cātur-hotraṁ karma śuddhaṁ prajānāṁ vīkṣya vaidikam vyadadhād yajña-santatyai vedam ekaṁ catur-vidham
Synonyms
cātuḥ—four; hotram—sacrificial fire; karma śuddham—purification of work; prajānām—of the people in general; vīkṣya—after seeing; vaidikam—according to Vedic rites; vyadadhāt—made into; yajña—sacrifice; santatyai—to expand; vedam ekam—only one Veda; catuḥ-vidham—in four divisions.
Translation
He foresaw that the means of purifying the occupation of the people in general were the sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas. And to simplify the process He divided one veda into four, in order to expand them in the human society.
Purport
Formerly there was only Veda of the name Yaju and the four divisions of sacrifices were there specifically mentioned. But to make them more easily performable the Veda was divided into four with divisions of the sacrifices just to purify the occupational service of the four orders of several status. Above the four Vedas namely Rik, yaju, Syam, Atharva, there are the Puranas and the Mahabharat samhitas etc. which are known as the fifth Veda. Sri Vyasudeva and his many disciples were all historical personalities and they were very much kind and sympathetic for the fallen souls of this age of Kali. As such the Puranas and Mahabharat were made from related historical facts which explained the teaching of the four vedas. There is no question of doubting about the authority of the Puranas and Mahabharata as parts and parcels of the Vedas. In the Chhandogya Upanishad such Puranas and Mahabharata, generally known as historical facts, are mentioned as the fifths Veda. According to Srila Jiva Goswami that is the way of ascertaining the respective values of the revealed scriptures.