तत: सप्तदशे जात: सत्यवत्यां पराशरात् । चक्रे वेदतरो: शाखा दृष्ट्वा पुंसोऽल्पमेधस: ॥२१॥

tataḥ saptadaÅ›e jÄtaḥ
satyavatyÄá¹ parÄÅ›arÄt
cakre veda-taroḥ Å›ÄkhÄ
dṛṣṭvÄ puá¹so 'lpa-medhasaḥ

1 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LSB(1)

 tataḥ - thereafter; saptadaÅ›e - in the seventeenth incarnation; jÄtaḥ - advented; satyavatyÄm - in the womb of SatyavatÄ«; parÄÅ›arÄt - by ParÄÅ›ara Muni; cakre - prepared; veda-taroḥ - of the desire tree of the Vedas; Å›ÄkhÄḥ - branches; dṛṣṭvÄ - be seeing; puá¹saḥ - the people in general; alpa-medhasaḥ - less intelligent.


Text

Thereafter, in the seventeenth incarnation of Godhead, ÅšrÄ« VyÄsadeva appeared in the womb of SatyavatÄ« through ParÄÅ›ara Muni, and he divided the one Veda into several branches and subbranches, seeing that the people in general were less intelligent.

Purport

Originally the Veda is one. But ÅšrÄ«la VyÄsadeva divided the original Veda into four, namely SÄma, Yajur, Ṛg, Atharva, and then again they were explained in different branches like the PurÄṇas and the MahÄbhÄrata. Vedic language and the subject matter are very difficult for ordinary men. They are understood by the highly intelligent and self-realized brÄhmaṇas. But the present Age of Kali is full of ignorant men. Even those who are born by a brÄhmaṇa father are, in the present age, no better than the śūdras or the women. The twice-born men, namely the brÄhmaṇas, ká¹£atriyas and vaiÅ›yas, are expected to undergo a cultural purificatory process known as saá¹skÄras, but because of the bad influence of the present age the so-called members of the brÄhmaṇa and other high-order families are no longer highly cultured. They are called the dvija-bandhus, or the friends and family members of the twice-born. But these dvija-bandhus are classified amongst the śūdras and the women. ÅšrÄ«la VyÄsadeva divided the Vedas into various branches and subbranches for the sake of the less intelligent classes like the dvija-bandhus, śūdras and women.