Shloka 24

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

Devanagari script

एकार्णवे तु त्रैलोक्ये ब्रह्मा नारायणात्मकः भोगिशय्यागतः शेते त्रैलोक्यग्रासबृंहितः

Transliteration

ekārṇave tu trailokye brahmā nārāyaṇātmakaḥ bhogiśayyāgataḥ śete trailokyagrāsabṛṃhitaḥ

Translation

Quando os três mundos se tornam um único oceano, Brahmā—cuja essência é Nārāyaṇa—reclina-se no leito da Serpente (Śeṣa), como que dilatado por ter absorvido em si o tríplice cosmos.

Word by Word

• एकार्णवे: in the single ocean (cosmic flood)
• एकार्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (in the single ocean / one flood)

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ (but/indeed)

• त्रैलोक्ये: in the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + लोक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; (in the three worlds)

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्/ब्रह्मा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नारायणात्मकः: having Nārāyaṇa as his essence
• नारायणात्मकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नारायण + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (having the nature of Nārāyaṇa)

• भोगिशय्यागतः: having gone to the serpent-bed
• भोगिशय्यागतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भोगिन् + शय्या + गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) ‘gone/come to’; तत्पुरुषः (come to the serpent-couch)

• शेते: lies; rests
• शेते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √शी (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• त्रैलोक्यग्रासबृंहितः: expanded by swallowing the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यग्रासबृंहितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य + ग्रास + बृंहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √बृंह् (धातु) + क्त; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; तत्पुरुषः (swollen/expanded by the swallowing of the three worlds)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Narayana (Vishnu)
• Shesha (Ananta)

FAQs

What is the significance of the 'single ocean' (ekārṇava) in the Vishnu Purana?

It signifies pralaya, when the differentiated worlds collapse into undivided cosmic waters, marking the suspension of manifest creation before the next cycle begins.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Brahmā as 'nārāyaṇātmakaḥ'?

He presents Brahmā’s creative identity as dependent on and grounded in Nārāyaṇa—Brahmā functions through the Supreme Lord rather than as an independent ultimate principle.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu (Nārāyaṇa) is shown as the sovereign substratum of the cosmos—absorbing the worlds at dissolution and remaining as the supreme, enduring reality beyond creation and destruction.