Loss of Vedas (from 1 lac to 20,000 ?)

Loss of vedas (from 1 lac to 20,000 ?)
The Purusha Sukta in the 10th Mandala of Rigveda (10.90)
tells us
that this universe or creation came out of great sacrifice
and from this came the things and beings
and along with them came the Vedic mantras for the benefit and guidance of human beings.
They were later echoed in the hearts of the sages
who gave to the world in the form of mantras.


It is stated that initially there was one volume with one lakh of mantras or the verses and they were passed on from generation to generation by oral tradition by memorising the mantras. As the time passed with the loss of memory one lakh got reduced to almost 20,000 mantras and at that time on account of the efforts of Bhagwan Shri Vedavyas, they were collected and then in the form of four volumes as we see them to-day, he gave back to the mankind

+++++++++++++++++++++


Can anyone tell me original scriptural reference of this reduction of veda mantras ?
somewhere else I read that Vedas got reduced from 5 lac to 20,000 mantras.

I found the above text in a pdf file:
RIG VEDA
Translator
Ralph T.H. Griffith
With collected commentaries and other help
Compiled by

Prof. M. M. Ninan

Prashant :
You have enough of the Vedas "left" to gain AtmA gyAnam.

Why not make us of what you have.

Santosh Kumar :

I read the following info about Sage Bharadwaja and learning Vedas. This might/might not be authentic info, but i found the same info in many sites alike. I would check in Mahabharata if it is mentioned, but for time being pasting the info from a site:

"Bharadwaja observed rigorous austerity for years, which resulted in the weakening of his body. Eventually he became so weak that he could hardly sit. The Marut gods were filled with pity for him. Finally Bharadwaja fell down meditating when God Indra appeared. Bharadwaja was filled with joy. Indra asked him what would he do if he were given a longer life? Bharadwaja replied that he would again perform meditation and learn more about Vedas. Indra told Bharadwaja that this was his third life and he spent his last two lives in understanding Vedas. Indra then materialized three mountains and took three handful of soil from the mountains. He said to Bharadwaja that three Vedas are like the three mountains and what Bharadwaja has learned is equal to those three handfuls but that did not mean he learnt a little. Even he had gained more knowledge than the gods. Vedic knowledge was endless and gaining the knowledge is important but spreading it is equally important. "
Ref: http://www.indianetzone.com/12/bharadwaja.htm

Vedas are surely huge, but probably we are left with a portion of the same.

Also, I'm not certain but it is said that whatever documentation of Vedas was available, probably huge portions of the same were destroyed during Anti Vedic invasions. Some also say that the documentation available with us was taken away by Germans/British. Here i read few days back an Old news (2002-03) that Germans were trying to register their copyrights/trademark for Veda, Ayurveda, Gayatri kind of Indian words for their businesses/firms.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/dec/30veda.htm