Shloka 27

Devanagari script

एकम् अस्य व्यतीतं तु परार्धं ब्रह्मणो ऽनघ तस्यान्ते ऽभून् महाकल्पः पाद्म इत्य् अभिविश्रुतः

Transliteration

ekam asya vyatītaṃ tu parārdhaṃ brahmaṇo 'nagha tasyānte 'bhūn mahākalpaḥ pādma ity abhiviśrutaḥ

Translation

O sinless one, one parārdha of Brahmā’s lifespan has already passed; and at the close of that half-span there occurred the great aeon renowned as the Pādma Mahākalpa.

Word by Word

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (numeral adjective ‘one’)

• अस्य: of this (Brahmā)
• अस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन (genitive ‘of this/of him’)

• व्यतीतम्: elapsed
• व्यतीतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + अति + इ (धातु) → व्यतीत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘elapsed/passed’

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

• परार्धम्: the latter half (parārdha)
• परार्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (determinative: ‘the latter half’)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• अनघ: O sinless one
• अनघ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ + नघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण संबोधन (vocative ‘O sinless one’)

• तस्य: of that (Brahmā)
• तस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — ‘at the end’

• अभूत्: there was, occurred
• अभूत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘became/was’

• महाकल्पः: a great kalpa
• महाकल्पः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (descriptive: ‘great aeon’)

• पाद्मः: Padma (named)
• पाद्मः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective ‘Padma-named/lotus-related’)

• इति: thus, called
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक (quotative particle)

• अभिविश्रुतः: renowned
• अभिविश्रुतः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभि + श्रु (धातु) → विश्रुत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘well-known, renowned’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Where we stand in Brahmā’s lifespan (parārdha elapsed) and the naming of the preceding great kalpa (Pādma)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic history is structured into immense halves of Brahmā’s life, each marked by named kalpas preserved in tradition.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Reflect on the continuity of sacred tradition (paramparā) and align one’s limited time with enduring spiritual aims.

Vishishtadvaita: The orderly naming and sequencing of kalpas underscores a governed cosmos, intelligible and sustained by the Supreme rather than random flux.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Pādma Mahākalpa

FAQs

What is the significance of a parārdha in the Vishnu Purana?

A parārdha marks one half of Brahmā’s total lifespan, used to situate creation within an immense, orderly cosmic chronology.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the Pādma Mahākalpa here?

He places the Pādma Mahākalpa at the conclusion of the first elapsed parārdha, indicating a named and remembered major aeon within Brahmā’s time.

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

Even while naming Brahmā’s measures of time, the Vishnu Purana frames cosmic order as ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—within whose sovereignty these cycles proceed.