Shloka 62

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

Devanagari script

तस्मात् प्रातस्तनात् कालात् त्रिमुहूर्तस् तु संगवः मध्याह्नस् त्रिमुहूर्तस् तु तस्मात् कालात् तु संगवात्

Transliteration

tasmāt prātastanāt kālāt trimuhūrtas tu saṃgavaḥ madhyāhnas trimuhūrtas tu tasmāt kālāt tu saṃgavāt

Translation

From that prātaḥ time, the period called Saṅgava lasts for three muhūrtas; and from Saṅgava, after three muhūrtas, comes Madhyāhna, midday. Thus the day is marked by measured intervals.

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• प्रातस्तनात्: from the morning-time
• प्रातस्तनात्: Visheshya-apadana (Qualifier of source/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रातस्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; ‘प्रातः’ + ‘तन’ (morning-related) as adjective to ‘कालात्’

• कालात्: from the time-period
• कालात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन

• त्रिमुहूर्तः: a three-muhūrta (period)
• त्रिमुहूर्तः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + मुहूर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (three-muhūrta (period))

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधानार्थक

• संगवः: forenoon (saṅgava)
• संगवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संगव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• मध्याह्नः: midday
• मध्याह्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्याह्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मध्य + अह्न)

• त्रिमुहूर्तः: (is) three muhūrtas (long)
• त्रिमुहूर्तः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + मुहूर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• तस्मात्: from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कालात्: from the time-period
• कालात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• संगवात्: from the forenoon
• संगवात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संगव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Daytime is structured as successive, measurable intervals: from prātaḥ to saṅgava and from saṅgava to madhyāhna, each spanning three muhūrtas.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Anchor work, study, and worship into stable daily blocks; consistency trains attention and supports sādhana.

Vishishtadvaita: Orderly kāla-vibhāga reflects a cosmos sustained by a supreme governor; time becomes a medium for dharmic living.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the significance of Saṅgava and Madhyāhna in the Vishnu Purana?

They are precise divisions of the day measured in muhūrtas, showing how time is systematically ordered for understanding daily cycles and dharmic observances.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of time in this chapter?

He presents time as a sequence of defined intervals—here, three-muhūrta segments—so that larger rhythms of cosmic and human life can be understood as orderly and measurable.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse discusses practical timekeeping, the Purāṇic framework treats ordered time (kāla) as part of the cosmic governance ultimately rooted in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—who sustains the universe’s rhythm and law.