Shloka 5

Devanagari script

विव्यासैकं चतुर्धा यो वेदं वेदविदां वर: । परावरज्ञो ब्रह्मर्षि: कवि: सत्यव्रत शुचि:,वे वेदवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ थे और उन्होंने एक ही वेदको चार भागोंमें विभक्त किया था। ब्रह्मर्षि व्यासजी परब्रह्म और अपरब्रह्म॒के ज्ञाता, कवि (त्रिकालदर्शी), सत्यव्रतपरायण तथा परम पवित्र हैं

Transliteration

vyāsaikaṁ caturdhā yo vedaṁ vedavidāṁ varaḥ | parāvarajño brahmarṣiḥ kaviḥ satyavrataḥ śuciḥ ||

Translation

Śaunaka said: “That Vyāsa—foremost among the knowers of the Veda—who divided the single Veda into four parts, is a brahmarṣi who knows both the higher and the lower realities; a seer-poet with vision across time, steadfast in truth, and utterly pure.”

Word by Word

विव्यासhe divided/arranged

एकम्one (single)

चतुर्धाinto four parts; fourfold

यःwho

वेदम्the Veda

वेदविदाम्of the knowers of the Veda

वरःthe best, excellent

परावरज्ञःknower of the higher and the lower (realities)

ब्रह्मर्षिःa Brahmarshi (sage of the highest order)

कविःseer-poet

सत्यव्रतःone whose vow is truth; truth-observant

शुचिःpure, clean

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śaunaka

Vyāsa

Veda

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse establishes Vyāsa’s spiritual and intellectual authority: true guidance comes from one who unites scriptural mastery with inner purity and truthfulness, and who understands both transcendent (parā) and practical/manifest (aparā) knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka is praising and identifying Vyāsa’s qualifications—especially his division of the single Veda into four—thereby legitimizing the tradition and the account that follows as grounded in an eminent, truthful, and pure seer.