Shloka 14

सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः

Devanagari script

त्रेतायुगसमः कालः सर्वदैव महामते प्लक्षद्वीपादिषु ब्रह्मञ् शाकद्वीपान्तिकेषु वै

Transliteration

tretāyugasamaḥ kālaḥ sarvadaiva mahāmate plakṣadvīpādiṣu brahmañ śākadvīpāntikeṣu vai

Translation

O wise Brahman, in Plakṣa-dvīpa and the other islands, and likewise in the regions bordering Śāka-dvīpa, time is ever of the measure of the Tretā-yuga.

Word by Word

• त्रेतायुगसमः: equal to the Tretā-yuga
• त्रेतायुगसमः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रेता-युग (प्रातिपदिक) + सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (त्रेतायुगस्य समः) विशेषण (कालः)

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

• सर्वदा: always
• सर्वदा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: always)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• महामते: O great-minded one
• महामते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• प्लक्षद्वीपादिषु: in Plakṣadvīpa and the like
• प्लक्षद्वीपादिषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्लक्ष-द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (प्लक्षद्वीपः आदिः येषां तेषु) ‘in Plakṣadvīpa etc.’

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahman (sage)
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• शाकद्वीपान्तिकेषु: in the regions near Śākadvīpa
• शाकद्वीपान्तिकेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाक-द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (अन्तिक-शब्द), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (शाकद्वीपस्य अन्तिकेṣu)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Quality/measure of time in Plakṣa-dvīpa and other dvīpas; Tretā-yuga equivalence

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Yuga: Treta

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Yuga-qualities can characterize regions as well as eras; some domains abide perpetually in a Tretā-like order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Seek ‘Tretā-like’ life through truthfulness, ritual discipline, and social responsibility even amid Kali-like conditions.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma manifests in graded fullness across loci within one real cosmos sustained by the Lord’s governance (niyati) and grace.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Plakṣa-dvīpa
• Śāka-dvīpa
• Tretā-yuga

FAQs

What is the significance of Tretā-yuga time being 'always' present in certain Dvipas in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse indicates that different island-continents experience different temporal and dharmic conditions; in Plakṣa-dvīpa and regions near Śāka-dvīpa, the prevailing measure is consistently Tretā-like, reflecting a distinct cosmic order across realms.

How does Sage Parāśara explain variations of time and yugas across the world-system?

In the geographic-cosmological narration of Ansha 2, Parāśara describes dvīpas and their characteristic conditions; here he states that the time-measure in specific dvīpas corresponds to a particular yuga, implying that yuga-qualities are not uniform everywhere.

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

Even when the verse is descriptive, the Vishnu Purana frames cosmic order—space, time, and dharma—as upheld by the Supreme Lord Vishnu; yuga-structure and its realm-wise variations are expressions of his sustaining sovereignty.