Adhyaya 4: अहोरात्र-युग-मन्वन्तर-कल्पमान तथा प्रलयान्ते सृष्ट्युपक्रमः
त्रेताद्वापरतिष्याणां कृतस्य कथयामि वः निमेषपञ्चदशका काष्ठा स्वस्थस्य सुव्रताः
tretādvāparatiṣyāṇāṃ kṛtasya kathayāmi vaḥ nimeṣapañcadaśakā kāṣṭhā svasthasya suvratāḥ
سأبيّن لكم مقادير الزمن الخاصة بعصور تريتَا ودْفَابَرَا وكَالِي، وكذلك عصر كِرْتَا. يا أصحاب النذور الحسنة، فإن kāṣṭhā واحدة، لمن كان في حالٍ طبيعي ثابت، تتألف من خمسة عشر nimeṣa.
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)
It establishes the Purāṇic framework of kāla (time) within which all rites—such as linga-pūjā, vrata, and dīkṣā—are performed; Shiva as Pati is understood as the Lord who transcends these time-measures while regulating them for the pashu’s disciplined practice.
By defining measurable time for embodied beings, it indirectly points to Shiva-tattva as Kāla-niyantā (the regulator of time) and yet Kāla-atīta (beyond time), the Pati who governs cosmic cycles without being bound by them like the pashu under pāśa.
Vrata-based discipline and measured observance (kāla-niyama) are implied—timely japa, pūjā, and yogic steadiness (svastha) that support Pāśupata-oriented regulation of body and mind.