翻譯名義集 5.146

5.146

[Veda (韋陀)] Also called *Veda* (吠陀). This is translated as "treatise on knowledge"; knowing this produces knowledge, yet it is a treatise of perverse knowledge. It is also translated as "unrivalled". In the past it was called *Vida* (毘陀), which is an error. There are four Vedas: First, *Āyur*, translated here as "prolonging life" or "longevity", which refers to nourishing life and caring for one's nature. Second, *Yajur*, which refers to sacrifices and prayers. Third, *Sāma*, which refers to etiquette, divination, military strategy, and battle arrays. Fourth, *Atharva*, which refers to extraordinary skills and arts, protective incantations, and medicine. The *Suoyin* cites the *Mātaṅga Sūtra*: "The first person was named Brahmā; he composed one Veda. Next there was an ascetic named Śuddhodana (White Purity), who transformed the one into four: the first was called recitation; the second was called sacrifice; the third was called singing; the fourth was called averting calamities. Next there was one named Puṣya, who had twenty-five disciples, each with one Veda, able to broadly distinguish them. Some say the Veda is an official call to arms (xi)." The 'Annals of Gaozu' in the *Book of Han* says: "A call to arms is written on a wooden tablet, one foot two inches long, used for summoning; if there is urgent business, a bird's feather is inserted into it to signify swiftness."