Shloka 23

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

Devanagari script

तदा हि दह्यते सर्वं त्रैलोक्यं भूर्भुवादिकम् जनं प्रयान्ति तापार्ता महर्लोकनिवासिनः

Transliteration

tadā hi dahyate sarvaṃ trailokyaṃ bhūrbhuvādikam janaṃ prayānti tāpārtā maharlokanivāsinaḥ

Translation

Then indeed the entire triple world—beginning with Bhūḥ and Bhuvaḥ—burns. Tormented by that scorching heat, the inhabitants of Maharloka depart to Janaloka.

Word by Word

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal/काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

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

• दह्यते: is burnt
• दह्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• त्रैलोक्यम्: the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + लोक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगु/तत्पुरुष-समास (three worlds)

• भूर्भुवादिकम्: beginning with Bhū and Bhuvaḥ
• भूर्भुवादिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूः + भुवः + आदि + क (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (bhūr-bhuvaḥ etc.), विशेषण (qualifying trailokyam)

• जनम्: people
• जनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समष्टिवाचक (people)

• प्रयान्ति: go forth; depart
• प्रयान्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• तापार्ताः: afflicted by heat
• तापार्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ताप + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (afflicted by heat)

• महर्लोकनिवासिनः: dwellers of Maharloka
• महर्लोकनिवासिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्लोक + निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dwellers of Maharloka)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in dialogue with Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Phenomenology of naimittika pralaya—how the lokas are affected and beings relocate

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: At the end of Brahmā’s day, the lower worlds burn and even Maharloka’s inhabitants must ascend to Janaloka, showing the graded vulnerability of realms.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Treat worldly ‘security’ as provisional; cultivate inner refuge through sādhana so that upheavals—personal or cosmic—do not uproot discernment.

Vishishtadvaita: Hierarchy of lokas reflects ordered divine administration; beings persist and relocate by karmic fitness under the Lord’s governance rather than random annihilation.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Bhūloka
• Bhuvarloka
• Maharloka
• Janaloka
• Trailokya

FAQs

What is the significance of Maharloka and Janaloka in the Vishnu Purana’s pralaya narrative?

This verse shows a cosmological hierarchy: when the lower triple world burns, Maharloka’s residents escape upward to Janaloka, indicating graded realms that serve as refuges during dissolution.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the movement of beings during pralaya?

Parāśara presents pralaya as an ordered process: as heat consumes the lower worlds, beings do not vanish randomly but relocate according to their realm—here, Maharloka-dwellers proceed to Janaloka.

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

Even in destruction, the Purana implies a sovereign cosmic order: dissolution unfolds as a regulated cycle ultimately governed by Vishnu, the Supreme Reality behind sarga (creation) and pratisarga (re-creation).