Shloka 8

वेदव्यासः, चातुर्होत्रम्, ऋग्वेदशाखाः

Vyāsa’s Veda-division and Ṛgveda lineages

Devanagari script

ऋग्वेदश्रावकं पैलं जग्राह स महामुनिः वैशम्पायननामानं यजुर्वेदस्य चाग्रहीत्

Transliteration

ṛgvedaśrāvakaṃ pailaṃ jagrāha sa mahāmuniḥ vaiśampāyananāmānaṃ yajurvedasya cāgrahīt

Translation

That great sage accepted Paila as the reciter and transmitter of the Ṛgveda, and appointed Vaiśampāyana as the custodian of the Yajurveda.

Word by Word

• ऋग्वेदश्रावकम्: the reciter/teacher of the Ṛgveda
• ऋग्वेदश्रावकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋग्वेद + श्रावक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (ऋग्वेदस्य श्रावकः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• पैलम्: Paila
• पैलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (ऋग्वेदश्रावकं पैलम् = apposition)

• जग्राह: accepted
• जग्राह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्शभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

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

• महामुनिः: the great sage
• महामुनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् मुनिः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृ

• वैशम्पायननामानम्: (one) named Vaiśampāyana
• वैशम्पायननामानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैशम्पायन + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (वैशम्पायन-नामकः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• यजुर्वेदस्य: of the Yajurveda
• यजुर्वेदस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यजुर्वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (यजुषां वेदः), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• अग्रहीत्: accepted/took (as disciple)
• अग्रहीत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘अ’ आगम + ग्रह्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the Vedas were apportioned to disciples and preserved as śākhās

Teaching: Historical

Quality: precise and enumerative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Sacred knowledge is preserved by assigning clear custodianship to qualified transmitters (adhikārin) within a lineage.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Learn from competent teachers and accept responsibility for accurate preservation when entrusted with texts or traditions.

Vishishtadvaita: The accessibility of śruti to finite selves depends on divinely sustained institutional transmission, not private invention.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Paila
• Vaiśampāyana

FAQs

What is the significance of Veda-vibhāga (division of the Vedas) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights how Vyāsa safeguards dharma by assigning specific Vedas to qualified disciples, ensuring accurate preservation and transmission of śruti through recognized lineages.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the continuity of Vedic knowledge?

By narrating the appointments of Paila and Vaiśampāyana, Parāśara frames Vedic continuity as a deliberate guru-paramparā system that sustains sacred knowledge across changing ages.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s theology treats the Vedas and their orderly transmission as instruments of Vishnu’s sovereign maintenance of cosmic order (dharma) in the world.