Shloka 4
Time-Reckoning (Kāla-gaṇanā): Yugas, Manvantaras, Kalpas, and Prākṛta Pralaya
काष्ठा पञ्चदश ख्याता निमेषा द्विजसत्तमाः / काष्ठास्त्रिंशत् कला त्रिंशत् कला मौहूर्तिकी गतिः
kāṣṭhā pañcadaśa khyātā nimeṣā dvijasattamāḥ / kāṣṭhāstriṃśat kalā triṃśat kalā mauhūrtikī gatiḥ
Ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés : quinze nimeṣa sont connus comme une kāṣṭhā. Trente kāṣṭhā font une kalā ; et trente kalā constituent la mesure du temps appelée muhūrta.
Narrator-sage (Purāṇic discourse tradition; instructional voice addressing the dvija-sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it establishes precise measures of time (kāla-māna), which Purāṇas use as a framework for understanding embodied life, ritual discipline, and cosmological order—contexts in which Self-knowledge is later taught.
No specific yoga technique is taught in this verse; however, by defining nimeṣa–kāṣṭhā–kalā–muhūrta, it supports traditional timing for sādhana (practice), such as choosing auspicious muhūrtas and structuring disciplined routines central to Purāṇic dharma and later yogic instruction.
It does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly; it contributes to the shared Purāṇic cosmology where kāla (time-order) is upheld within a unified sacred framework that later accommodates Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis in the Kurma Purana.