौध्यादिब्यो ददौ तास्तु शिष्येभ्यः स महामुनिः
Then, O descendant of Bāskala, he divided the Bāskala collection into four parts, and the great sage gave them to his disciples, beginning with Baudha.
बौध्याग्रिमाठरौ तदूदू याज्ञवल्क्यपराशरौ । प्रतिशाखास्तु शाखायास्तसायास्त जगृहुमुने
Baudhya, Agnimaṭhara, Uddālaka, Yājñavalkya, and Parāśara—these sages, O sage, each took up their own branch from that school.
इन्द्रप्रमतिरेकान्तु संहितां स्वसुतं ततः । माण्डूकयं महात्मानं मैत्रयाध्यापयत् तदा
Indrapramati then taught the Saṃhitā to his own son, the great-souled Māṇḍūkāya, at that time.