Shloka 22

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

Devanagari script

चतुर्दशगुणो ह्य् एष कालो ब्राह्मम् अहः स्मृतम् ब्राह्मो नैमित्तिको नाम तस्यान्ते प्रतिसंचरः

Transliteration

caturdaśaguṇo hy eṣa kālo brāhmam ahaḥ smṛtam brāhmo naimittiko nāma tasyānte pratisaṃcaraḥ

Translation

This span of time, fourteenfold, is remembered as a single day of Brahmā. That cycle is called Brāhma, also Naimittika; at its end occurs pratisaṃcara, the periodic re-absorption of the worlds.

Word by Word

• चतुर्दशगुणः: fourteenfold
• चतुर्दशगुणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश + गुण (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (fourteen-fold)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ (indeed/for)

• एषः: this
• एषः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• ब्राह्मम्: of Brahmā; Brahmic
• ब्राह्मम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्राह्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'day')

• अहः: day
• अहः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन्/अहः (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• स्मृतम्: is said/remembered (as)
• स्मृतम्: Vidhana (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधेय-रूपेण (is called/considered)

• ब्राह्मः: Brahmā’s; Brahmic
• ब्राह्मः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्राह्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'pratisaṃcaraḥ')

• नैमित्तिकः: occasional; periodic
• नैमित्तिकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नैमित्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• नाम: called
• नाम: Sambandha (Apposition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) ‘named/called’

• तस्य: of that; its
• तस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• प्रतिसंचरः: reabsorption; dissolution
• प्रतिसंचरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रति + सं + √चर् (धातु) + घञ् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (reabsorption/dissolution)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Manvantaras aggregate into Brahmā’s day and what dissolution occurs at its end

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Fourteen Manvantaras constitute Brahmā’s day, at whose end the Naimittika (Brāhma) dissolution reabsorbs the worlds.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Contemplate impermanence even at cosmic scales to cultivate detachment and prioritize lasting spiritual aims over transient attainments.

Vishishtadvaita: The cyclic reabsorption presupposes a sustaining Lord who regulates manifestation and withdrawal without negating the real dependence of the world upon Him.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of the fourteenfold time in the Vishnu Purana?

It identifies the structure of Brahmā’s day as consisting of fourteen Manvantaras, framing cosmic history as an ordered cycle rather than a random sequence.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Naimittika dissolution (pralaya) here?

He states that at the end of Brahmā’s day—called the Brāhma or Naimittika cycle—there is pratisaṃcara, a periodic withdrawal of the manifested worlds.

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

Even while naming Brahmā’s day and its dissolution, the Purana’s cosmology ultimately situates time and cyclical re-absorption within the higher sovereignty of Vishnu as the sustaining Supreme Reality behind creation and dissolution.