Shloka 8

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

उन्मानेनाम्भसः सा तु पलान्य् अर्धत्रयोदश हेममाषैः कृतच्छिद्रं चतुर्भिश् चतुरङ्गुलैः मागधेन प्रमाणेन जलप्रस्थस् तु स स्मृतः

Transliteration

unmānenāmbhasaḥ sā tu palāny ardhatrayodaśa hemamāṣaiḥ kṛtacchidraṃ caturbhiś caturaṅgulaiḥ māgadhena pramāṇena jalaprasthas tu sa smṛtaḥ

Translation

水量の基準によれば、その量は十三半のパラである。四つのヘーママーシャで穿たれた孔と、四アングラの寸法を備え、マガダの規準に従うこれを「ジャラ・プラスタ（jala-prastha）」—正統なる水の量—と記憶する。

Word by Word

• उन्मानेन: by the standard measure (unmāna)
• उन्मानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उन्मान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अम्भसः: of water
• अम्भसः: Sambandha (Possession/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• सा: that (measure)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (Link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• पलानि: palas (weights)
• पलानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अर्धत्रयोदश: thirteen and a half
• अर्धत्रयोदश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्ध + त्रयोदश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-समासः; अर्धं च त्रयोदश च (13.5) इत्यर्थे; (numeral used adjectivally)

• हेममाषैः: with gold-māṣas (weights)
• हेममाषैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेम + माष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; हेमस्य माषाः (gold-beans/weights)

• कृतच्छिद्रम्: having a perforation made
• कृतच्छिद्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत + छिद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कृतं छिद्रं यस्मिन् तत् (having a made hole)

• चतुर्भिः: by four
• चतुर्भिः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः; तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• चतुरङ्गुलैः: with four aṅgulas (finger-breadths)
• चतुरङ्गुलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् + अङ्गुलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; चतसृभिः अङ्गुलिभिः (four-finger breadths)

• मागधेन: by the Māgadha (standard)
• मागधेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मागध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Magadhan standard)

• प्रमाणेन: by measure/standard
• प्रमाणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जलप्रस्थः: jalaprastha (water-measure)
• जलप्रस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल + प्रस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; जलस्य प्रस्थः (a water-measure)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• सः: that/it
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्मृतः: is said/remembered (as)
• स्मृतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + त (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Authoritative standards of measurement (Māgadha) for water measure (jala-prastha) used in timekeeping/ritual quantification

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Reliable pramāṇa (standard measure) is necessary for consistent practice—here, the Māgadha jala-prastha defines an authoritative water quantity used for measurement.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: In ritual and daily discipline, keep standards consistent (time, quantity, commitments) to reduce confusion and support steady devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Śāstric pramāṇa and worldly pramāṇa jointly serve dharma in a real, meaningful universe under the Lord’s order.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Magadha (Māgadha standard)

FAQs

What is the significance of standardized measures like the jalaprastha in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse shows that cosmic and social order (dharma) is supported by precise, agreed standards—linking ritual, economy, and cosmological description to a reliable system of measurement.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of pramāṇa (authoritative standard) here?

Parāśara grounds the definition in an accepted regional benchmark (the Māgadha standard), indicating that Purāṇic knowledge includes verifiable conventions, not only mythic narration.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purāṇa’s insistence on stable ‘pramāṇa’ reflects a universe sustained by a supreme governing principle—Vishnu as the underlying order that makes dharma and knowledge coherent.