Shloka 61
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
रेखाप्रभृत्य् अथादित्ये त्रिमुहूर्तगते तु वै प्रातः स्मृतस् ततः कालो भागश् चाह्नः स पञ्चमः
rekhāprabhṛty athāditye trimuhūrtagate tu vai prātaḥ smṛtas tataḥ kālo bhāgaś cāhnaḥ sa pañcamaḥ
From the first faint line of dawn, when the Sun has advanced by three muhūrtas, that span is remembered as prātaḥ, “morning.” It is a fixed portion of the day, reckoned as the fifth division.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Concept: Time (kāla) is knowable through determinate divisions such as prātaḥ, fixed by the sun’s advance measured in muhūrtas.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use disciplined time-keeping (daily schedule, sandhyā/ritual windows) to align action with order (ṛta/dharma).
Vishishtadvaita: Implied cosmic order governed by a higher regulator of time, consistent with Viṣṇu’s sovereignty over kāla though not named here.
FAQs
This verse treats morning as a precise cosmic measure tied to the Sun’s progress, showing that daily life and ritual time are grounded in an ordered, universal framework.
He defines prātaḥ as the interval beginning from dawn’s first appearance and extending to the point when the Sun has moved three muhūrtas, identifying it as a specific fraction (the fifth) of the day.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana’s time-science implies a universe governed by a supreme regulator—time’s regularity and measurability reflect the sustaining sovereignty attributed to Vishnu.