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.
तस्य शिष्यप्रशिष्येभ्यःसंहितां तामधीतवान
From his disciples and their disciples, that Saṃhitā was studied.
चकार संहिताः पञ्च शिष्येभ्यः प्रददौ च ताः । तस्य शिष्यास्तु ये पञ्च तेषां नामानि मे श्वृणा
He composed five Saṃhitās and gave them to his disciples; listen to the names of those five disciples.
मुदूगलो गोमुखश्चैव वात्स्यः शालीय एब च। शिशिरः पञ्चमश्चासीन्मत्रेय! सुमहामुनिः
Mudugala, Gomukha, Vātsya, Śālīya, and the fifth, Śiśira—the great sage, O Maitreya.
संहितात्रितयं चक्र शाकपूर्णिरथतरम । निरुक्तमकरोत् तदूज्वतुर्थं मुनिसत्तम
Śākapūrṇi then composed three Saṃhitās, and the noble sage Ujvatu created the Nirukta.
क्रौञ्चो वैतालिकस्तदूदू बलाकश्व महामतिः । निरुक्तकृज्वतुर्थोऽभूदू वेदवेदाङ्गपारगः
Krauñca, Vaitālika, and the wise Balāka—these were the creators of the Nirukta, learned in the Veda and its limbs.
इत्येताः प्रतिशाखाभ्योऽप्यनुशाखा द्रिजोत्तम ! बास्कलिश्चापरास्तिस्त्रः संहिताः कृतवान द्रिज
Thus, O best of the twice-born, from these branches arose further sub-branches; and Bāskali composed three other Saṃhitās.
शिष्यः कालायनिर्गार्ग्यस्तृतीयश्च कथाजवः । इत्येत बहुधा प्रोक्ताः संहिता यैः प्रवर्तिताः
His disciples were Kālāyani, Gārgya, and the third, Kathājava; thus, the many Saṃhitās have been described, and those by whom they were set forth.
पराशर उवाच । यजुर्वेदतरोः शाखाः सप्तविंशन्महामतिः । वैशम्पायननामासौ व्यासशिष्यश्चकार वै
Parāśara said: The wise Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, composed twenty-seven branches of the Yajur Veda.
शिष्येभ्यः प्रददौ ताश्च जगृहुस्तेऽप्यनुक्रमात् । याज्ञवल्क्यस्तु तत्राभूद् ब्रह्मरातसुतो द्रिजः
He gave these to his disciples, and they in turn received them in succession; among them was Yājñavalkya, the son of Brahmarāta, O twice-born.
शिष्यः परधर्मज्ञो गुरुवृत्तिपरः सदा । ऋषिर्योऽद्य महामेरौः समाजे नागमिष्यति
He was a disciple, learned in the ways of righteousness, always devoted to serving his teacher, and is the sage who will not come to the assembly on Mahāmeru today.