Shloka 26

Devanagari script

इत्य् एते बह्वृचाः प्रोक्ताः संहिता यैः प्रवर्तिताः

Transliteration

ity ete bahvṛcāḥ proktāḥ saṃhitā yaiḥ pravartitāḥ

Translation

Thus have these Bahvṛcas been declared—those by whom the sacred Saṃhitās were set in motion and made to flourish in the world.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समाप्तिसूचक (closure particle)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; Nominative plural

• बह्वृचाः: Bahvṛcas (followers of the Bahvṛca tradition)
• बह्वृचाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बह्वृच् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; Name of a śākhā/tradition (Bahvṛca)

• प्रोक्ताः: are called/said
• प्रोक्ताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र- + वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; ‘having been said/called’

• संहिताः: Saṃhitās
• संहिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संहिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; Nominative plural

• यैः: by whom/through whom
• यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• प्रवर्तिताः: were propagated/put into circulation
• प्रवर्तिताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र- + वृत्/वर्त् (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; ‘set in motion/propagated’ (agreeing with संहिताः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Concluding summary of the Bahvṛca recensions and their promulgators

Teaching: Historical

Quality: conclusive

Characters & Entities

• Bahvṛca (Ṛgveda tradition)
• Saṃhitā (Vedic collections)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Bahvṛcas in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights the Bahvṛcas as authoritative transmitters of the Ṛgvedic tradition, credited with initiating and sustaining specific Saṃhitā lineages.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the continuity of Vedic knowledge?

By naming the teachers and the Saṃhitās they set in circulation, Parāśara frames Vedic continuity as an unbroken chain of transmission rather than a merely textual artifact.

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

Even in discussions of Vedic lineage, the Purāṇic frame treats sacred order (dharma and śruti-preservation) as part of the cosmic sovereignty upheld under Vishnu’s supreme governance.