Shloka 20

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

Devanagari script

त्रिंशत्कोट्यस् तु संपूर्णाः संख्याताः संख्यया द्विज सप्तषष्टिस् तथान्यानि नियुतानि महामुने

Transliteration

triṃśatkoṭyas tu saṃpūrṇāḥ saṃkhyātāḥ saṃkhyayā dvija saptaṣaṣṭis tathānyāni niyutāni mahāmune

Translation

O twice-born one, O great sage, the complete measures by number are these: thirty koṭis in full, and further sixty-seven niyutas besides.

Word by Word

• त्रिंशत्कोट्यः: thirty crores
• त्रिंशत्कोट्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिंशत् + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (त्रिंशत् कोट्यः)

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

• संपूर्णाः: complete, full
• संपूर्णाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कोट्यः इति विशेषणम्

• संख्याताः: counted, enumerated
• संख्याताः: Predicate adjective (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + ख्या (धातु) + क्त-प्रत्यय (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

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

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सप्तषष्टिः: sixty-seven
• सप्तषष्टिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त + षष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (67)

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

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

• नियुतानि: niyutas (ten-thousands / a large number)
• नियुतानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• महामुने: O great sage
• महामुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā + मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् मुनिः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Conversion of Manvantara span into large human-number units (koṭi, niyuta)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: precise

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Manvantara

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The text renders the same time-span in expansive numerical denominations—thirty koṭis plus sixty-seven niyutas—emphasizing exact cosmic accounting.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat spiritual life as measurable commitment: set regular counts (japa, study hours) while remembering the immeasurable backdrop of kāla.

Vishishtadvaita: Exact enumeration supports an intelligible, structured cosmos—real and law-governed—whose order is upheld by the supreme Lord.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of large numbers like koṭi and niyuta in the Vishnu Purana?

They function as a technical vocabulary for cosmic measurement, showing that the universe and its cycles are described as an ordered, countable system rather than a random expanse.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic order in this chapter’s enumeration?

He presents the cosmos through exact reckoning—step-by-step numerical accounting—so the listener (Maitreya) can grasp the scale and structure of the world within a coherent framework.

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

Even when the text speaks in numbers, the implied foundation is that the measurable cosmos operates under a supreme sustaining principle—Vishnu—whose sovereignty makes the universe intelligible and ordered.