Shloka 62

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

Devanagari script

तस्मात् प्रातस्तनात् कालात् त्रिमुहूर्तस् तु संगवः मध्याह्नस् त्रिमुहूर्तस् तु तस्मात् कालात् तु संगवात्

Transliteration

tasmāt prātastanāt kālāt trimuhūrtas tu saṃgavaḥ madhyāhnas trimuhūrtas tu tasmāt kālāt tu saṃgavāt

Translation

从清晨 prātaḥ 起，名为“Saṅgava”的时段延续三牟呼尔塔；又从 Saṅgava 起，再过三牟呼尔塔便到“ Madhyāhna ”（正午）。白昼因此以可度量的间隔划分。

Word by Word

तस्मात्from that

प्रातस्तनात्from the morning-time

कालात्from the time-period

त्रिमुहूर्तःa three-muhūrta (period)

तुindeed

संगवःforenoon (saṅgava)

मध्याह्नःmidday

त्रिमुहूर्तः(is) three muhūrtas (long)

तुindeed

तस्मात्from that

कालात्from the time-period

तुindeed

संगवात्from the forenoon

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

Maitreya

Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the significance of Saṅgava and Madhyāhna in the Vishnu Purana?

They are precise divisions of the day measured in muhūrtas, showing how time is systematically ordered for understanding daily cycles and dharmic observances.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of time in this chapter?

He presents time as a sequence of defined intervals—here, three-muhūrta segments—so that larger rhythms of cosmic and human life can be understood as orderly and measurable.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse discusses practical timekeeping, the Purāṇic framework treats ordered time (kāla) as part of the cosmic governance ultimately rooted in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—who sustains the universe’s rhythm and law.