Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 2

Time-Reckoning (Kāla-gaṇanā): Yugas, Manvantaras, Kalpas, and Prākṛta Pralaya

Devanagari script

कालसंख्या समासेन परार्धद्वयकल्पिता / स एव स्यात् परः कालः तदन्ते प्रतिसृज्यते

Transliteration

kālasaṃkhyā samāsena parārdhadvayakalpitā / sa eva syāt paraḥ kālaḥ tadante pratisṛjyate

Translation

باختصار، يُتصوَّر حسابُ الزمن مؤلَّفًا من باراردهاين (parārdha). وذلك وحده يُسمّى المقياسَ الأعلى للزمن؛ وعند نهايته يُعاد الخلق من جديد.

Word by Word

• कालसंख्या: the time-count
• कालसंख्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कालस्य संख्या)

• समासेन: in brief
• समासेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; प्रकारे/उपायार्थे (instrumental: 'in summary/by compounding')

• परार्धद्वयकल्पिता: constructed as two parārdhas
• परार्धद्वयकल्पिता: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परार्ध + द्वय + कल्पित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) 'arranged/constructed'; समासः—तत्पुरुष (परार्धस्य द्वयेन कल्पिता = constructed as two parārdhas)

• सः: that
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Avyaya (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• स्यात्: would be/is to be
• स्यात्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकारः (potential/optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• परः: supreme/other
• परः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• कालः: time
• कालः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• तदन्ते: at its end
• तदन्ते: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तस्य अन्ते = at its end)

• प्रतिसृज्यते: is created again/is re-emitted
• प्रतिसृज्यते: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive), आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic teaching on cosmic time

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kāla (Time)
• Parārdha
• Pratisarga (re-creation)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

By presenting Kāla (Time) as a highest cosmic measure culminating in renewed creation, the verse implies a governing transcendence beyond cyclical change—pointing to Īśvara/Paramātman as the stable ground that orders time and pratisarga.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is prescribed in this verse; its practical import is contemplative—meditating on kāla-cakra (the wheel of time) and pratisarga cultivates vairāgya (dispassion) and steadiness, supporting later Kurma Purana teachings on Pāśupata-oriented discipline and devotion to Īśvara.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Indirectly: by treating Time and re-creation as a single supreme governance, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where the same Īśvara—spoken of in Shaiva or Vaishnava idiom—presides over cosmic cycles.