Shloka 10

कालनिर्णयः (युग-मन्वन्तर-कल्पप्रमाणम्) — Measures of Time and Cosmic Cycles

Devanagari script

तैः षड्भिर् अयनं वर्षं द्वे ऽयने दक्षिणोत्तरे अयनं दक्षिणं रात्रिर् देवानाम् उत्तरं दिनम्

Transliteration

taiḥ ṣaḍbhir ayanaṃ varṣaṃ dve 'yane dakṣiṇottare ayanaṃ dakṣiṇaṃ rātrir devānām uttaraṃ dinam

Translation

By those six (seasons) an ayana is formed; and the year is made of two ayanas—southern and northern. Of these, the southern course is the night of the gods, while the northern course is their day.

Word by Word

• taiḥ: by those
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• ṣaḍbhiḥ: by six
• ṣaḍbhiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• ayanam: an ayana (half-year)
• ayanam: Karma/Topic (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• varṣam: a year
• varṣam: Predicate/Topic (विधेय/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• dve: two
• dve: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; विशेषण

• ayane: ayanas (two half-years)
• ayane: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन

• dakṣiṇa-uttare: southern and northern
• dakṣiṇa-uttare: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्वः (southern and northern)

• ayanam: the ayana
• ayanam: Topic (विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dakṣiṇam: southern
• dakṣiṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• rātriḥ: (is) night
• rātriḥ: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rātri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• devānām: of the gods
• devānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• uttaram: northern
• uttaram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• dinam: (is) day
• dinam: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Ayanas, year structure, and the gods’ day/night mapped to Uttarāyaṇa and Dakṣiṇāyaṇa

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Time is relative across realms: the same solar courses that form human seasons correspond to day and night for the devas.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Cultivate perspective on life’s cycles—seasonal change, aging, and loss—by remembering larger divine time, reducing anxiety and strengthening steady bhakti.

Vishishtadvaita: Multiple real orders of time operate within the one Lord’s governance; finite beings participate in graded cosmic rhythms without negating reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Devas (the gods)

FAQs

What is the significance of Uttarāyaṇa and Dakṣiṇāyaṇa in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse defines the two half-year solar courses and states that, for the Devas, the northern course (Uttarāyaṇa) functions as “day” and the southern course (Dakṣiṇāyaṇa) as “night,” framing cosmic time as a divine rhythm.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of the year (varṣa) here?

He links the six seasons to the formation of an ayana and then states that a full year consists of two ayanas—southern and northern—showing time as a layered, orderly hierarchy.

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

Although Vishnu is not named in this line, the teaching reflects a Vishnu Purana theme: cosmic order and time-cycles operate under the supreme governance of the highest reality, with divine and human time measured within that overarching sovereignty.