Parāvarām

Brahmaji imparted brahmavidyā to his eldest son, Atharva. Then, Atharva continued this lineage of teaching.

atharvaṇe yām pravadeta brahmā

atharvā tam purovācāṅgire brahmavidyām |

sa bhāradvājāya satyavāhāya prāha

bhāradvājo'ṅgirase parāvarām ||1.1.2||

In the beginning, Atharvā taught to Angir that very same brahma-vidyā given by Brahmaji to him. Angir taught it to Satyavaha who was born in the family of Bharadvāja. Satyavaha handed down this knowledge, that passes from the higher to the lower, to Angiras.

atharvaṇe yām pravadeta brahmā atharvā tam purovācāṅgire brahmavidyām - Atharva imparted the same brahmavidyā that was taught by Brahmaji to Angir. It is the same brahmavidyā coming down undistorted, just as Brahmaji gave it to him. Atharvā initiated the sampradāya, teaching the same brahmavidyā to Angir. sa bhāradvājāya satyavāhāya prāha - Angir taught to Satyavāha who is also called as Bhāradvāja (born into the family (gotra) of Bharadvāja). bhāradvājo'ṅgirase parāvarām - Bhāradvāja taught the same brahmavidyā to Angiras. From the beginning, the same brahmavidyā has been taught, revered by the term parāvarām. Parā (higher/preceding) refers the teacher, while avarā (lower/later) refers the student. That knowledge is received from the teacher, who comes first, by a disciple who comes later. In this context, it is brahmavidyā. Another meaning of parāvarām is knowledge that covers the subject matter of both parā-vidyā and avarā-vidyā. Parā-vidyā is the knowledge of nirguna-brahman (the cause), while avarā-vidyā is the knowledge of saguna-brahman, which is the entire manifestation (the effect). Both are brahman. This vidyā reveals brahman as both cause and effect, where the effect is not separate from the cause.