Shloka 6

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

निमेषो मानुषो यो ऽयं मात्रामात्रप्रमाणतः तैः पञ्चदशभिः काष्ठा त्रिंशत् काष्ठास् तथा कला

Transliteration

nimeṣo mānuṣo yo 'yaṃ mātrāmātrapramāṇataḥ taiḥ pañcadaśabhiḥ kāṣṭhā triṃśat kāṣṭhās tathā kalā

Translation

Le ‘nimeṣa’ humain est défini selon la mesure la plus subtile, la mātrā. Quinze nimeṣas font une kāṣṭhā, et trente kāṣṭhās composent une kalā.

Word by Word

• निमेषः: a blink (nimeṣa)
• निमेषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निमेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मानुषः: human
• मानुषः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मानुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यः: which/that (who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (relative pronoun)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (demonstrative)

• मात्रामात्रप्रमाणतः: by the measure of a mere mātrā (unit)
• मात्रामात्रप्रमाणतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मात्रा + मात्र + प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb) ‘-तः’; समासः: मात्रायाः मात्रया प्रमाणम् (determinative)

• तैः: by those (units)
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• पञ्चदशभिः: by fifteen
• पञ्चदशभिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चदश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (numeral)

• काष्ठाः: kāṣṭhās (time-units)
• काष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• त्रिंशत्: thirty
• त्रिंशत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिंशत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; (indeclinable-like numeral) ‘thirty’

• काष्ठाः: kāṣṭhās
• काष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise/and so
• तथा: Sambandha (Link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• कला: a kalā (time-unit)
• कला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the significance of measuring time (Kāla) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse begins a precise ladder of time-units, showing that cosmic order is intelligible and measurable—supporting later calculations of yugas, manvantaras, and dissolution (pralaya).

How does Sage Parāśara explain the progression from small to larger time units?

He starts with a human-perceptible unit (nimeṣa) and aggregates it mathematically—15 nimeṣas make a kāṣṭhā, and 30 kāṣṭhās make a kalā—establishing a scalable framework for larger cosmological periods.

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

Even when the verse is technical, it serves a Vaishnava cosmology where ordered time underlies creation and dissolution—Kāla functions within the sovereign governance of the Supreme Reality, Vishnu.