Veda-Vibhāga

Veda-Vibhāga · veda-vibhāga, “the division of the Veda”

Hārita has other meanings too: see all meanings of Hārita. Babhru has other meanings too: see all meanings of Babhru.

Veda-vibhāga means “the division of the Veda“. In the beginning the Veda was one great body of sacred knowledge. Over time it was divided into four Vedas: the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda and Atharvaveda.

Each of these was then handed down from teacher to student, and along the way it split into many śākhās. A śākhā (literally “branch”) is a recension: a school’s own version of a Veda, kept and chanted in its own way.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa tells the whole descent in Skandha 12, Chapters 6–7, as Sūta Maharshi‘s answer to Śaunaka Maharshi. From the nāda in Brahmā‘s heart came Oṃkāra, from Oṃkāra the letters, and from Brahmā’s four faces the four Vedas; in the Dvāpara yuga Śrī Hari, born of Parāśara and Satyavatī, divided the Veda into four and gave the Ṛgveda to Paila, the Yajurveda to Vaiśampāyana, the Sāmaveda to Jaimini and the Atharvaveda to Sumantu. It follows each Veda through its śākhās: Paila’s Bahvṛca line through Indrapramiti and Bāshkala; the Taittirīya, which the ṛshis took up as tittiri birds when Yājñavalkya gave back the Yajus, and the Vājasaneya, which Bhagavān Sūrya taught Yājñavalkya in the form of a horse; Sukarma‘s thousand Sāma śākhās; Kabandha‘s division of the Atharva; and the six paurāṇikas who learned the Purāṇa from Romaharshaṇa. Whoever hears of this division of the Veda is freed of all pāpas, and his brahmavarcas grows.

Per Vishṇu Purāṇa

The Vishṇu Purāṇa, in its third part (Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapters 3–6), gives a short but respected account of how the Veda-śākhās were handed down. It is part of its teaching on the dharma of the Manvantaras. Chapter 3 sets out the frame, and Chapters 4 to 6 follow each Veda.

The Twenty-Eight Dvāpara Vyāsas

The Purāṇa teaches that in each Dvāpara Yuga, people’s memory, strength and vitality (vīrya, tejas and dhāraṇā-śakti) grow so weak that the undivided Veda can no longer be grasped or passed on whole. So Bhagavān Vishṇu comes as Veda Vyāsa in each Dvāpara and divides the one Veda into four streams. The Purāṇa lists twenty-eight such Dvāpara Vyāsas in the Vaivasvata Manvantara (the present age of Manu). The present Vyāsa, Kṛshṇadvaipāyana, is the twenty-eighth and last of this Manvantara. The same four disciples (Paila, Vaiśampāyana, Jaimini and Sumantu) and the same Sūta (Romaharshaṇa) appear in each cycle.

Ṛgveda Lineage (Chapter 4)

The Ṛgveda was given to Paila, who divided it into two saṃhitās and gave them to Indrapramiti and Bāshkala:

• Bāshkala gave four smaller śākhās to Bodha, Agnimāḍaka (or Yājñavalkya), Pārāśara and Yājñavalkya (the Yājñavalkya of the Ṛgveda, not the Yajurveda teacher).
• Indrapramiti passed his saṃhitā to his son Māṇḍūkeya. From him it went down the generations to Śākalya.
• Śākalya divided his branch into five saṃhitās for five disciples: Mudgala, Gomukha (or Gokhala), Vātsya, Śālīya and Śarīra. A sixth disciple, Śākapūrṇi-Śāvalya, divided the same saṃhitā into three and gave parts to Krauñca, Vaitālika and Balāka.
• Bāshkala also passed on three more śākhās to Vālāyani, Gārgya and Kathājapa.

All these make up the Bāhvṛca (Ṛgveda) recensions.

Yajurveda Lineage (Chapter 5)

The Yajurveda was given to Vaiśampāyana, who taught twenty-seven chief disciples. When the break with Yājñavalkya came, the disciples who ate the vomited mantras in the form of tittiri birds started the Taittirīya tradition, the Kṛshṇa (Black) Yajurveda. Yājñavalkya then received from Sūrya, in horse form, the Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā, the Śukla (White) Yajurveda. It branched into fifteen Vājin śākhās, chiefly Kāṇva and Mādhyandina.

Sāmaveda Lineage (Chapter 6)

Jaimini received the Sāmaveda and passed it to his son Sumantu. Sumantu taught his own son Sutvāna. Sutvāna’s son Sukarman divided the Sāmaveda into one thousand saṃhitās and taught them to his students. Two of his greatest disciples then spread them:

• Hiraṇyanābha of Kosala received the eastern schools. His disciples are the Prācya-sāmagas.
• Paushpiñji had five hundred northern students, who are the Udīcya-sāmagas.

Paushpiñji’s disciples Lokākshi, Kaumudādi, Śāliśīya (Lāṅgali) and others spread many further branches.

Atharvaveda Lineage (Chapter 6)

Sumantu, Vyāsa‘s own Atharvaveda disciple, passed it to Kabandha, who divided it into two branches for Devadharma (Devaśarmā) and Pathya.

• Devadharma’s disciples were Meda, Brahmabala, Śaulkāyani and Pippalāda.
• Pathya’s disciples were Jābāli, Kumudādi and Śaunaka. Śaunaka divided his part between Babhru and Saindhavāyana (Muñjakeśa).

The five kalpas recognised in this tradition are the Nakshatra-kalpa, Vaitāna-kalpa, Saṃhitā-kalpa, Āṅgirasa-kalpa and Śānti-kalpa.

How the Purāṇas Were Handed Down

Chapter 6 also covers the Purāṇas. Vyāsa put together the first Purāṇa-saṃhitā from ākhyānas (tales), upākhyānas (shorter tales), gāthās (songs) and kalpa-śuddhis, and passed it to Romaharshaṇa (Sūta). Romaharshaṇa had six disciples: Sumati, Agnivarcas, Mitrāyu, Śāṃśapāyana, Akṛtavraṇa and Sāvarṇi. From Vyāsa’s root saṃhitā, through Romaharshaṇa, three major saṃhitās arose through Śāṃśapāyana and Sāvarṇi.

The Vishṇu Purāṇa then lists the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas, starting with the Brahma Purāṇa, and names its own place in the list. It also lists the fourteen vidyās (the four Vedas, the six Vedāṅgas, Mīmāṃsā, Nyāya, Purāṇa and Dharmaśāstra) and the longer list of eighteen vidyās, which adds four practical sciences: Āyurveda (medicine), Dhanurveda (archery and warfare), Gāndharvaveda (music) and Arthaśāstra (statecraft).

Per Vāyu Purāṇa

At the end of every Dvāpara Yuga (the third of the four ages), people grow too weak to hold the whole Veda in memory. Brahmā then sends an avatāra of Vishṇu called Vyāsa to divide the one original Veda into branches and teach each branch to disciples who specialise in it.

Chapter 60 of the Vāyu Purāṇa gives an account of this division as done by the twenty-eighth Dvāpara Vyāsa, Kṛshṇadvaipāyana Pārāśarya. It records the whole line of teachers for all four Vedas and for the Itihāsa and Purāṇas, down to their main schools and saṃhitā (collection) traditions.

Why the Veda Had to Be Divided

At the end of the Dvāpara Yuga of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara, Brahmā spoke to Manu:

O great-minded one! As the yuga passes, those born into the three varṇas (brāhmaṇas, kshatriyas and vaiśyas) all become weaker in vīrya (vitality) because of yuga-dosha, the faults of the age. The Veda, which was one vast whole of one lakh verses and more, must be made to flow on without a break, so that yajña does not perish.

The chain of results is certain. If the Veda is not kept, yajña (sacred fire offering) perishes. If yajña perishes, the devas perish. If the devas perish, everything perishes. So in every Dvāpara Yuga Brahmā starts the veda-vibhāga through a Vyāsa.

The Twenty-Eighth Dvāpara Vyāsa

In this Dvāpara Yuga, the one who divides the Veda is Pārāśarya, the son of Parāśara:

• His name is Kṛshṇadvaipāyana, meaning “the dark one, born on an island (dvīpa)”
• He is called an aṃśa (part) of Bhagavān Vishṇu, born with the task of keeping the Veda safe
• Brahmā urges him (he is “preritas”, stirred into action) to divide the Veda for this age
• He is also the author of the Mahābhārata and the one who put the Purāṇas together

There have been twenty-eight Dvāpara Vyāsas in all across the Manvantara.

The Five Chief Disciples

Vyāsa chose four disciples, one for each Veda, and a fifth for the Itihāsa and Purāṇas:

Paila was a dvija (twice-born brāhmaṇa), chosen as the Ṛgveda-śrāvaka, the one who makes others hear the Ṛk. Vaiśampāyana was the Yajurveda-pravaktā, its proclaimer. Jaimini was the Sāmaveda-artha-śrāvaka, the one who makes the meaning of the Sāmaveda heard. Sumantu, best of ṛshis, was chosen for the Atharva. Lomaharshaṇa Sūta, the foremost teller of the Purāṇas, was given the living tradition of histories and accounts of the universe.

The Ṛgveda Line (through Paila)

Paila received the Ṛgveda from Vyāsa and divided it into two parts, one for each of two disciples:

1. Indrapramati, who received the first half
2. Bāśkali, who received the second half

Bāśkali’s Branch

Bāśkali, best among knowers of Brahman, divided his part into four saṃhitās and taught them to four learned disciples:

1. Bodhu, the first śākhā (branch)
2. Agnimāṭhara, the second śākhā
3. Pārāśara, the third śākhā
4. Yājñavalkya, the fourth śākhā (this Yājñavalkya is not the one who later brought the Śukla Yajurveda)

Indrapramati’s Branch

Indrapramati, a brāhmaṇa and a mahātmā, taught his saṃhitā to the famous Mārkaṇḍeya. The line then ran:

Indrapramati → Mārkaṇḍeya → Satyaśravas → Satyahita → Satyatara

Satyatara is said to have had three disciples of great tejas (spiritual radiance). The text names four:

1. Śākalya (Devamitra), the first
2. Rathantara, the second
3. Bāśkali, the third (a different Bāśkali)
4. Bharadvāja, the fourth

These became the chief śākhā-pravartakas (founders of branches) of the Ṛgveda.

Śākalya’s Line

Śākalya (Devamitra) made five saṃhitās and had five disciples:

1. Mudgala
2. Golaka
3. Khātīya
4. Matya
5. Śaiśireya

He also made a Pada-pāṭha, a version of the text recited word by word. His disciple Śākapūrṇa Rathantara made three more saṃhitās, and the learned Nirukta made the fourth, so there were four saṃhitās. Rathantara’s four disciples were Ketava, Dālaki, Dharmaśarma and Devaśarma.

The Debate at Janaka’s Aśvamedha and Śākalya’s End

The royal ṛshi Janaka held a magnificent aśvamedha yajña (horse sacrifice), and thousands of great ṛshis gathered there. The king wished to honour the greatest scholar among them. He set out one thousand cows decked with gold and declared them vidyā-dhana, the wealth of learning, for the one who was foremost.

Yājñavalkya was the son of a brahma-vāhu (one who had fully taken in the Vedas). He had great tejas and was the foremost of the knowers of Brahman. He said to his disciple, “Take all this wealth home, my child. It is surely mine. I am the foremost speaker of all the Vedas. Who is my equal?”

The scholars were stirred up. All the learned brāhmaṇas stood on one side, and Yājñavalkya alone on the other. One by one, Yājñavalkya answered every scholar’s questions.

Then Śākalya (Devamitra) came forward, full of jñāna-ahaṃkāra, pride in his own knowledge. He put a thousand sharp questions to Yājñavalkya, and Yājñavalkya answered every one. Then Yājñavalkya put a question back to Śākalya. Śākalya could not answer, and he died on the spot. This was the fruit of jñāna-mada, being drunk on one’s own learning.

When Śākalya fell, all five of his disciples came under brahmahatyā-dosha, the pāpa (wrongdoing) of causing a brāhmaṇa’s death. In great distress they went to Brahmā. He saw their trouble in his mind and sent them to Pavana-pura, a tīrtha (holy place), to be cleansed.

The Yajurveda Line: the Kṛshṇa and Śukla Branches

Vaiśampāyana received the Yajurveda from Vyāsa. His disciple Yājñavalkya was one of the most outstanding, until a famous break.

How the Śukla Yajurveda Began

At one gathering, Vaiśampāyana’s whole circle had to do prāyaścitta (atonement) for a brahmahatyā that had taken place. Yājñavalkya felt his tapas (austerity) was greater and that the task was beneath him. This offended Vaiśampāyana, who said in anger, “Give back to me everything you have learned from me.”

Yājñavalkya had to obey. He vomited out the whole Yajurveda he had learned, a blood-soaked heap of Yajus. At Brahmā‘s direction, Vaiśampāyana’s other disciples took the form of tittiri birds (partridges) and ate those Yajus. So the Kṛshṇa Yajurveda (the “dark” Yajurveda, also called the Taittirīya school after the tittiri) came into being. The disciples who followed this path were called Carakas, because they did the atonement for brahmahatyā through caraṇa, wandering.

Yājñavalkya, now emptied of what he had learned, went into deep yoga-dhyāna (meditation) and praised Bhagavān Sūrya, the sun. Sūrya was delighted. He appeared as an aśva (horse), the Vedātmaka-aśva, the horse who is the Veda in bodily form, and gave Yājñavalkya new Yajus directly. Because these Yajus came from the horse form (vāja means horse), they and those who follow them are called Vājas or Vājins. These Yajus were given by Sūrya alone. They could not be had through Brahmā or any human teacher. They make up the Śukla (bright) Yajurveda, the Vājasaneya Saṃhitā.

Yājñavalkya’s fifteen chief disciples, the Vājins, were Madhyandina, Śāpeyi, Vidigdha, Āpya, Uddala, Tāmrāyaṇa, Pātya, Gālava, Śaiśiri, Āṭavi, Parli, Vīraṇī and others, fifteen in all.

Counting both the Kṛshṇa and Śukla branches, there are one hundred and one recensions of the Yajurveda.

The Sāmaveda Line (through Jaimini)

Jaimini received the Sāmaveda and taught it to his son Sumantu. Sumantu taught his son Suvāna, and Suvāna taught Sukkarmu.

Sukkarmu had two chief disciples:

1. Paushyañji, who received five hundred saṃhitās (one version says fifty)
2. Kauśikya Hiraṇyanābha, a rājakumāra (prince) of the Kuśika line, who received one hundred and five saṃhitās

Hiraṇyanābha’s disciples are called the Prācya Sāmagas (eastern chanters of the Sāma).

Paushyañji’s four chief disciples:

• Lokākshi’s line: Rāṇāyanīya, Taṇḍi, Mūlacāri, Sati-putra and Sahasātni-putra.
• Kuthumī’s three sons: Rāsapāsara, Bhāgavitta and Tejasvin.
• Lāṅgali’s six disciples: Bhāluki, Kāmahāni, Jaimini, Lomagāyi, Kuṇḍu and Kohala. These are called the Lāṅgalis.

Hiraṇyanābha’s twenty-four saṃhitās were given to a disciple who was a great king. That disciple’s own disciples were Rāḍu, Mahāvīrya, Rodavaha, Vāhana, Tālaka, Pāṇḍavaka, Kālikā, Rājika, Gautama, Ajabāstu, Somarāja, Pṛshṭaghna, Parīkṛshṇa, Ulūkhalaka, Yavīyasu, Vaiśāla, Aṅgulīya, Kauśika, Sālimañjari, Satya, Kāpīya, Kānikā and Pārāśara.

Of all the Sāma singers, the greatest two were Paushyañji and Kṛtayu, the highest saṃhitā-vikalpakas (arrangers of the saṃhitās).

The Sāmaveda is counted at eight thousand and fourteen (8,014) sāman verses, chanted with the āraṇyaka-homa in the forest tradition.

The Atharvaveda Line (through Sumantu)

Sumantu divided the Atharva into two parts and gave them to Kabandha. Kabandha mastered them fully and divided them further:

• The first part went to Pathu (Pabhu)
• The second part went to Vedaspṛśu

Vedaspṛśu divided his again into four and gave one to each of:

1. Modha (Bṛhmabaludu)
2. Pippalāda
3. Śākvāyani
4. Tanu

Pathu’s tradition branched into three:

1. Jājali
2. Kumudādi
3. Śaunaka

Śaunaka divided his saṃhitā into two halves:

• One half went to Bhabru
• The other half went to Saindhavāyana

Saindhavāyana gave his part to Muñjakaśu.

In time the Atharvaveda traditions settled into five kalpa texts (texts of ritual rules):

1. Nakshatrakalpa
2. Vaitāna
3. Saṃhitāvidhi
4. Āṅgirasakalpa
5. Śāntikalpa

The Atharvaveda is counted at five thousand ṛk mantras and five thousand atharvan mantras, ten thousand in the full count.

The Purāṇa Line (through Lomaharshaṇa)

Lomaharshaṇa (also called Sūta Romaharshaṇa) received the whole body of Itihāsa and Purāṇa from Vyāsa and became its greatest teacher. He arranged the Purāṇa material into saṃhitās and taught them to his disciples.

Sūta had thirteen disciples: Ātreya, Sumati, Dhīmanta, Kāśyapa, Akṛtavraṇa, Bhāradvāja, Agnivarṇa, Vasishṭha, Mitrāyu, Sāvarṇi, Somadatta, Suśarman and Śāṃśapāyana. They are described as dṛḍhavrata, firm in their vows, in the Purāṇa tradition.

Three of these disciples became the chief saṃhitā-kartās (compilers of their own Purāṇa saṃhitās):

1. Kāśyapa, who compiled the Kāśyapikī Saṃhitā
2. Sāvarṇi, who compiled the Sāvarṇikī Saṃhitā
3. Śāṃśapāyana, who compiled the Śāṃśapāyanikī Saṃhitā

The fourth saṃhitā is the Lomaharshaṇikī, also called the Pūrva-saṃhitā, the original one compiled by Lomaharshaṇa himself.

Each of these four Purāṇa saṃhitās is arranged in four pādas (sections). Together they cover the same core content, with differences of wording between schools, just as Vedic śākhās differ in recension while sharing the same core. All four thousands of verses (leaving out the Śāṃśapāyanikī) make up the whole body of Purāṇa passed from Vyāsa through Sūta.

The three schools that came from Lomaharshaṇa are:

• Lomaharshaṇikas, the founding school
• Kāśyapikas, Kāśyapa’s line
• Sāvarṇikas, Sāvarṇi’s line, skilled in the meaning of the Yajurveda

The Eighteen Vidyās

The Vāyu Purāṇa says that the whole body of sacred knowledge is made up of eighteen vidyās (branches of learning). The first fourteen are:

To these fourteen are added four upavidyās (secondary sciences), making eighteen:

This list of the ashṭādaśa vidyās (eighteen branches of learning) is the complete map of knowledge as arranged and handed down through the veda-vibhāga.

The Division Happens Again and Again

The text says that this dividing of the Veda happens in every Dvāpara Yuga without fail. The Veda itself, as Prajāpati-śruti, is eternal and nitya (permanent). What changes from age to age is people’s ability to hold it. When that ability grows weak, a new Vyāsa divides it. When it grows strong again in the next Kṛta Yuga, the Veda is once more vast and handed down as one.

The differences between śākhās are like the differences in wording between Vedic saṃhitās. They are different versions of the same eternal knowledge, not contradictions. So the veda-vibhāga is not a cutting-down of the Veda but a way of keeping it safe through the ages of the universe.

This is how the divine best of ṛshis, having given the Veda to his disciples, went away again for tapas. His disciples, and their disciples’ disciples, set these differences of śākhā in motion.

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa (Skandha 12, Chapters 6–7) tells in detail how this happened, starting with Veda Vyāsa. It names the teachers and students of each Veda and explains the events behind several of the splits. Śaunaka Maharshi asks Sūta Maharshi in how many ways Paila, Vaiśampāyana and the other disciples of Vyāsa, the ācāryas of the Vedas, divided the Vedas, and Sūta answers.

How the Four Vedas Came to Be

In the Dvāpara Yuga (the third of the four ages), the brahmarshis (ṛshis of the highest spiritual rank) saw that people’s lifespan, strength and power of mind were growing less because of the force of kāla (time). The single Veda had become too vast for ordinary people to understand and pass on whole. Moved by the Paramātman, the Supreme Self who lives in every heart, Bhagavān Vishṇu took the avatāra of Veda Vyāsa, born to Parāśara and Satyavatī.

In this Vaivasvata manvantara too, Sūta says, Brahmā, Śiva, Indra and the others who protect the worlds asked Śrī Hari to protect dharma, and Śrī Hari descended through Parāśara Maharshi in Satyavatī, with a portion of the sattva guṇa, and divided the Veda into four. Before that, the sons of Brahmā, Marīci and the others, had studied the Vedas from Brahmā and taught them to their sons, Kaśyapa and the others, and their disciples, keeping the rules of vrata, carried the Vedas on in succession through the four yugas, until the maharshis divided them at the beginning of the Dvāpara yuga.

Vyāsa gathered the huge body of Vedic mantras and sorted them into four kinds: ṛk (mantras in verse), yajus (mantras in prose), sāman (mantras that are sung) and atharva. From these he made four saṃhitās (collections), like separate collections of gems. He then called four chief disciples and gave each of them one Veda:

• Paila — Ṛgveda
• Vaiśampāyana — Yajurveda
• Jaimini — Sāmaveda
• Sumantu — Atharvaveda, the saṃhitā famous as Atharvāṅgirasa

Oṃkāra (the sacred syllable Oṃ) is the source of all four Vedas. From the first sound (nāda) that arises in the space of the mind came Oṃkāra with its three mātrās (parts, A-U-M). From it flow all the letters and words of the Vedas. Brahmā chanted the four Vedas from his four mouths.

Sūta tells this more fully. When Brahmā was one-pointed in mind, nāda arose from the space of consciousness in his heart; yogīs worship that nāda, wash away the impurity of the mind, and attain moksha. From it arose Oṃkāra, the sign of Parabrahman and its direct name, the root of all mantras, Upanishads and Vedas. Its three letters, a, u and ma, hold up the three guṇas (sattva, rajas and tamas), the three Vedas (Ṛg, Yajus and Sāma), the three lokas (Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Suvaḥ) and the three states (waking, dream and deep sleep). From Oṃkāra Brahmā made the collection of letters: the antaḥsthas, the ūshmas, the vowels, the classed consonants, the short and long sounds and the anusvāra. Taking that as the basis, he brought forth from his four faces the four Vedas, with Oṃkāra and the vyāhṛtis, and those Vedas teach the duties of the four ṛtvijas: the hotā, the adhvaryu, the udgātā and the brahmā.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 6

Ṛgveda Lineages

Paila received the whole Ṛgveda saṃhitā, called Bāhvṛca (“having many ṛks”). He divided it into two branches and gave them to:

1. Indrapramiti
2. Bāshkala

Bāshkala’s Line

Bāshkala divided his branch again into four śākhās for his disciples:

• Bodhya
• Yājñavalkya (not the same person as the Yājñavalkya of the Yajurveda)
• Parāśara
• Agnimitra

Bāshkala’s son Bāshkali put together the Vālakhilya branch from the different śākhās and taught it to:

• Bālāyani
• Bhajya
• Kāsāra

Indrapramiti’s Line

The steady Indrapramiti taught his branch to the brilliant Māṇḍūkeya Maharshi. Māṇḍūkeya’s disciple was Devamitra, who taught Saubhari and others.

Śākalya’s Branch

Māṇḍūkeya Maharshi’s own son Śākalya divided his saṃhitā into five branches for five disciples:

• Vātya
• Mudgala
• Śālīya
• Gokhalya
• Śiśira

Jātūkarṇya’s Branch

Jātūkarṇya too was a disciple of Śākalya.

Another disciple, Jātūkarṇya Maharshi, divided his part into three recensions and taught them to:

• Balāka
• Paija
• Vaitāla
• Viraja

These, together with the Nirukta (the explanation of Vedic words), make up the Ṛgveda śākhā lineages. The Bhāgavata says that hearing this account destroys all the pāpa (wrongdoing) one has built up.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 6

Yajurveda Lineages

The Break Between Vaiśampāyana and Yājñavalkya

Vaiśampāyana taught the Yajurveda to many disciples. They came to be called Caraka-adhvaryus. They earned this name by keeping a special vrata (vow) to make up for the pāpa of brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa) that had fallen on their guru. Among them was the brilliant Yājñavalkya, son of Devarāta.

One day Yājñavalkya said to Vaiśampāyana, “Why should men of little ability keep such a hard vow? I will do something far harder by myself.” Vaiśampāyana saw this as pride against his fellow students and was displeased. He sent Yājñavalkya away and told him to give back all the Yajus mantras he had learned. “Go!” he said. “What use is one like you who, being a disciple, has insulted the knowers of the Veda? Give up at once the learning you learned from me.”

Yājñavalkya vomited out all the Yajur-mantras and went away, and the maharshis saw them. The other disciples, longing for these mantras, took the form of tittiri birds (partridges) and ate them. Because they were eaten by tittiri birds, these Yajur-mantras became known as Taittirīya (“of the tittiri”).

Yājñavalkya’s New Veda: the Vājasaneya Saṃhitā

Having given back what he had learned, Yājñavalkya wished to receive completely new Yajur-mantras, ones unknown in Vaiśampāyana’s school. He sang a deep stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Sūrya. He praised the sun as the inner ātman (self) of all beings, as time made visible, and as the one who removes avidyā (ignorance) and sets beings on the path to moksha (liberation).

His stuti to Sūrya Deva, the nātha of the Vedas, goes in this order:

1. Namaskāra to Bhagavān Sūrya, whose form is Oṃkāra.
2. In the hearts of all beings, the womb-born, the egg-born, the worms and insects, and the trees and plants, from Brahmā down to a blade of grass, he is present as the ātmā; outside he is present as Time.
3. That time is the gathering of years, which grows by its parts, the kshaṇa, the lava, the nimisha and the rest.
4. Like space, he is not limited by these upādhis.
5. The one without a second, he turns water into vapour and gives it back as rain, and so carries on the life of all beings (here the text adds the words tat savitur vareṇyam).
6. For those who praise him every day at the three sandhyās by the method of the Veda, he destroys all pāpas, sorrows and the ajñāna that causes pāpa.
7. “We meditate well, facing it, on this blazing orb of yours.”
8. He alone is the refuge of all moving and unmoving beings; as their ātmā and antaryāmī he impels the mind, the senses and the prāṇas (here the text adds dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt).
9. When darkness, like a python with a terrible mouth, swallows the world and it lies senseless, he raises it up with a compassionate glance.
10. Every day at the three sandhyās he sets man to the means of moksha, the ārādhanā of Īśvara under the name of his own dharma.
11. As a great king moves about his kingdom causing fear to the wicked, he moves everywhere.
12. In their places the dikpālas offer him arghya with palms joined like lotus buds.
13. “Therefore I serve your feet, seeking Yajus mantras not known to anyone until now. The elders of the three worlds bow to your lotus feet.”

Bhagavān Sūrya was pleased. He appeared in the form of a horse (aśva, also vāji) and revealed to Yājñavalkya a set of Yajur-mantras that had never before been given to any human. Because they came from Sūrya in horse form, this collection is called the Vājasaneya Saṃhitā. Yājñavalkya arranged it into fifteen śākhās. His chief disciples were Kāṇva and Mādhyandina, whose schools carry the Vājasaneya down to the present day.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 6

Sāmaveda Lineages

Jaimini received the Sāmaveda saṃhitā, called Chandoga (“sung in metre”), from Vyāsa. His line went like this:

• Jaimini taught the Sāmaveda to his son Sumantu and to his grandson Sunvanta, one saṃhitā each.
• Jaimini’s great disciple Sukarma Maharshi, described as truly great, did a remarkable thing: from the tree of the Sāmaveda he made one thousand śākhās of the sāman mantras.

Of these thousand, the main receivers were:

• Hiraṇyanābha of the Kosala country
• Paushyañji
• Āvantya of Avantī, called the foremost of those who know the Veda

Paushyañji and Āvantya each had five hundred disciples from the northern lands who studied the Sāmaveda śākhās. These were also called prācīna-sāmavedīyas (the old Sāmaveda students).

Paushyañji’s disciples included Laugākshi, Māṃgali, Kulya, Kusīda and Kukshi. Each of them studied one hundred saṃhitās.

Hiraṇyanābha’s disciple Kṛta received twenty-four saṃhitās. Āvantya passed the rest on to his own students. Kṛta taught those twenty-four saṃhitās to his own disciples, and Āvantya, who was a great self-controlled one, taught the rest to his.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 6

Atharvaveda Lineages

Sumantu received the Atharvaveda saṃhitā. (This is Vyāsa‘s own disciple for the Atharvaveda, a different Sumantu from Jaimini‘s son.) He passed it to his disciple Kabandha, who divided it into two branches:

1. Pathya
2. Vedadarśa

Vedadarśa’s Line

Vedadarśa passed it on to:

• Śauklāyani
• Brahmabali
• Modosha
• Pippalāyani

Pathya’s Line

Pathya’s disciples were Kumuda, Śunaka and Jājali.

Śunaka, of the Āṅgirasa gotra (family line), had as disciples Babhru and Saindhavāyana. These two studied two saṃhitās.

Other Teachers of the Atharvaveda

Other teachers who received and passed on the Atharvaveda were:

• Sāvarṇa
• Nakshatrakalpā (named after the Nakshatrakalpa text he made)
• Śānti (for the Śāntikalpa)
• Kaśyapa
• Āṃgirasa

They composed the Nakshatrakalpa, the Śāntikalpa and other works, and became known by those names.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 7

How the Purāṇas Were Handed Down

Alongside the Vedas, the Purāṇas were also handed down through Vyāsa. The six chief experts in the Purāṇas in Vyāsa’s line were:

1. Trayyāruṇi
2. Kaśyapa
3. Sāvarṇi
4. Akṛtavraṇa
5. Vaiśampāyana
6. Hārīta

All six received the Purāṇa-saṃhitā from Romaharshaṇa, who was Vyāsa’s disciple and the father of the Sūta who tells the Bhāgavata. Sūta Maharshi studied under all six, and he also received all four root saṃhitās (mūla-saṃhitās) from Romaharshaṇa. This made him the fullest keeper of Purāṇa wisdom at Naimishāraṇya.

In Sūta’s own words: “My father was a disciple of Vyāsa. From him these six each studied one saṃhitā. I am the disciple of all of them, so I studied all six. Kaśyapa, I, Sāvarṇi, and Akṛtavraṇa the disciple of Paraśurāma studied the four mūla-saṃhitās from Romaharshaṇa, my father, the disciple of Vyāsa.”

Sūta closes: “I have told you how Vyāsa Maharshi, his disciples, and their disciples and disciples’ disciples set the śākhās of the Veda going.” For one who hears this, the Bhāgavata says, brahmavarcas (the radiance of Vedic learning and tapas) increases.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 7

Per Kūrma Purāṇa

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 52) gives an account of how the Vedas were handed down. It speaks of the twenty-eight Dvāpara Vyāsas.

The Twenty-Eight Dvāpara Vyāsas

The Purāṇa teaches that in every Dvāpara Yuga of the present Manvantara (the age of one Manu), a great ṛshi takes the role of Veda Vyāsa and divides and hands down the Vedas. It speaks of twenty-eight, and names these twenty-five:

The twenty-fifth, Kṛshṇadvaipāyana Vyāsa, son of Parāśara, is named as the one who handed down the Vedas in the present Dvāpara Yuga. It calls him a direct svarūpa (true form) of Nārāyaṇa Vishṇu. It says that before he divided the Vedas, he first did pūjā to Śaṅkara (Śiva), saw him, and received Śiva’s anugraha (grace) for the task.

The Five Disciples and the Number of Branches

Kṛshṇadvaipāyana Vyāsa took five śishyas (disciples) and gave each a particular Veda:

The one undivided Veda had four pādas (quarters) and one lakh (100,000) ṛks, coming from the first Oṃkāra. This Vyāsa rearranged it into four streams. The Purāṇa stresses that the Veda points only to Vāsudeva, and that whoever knows Vāsudeva truly knows the Veda. It says:

The Paramātmā Vāsudeva, who is beyond the Vedas, is known only by one who knows the Vedas.

Per Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa

The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa (Pūrva Bhāga, Chapters 33–35, called Ṛshi-lakshaṇa, Vyāsa-śishyotpatti and Vedavyasanākhyāna) gives a detailed account. It includes the Śrutarshis, the women called brāhmaṇavādinīs, and the Sāmaveda lines.

The Dvāpara Vyāsas

The Brahmāṇḍa teaches that the Veda is divided afresh in every Dvāpara Yuga. It lists twenty-eight Dvāpara Vyāsas, ending with Kṛshṇadvaipāyana Vyāsa, Parāśara‘s son, in the present yuga. In the Kṛta Yuga the full Veda had four pādas and one lakh mantras. By the present Dvāpara, only one-tenth of what was known in the Kṛta Yuga can still be grasped by human minds. This is why Vyāsa made the great division.

The five disciples are Paila (Ṛgveda), Vaiśampāyana (Yajurveda), Jaimini (Sāmaveda), Sumantu (Atharvaveda) and Lomaharshaṇa (Itihāsa-Purāṇa).

The Eighty-Six Śrutarshis

For the history of the Yajurveda, the Brahmāṇḍa gives a list of the eighty-six Śrutarshis. These were famous knowers of the Vedic Brāhmaṇa texts who branched out the Yajurveda tradition. Among those named are Bahvṛca, Bhārgava, Paila, Sāṃkṛtya, Jājali, Sandhyāstrī, Māṭhara, Yājñavalkya, Parāśara, Upamanyu, Indrapramati, Māṇḍūki, Śākali, Bhāskali and Śokapādi, along with many others, eighty-six in all. The Purāṇa makes clear that these eighty-six Śrutarshis are not the same as the Caraka-adhvaryus of the Kṛshṇa Yajurveda, though the two traditions overlap.

It also names the chief teachers of the Sāmaveda line: Jaimini, Bharadvāja, Kāvya, Paushyañji, Hiraṇyanābha, Kauśilya, Laugākshi, Kuśumi, Lāṅgali, Śālihotra, Śaktirāja and Bhārgava, all counted among the sāmagas (chanters of the Sāmaveda). Purūravā, son of Ilā, the famous king who became a ṛshi, is also mentioned, along with forty-six other ṛshis and their disciples.

The Brāhmaṇavādinī Women

A remarkable part of Chapter 33 is its list of brāhmaṇavādinīs: women who taught Brahma-tattva (the truth of Brahman) and were honoured as ṛshiputrikās (daughters of ṛshis). Those named are Aditi, Jalā, Mānavī, the apsarās (celestial women) Urvaśī and Viśvayoshā, Mudgalā, Anujīvā, the famous Tārā (called yaśasvinī, “glorious”), Prātimedhi, Sujātā (a great tapasvinī, woman of austerity), Lopāmudrā (dharma-jñā, “knower of dharma”) and Kauśītikā.

The text describes them as being of wonderful form, like the apsarās, and as leading figures. They were mantra-vaktṛs (speakers of mantras) who composed Veda-śākhās, and so they were respected as īśvaras (sovereign authorities) in the tradition.

The Break Between Vaiśampāyana and Yājñavalkya

The eighty-six disciples of Vaiśampāyana were to gather for a meeting on the peak of Meru. They had agreed that anyone who did not arrive within seven days would carry the pāpa of brahmahatyā. Vaiśampāyana himself broke the agreement, and he asked his disciples to do the atonement together for him.

Yājñavalkya, sure of the strength of his own tapas (austerity), said he could do the atonement alone. Vaiśampāyana was angered by this pride. He sent Yājñavalkya away and demanded back all the mantras he had taught him. Yājñavalkya vomited them out; the text describes them as stained with blood. The disciples who ate them in the form of tittiri birds began the Taittirīya tradition.

Why They Were Called Carakas

The Purāṇa also explains the name Caraka-adhvaryus. The disciples who stayed and did the atonement by walking together (carat, “moving”) became known as Carakas. It also gives the regions of the three main Kṛshṇa Yajurveda streams:

• Śyāmāyani was foremost among the Udīcyas (the northern region)
• Āsuri founded the stream of Madhyadeśa (the middle country)
• Ālambi led the Prācyas (the eastern region)

The Fifteen Vājin Disciples

After giving back his mantras, Yājñavalkya did deep upāsanā (devoted worship) of Bhagavān Sūrya. Sūrya appeared in aśva-rūpa (horse form) and gave him the new Yajur-mantras. Because Sūrya appeared as a horse (vāji), these disciples became known as Vājins. The Brahmāṇḍa names fifteen Vājin disciples:

1. Kaṇva
2. Baudhya Mādhyandina
3. Sāpatya
4. Vaidheya
5. Adhu
6. Bauddaka
7. Tāpamunīya
8. Vatsa
9. Jābāla
10. Kevala
11. Āvaṭi
12. Pauṇḍra
13. Vaijneya
14. Pārāśara
15. One more disciple, making the number fifteen

Counting all branches, the Yajurveda was divided into 101 (eka-adhika-śata) saṃhitās.

Ṛgveda Lineages

Paila divided the Ṛgveda into two saṃhitās and gave them to Indrapramati and Bāshkala. Bāshkala made four śākhās: Bodha, Agnimātara, Pārāśari and the Yājñavalkya śākhā.

From Indrapramati the line ran to Māṇḍūkeya, and then through Sattasrava’s line to Satyapota, Satyadhita and Satyaśrī. Satyaśrī had three chief disciples: Śākalya (also called Devamitra), Rathottara and Bharadvāja (son of Bāshkala). All three spread Veda saṃhitās.

Śākalya (Devamitra) made five saṃhitās. His five disciples were Muddala, Gokhala, Khalīya, Suta and Śaiśireya. He also composed three Brāhmaṇas, called Śoka, Vraṇa and Rathīra, and a fourth work, the Nirukta (the explanation of Vedic words). His disciples in another branch included Paila, Īkshalaka, Śatbalāka and Gaja.

The Brahmāṇḍa says Śākalya died at King Janaka‘s aśvamedha yajña (horse sacrifice) after Yājñavalkya defeated him in debate. He could not answer Yājñavalkya’s question about whether Sāṃkhya or Yoga was higher, and his pride in his own knowledge brought about his end.

Bāshkala’s son Bharadvāja made three saṃhitās and had three disciples: Apanāpa, Pannagāri and Ārjava.

Sāmaveda Lineages

The line runs from Jaimini to his son Sumantu, then to Sutvāna, then to Sukarman. Sukarman did something remarkable: he made one thousand śākhās of the Sāmaveda and taught them to one thousand disciples at the same time. But those disciples studied on anadhyāya days (days when Vedic study is forbidden), and Indra struck them all dead. In his grief, Sukarman began prāyopaveśa (fasting until death). Indra was moved and gave him a vara (a boon): two very powerful disciples would come who could each master the thousand saṃhitās.

These two disciples were:

• Paushyañji, who taught 500 saṃhitās to his students. They became known as the Udīcya-sāmagas (northern Sāmaveda chanters).
• Hiraṇyanābha, also called Kauśalya, a king’s son from the Kosala country. His disciples became the Prācya-sāmagas (eastern Sāmaveda chanters). He received 24 saṃhitās.

Paushyañji’s four chief disciples were Laugākshi, Kuśumi, Kuśīda and Lāṅgali. Each stands for a separate school.

• Laugākshi‘s branches included Nādāyanīya, Tāṇḍiputra (and from him Anovaina), and smaller lines under Sakoṭiputra Susaha and Sunāma.
• Kuśumi had three disciples: his own son Parāśara, Nābhivitta and a third. From them came three Kauśuma lines. The Śārisha and Śṛṅgiputra lines kept cīravrata (a vow of ascetic life). Rāṇāyanīya and Saumatri were two Sāmaveda experts in this line. Śṛṅgiputra made three saṃhitās, and Kauthumapārāśarya made six.
• Lāṅgali (also called Śālihotra) made six saṃhitās. His six disciples were Hālini, Jyāmahāni, Jaimini, Lomagāyani, Kaṇḍu and Kohala. These six and their branches are the recognised Lāṅgali school.

Atharvaveda Lineages

Sumantu, Vyāsa‘s own disciple for the Atharvaveda, passed it to Kabandha, who received the Kṛshṇa-Atharvaveda. Kabandha divided it into two branches: one for Pathya and one for Devadaru (Vedadarśa).

Devadaru divided his branch into four parts and gave them to his four disciples: Moda, Brahmabala, Pippalāda and Śaulkāyani. These are the chief Atharvaveda teachers of Devadaru’s line.

Pathya‘s branch has three parts, through three disciples: Jājali, Kusumādi and Śaunaka. Śaunaka divided his again, giving one part to Babhru and the other to Saindhavāyana (also called Muñjakeśa), who divided it further.

The Purāṇa recognises five great kalpa texts (texts of ritual rules) of the Atharvaveda:

1. Nakshatrakalpa
2. Vaitāna
3. Santāvidhi
4. Āṅgirasa-kalpa
5. Śānti-kalpa

The Eighteen Vidyās

At the end of its account of the Veda-śākhās, the Brahmāṇḍa lists the eighteen vidyās (ashṭādaśa-vidyā, eighteen branches of learning): the four Vedas, the six Vedāṅgas (limbs of the Veda), Mīmāṃsā, Nyāya-vistara, Dharmaśāstra, Purāṇa, Āyurveda, Dhanurveda, Gāndharvaveda and Arthaśāstra. Together they make up the whole body of sacred learning.

Per Agni Purāṇa

In Chapter 271 of the Agni Purāṇa, Pushkara gives an account of the Veda śākhās. The Veda mantras, which bless all, give the four purushārthas (aims of life). The Vedas are four, Ṛk, Yajus, Sāma and Atharva, and the number of their mantras is one lakh.

The four Vedas and their śākhās

• Ṛgveda: two śākhās, Sāṅkhyāyana and Āśvalāyana. The text says that in one thousand Ṛgveda brāhmaṇas there are two thousand mantras. Kṛshṇa Dvaipāyana and others accepted the Ṛgveda as pramāṇa (authority).
• Yajurveda: 1,999 mantras, and a thousand mantras in the brāhmaṇas. It has eighty-six śākhās, among them the Kāṇva, Mādhyandina, Kaṭha, Maitrāyaṇī, Taittirīya and Vaiśampāyanika.
• Sāmaveda: two śākhās, Kauthuma and Ātharvaṇāyanī. It has four gānas (modes of chanting), among them the Āraṇyaka, the Ukthaka and the Ūha, and 9,425 mantras. These are related to Brahmā.
• Atharvaveda: the ṛshis who began its śākhās are Sumantu, Jājali, Ślokāyanī, Śaunaka, Pippalāda, Muñjakeśa and others. It has 16,000 mantras and a hundred Upanishads.

Vishṇu as Vyāsa

Śrī Mahāvishṇu, descending in the form of Vyāsa, made the division of the Veda śākhās. The divisions of the Veda śākhās, the itihāsas and the Purāṇas: all these are forms of Vishṇu.

The Purāṇa line

Lomaharshaṇa the Sūta received the Purāṇas from Vyāsa and spread them. He had six disciples: Sumati, Agnivarcas, Mitrayu, Śiṃśapāyana, Kṛtavrata and Sāvarṇi. Śiṃśapāyana and the others composed the Purāṇa-saṃhitā.

Śrī Mahāvishṇu himself exists in the form of the eighteen Purāṇas, beginning with the Brahma Purāṇa, and of the eighteen vidyās. He who bears forms with and beyond the manifest world, with form and formless, exists in the form of the Agni Purāṇa; knowing him, worshipping and praising him, one gains bhukti and mukti. Janārdana himself is both the speaker and the hearer of the Agni Purāṇa, and for those who read and hear it, it is the very form of Śrī Hari, the Self of all.

The phalaśruti

The Agni Purāṇa gives vidyā to students, aiśvarya (prosperity) to those who seek wealth, a kingdom to those who seek a kingdom, dharma to those who desire dharma, svarga to those who desire svarga, sons to those who desire sons, cows to those who seek cows and villages to those who seek villages. To those with desires it gives all good fortune, virtues and fame; victory to those who want victory; everything to those who desire everything; mukti to those who seek mukti; and it removes the pāpas of those who have done pāpa.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 271

Sources

• Vishṇu Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa (Part 3), Chapters 3–6
• Vāyu Purāṇa, Chapter 60
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapters 6–7
• Kūrma Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 52
• Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Pūrva Bhāga, Chapters 33–35
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 271