Shloka 15
वेदव्यासः, चातुर्होत्रम्, ऋग्वेदशाखाः
Vyāsa’s Veda-division and Ṛgveda lineages
सो ऽयम् एको महावेदतरुस् तेन पृथक्कृतः चतुर्धा तु ततो जातं वेदपादपकाननम्
so 'yam eko mahāvedatarus tena pṛthakkṛtaḥ caturdhā tu tato jātaṃ vedapādapakānanam
Thus that one, single Great Veda—like a vast living tree—was separated by him into four; from that division arose the Veda as a forest of branches and offshoots spreading in every direction.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Meaning of Veda-vibhāga: the one Veda as a single ‘tree’ divided into four and proliferating into branches
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: revealing
Concept: The Veda is fundamentally one reality that, for the world’s needs, appears as fourfold and then as innumerable branches while retaining inner unity.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Hold unity behind diversity—integrate multiple practices and viewpoints by tracing them back to a single coherent spiritual aim.
Vishishtadvaita: Qualified non-duality motif: the one manifests real plurality (branches) without losing its integral unity—an analog to Brahman with real modes (cit and acit).
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: shanta
FAQs
This verse frames revelation as one living source that can legitimately branch into many forms—four Vedas and numerous recensions—without losing its unity, emphasizing continuity of dharma through structured transmission.
Parāśara states that the originally single Veda was deliberately separated by Vyāsa into four, and that this act generated a wide spread of Vedic ‘limbs’—multiple branches of learning and recensional lineages.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Purana’s theology treats the ordering of the Veda and dharma as part of the Supreme Lord’s governance of cosmic order—knowledge is preserved so beings can align with the ultimate reality Vishnu embodies.