tretÄ-mukhe mahÄ-bhÄga
prÄṇÄn me há¹›dayÄt trayÄ«
vidyÄ prÄdurabhÅ«t tasyÄ
aham Äsaá¹ tri-vá¹›n makhaḥ
tretÄ-mukhe - at the beginning of TretÄ-yuga; mahÄ-bhÄga - O greatly fortunate one; prÄṇÄt - from the abode of prÄṇa, or the life air; me - My; há¹›dayÄt - from the heart; trayÄ« - the threefold; vidyÄ - Vedic knowledge; prÄdurabhÅ«t - appeared; tasyÄḥ - from that knowledge; aham - I; Äsam - appeared; tri-vá¹›t - in three divisions; makhaḥ - sacrifice.
O greatly fortunate one, at the beginning of TretÄ-yuga Vedic knowledge appeared from My heart, which is the abode of the air of life, in three divisions — as Ṛg, SÄma and Yajur. Then from that knowledge I appeared as threefold sacrifice.
In TretÄ-yuga, the bull of religion loses one leg, and only seventy-five percent of religious principles are manifested, represented by the three principal Vedas — Ṛg, SÄma and Yajur. The Lord appears in the process of threefold Vedic sacrifice. The three divisions are understood as follows. The hotÄ priest offers oblations into the fire and chants the Ṛg Veda; the udgÄtÄ priest chants the SÄma Veda; and the adhvaryu priest, who arranges the sacrificial ground, altar, etc., chants the Yajur Veda. In TretÄ-yuga such sacrifice is the authorized process for spiritual perfection. The word prÄṇÄt in this verse refers to the universal form of the Personality of Godhead. This form is further described in the following verses.
