Shloka 9

कालनिर्णयः (युग-मन्वन्तर-कल्पप्रमाणम्) — Measures of Time and Cosmic Cycles

Devanagari script

तावत्संख्यैर् अहोरात्रं मुहूर्तैर् मानुषं स्मृतम् अहोरात्राणि तावन्ति मासः पक्षद्वयात्मकः

Transliteration

tāvatsaṃkhyair ahorātraṃ muhūrtair mānuṣaṃ smṛtam ahorātrāṇi tāvanti māsaḥ pakṣadvayātmakaḥ

Translation

その同じ数のムフールタによって人間の昼夜が成ると説かれる。さらに同じ数の昼夜が一月となり、その本性は白分と黒分という二つの半月である。

Word by Word

• tāvat-saṃkhyaiḥ: by that number (of)
• tāvat-saṃkhyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्) + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (tāvatī saṃkhyā yaiḥ) = ‘by so many in number’

• ahaḥ-rātram: a day-and-night (24 hours)
• ahaḥ-rātram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (day and night as a unit)

• muhūrtaiḥ: by muhūrtas
• muhūrtaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muhūrta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• mānuṣam: human
• mānuṣam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (human)

• smṛtam: is regarded
• smṛtam: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘is considered/remembered’

• ahaḥ-rātrāṇi: day-nights (days)
• ahaḥ-rātrāṇi: Karma/Topic (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वः

• tāvanti: so many
• tāvanti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (so many)

• māsaḥ: a month
• māsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pakṣa-dvaya-ātmakaḥ: consisting of two fortnights
• pakṣa-dvaya-ātmakaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaya (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (pakṣadvayasya ātmakaḥ)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in dialogue with Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Human day-night in muhūrtas; month as two pakṣas

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Human temporal life is structured through day-night cycles and lunar fortnights, forming the basis of religious and social order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Align observances (fasts, ekādaśī, amāvāsyā/pūrṇimā) with the pakṣa rhythm to integrate devotion into time.

Vishishtadvaita: Temporal cycles serve as real frameworks for dharma and bhakti within the Lord’s ordered cosmos.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the significance of defining time units like muhūrta and month in the Vishnu Purana?

It establishes a precise human-scale framework of Kāla (time) that later supports larger cosmic cycles (yugas, manvantaras) understood as operating under Vishnu’s governing order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of a month here?

He defines a month as pakṣadvayātmaka—made of two fortnights—corresponding to the bright half and the dark half, built from a counted number of day-nights.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic teaching frames time as a regulated cosmic principle—ultimately subordinate to the Supreme Reality who sustains universal order.