Shloka 20

वेदव्यास-परम्परा तथा प्रणव-ब्रह्म-स्तुति

Devanagari script

एको वेदश् चतुर्धा तु यैः कृतो द्वापरादिषु

Transliteration

eko vedaś caturdhā tu yaiḥ kṛto dvāparādiṣu

Translation

The Veda is truly one; yet in the Dvāpara age and in the ages that follow, those sages render it into a fourfold form.

Word by Word

• एकः: one/single
• एकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्या-विशेषण

• वेदः: the Veda
• वेदः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• चतुर्धा: fourfold/into four
• चतुर्धा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चतुर्धा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'into four parts')

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक (particle: 'indeed/but')

• यैः: by whom/by which (persons)
• यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• कृतः: made/arranged
• कृतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भाव (made)

• द्वापरादिषु: in the Dvāpara and other (yugas)
• द्वापरादिषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वापर (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; अव्ययीभाव/तत्पुरुषार्थ: द्वापर-आदि-युगेषु (in Dvāpara etc. ages)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Why and when the one Veda is divided into four

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Though revelation is one, it is compassionately arranged into accessible forms according to the declining capacities of later yugas.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Adapt teaching methods to the learner’s capacity while preserving the integrity of the core message.

Vishishtadvaita: Reinforces a personal, purposeful providence: divine order accommodates human limitation without diminishing the unity of śruti.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Dvapara Yuga
• Sages (Vyāsa tradition)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Veda being 'one' yet divided into four in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse affirms a single, unified revelation (Veda) whose fourfold division is an adaptive arrangement made in later ages—especially Dvāpara—to preserve and teach it as human capacity declines.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Vedic division across the Yuga cycle?

Parāśara frames the division as a deliberate act by authoritative sages in Dvāpara and subsequent times, aligning scriptural transmission with changing conditions of dharma and memory in later Yugas.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when not named directly, the Vishnu Purana treats the safeguarding of Vedic order as part of Vishnu’s sovereign governance of cosmic law—knowledge is reorganized so dharma remains accessible through time.