Mantra 3
Sukta 53
पूर्णः कुम्भोऽधि काल आहितस्तं वै पश्यामो बहुधा नु सन्तः। स इमा विश्वा भुवनानि प्रत्यङ्कालं तमाहुः परमे व्योमन्
pū́rṇaḥ kúmbho ’dhí kālá ā́hitaḥ | táṃ vái paśyā́mo bahudhā́ nú sántaḥ || sá imā́ víśvā bhúvanāni pratyáṅ kāláṃ tám ā́huḥ paramé vyòman ||
A full jar is set above—Time is laid thereon: him verily we behold, existing now in many a fashion. He, turning all these worlds back toward himself,—him in the highest heaven they call ‘Time.’
ऊपर एक पूर्ण कुम्भ स्थापित है—उस पर ‘काल’ अधिष्ठित है; उसे ही हम, अनेक रूपों में विद्यमान, निश्चय ही देखते हैं। जो इन समस्त भुवनों को अपनी ओर प्रत्यङ् (वापस) फेर देता है—उसे परम व्योम में ‘काल’ कहते हैं।
Rishi: Traditionally associated with Atharvanic seers (Kāla-sūkta tradition; specific r̥ṣi attribution varies by anukramaṇī lists).
Devata: Kāla (Time), personified as supreme principle
Chandas: Mixed/late Atharvanic style; predominantly anuṣṭubh-like cadence with expansions
{"primary_rasa":"adbhuta","secondary_rasa":"shanta","emotional_arc":"Awe at Time’s many forms → calm acceptance of its supremacy.","listener_experience":"Vastness, perspective, reduced reactivity; a sense of being ‘held’ by cosmic order.","intensity":6}