Shloka 25

प्रचेतसां तपः तथा विष्णु-स्तुतिः

The Pracetases’ Ocean Tapas and Hymn to Vishnu

Devanagari script

यस्याहः प्रथमं रूपम् अरूपस्य ततो निशा संध्या च परमेशस्य तस्मै कालात्मने नमः

Transliteration

yasyāhaḥ prathamaṃ rūpam arūpasya tato niśā saṃdhyā ca parameśasya tasmai kālātmane namaḥ

Translation

Salutations to the Supreme Lord, the very Soul of Time: formless in essence, yet first manifest as “day,” then as “night,” and as the sacred junctions of twilight; to that Paramēśvara I bow.

Word by Word

• yasya: of whom/whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Masculine/Neuter) — सर्वनाम-रूपम्

• ahaḥ: day
• ahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahar (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• prathamam: first
• prathamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular) — विशेषणम्

• rūpam: form
• rūpam: Pradhana (Predicate nominative/विशेष्य-रूपेण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• arūpasya: of the formless one
• arūpasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् — अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• niśā: night
• niśā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• saṃdhyā: twilight
• saṃdhyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् — समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• parameśasya: of the Supreme Lord
• parameśasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parameśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tasmai: to him
• tasmai: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) — सर्वनाम-रूपम्

• kālātmane: to the one whose self is Time
• kālātmane: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla-ātman (प्रातिपदिक: kāla + ātman)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular) — षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kālasya ātmā)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Prayojana (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रायम् (indeclinable usage) — नमस्कारार्थक-निपातः (salutatory particle)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Nature of the Supreme as the ground of cosmic order (time, luminaries, elements)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The formless Supreme Lord manifests as the rhythm of time—day, night, and the liminal sandhyās—governing all temporal order.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate daily cycles (dawn/dusk) as reminders of the Lord’s sovereignty and cultivate disciplined sādhana at sandhyā times.

Vishishtadvaita: The transcendent (arūpa) Lord also becomes the immanent regulator (kāla-ātman) without losing supremacy.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Kala (Time)

FAQs

What is the significance of Kāla (Time) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents Time as divine—Kāla is not merely a measure but the very manifestation of the Supreme Lord, structuring reality as day, night, and twilight.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the formless (arūpa) becoming perceivable?

Parāśara indicates that the formless Supreme is known through functional manifestations—here, the cosmic rhythms of day, night, and sandhyā reveal His governance without limiting His transcendence.

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

Vishnu is affirmed as Paramēśvara whose sovereignty includes Time itself—supporting a Vaishnava view where the Supreme both transcends form and pervades the world through ordered cosmic powers.