Shloka 25

प्रचेतसां तपः तथा विष्णु-स्तुतिः

The Pracetases’ Ocean Tapas and Hymn to Vishnu

Devanagari script

यस्याहः प्रथमं रूपम् अरूपस्य ततो निशा संध्या च परमेशस्य तस्मै कालात्मने नमः

Transliteration

yasyāhaḥ prathamaṃ rūpam arūpasya tato niśā saṃdhyā ca parameśasya tasmai kālātmane namaḥ

Translation

Kính lễ Đấng Tối Thượng, Tự Ngã của Thời Gian: tuy bản thể vô tướng, Ngài trước hiện thành “ngày”, rồi “đêm”, và những thời khắc giao hội linh thiêng của hoàng hôn và bình minh.

Word by Word

• yasya: of whom/whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Masculine/Neuter) — सर्वनाम-रूपम्

• ahaḥ: day
• ahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahar (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• prathamam: first
• prathamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular) — विशेषणम्

• rūpam: form
• rūpam: Pradhana (Predicate nominative/विशेष्य-रूपेण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• arūpasya: of the formless one
• arūpasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् — अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• niśā: night
• niśā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• saṃdhyā: twilight
• saṃdhyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् — समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः (conjunction)

• parameśasya: of the Supreme Lord
• parameśasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parameśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tasmai: to him
• tasmai: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) — सर्वनाम-रूपम्

• kālātmane: to the one whose self is Time
• kālātmane: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla-ātman (प्रातिपदिक: kāla + ātman)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), चतुर्थी (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular) — षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kālasya ātmā)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Prayojana (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रायम् (indeclinable usage) — नमस्कारार्थक-निपातः (salutatory particle)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Kala (Time)

FAQs

What is the significance of Kāla (Time) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents Time as divine—Kāla is not merely a measure but the very manifestation of the Supreme Lord, structuring reality as day, night, and twilight.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the formless (arūpa) becoming perceivable?

Parāśara indicates that the formless Supreme is known through functional manifestations—here, the cosmic rhythms of day, night, and sandhyā reveal His governance without limiting His transcendence.

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

Vishnu is affirmed as Paramēśvara whose sovereignty includes Time itself—supporting a Vaishnava view where the Supreme both transcends form and pervades the world through ordered cosmic powers.