Shloka 5

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

Devanagari script

निजेन तस्य मानेन आयुर् वर्षशतं स्मृतम् तत् पराख्यं तदर्धं च परार्धम् अभिधीयते

Transliteration

nijena tasya mānena āyur varṣaśataṃ smṛtam tat parākhyaṃ tadardhaṃ ca parārdham abhidhīyate

Translation

By that being’s own measure, its lifespan is remembered to be a hundred years. That span is called the “Parā” measure, and its half is known as “Parārdha” (half of Parā).

Word by Word

• निजेन: by his own
• निजेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

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

• मानेन: measure/standard
• मानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• आयुः: lifespan
• आयुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• वर्षशतम्: a hundred years
• वर्षशतम्: Visheshya (Measure/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष+शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः—शतं वर्षाणि

• स्मृतम्: is stated/remembered
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगे ‘is considered/remembered’

• तत्: that
• तत्: Anuvāda (Resumptive ‘that’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• पराख्यम्: called ‘parā’
• पराख्यम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा+आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समासः—परम् आख्यं यस्य/पर-आख्य (नाम)

• तदर्धम्: its half
• तदर्धम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद्+अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समासः—तस्य अर्धम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• परार्धम्: the latter half (parārdha)
• परार्धम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परा+अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समासः—परम् अर्धम् (कर्मधारय)

• अभिधीयते: is called/denoted
• अभिधीयते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि+धा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Cosmic time-measures: Brahmā’s lifespan as 100 years; definition of parā and parārdha.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: didactic, technical

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The verse defines Brahmā’s lifespan in his own time-scale as one hundred years, termed ‘parā’, with its half called ‘parārdha’, grounding later calculations of kalpas and cosmic dissolution.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate vast cosmic time to cultivate vairāgya and reduce ego-centered urgency, while using human time well for dharma and devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic time is a real, ordered manifestation under the Supreme’s governance; the measured cosmos supports devotion to the ruler of time (kāla-niyantṛ) without denying the world’s reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Parā (time-measure)
• Parārdha (time-measure)

FAQs

What is the significance of Parā and Parārdha in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse defines traditional large-scale time designations: a full span termed Parā and its half termed Parārdha, used to articulate vast cosmic durations within Puranic chronology.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the idea of time-measure here?

He frames lifespan and duration as dependent on the subject’s own standard of measurement—then assigns canonical names (Parā, Parārdha) to those magnitudes for consistent cosmological reckoning.

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

Even while discussing technical measures of time, the Vishnu Purana’s cosmology treats time and order as intelligible within Vishnu’s sovereign framework—time is structured, named, and knowable as part of the Supreme Reality’s cosmic governance.