Shloka 4

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

स्थानात् स्थानं दशगुणम् एकस्माद् गण्यते द्विज ततो ऽष्टादशमे भागे परार्धम् अभिधीयते

Transliteration

sthānāt sthānaṃ daśaguṇam ekasmād gaṇyate dvija tato 'ṣṭādaśame bhāge parārdham abhidhīyate

Translation

O twice-born one, each successive place-value is reckoned as ten times the one before it. When this progression is carried to its eighteenth division, that measure is called the parārdha.

Word by Word

• स्थानात्: from a place/position
• स्थानात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• स्थानम्: place/position (as the next unit)
• स्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• दशगुणम्: tenfold
• दशगुणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; दशगुण = दश गुणाः यस्य तत् (determinative)

• एकस्मात्: from one (unit)
• एकस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (प्रातिपदिक ‘एक’ सर्वनामवत्)

• गण्यते: is counted/considered
• गण्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गण् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

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

• ततः: then/from that
• ततः: Sambandha (Link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• अष्टादशमे: in the eighteenth
• अष्टादशमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टादश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (ordinal)

• भागे: part/portion
• भागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• परार्धम्: parārdha (a very large number)
• परार्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परार्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (कर्मणि-प्रयोगे कर्म/प्रथमा-सम्भव)

• अभिधीयते: is called/denoted
• अभिधीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + धा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Measures of time/number leading up to cosmological durations and dissolution (parārdha reckoning)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Cosmic time is communicated through a strict decimal progression culminating in the parārdha as a terminal large-number unit within this scheme.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Use structured measurement (counting and proportion) to contemplate vastness without mental vagueness, cultivating steadiness in reflection.

Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos is intelligible and ordered (niyati) rather than illusory chaos, supporting a real, governed universe dependent on the Supreme.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of parārdha in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, parārdha is presented as a named culmination-point of a tenfold counting scheme—marking an extreme denomination used for Purāṇic cosmic calculations tied to vast time scales.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic enumeration in this passage?

He states a rule of progression: each successive “place” or unit is ten times the previous one, and by the eighteenth such division the resulting magnitude is termed parārdha.

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

Though not named in this verse, the teaching belongs to Ansha 6’s vision of ordered cosmic time that ultimately culminates in dissolution and renewal—processes governed by the Supreme Reality, Vishnu, as the regulator of kāla (time) and cosmic order.