Shloka 4

सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्

Devanagari script

त्रिनाभिमति पञ्चारे षण्णेमिन्य् अक्षयात्मके संवत्सरमये कृत्स्नं कालचक्रं प्रतिष्ठितम्

Transliteration

trinābhimati pañcāre ṣaṇṇeminy akṣayātmake saṃvatsaramaye kṛtsnaṃ kālacakraṃ pratiṣṭhitam

Translation

In that imperishable wheel—conceived as having three hubs, turning in five courses, and furnished with six rims—the entire Wheel of Time is established, constituted of the year itself.

Word by Word

• त्रिनाभि: three-naved
• त्रिनाभि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि + नाभि (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (contextual), प्रथमा एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (त्रयो नाभयः यस्य) used adjectivally

• मति: having (such) form/structure (lit. ‘configuration’)
• मति: Visheshana (Appositional qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; here as second member in descriptive phrase (understood with kālacakram)

• पञ्चारे: five-spoked
• पञ्चारे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च + अर (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (पञ्च अराः यस्य)

• षण्णेमि: six-rimmed
• षण्णेमि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् + नेमि (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (षट् नेमयः यस्य)

• अक्षयात्मके: in/with imperishable nature
• अक्षयात्मके: Adhikarana (Locative qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षय + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अक्षयः आत्मा/स्वभावः यस्य) ‘of imperishable nature’; agrees with (काले/चक्रे) understood

• संवत्सरमये: consisting of the year
• संवत्सरमये: Adhikarana (Locative qualifier/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संवत्सर + मय (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (संवत्सरमयः = ‘made of the year’)

• कृत्स्नम्: entire; whole
• कृत्स्नम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत्स्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kālacakram)

• कालचक्रम्: wheel of time
• कालचक्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + चक्र (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कालस्य चक्रम्)

• प्रतिष्ठितम्: is established/fixed
• प्रतिष्ठितम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-स्था (धातु) → प्रतिष्ठित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; PPP

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The imperishable wheel with hubs/courses/rims in which the saṃvatsara-maya kālacakra is established

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Time is envisioned as a structured wheel (kālacakra) constituted by the year, established upon an imperishable cosmic order.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Reflect on cyclic time to cultivate vairāgya and prioritize liberation-oriented living over transient pursuits.

Vishishtadvaita: Time and its cycles are real attributes within the Lord’s cosmic body, while the Lord remains akṣaya (imperishable) as the ground of order.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)

Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)

Characters & Entities

• Kala (Time)
• Samvatsara (Year)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Kālacakra (Wheel of Time) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents time as a structured, imperishable wheel, with the year (saṃvatsara) as its constitutive measure—signaling an ordered cosmic rhythm rather than random change.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the measure of time here?

Parāśara frames time through the model of a wheel whose complete form is grounded in the year, implying that smaller and larger time-units are understood as cycles within this annual foundation.

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

By portraying time as an imperishable, law-like order, the text supports the Vaishnava view that cosmic regulation ultimately rests on the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—as the sustaining principle behind the universe’s intelligible cycles.