Shloka 33

कलियुग-प्रवृत्तिः, सप्तर्षि-गणना, धरणीगीताः, च वंश-समाप्तिः

Kali-yuga onset, Saptarṣi reckoning, Dharaṇī-gītā, and closure of the dynastic account

Devanagari script

त्रीणि लक्षाणि वर्षाणां द्विज मानुषसंख्यया षष्टिं चैव सहस्राणि भविष्यत्य् एष वै कलिः

Transliteration

trīṇi lakṣāṇi varṣāṇāṃ dvija mānuṣasaṃkhyayā ṣaṣṭiṃ caiva sahasrāṇi bhaviṣyaty eṣa vai kaliḥ

Translation

O twice-born one, reckoned in human years, this Kali age will endure for three hundred and sixty thousand years.

Word by Word

• त्रीणि: three
• त्रीणि: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम्

• लक्षाणि: lakhs (hundred-thousands)
• लक्षाणि: Karma (Measure/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक

• वर्षाणाम्: of years
• वर्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Case 6), बहुवचन

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Case 8), एकवचन

• मानुषसंख्यया: by human reckoning
• मानुषसंख्यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानुष + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मानुषाणां संख्या)

• षष्टिम्: sixty
• षष्टिम्: Karma (Measure/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphasis)

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma (Measure/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), बहुवचन

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थक अव्यय (indeed, surely)

• कलिः: Kali
• कलिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Reckoning (saṃkhyā) of Kali-yuga duration

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Yuga: Kali

Manvantara: Vaivasvata

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Kali-yuga has a fixed, śāstrically defined duration measured in human years, underscoring the ordered structure of cosmic time.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Develop long-view patience and disciplined practice, recognizing that cultural phases are transient within a larger order.

Vishishtadvaita: Time is a real, divinely regulated mode of the Lord’s governance; liberation is sought not by escaping order, but by aligning with the Lord within it.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Characters & Entities

• Dvija

FAQs

What is the significance of Kali-yuga duration in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse gives Kali-yuga’s span in human reckoning, anchoring the Purāṇa’s broader yuga-cycle chronology and its vision of dharma’s gradual decline before renewal.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic time to Maitreya here?

Parāśara presents yuga-time as measurable and orderly—expressed in years—so Maitreya can understand the structured unfolding of history within Vishnu’s sovereign cosmic governance.

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

Even when the verse focuses on chronology, the implied framework is that the ages proceed under a higher, steady sovereignty—Vishnu as the sustaining Supreme Reality who upholds and ultimately restores cosmic order.