Shloka 80

सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्

Devanagari script

अहोरात्रार्धमासौ तु कलाः काष्ठाः क्षणास् तथा पौर्णमासी तथा ज्ञेया अमावास्या तथैव च सिनीवाली कुहूश् चैव राका चानुमतिस् तथा

Transliteration

ahorātrārdhamāsau tu kalāḥ kāṣṭhāḥ kṣaṇās tathā paurṇamāsī tathā jñeyā amāvāsyā tathaiva ca sinīvālī kuhūś caiva rākā cānumatis tathā

Translation

ดังนี้คือการนับส่วนแห่งกาล: กลางวันและกลางคืน ครึ่งเดือน และส่วนย่อยคือ กะลา กาษฐา และกษณะ; เช่นเดียวกันพึงรู้คืนเพ็ญ (ปูรณมาสี) คืนเดือนดับ (อมาวาสยา) และช่วงชื่อ สินีวาลี กุหู รากา และอนุมติ

Word by Word

• अहोरात्रार्धमासौ: day-and-night and half-months
• अहोरात्रार्धमासौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहोरात्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्धमास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), द्विवचनम्; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (अहोरात्रौ च अर्धमासौ च)

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle)

• कलाः: digits/parts (kalās)
• कलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचनम्

• काष्ठाः: kāṣṭhās (time-units)
• काष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचनम्

• क्षणाः: moments
• क्षणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचनम्

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb: likewise)

• पौर्णमासी: full-moon day (Paurṇamāsī)
• पौर्णमासी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पौर्णमासी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb)

• ज्ञेया: is to be known
• ज्ञेया: Vidhyartha (Obligation/विध्यर्थ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तम् (gerundive); स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्; विध्यर्थः (to be known)

• अमावास्या: new-moon day (Amāvāsyā)
• अमावास्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (connector)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle; emphasis)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• सिनीवाली: Sinīvālī (a lunar day/deity)
• सिनीवाली: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिनीवाली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• कुहूः: Kuhū
• कुहूः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुहू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• एव: also
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle)

• राका: Rākā
• राका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• अनुमतिः: Anumati
• अनुमतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुमति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• तथा: and so on
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/समापनार्थक-अव्ययम् (connector: thus/likewise)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Divisions of time (kāla-vibhāga): day/night, half-month, smaller units, and lunar observance days/phases

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Time is articulated through nested measures and lunar markers (tithi/phase-names), making dharma practicable through precise reckoning.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Structure life with mindful cycles—daily practice, fortnightly reflection, and periodic observances—to align intention with steady discipline.

Vishishtadvaita: Kāla functions as a real mode (prakāra) within the Lord’s ordered manifestation; temporal structure supports embodied souls’ progress in dharma and bhakti.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kāla (Time)
• Candra (Moon)

FAQs

What is the significance of lunar days like Paurṇamāsī and Amāvāsyā in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats them as formal measures within sacred time—key markers of the Moon’s cycle used to structure ritual, calendrical reckoning, and the broader cosmic order (kāla).

How does Sage Parāśara explain the organization of time in this passage?

He lists time from larger spans (day-night, half-month) down to finer units (kalā, kāṣṭhā, kṣaṇa), then links that reckoning to lunar phases and observances, showing time as an ordered system rather than a random flow.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named directly, the Vishnu Purana frames kāla (time) and cosmic regularity as operating under the Supreme Reality’s sovereignty—time becomes a manifestation of divine order sustaining the universe.