Shloka 14

Cosmic Time, Cycles of Creation and Dissolution, and the Varāha Uplift of Earth

Devanagari script

एककाले हि सृज्यंते संह्रियंते च पूर्ववत् । चतर्युगानां संख्याता साधिका ह्येकसप्ततिः

Transliteration

ekakāle hi sṛjyaṃte saṃhriyaṃte ca pūrvavat | cataryugānāṃ saṃkhyātā sādhikā hyekasaptatiḥ

Translation

ഒരേ കാലത്തിൽ സൃഷ്ടി ഉദ്ഭവിക്കുകയും, മുൻപുപോലെ ലയിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നു. ചതുര്യുഗങ്ങളുടെ എണ്ണം ഏകസപ്തതി (എഴുപത്തൊന്ന്, കൂടാതെ) എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധം.

Word by Word

• eka-kāle: at one time / in a single time
• eka-kāle: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; एककाले = एकस्मिन् काले (locative of time)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय; अर्थे—खलु/नूनम् (indeed)

• sṛjyante: are created
• sṛjyante: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛj (सृज् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; सृज्यन्ते = are created

• saṃhriyante: are withdrawn / dissolved
• saṃhriyante: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛ (हृ धातु) उपसर्गः—sam-
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; संह्रियन्ते = are withdrawn/dissolved

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• pūrvavat: as before
• pūrvavat: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (वत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), तुलनार्थे—पूर्ववत् (as before)

• catur-yugānām: of the four yugas
• catur-yugānām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; चतुर्युगानाम् = of the four yugas

• saṃkhyātā: counted / computed
• saṃkhyātā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃkhyāta (कृदन्त; √khyā धातु, उपसर्गः—sam-)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying)

• sādhikā: with an addition / plus
• sādhikā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sādhikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘अधिक’ अर्थे (with an addition/plus)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय; बलार्थे (emphasis)

• eka-saptatiḥ: seventy-one
• eka-saptatiḥ: Karta/Predicate nominal (कर्ता/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + saptati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; संख्या (numeral) = 71

Speaker

Pulastya (contextual, Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa dialogue tradition)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: ekakāle = eka-kāle; sṛjyaṃte = sṛjyante (anusvāra orthography); saṃhriyṃte = saṃhriyante; hyeṣa/hyekasaptatiḥ: hi + eka-saptatiḥ → hyekasaptatiḥ; cataryugānāṃ normalized as caturyugānām (catur-yugānām).

FAQs

What does this verse say about creation and dissolution?

It describes cyclical time: beings or worlds are produced and then withdrawn again, repeating “as before,” indicating a recurring cosmological pattern.

Why is the number “seventy-one caturyugas” significant?

Seventy-one caturyugas is the standard Purāṇic measure for a manvantara (the reign-period of one Manu), linking this verse to the broader framework of cosmic chronology.

What is the practical takeaway for readers from this cosmological statement?

It emphasizes impermanence and recurrence: worldly conditions arise and pass in vast cycles, encouraging detachment and orientation toward enduring spiritual aims.