Shloka 1
Śuka’s Manifestation from the Araṇi (Āraṇeya-janma) — शुकजन्म (आरणेय-सम्भव)
ऑपन- मा छा अप ऋाल एकादशाधिकत्रिशततमो< ध्याय: अव्यक्त
Yājñavalkya uvāca: Avyaktasya naraśreṣṭha kālasaṅkhyāṃ nibodha me | pañca-kalpa-sahasrāṇi dviguṇāny ahar ucyate ||
Yājñavalkya dit : « Ô le meilleur des hommes, apprends de moi la mesure du temps qui concerne l’Inmanifesté (Avyakta). On parle de cinq mille kalpa ; et l’on dit qu’un “jour” en vaut le double. »
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces a cosmological reckoning of time connected with the Avyakta (Unmanifest), presenting vast measures (kalpas) to frame creation and dissolution within an ordered, intelligible temporal scale.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, the sage Yājñavalkya begins instructing his listener by defining the ‘count of time’ for the Unmanifest, setting up a broader explanation of cosmic principles and the process of creation.