FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.4.23

त एत ऋषयो वेदं स्वं स्वं व्यस्यन्ननेकधा । शिष्यै: प्रशिष्यैस्तच्छिष्यैर्वेदास्ते शाखिनोऽभवन् ॥ २३ ॥
ta eta ṛṣayo vedaṁ
[ta eta rishayo vedam]
svaṁ svaṁ vyasyann anekadhā
[svam svam vyasyann anekadhaa]
śiṣyaiḥ praśiṣyais tac-chiṣyair
[shishyaih prashishyais tach-chishyair]
vedās te śākhino ’bhavan
[vedaas te shaakhino ’bhavan]
Word-for-word
te — they ete — all these ṛṣayaḥ — learned scholars vedam — the respective Vedas svam svam — in their own entrusted matters vyasyan — rendered anekadhā — many śiṣyaiḥ — disciples praśiṣyaiḥ — granddisciples tat-śiṣyaiḥ — great-granddisciples vedāḥ te — followers of the respective Vedas śākhinaḥ — different branches abhavan — thus became.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ta eta ṛṣayo vedaṁ
svaṁ svaṁ vyasyann anekadhā
śiṣyaiḥ praśiṣyais tac-chiṣyair
vedās te śākhino ’bhavan
te
they
ete
all these
ṛṣayaḥ
learned scholars
vedam
the respective Vedas
svam svam
in their own entrusted matters
vyasyan
rendered
anekadhā
many
śiṣyaiḥ
disciples
praśiṣyaiḥ
granddisciples
tat-śiṣyaiḥ
great-granddisciples
vedāḥ te
followers of the respective Vedas
śākhinaḥ
different branches
abhavan
thus became.
All these learned scholars, in their turn, rendered their entrusted Vedas unto their many disciples, granddisciples and great-granddisciples, and thus the respective branches of the followers of the Vedas came into being.
Purport

The original source of knowledge is the Vedas. There are no branches of knowledge, either mundane or transcendental, which do not belong to the original text of the Vedas. They have simply been developed into different branches. They were originally rendered by great, respectable and learned professors. In other words, the Vedic knowledge, broken into different branches by different disciplic successions, has been distributed all over the world. No one, therefore, can claim independent knowledge beyond the Vedas.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Each of these sages divided up his Veda into many divisions and these Vedas then developed branches as they were passed on to disciples, grand-disciples and great-grand-disciples.
Commentary

Vyasyan means divided.

Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Each scholar then taught disciples, and disciples taught further disciples — branches grew. The health of a tradition depends on each generation handing it on, not just receiving it. Transmission is everyone's job.
Reflection Questions
  • Who is downstream from me in some tradition — even informally — and what am I passing?
  • Where have I broken the chain by only receiving and never handing on?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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