SB 1.3.21
चक्रे वेदतरोः शाखा दृष्ट्वा पुंसोऽल्पमेधसः ॥ २१ ॥
cakre veda-taroḥ śākhā dṛṣṭvā puṁso’lpa-medhasaḥ
Synonyms
tataḥ — thereafter; saptadaśe — in the seventeenth advent [avatāre100]; [the Puruṣa]; jātaḥ — appeared [as Vyāsa101]; satyavatyām — in [the womb] of Satyavatī; parāśarāt — from the sage Parāśara; dṛṣṭvā — recognizing; puṁsaḥ — [that] people in general; alpa-medhasaḥ — were diminished in their powers of understanding [(alpa-prajñān-puṁsaḥ); or bereft of the intellective capacity necessary to ascertain the essential import of the Vedas as a whole (kṛtsna-veda-tad-arthāvagamopayukta-buddhi-śūnyām)102]; cakre — He divided; veda-taroḥ — the tree of the Veda; śākhāḥ — [into] many branches [doing so out of compassion for them (tad-anugrahārtham)].
Translation
Thereafter, in the seventeenth avatāra, the Puruṣa appeared [as Vyāsa] in the womb of Satyavatī from the sage Parāśara. Recognizing that people in general were diminished in their powers of understanding, He divided the tree of the Veda into many branches.