FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.7.36

कालेन मीलितधियामवमृश्य नृणां स्तोकायुषां स्वनिगमो बत दूरपार: । आविर्हितस्त्वनुयुगं स हि सत्यवत्यां वेदद्रुमं विटपशो विभजिष्यति स्म ॥ ३६ ॥
kālena mīlita-dhiyām avamṛśya nṝṇāṁ
[kaalena meelita-dhiyaam avamrishya nreenaam]
stokāyuṣāṁ sva-nigamo bata dūra-pāraḥ
[stokaayushaam sva-nigamo bata doora-paarah]
āvirhitas tv anuyugaṁ sa hi satyavatyāṁ
[aavirhitas tv anuyugam sa hi satyavatyaam]
veda-drumaṁ viṭa-paśo vibhajiṣyati sma
[veda-drumam vita-pasho vibhajishyati sma]
kālena — in course of time mīlita-dhiyām — of the less intelligent persons avamṛśya — considering the difficulties nṝṇām — of humanity at large stoka-āyuṣām — of the short-living persons sva-nigamaḥ — the Vedic literatures compiled by Him bata — exactly dūra-pāraḥ — greatly difficult āvirhitaḥ — having appeared as tu — but anuyugam — in terms of the age saḥ — He (the Lord) hi — certainly satyavatyām — in the womb of Satyavatī veda-drumam — the desire tree of the Vedas viṭa-paśaḥ — by division of branches vibhajiṣyati — will divide sma — as it were.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kālena mīlita-dhiyām avamṛśya nṝṇāṁ
kālena
in course of time
mīlita-dhiyām
of the less intelligent persons
avamṛśya
considering the difficulties
nṝṇām
of humanity at large
stokāyuṣāṁ sva-nigamo bata dūra-pāraḥ
stoka-āyuṣām
of the short-living persons
sva-nigamaḥ
the Vedic literatures compiled by Him
bata
exactly
dūra-pāraḥ
greatly difficult
āvirhitas tv anuyugaṁ sa hi satyavatyāṁ
āvirhitaḥ
having appeared as
tu
but
anuyugam
in terms of the age
saḥ
He (the Lord)
hi
certainly
satyavatyām
in the womb of Satyavatī
veda-drumaṁ viṭa-paśo vibhajiṣyati sma
veda-drumam
the desire tree of the Vedas
viṭa-paśaḥ
by division of branches
vibhajiṣyati
will divide
sma
as it were.
The Lord Himself in His incarnation as the son of Satyavatī [Vyāsadeva] will consider his compilation of the Vedic literature to be very difficult for the less intelligent persons with short life, and thus He will divide the tree of Vedic knowledge into different branches, according to the circumstances of the particular age.

Herein Brahmā mentions the future compilation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for the short-lived persons of the Kali age. As explained in the First Canto, the less intelligent persons of the Age of Kali would be not only short-lived, but also perplexed with so many problems of life due to the awkward situation of the godless human society. Advancement of material comforts of the body is activity in the mode of ignorance according to the laws of material nature. Real advancement of knowledge means progress of knowledge in self-realization. But in the Age of Kali the less intelligent men mistakenly consider the short lifetime of one hundred years (now factually reduced to about forty or sixty years) to be all in all. They are less intelligent because they have no information of the eternity of life; they identify with the temporary material body existing for forty years and consider it the only basic principle of life. Such persons are described as equal to the asses and bulls. But the Lord, as the compassionate father of all living beings, imparts unto them the vast Vedic knowledge in short treatises like the Bhagavad-gītā and, for the graduates, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata are also similarly made by Vyāsadeva for the different types of men in the modes of material nature. But none of them are independent of the Vedic principles.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The Lord, seeing that the ocean of the Vedas composed by himself will be difficult to cross by people whose lives are short and whose intelligence has been limited by time, will appear in every kalpa as the son of Satyavatī and divide the tree of the Vedas into branches.
Commentary

This verse describes Vyāsadeva. Considering that the ocean of the Vedas written by himself was difficult to cross (dūra-pāraḥ) for the men with short lives and whose intelligence has been reduced by time, Vyāsa appears in every kalpa to Satyavatī and divides the Vedas into branches. Anuyugam means every kalpa or day of Brahmā. [Note: This implies that he actually appears only once in a day of Brahmā. The other forms mentioned in Viṣṇu Purāṇa and Mahābharata are therefore aṁśa forms only. ]

Vyāsa would compile Vedic literature into branches to help the short-lived, less intelligent people of Kali. Real scholarship cares about the actual capacity of the reader. Good teaching meets people where they are.
Reflection Questions
  • Am I receiving teachings calibrated to my actual capacity, or chasing prestige?
  • Where in my own teaching or sharing could I meet people more honestly at their actual level?
📝 My note

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