Shloka 11

सोमचक्रः, ग्रह-रथाः, ध्रुवबन्धनं, शिशुमारसंनिवेशः, विष्णु-सर्वात्मकता

Moon, Planets, Dhruva-Tethering, Śiśumāra, and Vishnu as All

Devanagari script

शेषे पञ्चदशे भागे किंचिच्छिष्टे कलात्मके अपराह्णे पितृगणा जघन्यं पर्युपासते

Transliteration

śeṣe pañcadaśe bhāge kiṃcicchiṣṭe kalātmake aparāhṇe pitṛgaṇā jaghanyaṃ paryupāsate

Translation

เมื่อยามบ่ายคล้อยใกล้สิ้นสุด เหลือเพียงเศษน้อยของส่วนที่สิบห้าอันเป็นกะลา หมู่ปิตฤทั้งหลายเฝ้ารอส่วนสุดท้ายอันต่ำสุดนั้น เพื่อรับเครื่องบูชาในวาระที่วันกำลังร่วงโรย

Word by Word

• शेषे: in the remainder
• शेषे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पञ्चदशे: in the fifteenth
• पञ्चदशे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चदश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (पञ्च + दश = fifteen) संख्यावाचक

• भागे: portion; part
• भागे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• किञ्चित्: a little
• किञ्चित्: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किञ्चित् (अव्यय/सर्वनाम-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक (quantifier: 'a little/somewhat')

• शिष्टे: remaining
• शिष्टे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिष्ट (कृदन्त; √शिष्/शेष्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

• कला-आत्मके: consisting of a kalā; of the nature of a digit
• कला-आत्मके: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष ('having the nature of kalā')

• अपराह्णे: in the afternoon
• अपराह्णे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपराह्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• पितृ-गणाः: the hosts of Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितृ-गणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('group of the ancestors')

• जघन्यम्: the lowest (portion/time)
• जघन्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जघन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेष्यरूपेण (as object)

• पर्युपासते: attend upon; wait upon
• पर्युपासते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + उप + √आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Liminal time at day’s end is portrayed as the pitṛs’ appointed window, underscoring that offerings bear fruit when aligned with prescribed kāla.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Honor ancestors through timely tarpaṇa/śrāddha or simple remembrance and charity, using disciplined scheduling as a spiritual practice.

Vishishtadvaita: Karmas (like pitṛ-offerings) have real efficacy within the Lord’s ordered law (niyati), integrating devotion, duty, and cosmic timing.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestral beings)
• Kāla (time as measured in kalās)

FAQs

What is the significance of late-afternoon timing for Pitṛ offerings in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that the Pitṛs are understood to “wait upon” the final portion of the afternoon, indicating a prescribed ritual window when ancestor offerings are especially expected and thus traditionally scheduled.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of time-units (kalā) in ritual practice?

By describing the afternoon in kalā-based divisions and specifying a remaining fraction, Parāśara frames dharma as something harmonized with precise measures of kāla, not merely with general parts of the day.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context of ritual time?

Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purāṇic view treats cosmic order—time, its divisions, and dharmic observances—as operating under the supreme governance of Vishnu, making correct timing a way of aligning practice with that universal order.