SB 12.6.50
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Please note: The synonyms, translation and purport of this verse were composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TEXT 50
- ṛg-atharva-yajuḥ-sāmnāṁ
- rāśīr uddhṛtya vargaśaḥ
- catasraḥ saṁhitāś cakre
- mantrair maṇi-gaṇā iva
SYNONYMS
ṛk-atharva-yajuḥ-sāmnām — of the Ṛg, Atharva, Yajur and Sāma Vedas; rāśīḥ — the accumulation (of mantras); uddhṛtya — separating out; vargaśaḥ — in specific categories; catasraḥ — four; saṁhitāḥ — collections; cakre — he made; mantraiḥ — with the mantras; maṇi-gaṇāḥ — gems; iva — just as.
Translation and purport composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda
TRANSLATION
Śrīla Vyāsadeva separated the mantras of the Ṛg, Atharva, Yajur and Sāma Vedas into four divisions, just as one sorts out a mixed collection of jewels into piles. Thus he composed four distinct Vedic literatures.
PURPORT
When Lord Brahmā first spoke the four Vedas with his four mouths, the mantras were mixed together like an unsorted collection of various types of jewels. Śrīla Vyāsadeva sorted the Vedic mantras into four divisions (saṁhitās), which thus became the recognizable Ṛg, Atharva, Yajur and Sāma Vedas.