Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 2

Time-Reckoning (Kāla-gaṇanā): Yugas, Manvantaras, Kalpas, and Prākṛta Pralaya

Devanagari script

कालसंख्या समासेन परार्धद्वयकल्पिता / स एव स्यात् परः कालः तदन्ते प्रतिसृज्यते

Transliteration

kālasaṃkhyā samāsena parārdhadvayakalpitā / sa eva syāt paraḥ kālaḥ tadante pratisṛjyate

Translation

اختصاراً زمانے کی گنتی دو پراردھوں پر قائم مانی گئی ہے۔ یہی پرم کال کہلاتا ہے؛ اور اس کے اختتام پر پھر سے سِرشٹی دوبارہ رچی جاتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• कालसंख्या: the time-count
• कालसंख्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कालस्य संख्या)

• समासेन: in brief
• समासेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम्; प्रकारे/उपायार्थे (instrumental: 'in summary/by compounding')

• परार्धद्वयकल्पिता: constructed as two parārdhas
• परार्धद्वयकल्पिता: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परार्ध + द्वय + कल्पित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) 'arranged/constructed'; समासः—तत्पुरुष (परार्धस्य द्वयेन कल्पिता = constructed as two parārdhas)

• सः: that
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Avyaya (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• स्यात्: would be/is to be
• स्यात्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकारः (potential/optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• परः: supreme/other
• परः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• कालः: time
• कालः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्

• तदन्ते: at its end
• तदन्ते: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तस्य अन्ते = at its end)

• प्रतिसृज्यते: is created again/is re-emitted
• प्रतिसृज्यते: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive), आत्मनेपदम्

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic teaching on cosmic time

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kāla (Time)
• Parārdha
• Pratisarga (re-creation)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

By presenting Kāla (Time) as a highest cosmic measure culminating in renewed creation, the verse implies a governing transcendence beyond cyclical change—pointing to Īśvara/Paramātman as the stable ground that orders time and pratisarga.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is prescribed in this verse; its practical import is contemplative—meditating on kāla-cakra (the wheel of time) and pratisarga cultivates vairāgya (dispassion) and steadiness, supporting later Kurma Purana teachings on Pāśupata-oriented discipline and devotion to Īśvara.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Indirectly: by treating Time and re-creation as a single supreme governance, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where the same Īśvara—spoken of in Shaiva or Vaishnava idiom—presides over cosmic cycles.