How long must one study the Vedas? Is there any time period necessary for mastery of the Vedas? Is it possible to know all there is within a prescribed time frame? The Vedas can be studied for eons, and still the study will not be complete. Sage Bharadwaja was given a life span of 100 years, and he spent his life studying the Vedas. Towards the end of his life, Brahma appeared before him and said he was pleased with Bharadwaja's commitment to the study of the Vedas. So Brahma said he was going to give Bharadwaja another hundred years of life. At the end of the additional hundred years, Brahma again asked Bharadwaja what he wanted, and he said he wanted another hundred years to study the Vedas, and the wish was granted.
At the end of Bharadwaja's three hundred years of earthly sojourn, Brahma appeared and asked Bharadwaja what he wanted. Bharadwaja said that however many times Brahma put the question to him, his answer would always be the same. He would want an extended life span to study the Vedas. Brahma then pointed to a mountain and said: “Vedic knowledge is huge like that mountain. How many births would one need to master all of it?” Thus the Vedas can be studied for hundreds of years, yet one cannot claim mastery of the Vedas, said Goda Venkateswara Sastrigal.
Such being the case, can anyone make the claim that he has acquired all the knowledge that needs to be acquired? Brahma has himself been studying the Vedas, since time immemorial. Reciting the Vedas gives one strength. It gives one the capacity to absorb knowledge, and it also improves one's capacity to retain what is learned.
Those who study the Vedas are held in high regard. When the sages approach Rama and ask Him to kill the asuras who are disrupting the yagas of the sages, Rama assures the sages of His help. Sita asks Him how He can take their word and proceed to kill the asuras, without getting the asuras' version of the problem. Rama answers that sages have only the welfare of all humanity in mind, so they will not utter falsehoods. Their word is enough for Rama to slay the asuras.
