Devanagari
एक एव पुरा वेद: प्रणव: सर्ववाङ्मय: ।
देवो नारायणो नान्य एकोऽग्निर्वर्ण एव च ॥ ४८ ॥
Verse text
eka eva purā vedaḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vāṅmayaḥ
devo nārāyaṇo nānya
eko ’gnir varṇa eva ca
Synonyms
ekaḥ
—
only one
;
eva
—
indeed
;
purā
—
formerly
;
vedaḥ
—
book of transcendental knowledge
;
praṇavaḥ
—
oṁkāra
;
sarva
—
vāk — mayaḥ — consisting of all Vedic mantras
;
devaḥ
—
the Lord, God
;
nārāyaṇaḥ
—
only Nārāyaṇa (was worshipable in the Satya-yuga)
;
na anyaḥ
—
no other
;
ekaḥ agniḥ
—
one division only for agni
;
varṇaḥ
—
order of life
;
eva ca
—
and certainly .
Translation
In the Satya-yuga, the first millennium, all the Vedic mantras were included in one mantra — praṇava, the root of all Vedic mantras. In other words, the Atharva Veda alone was the source of all Vedic knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa was the only worshipable Deity; there was no recommendation for worship of the demigods. Fire was one only, and the only order of life in human society was known as haṁsa.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Previously there was one Veda, and oṁ was the principal mantra. Nārāyaṇa was the only deity. There was one fire and one varṇa.
“Was the method of karma mentioned in the three Vedas not existing previously?” It was not revealed previously. The verses explain the situation. Previously, in Satya-yuga, oṁ was the seed of all verses. There was one Veda, and Nārāyaṇa was the one deity. There was one fire (not three), and one varṇa called hamṣa, since generally everyone was predominantly in sattva-guṇa, engaged in meditation.
Purport
In Satya-yuga there was only one
Veda,
not four. Later, before the beginning of Kali-yuga, this one
Veda,
the
Atharva Veda
(or, some say, the
Yajur Veda
), was divided into four —
Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg
and
Atharva
— for the facility of human society. In Satya-yuga the only
mantra
was
oṁkāra
(
oṁ tat sat
). The same name
oṁkāra
is manifest in the
mantra
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Unless one is a
brāhmaṇa,
one cannot utter
oṁkāra
and get the desired result. But in Kali-yuga almost everyone is a
śūdra,
unfit for pronouncing the
praṇava, oṁkāra.
Therefore the
śāstras
have recommended the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa
mahā-mantra.
Oṁkāra
is a
mantra,
or
mahā-mantra,
and Hare Kṛṣṇa is also a
mahā-mantra.
The purpose of pronouncing
oṁkāra
is to address the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva (
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
). And the purpose of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa
mantra
is the same.
Hare:
“O energy of the Lord!”
Kṛṣṇa:
“O Lord Kṛṣṇa!”
Hare:
“O energy of the Lord!”
Rāma:
“O Supreme Lord, O supreme enjoyer!” The only worshipable Lord is Hari, who is the goal of the
Vedas
(
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ
). By worshiping the demigods, one worships the different parts of the Lord, just as one might water the branches and twigs of a tree. But worshiping Nārāyaṇa, the all-inclusive Supreme Personality of Godhead, is like pouring water on the root of the tree, thus supplying water to the trunk, branches, twigs, leaves and so on. In Satya-yuga people knew how to fulfill the necessities of life simply by worshiping Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The same purpose can be served in this Age of Kali by the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa
mantra,
as recommended in the
Bhāgavatam.
Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet.
Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa
mantra,
one becomes free from the bondage of material existence and thus becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead.