Shloka 3

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

परार्धसंख्यां भगवन् ममाचक्ष्व यया तु सः द्विगुणीकृतया ज्ञेयः प्राकृतः प्रतिसंचरः

Transliteration

parārdhasaṃkhyāṃ bhagavan mamācakṣva yayā tu saḥ dviguṇīkṛtayā jñeyaḥ prākṛtaḥ pratisaṃcaraḥ

Translation

世尊啊，请告诉我名为“帕拉尔达”（parārdha）的量度；当此量度加倍时，便可知本原/元素性（prākṛta）回收的时长。

Word by Word

• parārdhasaṃkhyām: the number called parārdha
• parārdhasaṃkhyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parārdha + saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘परार्धस्य संख्या’

• bhagavan: O Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• mama: to me/of me
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• ācakṣva: tell (me)
• ācakṣva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √cakṣ (चक्ष्)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; ‘आचक्ष्व’ = tell/explain

• yayā: by which
• yayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक निपात (but/indeed)

• saḥ: that (one)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dviguṇīkṛtayā: by (its) being doubled
• dviguṇīkṛtayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi + guṇa + √kṛ (कृ) + ta (क्त) (प्रातिपदिक; समास/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; कृदन्त (क्त), कर्मणि-भाव; तत्पुरुषः—‘द्विगुणं कृतम्’ (having been doubled)

• jñeyaḥ: is to be known
• jñeyaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (ज्ञा) + ya (यत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (यत्/णीयत्-अर्थ), विधेय/भाव्य (gerundive); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘ज्ञेयः’ = should be known/ascertained

• prākṛtaḥ: primordial
• prākṛtaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prākṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘प्रत्यसंचरः’ इति विशेषण

• pratisaṃcaraḥ: dissolution
• pratisaṃcaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati + saṃ + √car (चर्) + a (भाव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Maitreya (questioning Sage Parāśara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Definition/measure of ‘parārdha’ used to compute the timing of prākṛta dissolution (dviparārdha)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: inquisitive

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Precise knowledge of cosmic measures (parārdha) clarifies the immense timescale governing prākṛta dissolution.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Let ‘vast time’ contemplation reduce ego-centered urgency and support steady sādhana oriented to liberation.

Vishishtadvaita: Time-measures belong to prakṛti’s order under the Lord; knowing them reinforces the jīva’s dependence and the Lord’s sovereignty over kāla.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Parāśara
• Pratisancara (Pralaya)

FAQs

What is the significance of the parārdha in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, parārdha is requested as a key numerical time-measure used to express vast cosmic durations, especially those connected with dissolution cycles.

How does Sage Parāśara explain prākṛta pratisancara (elemental dissolution)?

This verse frames the explanation: Maitreya asks for the parārdha measure because, when doubled, it becomes the basis for understanding the duration of the prākṛta (elemental) reabsorption—pratisancara—soon to be described by Parāśara.

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

Even when the discussion is numerical and cosmological, the Vishnu Purana presents time and dissolution as operating under the supreme order of Vishnu—the transcendent ground in which creation proceeds and into which the cosmos is ultimately reabsorbed.