Shloka 21
वेदव्यास-परम्परा तथा प्रणव-ब्रह्म-स्तुति
भविष्ये द्वापरे चापि द्रौणिर् व्यासो भविष्यति व्यतीते मम पुत्रे ऽस्मिन् कृष्णद्वैपायने मुनौ
bhaviṣye dvāpare cāpi drauṇir vyāso bhaviṣyati vyatīte mama putre 'smin kṛṣṇadvaipāyane munau
And in a future Dvāpara age as well, Droṇa’s son, Drauṇi, will become the Vyāsa—when this sage, my son Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, has passed away.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Future recurrence of the Vyāsa office in later Dvāpara cycles
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Concept: Offices of dharma-preservation (like Vyāsa) recur in cyclic time; individuals change, the function endures for the world’s welfare.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Focus on serving enduring dharma-institutions rather than personal fame; prepare successors and continuity in learning communities.
Vishishtadvaita: Suggests ordered governance of history—roles are filled in time under divine supervision for the protection of śruti and the uplift of jīvas.
Dharma Exemplar: Śāstra-sevā (service to revelation)
Key Kings: Drauṇi, Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana
FAQs
This verse highlights that the office of Vyāsa is cyclical and divinely ordered: in each Dvāpara Yuga a new Vyāsa arises to reorganize and safeguard Vedic knowledge for the changing capacity of beings.
By naming future and present Vyāsas, Parāśara frames revelation as preserved through an intentional lineage of sages, ensuring dharma and the Veda remain accessible as time turns through repeated ages.
Though not named in the verse, the Purāṇic setting assumes Vishnu’s supreme governance of kāla (time) and dharma, under which the Vyāsa function operates as a providential means to sustain cosmic and moral order.