Shloka 26

Devanagari script

अनादिर् भगवान् कालो नान्तो ऽस्य द्विज विद्यते अव्युच्छिन्नास् ततस् त्व् एते सर्गस्थित्यन्तसंयमाः

Transliteration

anādir bhagavān kālo nānto 'sya dvija vidyate avyucchinnās tatas tv ete sargasthityantasaṃyamāḥ

Translation

O twice-born, Time—revered as a divine power—is without beginning, and no end of it is known; therefore creation, continuance, dissolution, and restraint proceed without interruption.

Word by Word

• अनादिः: beginningless
• अनादिः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

• भगवान्: divine, venerable
• भगवान्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

• कालः: Time
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• अन्तः: end
• अन्तः: Karta (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृपद (as predicate-noun)

• अस्य: of it/of him
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन

• विद्यते: is found/exists
• विद्यते: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु: विद्/विद्-ज्ञाने; here ‘to be found’)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; भावे प्रयोग (exists/is found)

• अव्युच्छिन्नाः: uninterrupted
• अव्युच्छिन्नाः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-वि-उत्-छिद् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• ततः: therefore/thereupon
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverbial ablative: ‘therefore/from that’)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्यय (particle)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्ता

• सर्गस्थित्यन्तसंयमाः: creation, maintenance, dissolution, and restraint (cycles)
• सर्गस्थित्यन्तसंयमाः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थिति (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक) + संयम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (the set of: creation, maintenance, end, restraint)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The beginninglessness of Kāla and the uninterrupted cycle of sarga-sthiti-saṃhāra-saṃyama

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Kāla is beginningless and endless, therefore creation, maintenance, dissolution, and restraint proceed as an unbroken cosmic rhythm.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Adopt long-view equanimity: personal changes mirror a larger lawful cycle, reducing anxiety and fostering steadiness.

Vishishtadvaita: Time is not independent; as a divine power it functions under the Supreme’s governance, sustaining a real and ordered cosmos.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Time (Kāla)
• Maitreya
• Sage Parāśara

FAQs

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

This verse presents Time as beginningless and effectively endless, making the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation, dissolution, and re-absorption an uninterrupted, lawful process.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the continuity of creation and dissolution?

Parāśara grounds continuity in the nature of Kāla itself: because Time has no known end, the phases of sarga, sthiti, anta, and saṃyama recur without break.

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

Even when the verse foregrounds Kāla, the Vishnu Purana’s framework treats cosmic order as upheld by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—within whom time and its cycles are ultimately coordinated.