Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

तावत्संख्यैर् अहोरात्रं मुहूर्तैर् मानुषं स्मृतम् अहोरात्राणि तावन्ति मासः पक्षद्वयात्मकः

Transliteration

tāvatsaṃkhyair ahorātraṃ muhūrtair mānuṣaṃ smṛtam ahorātrāṇi tāvanti māsaḥ pakṣadvayātmakaḥ

Translation

By that very count of muhūrtas, a human day and night are declared. And that same number of day-nights makes a month, consisting of two fortnights—the bright and the dark halves.

Word by Word

• tāvat-saṃkhyaiḥ: by that number (of)
• tāvat-saṃkhyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (tāvatī saṃkhyā yaiḥ) = ‘by so many in number’

• ahaḥ-rātram: a day-and-night (24 hours)
• ahaḥ-rātram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (day and night as a unit)

• muhūrtaiḥ: by muhūrtas
• muhūrtaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muhūrta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• mānuṣam: human
• mānuṣam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (human)

• smṛtam: is regarded
• smṛtam: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘is considered/remembered’

• ahaḥ-rātrāṇi: day-nights (days)
• ahaḥ-rātrāṇi: Karma/Topic (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वः

• tāvanti: so many
• tāvanti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (so many)

• māsaḥ: a month
• māsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pakṣa-dvaya-ātmakaḥ: consisting of two fortnights
• pakṣa-dvaya-ātmakaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (pakṣadvayasya ātmakaḥ)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in dialogue with Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Human day-night in muhūrtas; month as two pakṣas

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Human temporal life is structured through day-night cycles and lunar fortnights, forming the basis of religious and social order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Align observances (fasts, ekādaśī, amāvāsyā/pūrṇimā) with the pakṣa rhythm to integrate devotion into time.

Vishishtadvaita: Temporal cycles serve as real frameworks for dharma and bhakti within the Lord’s ordered cosmos.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the significance of defining time units like muhūrta and month in the Vishnu Purana?

It establishes a precise human-scale framework of Kāla (time) that later supports larger cosmic cycles (yugas, manvantaras) understood as operating under Vishnu’s governing order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of a month here?

He defines a month as pakṣadvayātmaka—made of two fortnights—corresponding to the bright half and the dark half, built from a counted number of day-nights.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic teaching frames time as a regulated cosmic principle—ultimately subordinate to the Supreme Reality who sustains universal order.