Shloka 24

Adhyaya 4: अहोरात्र-युग-मन्वन्तर-कल्पमान तथा प्रलयान्ते सृष्ट्युपक्रमः

Devanagari script

दिव्येनैव प्रमाणेन युगसंख्याप्रकल्पनम् पूर्वं कृतयुगं नाम ततस्त्रेता विधीयते

Transliteration

divyenaiva pramāṇena yugasaṃkhyāprakalpanam pūrvaṃ kṛtayugaṃ nāma tatastretā vidhīyate

Translation

دیوِی پیمانے ہی کے مطابق یُگوں کی تعداد و ترتیب مقرر کی جاتی ہے۔ پہلے ‘کرت’ نامی یُگ قائم ہوتا ہے، پھر ‘تریتا’ کا حکم ہوتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• दिव्येन: by divine

• एव: indeed/only

• प्रमाणेन: by the measure/standard

• युग-संख्यā-प्रकल्पनम्: the formulation of the yuga-count/reckoning

• पूर्वम्: first

• कृत-युगम्: the Kṛta Yuga (Satya Yuga)

• नाम: named/called

• ततस्: thereafter

• त्रेता: Tretā Yuga

• विधीयते: is prescribed/ordained/laid down

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Purāṇic cosmological measure to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames worship within Śaiva cosmology: time (kāla) is measured by a divine standard, reminding the devotee that Linga-pūjā aligns the pashu (soul) with Pati beyond the changing yugas.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Implicitly, it points to the divine pramāṇa behind cosmic order—kāla and its divisions proceed by a higher ordinance, resonant with Śiva as the supreme regulator (Pati) who governs manifestation without being bound by it.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the takeaway is contemplative discipline—seeing yuga-time as divinely ordered supports Pāśupata-style detachment from kāla-bound change while maintaining steady devotion to the Linga.