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Vedas personified

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

In Satyaloka the inhabitants are fully cognizant of Vedic wisdom, and thus the mystic cloud of material energy is cleared. Therefore they are known as the Vedas personified.
SB 1.19.23, Purport:

In Satyaloka the inhabitants are fully cognizant of Vedic wisdom, and thus the mystic cloud of material energy is cleared. Therefore they are known as the Vedas personified. Such persons, being fully aware of knowledge both mundane and transcendental, have no interest in either the mundane or transcendental worlds. They are practically desireless devotees. In the mundane world they have nothing to achieve, and in the transcendental world they are full in themselves. Then why do they come to the mundane world? They descend on different planets as messiahs by the order of the Lord to deliver the fallen souls. On the earth they come down and do good to the people of the world in different circumstances under different climatic influences. They have nothing to do in this world save and except reclaim the fallen souls rotting in material existence, deluded by material energy.

SB Canto 3

The Vedas aim at the understanding of the Lord, and the Lord is the Vedas personified. Devakī is compared to the meaningful Vedas and the Lord to their purpose personified.
SB 3.1.33, Purport:

The Vedas are full of transcendental knowledge and spiritual values, and thus Devakī, the mother of Lord Kṛṣṇa, conceived the Lord in her womb as the personified meaning of the Vedas. There is no difference between the Vedas and the Lord. The Vedas aim at the understanding of the Lord, and the Lord is the Vedas personified. Devakī is compared to the meaningful Vedas and the Lord to their purpose personified.

Innumerable universes generate from the holes of His bodily hairs, and thus His transcendental body is the Vedas personified.
SB 3.13.34, Purport:

The Lord can assume any form He likes, and in all circumstances He is the cause of all causes. Since His form is transcendental, He is always the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He is in the Causal Ocean in the form of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Innumerable universes generate from the holes of His bodily hairs, and thus His transcendental body is the Vedas personified. He is the enjoyer of all sacrifices, and He is the unconquerable Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is never to be misunderstood to be other than the Supreme Lord because of His assuming the form of a boar to lift the earth. That is the clear understanding of sages and great personalities like Brahmā and other residents of the higher planetary systems.

SB Canto 5

In this world, the brāhmaṇas thoroughly study all the Vedas, and because they assimilate the Vedic conclusions, they are also to be considered the Vedas personified.
SB 5.5.24, Translation:

The Vedas are My eternal transcendental sound incarnation. Therefore the Vedas are śabda-brahma. In this world, the brāhmaṇas thoroughly study all the Vedas, and because they assimilate the Vedic conclusions, they are also to be considered the Vedas personified. The brāhmaṇas are situated in the supreme transcendental mode of nature-sattva-guṇa. Because of this, they are fixed in mind control (śama), sense control (dama), and truthfulness (satya). They describe the Vedas in their original sense, and out of mercy (anugraha) they preach the purpose of the Vedas to all conditioned souls. They practice penance (tapasya) and tolerance (titikṣā), and they realize the position of the living entity and the Supreme Lord (anubhava). These are the eight qualifications of the brāhmaṇas. Therefore among all living entities, no one is superior to the brāhmaṇas.

SB 5.8.19, Translation:

Alas, when the sun rises, all auspicious things begin. Unfortunately, they have not begun for me. The sun-god is the Vedas personified, but I am bereft of all Vedic principles. That sun-god is now setting, yet the poor animal who trusted in me since its mother died has not returned.

SB Canto 7

My dear lord, by your form as the Vedas personified and through knowledge relating to the activities of all the yajñic brāhmaṇas, you spread the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of the seven kinds of sacrifices, headed by agniṣṭoma.
SB 7.3.30, Translation:

My dear lord, by your form as the Vedas personified and through knowledge relating to the activities of all the yajñic brāhmaṇas, you spread the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of the seven kinds of sacrifices, headed by agniṣṭoma. Indeed, you inspire the yajñic brāhmaṇas to perform the rituals mentioned in the three Vedas. Being the Supreme Soul, the Supersoul of all living entities, you are beginningless, endless and omniscient, beyond the limits of time and space.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.7.28, Translation:

O lord, you are the three Vedas personified. The seven seas are your abdomen, and the mountains are your bones. All drugs, creepers and vegetables are the hairs on your body, the Vedic mantras like Gāyatrī are the seven layers of your body, and the Vedic religious system is the core of your heart.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

The Vedas personified offer their obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
CC Madhya 19.140, Purport:

This is quoted from the commentary on the portion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam wherein the Vedas personified offer their obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this statement in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ. "The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts."

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Nectar of Devotion

There is a similar statement in the Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter, verse 21, wherein the Śrutis, the Vedas personified, pray to the Lord as follows: "Dear Lord, it is very difficult to understand spiritual knowledge."
Nectar of Devotion 4:

There is a similar statement in the Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter, verse 21, wherein the Śrutis, the Vedas personified, pray to the Lord as follows: "Dear Lord, it is very difficult to understand spiritual knowledge. Your appearance here, just as You are, is to explain to us this most difficult subject of knowledge of the spirit. As such, Your devotees who have left their domestic comforts to associate with the liberated ācāryas (teachers) are now fully merged in the devotional service of Your Lordship, and thus they do not care for any so-called liberation."

In the Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter, verse 23, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Vedas personified address the Lord in this way: "My dear Lord, yogīs meditate upon Your localized feature, and thus they achieve the spiritual perfection of being merged in the impersonal brahmajyoti. Persons who treat You as an enemy achieve the same perfection without meditating."
Nectar of Devotion 15:

In the Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter, verse 23, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Vedas personified address the Lord in this way: "My dear Lord, yogīs meditate upon Your localized feature, and thus they achieve the spiritual perfection of being merged in the impersonal brahmajyoti. Persons who treat You as an enemy achieve the same perfection without meditating. The gopīs, who are embraced by Your serpentine hands and who have such lusty attitudes, also achieve the same perfection. And as far as we are concerned, being different demigods in charge of the different parts of Vedic knowledge, we are always following in the footsteps of the gopīs. Thus we hope to attain the same perfection." By "the same perfection" we must always remember the example of the sun and the sunshine. Those who are impersonalists can merge into the sunshinelike brahmajyoti, whereas those who are in love with the Supreme Person enter into the supreme abode of the Lord, Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

You are the Vedas personified. Therefore we offer You our respectful obeisances.
Krsna Book 16:

You are the ultimate goal of all philosophical efforts, and it is actually only You who are described by all philosophies and by different kinds of doctrines. Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto You, because You are the origin of all scripture and the source of knowledge. You are the root of all evidences, and You are the Supreme Person who can bestow upon us the supreme knowledge. You are the cause of all kinds of desires, and You are the cause of all kinds of satisfaction. You are the Vedas personified. Therefore we offer You our respectful obeisances.

The Lord at that time remains asleep for a long, long time, and when there is again necessity of creation, the Vedas personified assemble around the Lord and begin to glorify Him.
Krsna Book 87:

Sanandana said, “After the dissolution of the whole cosmic manifestation, the entire energy and the whole creation in its nucleus form enter into the body of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. The Lord at that time remains asleep for a long, long time, and when there is again necessity of creation, the Vedas personified assemble around the Lord and begin to glorify Him, describing His wonderful transcendental pastimes, exactly like servants of a king: when the king is asleep in the morning, the appointed reciters come around his bedroom and begin to sing of his chivalrous activities, and while hearing of his glorious activities, the king gradually awakens.

This prayer of the Vedas personified illustrates that the Vedas are meant for helping the conditioned souls to understand Kṛṣṇa.
Krsna Book 87:

This prayer of the Vedas personified illustrates that the Vedas are meant for helping the conditioned souls to understand Kṛṣṇa. All the śrutis, or personified Vedas, offered glories to the Lord again and again, singing, "Jaya! Jaya!" This indicates that the Lord is the most glorious. Of all His glories, the most important is His causeless mercy upon the conditioned souls in reclaiming them from the clutches of māyā.

The Vedas personified continued. "Dear Lord," they prayed, "You are equal to all, with no partiality toward a particular type of living entity. It is due to their own material desires that all living entities enjoy or suffer in different conditions of life."
Krsna Book 87:

The Vedas personified continued. "Dear Lord," they prayed, "You are equal to all, with no partiality toward a particular type of living entity. It is due to their own material desires that all living entities enjoy or suffer in different conditions of life. As Your parts and parcels, they are just like the sparks of a fire. Just as sparks dance in a blazing fire, all living entities are dancing on Your support. You are providing them with everything they desire, and yet You are not responsible for their position of enjoyment or suffering. There are different types of living entities—demigods, human beings, animals, trees, birds, beasts, germs, worms, insects and aquatics—and all enjoy or suffer in life while resting on You."

Those who are engaged in fruitive activities are described by the Vedas personified as andha-paramparā, or blind followers of the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies.
Krsna Book 87:

As far as fruitive activities are concerned, they are mainly based on the platform of sense gratification. Therefore an advanced Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not take to them. The result of fruitive activities can elevate one to the higher planetary system, but as it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, foolish persons, after exhausting the results of their pious activities in the heavenly kingdom, come back again to this lower planetary system and then again try to go to the higher planetary system. Their only profit is to take the trouble of going and coming back, just as at present many material scientists are spoiling their time by trying to go to the moon planet and again coming back. Those who are engaged in fruitive activities are described by the Vedas personified as andha-paramparā, or blind followers of the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. Although such ceremonies are certainly mentioned in the Vedas, they are not meant for the intelligent class of men. Men who are too much attached to material enjoyment are captivated by the prospect of being elevated to the higher planetary system, and so they take to such ritualistic activities. But persons who are intelligent, who have taken shelter of a bona fide spiritual master to see things as they are, do not take to fruitive activities but engage themselves in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

Correspondence

1970 Correspondence

Regarding your first question, who is the speaker of Isopanisad? The speaker is the Vedas personified.
Letter to Citsukhananda -- Los Angeles 28 April, 1970:

Regarding your first question, who is the speaker of Isopanisad? The speaker is the Vedas personified. In the Vedic age a disciple heard from the Spiritual Master messages which were coming down in disciplic succession, so a disciple, whatever he heard from his bona fide Spiritual Master, would recite. The Vedic mantras are known as Sruti, to hear from authoritative source and then repeat it, chanting. So there is no question of who wrote it, it is said that no human being has compiled them. Later on, before the beginning of Kali Yuga, all Vedic mantras were written in books, most of them were done by Srila Vyasadeva Mahamuni and his different disciples.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 9 May, 1970:

Regarding the Vedas personified, they should be drawn just like you have seen some pictures of great sages. They are young in appearance like perfect Vaisnavas, and they may be shown with tilak and Vaisnava markings in that way.

Page Title:Vedas personified
Compiler:Labangalatika, Kanupriya
Created:11 of Oct, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=7, CC=1, OB=7, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=2
No. of Quotes:17