Shloka 4

Adhyāya 108: Paścima-dik—Varuṇa’s Realm, Sunset Cosmology, and Sacred-Geographic Markers

Suparṇa–Gālava संवाद

Devanagari script

एतद द्वितीयं देवस्य द्वारमाचक्षते द्विज । त्रुटिशो लवशश्लापि गण्यते कालनिश्चय:,विप्रवर! विद्वान्‌ पुरुष इस दक्षिण दिशाको धर्म-देवताका दूसरा द्वार कहते हैं। यहीं (चित्रगुप्त आदिके द्वारा) 'त्रुटि' और “लव” आदि सूक्ष्म-से-सूक्ष्म कालांशों-पर दृष्टि रखते हुए प्राणियोंकी आयुकी निश्चित गणना की जाती है

Transliteration

etad dvitīyaṁ devasya dvāram ācakṣate dvija | truṭiśo lavaśaś cāpi gaṇyate kālaniścayaḥ ||

Translation

Yuparṇa sprach: „O Zweimalgeborener, die Gelehrten nennen dies das zweite Tor der Gottheit des Dharma. Hier wird die feste Zeitrechnung vorgenommen, wobei selbst die kleinsten Maße wie truṭi und lava berücksichtigt werden.“

Word by Word

{'etad''this', 'dvitīyam': 'second', 'devasya': 'of the deity

of the divine lord', 'dvāram''gate, doorway, entrance', 'ācakṣate': 'they declare, they describe', 'dvija': 'twice-born (a Brahmin/initiated man)

vocative address', 'truṭi''a very minute unit of time', 'lava': 'a minute unit of time (very small time-fraction)', 'śaḥ (in truṭiśaḥ, lavaśaḥ)': 'by units

distributively', 'cāpi''and also', 'gaṇyate': 'is counted, is computed', 'kāla': 'time', 'niścayaḥ': 'certainty, fixed determination

Speaker

युपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yuparṇa

dvija (addressed Brahmin)

deva (the deity/divine lord)

dvāra (gate)

truṭi

lava

kāla (time)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that dharma and cosmic governance operate with exactness: even the smallest fractions of time are accounted for, implying that life, duty, and consequence are measured within a precise moral-cosmic order rather than by randomness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yuparṇa addresses a dvija and points out a specific ‘second gate’ associated with the deity, describing it as a place/point where time is meticulously computed down to minute units like truṭi and lava—framing the setting as one of strict, systematic reckoning.