42. Omkara exhibited the three original sounds of the alphabet-A, U and M. These three, O most eminent descendant of Bhrgu, sustain all the different threefold aspects of material existence, including the three modes of nature, the names of the Rg, Yajur and Sama Vedas, the goals known as the Bhur, Bhuvar and Svar planetary systems, and the three functional platforms called waking consciousness, sleep and deep sleep.
43. From that omkara Lord Brahma created all the sounds of the alphabet-the vowels, consonants, semivowels, sibilants and others-distinguished by such features as long and short measure.
44. All-powerful Brahma made use of this collection of sounds to produce from his four faces the four Vedas, which appeared together with the sacred omkara and the seven vyahrti invocations. His intention was to propagate the process of Vedic sacrifice according to the different functions performed by the priests of each of the four Vedas.
45. Brahma taught these Vedas to his sons, who were great sages among the brahmanas and experts in the art of Vedic recitation. They in turn took the role of acaryas and imparted the Vedas to their own sons.
46. In this way, throughout the cycles of four ages, generation after generation of disciples-all firmly fixed in their spiritual vows-have received these Vedas by disciplic succession. At the end of each Dvapara-yuga the Vedas are edited into separate divisions by eminent sages.
47. Observing that people in general were diminished in their life span, strength and intelligence by the influence of time, great sages took inspiration from the Personality of Godhead sitting within their hearts and systematically divided the Vedas.
48-49. O brahmana, in the present age of Vaivasvata Manu, the leaders of the universe, led by Brahma and Siva, requested the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the protector of all the worlds, to save the principles of religion. O most fortunate Saunaka, the almighty Lord, exhibiting a divine spark of a portion of His plenary portion, then appeared in the womb of Satyavati as the son of Parasara. In this form, named Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, he divided the one Veda into four.
50. Srila Vyasadeva separated the mantras of the Rg, Atharva, Yajur and Sama Vedas into four divisions, just as one sorts out a mixed collection of jewels into piles. Thus he composed four distinct Vedic literatures.
51. The most powerful and intelligent Vyasadeva called four of his disciples, O brahmana, and entrusted to each of them one of these four samhitas.
52-53. Srila Vyasadeva taught the first samhita, the Rg Veda, to Paila and gave this collection the name Bahvrca. To the sage Vaisampayana he spoke the collection of Yajur mantras named Nigada. He taught the Sama Veda mantras, designated as the Chandoga-samhita, to Jaimini, and he spoke the Atharva Veda to his dear disciple Sumantu.
54-56. After dividing his samhita into two parts, the wise Paila spoke it to Indrapramiti and Baskala. Baskala further divided his collection into four parts, O Bhargava, and instructed them to his disciples Bodhya, Yajnavalkya, Parasara and Agnimitra. Indrapramiti, the self-controlled sage, taught his samhita to the learned mystic Mandukeya, whose disciple Devamitra later passed down the divisions of the Rg Veda to Saubhari and others.
57. The son of Mandukeya, named Sakalya, divided his own collection into five, entrusting one subdivision each to Vatsya, Mudgala, Saliya, Gokhalya and Sisira.
58. The sage Jatukarnya was also a disciple of Sakalya, and after dividing the samhita he received from Sakalya into three parts, he added a fourth section, a Vedic glossary. He taught one of these parts to each of four disciples-Balaka, the second Paila, Jabala and Viraja.
59. Baskali assembled the Valakhilya-samhita, a collection from all the branches of the Rg Veda. This collection was received by Valayani, Bhajya and Kasara.
60. Thus these various samhitas of the Rg Veda were maintained through disciplic succession by these saintly brahmanas. Simply by hearing of this distribution of the Vedic hymns, one will be freed from all sins.
61. The disciples of Vaisampayana became authorities in the Atharva Veda. They were known as the Carakas because they executed strict vows to free their guru from his sin of killing a brahmana.
62. Once Yajnavalkya, one of the disciples of Vaisampayana, said: O master, how much benefit will be derived from the feeble endeavors of these weak disciples of yours? I will personally perform some outstanding penance.
63. Addressed thus, the spiritual master Vaisampayana became angry and said: Go away from here! Enough of you, O disciple who insults brahmanas! Furthermore, you must immediately give back everything I have taught you.
64-65. Yajnavalkya, the son of Devarata, then vomited the mantras of the Yajur Veda and went away from there. The assembled disciples, looking greedily upon these yajur hymns, assumed the form of partridges and picked them all up. These divisions of the Yajur Veda therefore became known as the most beautiful Taittiriya-samhita, the hymns collected by partridges [tittirah].
66. My dear brahmana Saunaka, Yajnavalkya then desired to find out new yajur-mantras unknown to even his spiritual master. With this in mind he offered attentive worship to the powerful lord of the sun.
67. Sri Yajnavalkya said: I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead appearing as the sun. You are present as the controller of the four kinds of living entities, beginning from Brahma and extending down to the blades of grass. Just as the sky is present both inside and outside every living being, you exist both within the hearts of all as the Supersoul and externally in the form of time. Just as the sky cannot be covered by the clouds present within it, you are never covered by any false material designation. By the flow of years, which are made up of the tiny fragments of time called ksanas, lavas and nimesas, you alone maintain this world, drying up the waters and giving them back as rain.
68. O glowing one, O powerful lord of the sun, you are the chief of all the demigods. I meditate with careful attention on your fiery globe, because for those who offer prayers to you three times daily according to the Vedic method passed down through authorized disciplic succession, you burn away all sinful activities, all consequent suffering and even the original seed of desire.
69. You are personally present as the indwelling lord in the hearts of all moving and nonmoving beings, who depend completely on your shelter. Indeed, you animate their material minds, senses and vital airs to act.
70. The world has been seized and swallowed by the python of darkness in its horrible mouth and has become unconscious, as if dead. But mercifully glancing upon the sleeping people of the world, you raise them up with the gift of sight. Thus you are most magnanimous. At the three sacred junctures of each day, you engage the pious in the path of ultimate good, inducing them to perform religious duties that situate them in their spiritual position.
71. Just like an earthly king, you travel about everywhere spreading fear among the unholy as the powerful deities of the directions offer you in their folded palms lotus flowers and other respectful presentations.
72. Therefore, my lord, I am prayerfully approaching your lotus feet, which are honored by the spiritual masters of the three worlds, because I hope to receive from you mantras of the Yajur Veda unknown to anyone else.
73. Suta Gosvami said: Satisfied by such glorification, the powerful sun-god assumed the form of a horse and presented to the sage Yajnavalkya yajur-mantras previously unknown in human society.
74. From these countless hundreds of mantras of the Yajur Veda, the powerful sage compiled fifteen new branches of Vedic literature. These became known as the Vajasaneyi-samhita because they were produced from the hairs of the horse’s mane, and they were accepted in disciplic succession by the followers of Kanva, Madhyandina and other rsis.
75. Jaimini Rsi, the authority of the Sama Veda, had a son named Sumantu, and the son of Sumantu was Sutvan. The sage Jaimini spoke to each of them a different part of the Sama-veda-samhita.
76-77. Sukarma, another disciple of Jaimini, was a great scholar. He divided the mighty tree of the Sama Veda into one thousand samhitas. Then, O brahmana, three disciples of Sukarma-Hiranyanabha, the son of Kusala; Pausyanji; and Avantya, who was very advanced in spiritual realization-took charge of the sama-mantras.
78. The five hundred disciples of Pausyanji and Avantya became known as the northern singers of the Sama Veda, and in later times some of them also became known as eastern singers.
79. Five other disciples of Pausyanji, namely Laugaksi, Mangali, Kulya, Kusida and Kuksi, each received one hundred samhitas.
80. Krta, the disciple of Hiranyanabha, spoke twenty four samhitas to his own disciples, and the remaining collections were passed down by the self-realized sage Avantya.
