Shloka 63
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
तस्मान् माध्याह्निकात् कालाद् अपराह्ण इति स्मृतः त्रय एव मुहूर्तास् तु कालभागः स्मृतो बुधैः
tasmān mādhyāhnikāt kālād aparāhṇa iti smṛtaḥ traya eva muhūrtās tu kālabhāgaḥ smṛto budhaiḥ
Therefore, after the midday period, the later part of the day is known as aparāhṇa. The wise declare that this division of time is precisely three muhūrtas.
Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)
Concept: Aparāhṇa—the later part of the day—begins after midday and is fixed as a three-muhūrta division according to the learned.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat time as a sacred resource; assign afternoon to duties done best with steadiness and clarity (service, study, charity).
Vishishtadvaita: The ‘buddhaiḥ’ (the wise) codify temporal order that supports varṇāśrama duties—an outer framework for inner God-centered life.
FAQs
This verse defines aparāhṇa as the post-midday segment of the day and specifies its measure as three muhūrtas, grounding daily life and dharmic timing in a precise traditional time-structure.
Parāśara presents time as a structured sequence of named segments, quantified in muhūrtas, showing that temporal order is knowable, transmissible, and traditionally authoritative.
Even without naming Vishnu directly, the teaching reinforces the Purana’s view that ordered time (kāla) is part of the cosmic governance ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—who sustains order in the universe.