Matsya Purana — Measures of Time: Caturyuga Computation, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

त्रिंशद्ये मानुषा मासाः पित्र्यो मासः स उच्यते शतानि त्रीणि मासानां षष्ट्या चाभ्यधिकानि तु पित्र्यः संवत्सरो ह्येष मानुषेण विभाव्यते //

Transliteration

triṃśadye mānuṣā māsāḥ pitryo māsaḥ sa ucyate śatāni trīṇi māsānāṃ ṣaṣṭyā cābhyadhikāni tu pitryaḥ saṃvatsaro hyeṣa mānuṣeṇa vibhāvyate //

Translation

మనుషుల ముప్పై నెలలు పితృల యొక్క ఒక నెలగా చెప్పబడుతుంది. అలాగే మనుషుల మూడు వందల అరవై నెలలు—మానవ గణన ప్రకారం—పితృల యొక్క ఒక సంవత్సరం అవుతుంది.

Word by Word

• triṃśat: thirty

• ye: which/that

• mānuṣāḥ māsāḥ: human months

• pitryaḥ māsaḥ: a month of the Pitṛs (ancestors)

• saḥ ucyate: is said/called

• śatāni trīṇi: three hundred

• māsānām: of months

• ṣaṣṭyā: by sixty

• ca: and

• abhyadhikāni: increased/exceeding (i.e., plus)

• tu: indeed

• pitryaḥ saṃvatsaraḥ: a year of the Pitṛs

• hi: surely/indeed

• eṣaḥ: this

• mānuṣeṇa: by humans/by human measure

• vibhāvyate: is considered/understood.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (in instruction to Vaivasvata Manu, within the time-and-ritual teaching context)

Entities Mentioned

• Pitṛs (Ancestors)
• Mānuṣa (Human time-reckoning)

Tags

• Śrāddha
• Pitṛ-loka
• Time
• Ritual Calendar
• Dharma

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

This verse does not describe Pralaya directly; it teaches a cosmological time-conversion showing that time flows differently for the Pitṛs than for humans.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

By defining Pitṛ-time, it supports correct timing and understanding of ancestral rites (Śrāddha). A householder—and a king as guardian of dharma—should ensure such rites follow proper calendrical principles.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Its significance is ritual rather than architectural: it provides the doctrinal basis for calculating Pitṛ-related observances by distinguishing human time from Pitṛ-loka time.