Shloka 4

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

अहोरात्रं पितॄणां तु मासो ऽब्दस् त्रिदिवौकसाम् चतुर्युगसहस्रे तु ब्रह्मणो द्वे द्विजोत्तम

Transliteration

ahorātraṃ pitṝṇāṃ tu māso 'bdas tridivaukasām caturyugasahasre tu brahmaṇo dve dvijottama

Translation

अहोरात्रं पितॄणां तु भिन्नं परिकीर्तितम्; त्रिदिवौकसां मासोऽहोरात्रं, वर्षः कालपरिमाणम्; चतुर्युगसहस्रे तु ब्रह्मणोऽहोरात्रं, द्विजोत्तम।

Word by Word

अहोरात्रम्a day-and-night (a full day)

पितॄणाम्of the Pitṛs (manes)

तुbut, indeed

मासःa month

अब्दःa year

त्रिदिवौकसाम्of the dwellers in heaven (the gods)

चतुर्युगसहस्रेin a thousand (sets) of four yugas

तुand/indeed

ब्रह्मणःof Brahmā

द्वेtwo

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Pitrs (ancestors)

Devas (tridivaukas)

Brahma

FAQs

What is the significance of differing time scales for Pitṛs and Devas in the Vishnu Purana?

It teaches that time is experienced and measured differently across cosmic realms, establishing a graded universe where human, ancestral, divine, and cosmic times fit into one ordered hierarchy.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic time in this chapter?

He lays out a ladder of time-units—moving from human measures to Pitṛ and Deva measures—culminating in Brahmā’s day-and-night defined by a thousand four-Yuga cycles.

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

By mapping the universe through precise cycles, the Purana implies a sovereign cosmic law ultimately grounded in Vishnu, within whose order creation, duration, and dissolution proceed.