Shloka 10
वेदव्यास-परम्परा तथा प्रणव-ब्रह्म-स्तुति
वेदव्यासा व्यतीता ये अष्टाविंशति सत्तम चतुर्धा यैः कृतो वेदो द्वापरेषु पुनः पुनः
vedavyāsā vyatītā ye aṣṭāviṃśati sattama caturdhā yaiḥ kṛto vedo dvāpareṣu punaḥ punaḥ
Those Veda‑Vyāsas who have already passed are twenty‑eight in number; and by them, again and again in the Dvāpara ages, the single Veda was arranged into four divisions.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Enumeration of the past twenty-eight Veda-Vyāsas and their fourfold division of the Veda in Dvāpara
Teaching: Historical
Quality: precise and cataloguing
Creation Stage: Manvantara
Yuga: Dvapara
Manvantara: Vaivasvata
Concept: The one Veda is repeatedly organized into four divisions by successive Vyāsas in each Dvāpara, ensuring stable transmission amid declining yuga-capacity.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Respect differentiated disciplines (śākhā/branch traditions) while seeking their unified intent through careful study.
Vishishtadvaita: Unity-in-diversity: one śruti becomes many śākhās without losing its oneness, mirroring Vishishtadvaita’s unity of Brahman with real differentiations.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse teaches that Vedic preservation is cyclical: in each Dvāpara Yuga a ‘Vyāsa’ reorganizes the one Veda into four, ensuring dharma and sacred knowledge remain accessible as ages change.
Parāśara presents it as a recurring Dvāpara function performed by successive Vyāsas—an adaptive ordering of revelation (śruti) to suit the needs and capacities of people in later yugas.
Even when not named directly, the Vishnu Purana frames cosmic order—time cycles, dharma, and the safeguarding of the Veda—as ultimately upheld by the Supreme Lord, with Vyāsa’s work functioning within that divine sovereignty.