Shloka 18
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
अहस्त्रिधा तु विज्ञेयं त्रिधा रात्रिविधीयते । मासार्धमासवर्षाणि ऋतव: संधयस्तथा,गुणोंके भेदसे दिनको भी तीन प्रकारका समझना चाहिये। रात भी तीन प्रकारकी होती है तथा मास, पक्ष, वर्ष, ऋतु और संध्याके भी तीन-तीन भेद होते हैं
ahastridhā tu vijñeyaṃ tridhā rātrir vidhīyate | māsārdhamāsavarṣāṇi ṛtavaḥ sandhayas tathā ||
Vāyu said: “Time should be understood as having threefold divisions: the day is to be known in three ways, and the night too is arranged in three ways. Likewise, the month, the half-month (fortnight), the year, the seasons, and the junctions (twilights) are each spoken of as having threefold distinctions.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a disciplined, dharmic way of understanding time: day, night, and larger calendrical units are to be viewed through structured threefold classifications, supporting orderly conduct and ritual awareness.
Vāyudeva is instructing the listener about the taxonomy of time—how day and night, and then month/fortnight/year/seasons/twilights, are each described with threefold distinctions—framing a cosmological-ritual understanding within the discourse.