Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 23
Chapter 150 — Manvantarāṇi (The Manvantaras) and the Purāṇic Map of Vedic Transmission
मन्वाद्याश् च हरिर्वेदं द्वापरान्ते विभेद सः आद्यो वेदश् चतुष्पादः शतसाहस्रसम्मितः
manvādyāś ca harirvedaṃ dvāparānte vibheda saḥ ādyo vedaś catuṣpādaḥ śatasāhasrasammitaḥ
Beginnend mit Manu und den übrigen urzeitlichen Weisen teilte Hari (Viṣṇu) am Ende des Dvāpara-Zeitalters den Veda. Der ursprüngliche Veda war viergliedrig (vier „Füße“) und umfasste hunderttausend Verse.
Lord Agni (narrating the Purāṇic tradition)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vyakarana","secondary_vidya":"Cosmology","practical_application":"Establishes Purāṇic historiography of Veda-transmission: when and by whom the Veda was divided, useful for mapping śākhā lineages and Dvāpara–Kali transition narratives.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Description","entry_title":"Hari’s Veda-vibhāga at Dvāpara-anta; original Veda measure","lookup_keywords":["Veda-vibhāga","Dvāpara-anta","Hari (Viṣṇu)","Catuṣpāda Veda","Śata-sāhasra"],"quick_summary":"States that at the end of Dvāpara, Hari effected the division of the Veda. It characterizes the primordial Veda as ‘four-footed’ and quantified as one hundred thousand verses."}
Concept: Scripture adapts to yuga-conditions through divine agency; knowledge is preserved by structured division and lineage.
Application: Frames traditional claims about textual plurality (śākhās) and motivates disciplined study according to one’s recension and yuga-context.
Khanda Section: Veda-Parampara and Vyasa’s Veda-Vibhaga (Puranic account of Vedic transmission)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Viṣṇu/Hari as the divine organizer of Vedic knowledge at the Dvāpara’s end, with the single Veda shown as a unified manuscript splitting into four streams.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, Hari with four emanating scroll-streams labeled Ṛk/Yajus/Sāman/Atharvan, twilight sky indicating Dvāpara-anta, sages (Manu and others) receiving the streams, bold outlines and traditional ornamentation.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, Viṣṇu standing with conch and discus, four golden scrolls radiating, embossed gold for manuscripts, sages seated below, temple-like arch frame.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, didactic composition: one central palm-leaf bundle dividing into four bundles, Hari presiding, fine gesso work, soft colors, clear labeling aesthetic.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholarly atelier scene: a divine figure symbolically present above, scribes and sages copying and separating a large codex into four, detailed desks, inkpots, patterned carpets."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: मनु + आद्याः → मन्वाद्याः; हरिः + वेदम् → हरिर्वेदम्; वेदः + चतुष्पादः → वेदश्चतुष्पादः.
Related Themes: Agni Purana: Veda-śākhā and Vyāsa-paramparā passages (same khanda); Agni Purana: yuga-chronology sections
FAQs
It conveys the scriptural classification (veda-vibhāga): the tradition that the single primordial Veda was organized into a fourfold structure at the end of Dvāpara for preservation and transmission.
By documenting Vedic history and taxonomy (origin, extent, and division of the Veda), it functions like a knowledge-catalog entry—placing ritual/liturgical authority within a broader Purāṇic framework of yugas, sages, and textual organization.
It frames Vedic study and ritual practice as grounded in a divinely guided lineage (Hari’s ordering of the Veda), implying that learning and following the Veda as transmitted through proper division and tradition supports dharma and purificatory merit.