Shloka 18

Devanagari script

कलाकाष्ठानिमेषादिकालज्ञानात्मने नमः ध्येयाय विष्णुरूपाय परमाक्षररूपिणे

Transliteration

kalākāṣṭhānimeṣādikālajñānātmane namaḥ dhyeyāya viṣṇurūpāya paramākṣararūpiṇe

Translation

Salutations to Him whose very essence is the knowing of Time—of kalā, kāṣṭhā, nimeṣa and all its measures; to the Supreme who is to be meditated upon, who is of the form of Vishnu, and who abides as the highest Imperishable Reality.

Word by Word

• कलाकाष्ठानिमेषादिकालज्ञानात्मने: to him whose nature is the knowledge of time (from kalā, kāṣṭhā, nimeṣa, etc.)
• कलाकाष्ठानिमेषादिकालज्ञानात्मने: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला + काष्ठा + निमेष + आदि + काल + ज्ञान + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः—(कला-काष्ठा-निमेष-आदि)कालस्य ज्ञानम्, तदात्मा यः

• नमः: homage
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayojana (Salutation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/उद्गारः), नमस्कारार्थकः

• ध्येयाय: to the one to be meditated upon
• ध्येयाय: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्येय (प्रातिपदिक; ध्यै-धातोः कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—ल्युट्/यत्-प्रत्ययान्तः ‘ध्यातव्यः’

• विष्णुरूपाय: to him of Viṣṇu-form
• विष्णुरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—विष्णोः रूपं यस्य

• परमाक्षररूपिणे: to the one whose form is the supreme imperishable (Brahman)
• परमाक्षररूपिणे: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम + अक्षर + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—परमं अक्षरं, तद्रूपः/तद्रूपिण्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; hymnic description of Vishnu as the Supreme)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Identification of Viṣṇu with Time-measures and as the supreme imperishable (paramākṣara) fit for meditation

Teaching: Philosophical

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Supreme, to be meditated upon, is Viṣṇu who pervades and knows all measures of time and yet abides as the highest Imperishable Reality beyond time’s divisions.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Practice time-awareness as sādhana: observe moments (nimeṣa) without grasping, and turn that attention into dhyāna on the imperishable Lord behind changing experience.

Vishishtadvaita: Viṣṇu is both the immanent regulator of temporal order and the transcendent paramākṣara—supporting the Lord as inner ruler while remaining unsurpassed.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Kāla (Time)
• Akṣara (the Imperishable Brahman)

FAQs

What is the significance of Time (kāla) in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

Time is presented as a divine principle rooted in Vishnu—He is not merely within time but is the very ground of time’s measures and the knower governing them.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the object of meditation (dhyeya) here?

Parāśara frames Vishnu as the proper focus of contemplation: the all-pervading Lord whose reality transcends temporal divisions and culminates in the Imperishable (akṣara).

What is the theological importance of calling Vishnu the “paramākṣara” (supreme imperishable)?

It identifies Vishnu with the highest Brahman—unchanging, eternal, and sovereign—supporting a Vaishnava reading where the Supreme Reality is personal and all-pervading.