Shloka 19

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

Devanagari script

अष्टौ शतसहस्राणि दिव्यया संख्यया स्मृतम् द्वापञ्चाशत् तथान्यानि सहस्राण्य् अधिकानि तु

Transliteration

aṣṭau śatasahasrāṇi divyayā saṃkhyayā smṛtam dvāpañcāśat tathānyāni sahasrāṇy adhikāni tu

Translation

In the reckoning of the gods, it is remembered as eight hundred thousand, with fifty-two thousand more besides.

Word by Word

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; शतसहस्राणि इति विशेषणम्

• शतसहस्राणि: hundreds and thousands (i.e., hundred-thousands)
• शतसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (शतानि च सहस्राणि च)

• दिव्यया: by divine
• दिव्यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; संख्यया इति विशेषणम्

• संख्यया: by number, by counting
• संख्यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्मृतम्: is stated/recorded
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP); भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘is stated/remembered’

• द्वापञ्चाशत्: fifty-two
• द्वापञ्चाशत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वा + पञ्चाशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (52)

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सहस्राणि इति विशेषणम्

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अधिकानि: additional, extra
• अधिकानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सहस्राणि इति विशेषणम्

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Numerical reckoning of Manvantara duration in divine years

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: precise

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Manvantara

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Manvantara time can be expressed in divine reckoning as 852,000 (divine-year units, per the tradition’s counting context).

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Let precise scriptural enumeration encourage disciplined study (svādhyāya) rather than vague spirituality.

Vishishtadvaita: Scriptural time-measure supports a real, ordered universe dependent on the Lord, aligning with qualified non-dual realism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Sage Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Devas (divine reckoning)

FAQs

What is the significance of “divine reckoning” (divyayā saṃkhyayā) in the Vishnu Purana?

It signals that the time being stated is measured in the gods’ scale (divine years), emphasizing a cosmic perspective rather than human chronology.

How does Sage Parāśara explain time-measurements in this chapter?

He presents traditional, remembered numerical measures for cosmic periods, using precise counts to frame yugas and larger cycles as an ordered system.

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

The structured cycles of time function as an expression of universal order, ultimately upheld within Vishnu’s supreme governance of creation, maintenance, and dissolution.