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Upanishads · Muktikā 1.11
॥
Devanāgarī
श्रीराम उवाच । ऋग्वेदादिविभागेन वेदाश्चत्वार ईरिताः । तेषां शाखा ह्यनेकाः स्युस्तासूपनिषदस्तथा
Transliteration (IAST)
śrīrāma uvāca | ṛgvedādivibhāgena vedāścatvāra īritāḥ | teṣāṃ śākhā hyanekāḥ syustāsūpaniṣadastathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
श्री-रामः उवाचśrī-rāmaḥ uvācaŚrī Rāma said
ऋग्-वेद-आदि-विभागेनṛg-veda-ādi-vibhāgenaby division into the Ṛgveda and the rest
वेदाः चत्वारः ईरिताःvedāḥ catvāraḥ īritāḥthe Vedas are called four
तेषां शाखाः हि अनेकाः स्युःteṣāṃ śākhāḥ hi anekāḥ syuḥtheir branches indeed are many
तासु उपनिषदः तथाtāsu upaniṣadaḥ tathāand among them are upaniṣads
Translation
«Śrī Rāma said: “By division into the Ṛgveda and the rest, the Vedas are called four; their branches are many, and among them are upaniṣads…»
Version
0c890e38b4e1 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Worth noting the phrase ṛgvedādi-vibhāgena, «by division into the Ṛgveda and the rest». That is, the Veda is called one, and the four are its division; and this is a standing position in Indian tradition. The account goes: the Veda was one, and Vyāsa divided it into four so that it could be held in memory; hence he is called Veda-vyāsa, «the divider of the Veda».
This detail, I think, is worth attention: the division is explained by the weakness of those who remember, not by the structure of the subject. That is, the four Vedas are a concession to human memory; and whoever holds one of them in hand holds a quarter of the concession. Add what the Vaishnava side says of Vyāsa, which is directly to the point here.
The Bhāgavatam (1.4) tells that Vyāsa, having divided the Veda, composed the purāṇas, and written the Mahābhārata, remained unsatisfied: he sat by the Sarasvatī in dejection. And Nārada explained the cause to him: he had set out everything except the glory of the Lord; and told him to write anew. Thus the Bhāgavatam appeared.
This story is worth remembering when reading the list about to follow: the one who divided the Veda into branches and upaniṣads himself judged this insufficient.