Shloka 8
प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्
उन्मानेनाम्भसः सा तु पलान्य् अर्धत्रयोदश हेममाषैः कृतच्छिद्रं चतुर्भिश् चतुरङ्गुलैः मागधेन प्रमाणेन जलप्रस्थस् तु स स्मृतः
unmānenāmbhasaḥ sā tu palāny ardhatrayodaśa hemamāṣaiḥ kṛtacchidraṃ caturbhiś caturaṅgulaiḥ māgadhena pramāṇena jalaprasthas tu sa smṛtaḥ
Measured by the standard of water, that quantity is said to be thirteen and a half palas. With a perforation made using four hemamāṣas and a measure of four aṅgulas, according to the Māgadha standard, this is remembered as the jala-prastha—the authoritative measure of water.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Authoritative standards of measurement (Māgadha) for water measure (jala-prastha) used in timekeeping/ritual quantification
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Reliable pramāṇa (standard measure) is necessary for consistent practice—here, the Māgadha jala-prastha defines an authoritative water quantity used for measurement.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: In ritual and daily discipline, keep standards consistent (time, quantity, commitments) to reduce confusion and support steady devotion.
Vishishtadvaita: Śāstric pramāṇa and worldly pramāṇa jointly serve dharma in a real, meaningful universe under the Lord’s order.
FAQs
This verse shows that cosmic and social order (dharma) is supported by precise, agreed standards—linking ritual, economy, and cosmological description to a reliable system of measurement.
Parāśara grounds the definition in an accepted regional benchmark (the Māgadha standard), indicating that Purāṇic knowledge includes verifiable conventions, not only mythic narration.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purāṇa’s insistence on stable ‘pramāṇa’ reflects a universe sustained by a supreme governing principle—Vishnu as the underlying order that makes dharma and knowledge coherent.