Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 10

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

Devanagari script

त्रिद्व्येकसाहस्त्रमतो विना सन्ध्यांशकेन तु / त्रेताद्वापरतिष्याणां कालज्ञाने प्रकीर्तितम्

Transliteration

tridvyekasāhastramato vinā sandhyāṃśakena tu / tretādvāparatiṣyāṇāṃ kālajñāne prakīrtitam

Translation

So wird in der Wissenschaft der Zeitrechnung gelehrt, dass die Dauer der Zeitalter Tretā, Dvāpara und Tiṣya (Kali) der Reihe nach drei-, zwei- und eintausend Jahre beträgt, wobei die Dämmerungsanteile (sandhyā und sandhyāṃśa) ausgenommen sind.

Word by Word

• त्रिद्व्येकसाहस्त्रम्: three-two-one thousand (i.e., 3000+2000+1000)
• त्रिद्व्येकसाहस्त्रम्: Karma (कर्म/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + द्वि + एक + साहस्रम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-समास (Dvigu)

• अतः: therefore; from this
• अतः: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक/तस्मादर्थक (therefore/from this)

• विना: without; excluding
• विना: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वर्जन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद-निपात (without)

• सन्ध्यांशकेन: with the sandhyā-portion
• सन्ध्यांशकेन: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वर्ज्य-सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्ध्या + अंशक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘विना’ इत्यस्य उपपदत्वे तृतीया-प्रयोगः (instrumental used with ‘without’ in some traditions)

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• त्रेता-द्वापर-तिष्याणाम्: of Tretā, Dvāpara, and Tiṣya (yugas)
• त्रेता-द्वापर-तिष्याणाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेता + द्वापर + तिष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (copulative)

• कालज्ञाने: in the knowledge of time; in time-calculation
• कालज्ञाने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘कालस्य ज्ञानम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• प्रकीर्तितम्: is proclaimed; is stated
• प्रकीर्तितम्: Karma (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि/कर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘proclaimed/declared’

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) recounting the Purāṇic teaching on kāla (time) to the sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Tretā-yuga
• Dvāpara-yuga
• Tiṣya (Kali-yuga)
• Sandhyā
• Kāla (Time)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by defining yuga-measures, it frames the changing field of dharma within time (kāla), while the Atman—taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana as beyond change—remains constant even as ages rise and fall.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; it provides the kāla-framework used by the Purāṇa to contextualize sādhanā—showing that disciplines (including Pāśupata-oriented devotion and yoga taught later) are undertaken within shifting yuga-conditions.

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

It does not name Śiva or Viṣṇu directly; however, as a Kurma Purana teaching it supports the shared Purāṇic framework in which both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava paths operate within the same cosmic time-order (kāla) and yuga-dharma.