Shloka 24

Kāla-vibhāga: The Divisions of Time from Atom to Brahmā, and the Lord Beyond Time

Devanagari script

स्वं स्वं कालं मनुर्भुङ्क्ते साधिकां ह्येकसप्ततिम् ॥ २४ ॥

Transliteration

svaṁ svaṁ kālaṁ manur bhuṅkte sādhikāṁ hy eka-saptatim

Translation

មនុម្នាក់ៗសោយកាលរបស់ខ្លួន គឺលើសបន្តិចពីចំនួន ៧១ វដ្តនៃសិយុគ។

Synonyms

• स्वम्: his own
• स्वम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘own’

• स्वम्: each (one’s) own
• स्वम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (each his own)

• कालम्: time-span
• कालम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• मनुः: Manu
• मनुः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• भुङ्क्ते: enjoys; experiences
• भुङ्क्ते: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present/लट्), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• साधिकाम्: with an additional (part)
• साधिकाम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: साधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘with an addition’ (अधिकयुक्त)

• हि: indeed
• हि: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/हेतु (particle: indeed/for)

• एकसप्ततिम्: seventy-one
• एकसप्ततिम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक + सप्तति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—एकेन सह सप्ततिः (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः) = 71

Purport

The duration of life of a Manu comprises seventy-one sets of four millenniums, as described in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. The duration of life of one Manu is about 852,000 years in the calculation of the demigods, or, in the calculation of human beings, 306,720,000 years.

Characters & Entities

• Manu

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the duration of a Manu's reign (manvantara)?

This verse states that each Manu’s allotted period is seventy-one yugas, experienced in sequence as his specific term of cosmic administration.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī describe manvantara time in Canto 3?

He is explaining the Bhagavata’s Vedic time-measurement system—linking atomic time up to yugas and manvantaras—to show the vastness and order of the Lord’s cosmic arrangement.

How can understanding yuga and manvantara cycles help in modern spiritual life?

It puts personal anxieties into perspective, encouraging detachment from temporary changes and steadiness in bhakti by remembering that time moves under divine governance.