Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 23
Chapter 150 — Manvantarāṇi (The Manvantaras) and the Purāṇic Map of Vedic Transmission
मन्वाद्याश् च हरिर्वेदं द्वापरान्ते विभेद सः आद्यो वेदश् चतुष्पादः शतसाहस्रसम्मितः
manvādyāś ca harirvedaṃ dvāparānte vibheda saḥ ādyo vedaś catuṣpādaḥ śatasāhasrasammitaḥ
Comenzando por Manu y los demás sabios primordiales, Hari (Viṣṇu) dividió el Veda al final de la era Dvāpara. El Veda original era de cuatro partes (cuatro “pies”) y constaba de cien mil versos.
Lord Agni (narrating the Purāṇic tradition)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vyakarana","secondary_vidya":"Cosmology","practical_application":"Establishes Purāṇic historiography of Veda-transmission: when and by whom the Veda was divided, useful for mapping śākhā lineages and Dvāpara–Kali transition narratives.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Description","entry_title":"Hari’s Veda-vibhāga at Dvāpara-anta; original Veda measure","lookup_keywords":["Veda-vibhāga","Dvāpara-anta","Hari (Viṣṇu)","Catuṣpāda Veda","Śata-sāhasra"],"quick_summary":"States that at the end of Dvāpara, Hari effected the division of the Veda. It characterizes the primordial Veda as ‘four-footed’ and quantified as one hundred thousand verses."}
Concept: Scripture adapts to yuga-conditions through divine agency; knowledge is preserved by structured division and lineage.
Application: Frames traditional claims about textual plurality (śākhās) and motivates disciplined study according to one’s recension and yuga-context.
Khanda Section: Veda-Parampara and Vyasa’s Veda-Vibhaga (Puranic account of Vedic transmission)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Viṣṇu/Hari as the divine organizer of Vedic knowledge at the Dvāpara’s end, with the single Veda shown as a unified manuscript splitting into four streams.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, Hari with four emanating scroll-streams labeled Ṛk/Yajus/Sāman/Atharvan, twilight sky indicating Dvāpara-anta, sages (Manu and others) receiving the streams, bold outlines and traditional ornamentation.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, Viṣṇu standing with conch and discus, four golden scrolls radiating, embossed gold for manuscripts, sages seated below, temple-like arch frame.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, didactic composition: one central palm-leaf bundle dividing into four bundles, Hari presiding, fine gesso work, soft colors, clear labeling aesthetic.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholarly atelier scene: a divine figure symbolically present above, scribes and sages copying and separating a large codex into four, detailed desks, inkpots, patterned carpets."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: मनु + आद्याः → मन्वाद्याः; हरिः + वेदम् → हरिर्वेदम्; वेदः + चतुष्पादः → वेदश्चतुष्पादः.
Related Themes: Agni Purana: Veda-śākhā and Vyāsa-paramparā passages (same khanda); Agni Purana: yuga-chronology sections
FAQs
It conveys the scriptural classification (veda-vibhāga): the tradition that the single primordial Veda was organized into a fourfold structure at the end of Dvāpara for preservation and transmission.
By documenting Vedic history and taxonomy (origin, extent, and division of the Veda), it functions like a knowledge-catalog entry—placing ritual/liturgical authority within a broader Purāṇic framework of yugas, sages, and textual organization.
It frames Vedic study and ritual practice as grounded in a divinely guided lineage (Hari’s ordering of the Veda), implying that learning and following the Veda as transmitted through proper division and tradition supports dharma and purificatory merit.