Adhyakshaprachara Adhyaya 20 Sutra 29 - Arthashastra | Sanskrit | Vedapath

Kautilya

Sutra 29

Devanagari script

तुटो लवो निमेषः काष्ठा कल्ला नालिका मुहूर्तः पूर्वापरभागौ दिवसो रात्रिः पक्षो मास ऋतुरयनं संवत्सरो युगमिति कालाः ॥ कZ_०२.२०.२९ ॥

Transliteration

tuṭo lavo nimeṣaḥ kāṣṭhā kallā nālikā muhūrtaḥ pūrvāparabhāgau divaso rātriḥ pakṣo māsa ṛtur ayanaṃ saṃvatsaro yugam iti kālāḥ

Translation

तुटो लवो निमेषः काष्ठा कल्ला नालिका मुहूर्तः पूर्वापरभागौ दिवसो रात्रिः पक्षो मास ऋतुरयनं संवत्सरो युगमिति कालाः।

Word by Word

तुटःa unit of time called tuṭa

लवःa unit of time called lava

निमेषःa blink; a unit of time (nimeṣa)

काष्ठाa unit of time called kāṣṭhā

कल्लाa unit of time called kallā

नालिकाnālikā; a time-measure (water-clock unit)

मुहूर्तःa muhūrta (time period)

पूर्वापरभागौthe two parts—former and latter portions (of the day)

दिवसःday

रात्रिःnight

पक्षःfortnight (half-month)

मासःmonth

ऋतुःseason

अयनम्half-year (ayana)

संवत्सरःyear

युगम्an age; yuga

इतिthus; so (marking the end of the list)

कालाःtime-units; measures of time

Entities Mentioned

tuṭa

lava

nimeṣa

kāṣṭhā

kallā

nālikā

muhūrta

divasa

rātri

pakṣa

māsa

Ṛ

ṛtu

ayana

saṃvatsara

yuga

FAQs

Why does the Arthashastra enumerate time units from very small to very large?

To support administrative precision at multiple scales: watch-duty and court timing (small units), fiscal and agricultural cycles (months/seasons), and long-term state planning (years/yugas).

What is the practical administrative role of 'nālikā'?

Nālikā ties timekeeping to a measurable device (water-clock), enabling uniform scheduling for guards, offices, and market regulation.