Shloka 11

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

Devanagari script

दिव्यैर् वर्षसहस्रैस् तु कृतत्रेतादिसंज्ञितम् चतुर्युगं द्वादशभिस् तद्विभागं निबोध मे

Transliteration

divyair varṣasahasrais tu kṛtatretādisaṃjñitam caturyugaṃ dvādaśabhis tadvibhāgaṃ nibodha me

Translation

Measured in thousands of divine years is the fourfold age called Kṛta, Tretā, and the rest—the Caturyuga. Now learn from me its division into twelve parts.

Word by Word

• दिव्यैः: by divine
• दिव्यैः: करण (Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (३/करण) बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (instrumental plural, neuter)

• वर्षसहस्रैः: by thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्रैः: करण (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (३/करण) बहुवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वर्षाणां सहस्राणि)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः/समुच्चयार्थ-भेदकः (particle: but/indeed)

• कृतत्रेतादिसंज्ञितम्: called ‘Kṛta, Tretā, etc.’
• कृतत्रेतादिसंज्ञितम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत + त्रेता + आदि + संज्ञित (कृदन्त; √ज्ञा/ज्ञा? actually संज्ञा + क्त; here संज्ञित from √ज्ञा? conventional: संज्ञित = named)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (२/कर्म) एकवचनम्; भूतकृदन्तः (क्त) ‘संज्ञित’ = नामितम्; समासः: कृत-त्रेता-आदि-संज्ञितम्

• चतुर्युगम्: the fourfold age-cycle (caturyuga)
• चतुर्युगम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् + युग (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (२/कर्म) एकवचनम्; द्विगुसमासः (चत्वारि युगानि)

• द्वादशभिः: by twelve
• द्वादशभिः: करण (Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (३/करण) बहुवचनम्; संख्याविशेषणम् (by twelve)

• तत्: of that
• तत्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी (६/सम्बन्ध) एकवचनम्; सर्वनामविशेषणम्

• विभागम्: division
• विभागम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया (२/कर्म) एकवचनम्

• निबोध: understand/learn
• निबोध: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √बुध् (धातु) + नि (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ) मध्यमपुरुषः एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• मे: from me / my
• मे: सम्प्रदान/सम्बन्ध (Recipient/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (६/सम्बन्ध) एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम (my/to me)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Measurement and division of the caturyuga in divine years

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic time is structured as a fourfold age-cycle (caturyuga) measured in divine years and divisible into defined parts.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate time as a sacred order rather than mere chronology, cultivating steadiness and long-range dharmic perspective.

Vishishtadvaita: The universe’s temporal order is intelligible as the Lord’s niyati (governance) over real categories of time and world.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Dvāpara Yuga
• Caturyuga

FAQs

What is the significance of the Caturyuga in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse defines the Caturyuga as the four-yuga cycle (Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali) and frames it as a divinely measured unit of cosmic time used to describe the order of the world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the division of the yugas here?

Parāśara states that the Caturyuga is reckoned in thousands of divine years and that its structure is understood through a twelve-part division, preparing the listener for the detailed breakdown that follows.

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

By presenting time as an intelligible, law-governed cycle, the Purana implies a supreme ordering principle—Vishnu—under whose sovereignty cosmic rhythms like the yugas unfold.