Shloka 7

वेदव्यास-परम्परा तथा प्रणव-ब्रह्म-स्तुति

Devanagari script

यया स कुरुते तन्वा वेदम् एकं पृथक् प्रभुः वेदव्यासाभिधाना तु सा मूर्तिर् मधुविद्विषः

Transliteration

yayā sa kurute tanvā vedam ekaṃ pṛthak prabhuḥ vedavyāsābhidhānā tu sā mūrtir madhuvidviṣaḥ

Translation

By that very embodied power, the Sovereign Lord separates the single Veda into distinct parts; and that form of the Slayer of Madhu is known by the name “Vedavyāsa.”

Word by Word

• यया: by which
• यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; instrumental singular ‘by which’

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• कुरुते: makes
• कुरुते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• तन्वा: with (his) body/form
• तन्वा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; instrumental singular; ‘with (his) body/form’

• वेदम्: the Veda
• वेदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; agrees with वेदम्

• पृथक्: separately, apart
• पृथक्: Kriya-Visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: विभागवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• प्रभुः: the Lord
• प्रभुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• वेदव्यासाभिधाना: named Vedavyāsa
• वेदव्यासाभिधाना: Visheshana (Adjectival to सा)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद+व्यास+अभिधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण; ‘having the name Vedavyāsa’ (abidhāna = name)

• तु: indeed, however
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• सा: that (she/it)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• मूर्तिः: form, embodiment
• मूर्तिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• मधुविद्विषः: of the slayer of Madhu
• मधुविद्विषः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठī)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु+विद्विष् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; genitive singular; epithet ‘enemy of Madhu’ (Viṣṇu)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The Lord’s specific form/power called Vedavyāsa that effects Veda-division

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: revealing

Avatara Context

Purpose: The Lord manifests a specific embodied power/form by which He separates the one Veda into parts, known as Vedavyāsa.

Leela: Dharma-upadesa

Dharma Restored: Right ordering of śruti and continuity of dharmic instruction

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Vedavyāsa is not merely a human editor but a manifested form/agency of the Lord (Madhu-vidviṣ) through which revelation is ordered.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Treat scriptural tradition with sacred regard; integrate devotion with study, seeing learning as participation in divine ordering.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān’s transcendence includes the freedom to assume functional embodiments within the world, without losing sovereignty—immanence in śāstra-preservation.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Vedavyasa

FAQs

What is the significance of Vedavyāsa in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse identifies Vedavyāsa as a manifested form of Vishnu who divides the one Veda into distinct parts, ensuring dharma and sacred knowledge remain accessible in changing ages.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the division of the Veda?

Parāśara presents it as an act of the Lord’s own embodied agency—Vishnu assumes the form called Vedavyāsa and apportions the single Veda into separate divisions.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Vishnu is portrayed as the supreme organizer of revelation itself: the Veda’s structure is not merely human scholarship but a deliberate divine ordering for cosmic and moral stability.