Shloka 4

Adhyāya 108: Paścima-dik—Varuṇa’s Realm, Sunset Cosmology, and Sacred-Geographic Markers

Suparṇa–Gālava संवाद

Devanagari script

एतद द्वितीयं देवस्य द्वारमाचक्षते द्विज । त्रुटिशो लवशश्लापि गण्यते कालनिश्चय:

Transliteration

etad dvitīyaṁ devasya dvāram ācakṣate dvija | truṭiśo lavaśaś cāpi gaṇyate kālaniścayaḥ ||

Translation

हे द्विज! विद्वान लोग इस दिशा को देवता का दूसरा द्वार कहते हैं। यहाँ त्रुटि और लव जैसे सूक्ष्मतम काल-मानों तक का ध्यान रखकर समय का निश्चित लेखा-जोखा किया जाता है।

Word by Word

• {'etad': 'this', 'dvitīyam': 'second', 'devasya': 'of the deity

• of the divine lord', 'dvāram': 'gate, doorway, entrance', 'ācakṣate': 'they declare, they describe', 'dvija': 'twice-born (a Brahmin/initiated man)

• vocative address', 'truṭi': 'a very minute unit of time', 'lava': 'a minute unit of time (very small time-fraction)', 'śaḥ (in truṭiśaḥ, lavaśaḥ)': 'by units

• distributively', 'cāpi': 'and also', 'gaṇyate': 'is counted, is computed', 'kāla': 'time', 'niścayaḥ': 'certainty, fixed determination

Speaker

युपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yuparṇa
• dvija (addressed Brahmin)
• deva (the deity/divine lord)
• dvāra (gate)
• truṭi
• lava
• kāla (time)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that dharma and cosmic governance operate with exactness: even the smallest fractions of time are accounted for, implying that life, duty, and consequence are measured within a precise moral-cosmic order rather than by randomness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yuparṇa addresses a dvija and points out a specific ‘second gate’ associated with the deity, describing it as a place/point where time is meticulously computed down to minute units like truṭi and lava—framing the setting as one of strict, systematic reckoning.