Calculation of Time, from the Atom

Verse 1 (bhagavata.3.11.1)

मैत्रेय उवाच चरमः सद्विशेषाणामनेकोऽसंयुतः सदा । परमाणुः स विज्ञेयो नृणामैक्यभ्रमो यतः ॥ १ ॥

maitreya uvāca caramaḥ sad-viśeṣāṇām aneko ’saṁyutaḥ sadā paramāṇuḥ sa vijñeyo nṛṇām aikya-bhramo yataḥ

Maitreya said: The final, unmixed, ever-innumerable form of the distinguishable effects should be known as the atom, from which arises men's mistaken notion of oneness.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.3.11.2)

सत एव पदार्थस्य स्वरूपावस्थितस्य यत् । कैवल्यं परममहानविशेषो निरन्तरः ॥ २ ॥

sata eva padārthasya svarūpāvasthitasya yat kaivalyaṁ parama-mahān aviśeṣo nirantaraḥ

That oneness of the effective manifestation, which remains established in its own form even up to the time of dissolution, is the supreme, unlimited, undivided, continuous state.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.3.11.3)

एवं कालोऽप्यनुमितः सौक्ष्म्ये स्थौल्ये च सत्तम । संस्थानभुक्त्या भगवानव्यक्तो व्यक्तभुग्विभुः ॥ ३ ॥

evaṁ kālo ’py anumitaḥ saukṣmye sthaulye ca sattama saṁsthāna-bhuktyā bhagavān avyakto vyakta-bhug vibhuḥ

Thus, O best of the good, time too is inferred, both in its subtle and gross forms, through the movement of the combinations of atoms; the Personality of Godhead, unmanifest and almighty, controls all manifested movement.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.3.11.4)

स कालः परमाणुर्वै यो भुङ्क्ते परमाणुताम् । सतोऽविशेषभुग्यस्तु स कालः परमो महान् ॥ ४ ॥

sa kālaḥ paramāṇur vai yo bhuṅkte paramāṇutām sato ’viśeṣa-bhug yas tu sa kālaḥ paramo mahān

That time which passes through the space of a single atom is itself called atomic time; and that which passes through the entire, undivided aggregate is called the supreme, great time.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.3.11.5)

अणुर्द्वौ परमाणु स्यात्त्रसरेणुस्त्रयः स्मृतः । जालार्करश्म्यवगतः खमेवानुपतन्नगात् ॥ ५ ॥

aṇur dvau paramāṇū syāt trasareṇus trayaḥ smṛtaḥ jālārka-raśmy-avagataḥ kham evānupatann agāt

Two atoms make one dyad; three dyads are reckoned as one trasareṇu, known through the rays of sunlight entering through a window screen, seen rising up towards the sky.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.3.11.6)

त्रसरेणुत्रिकं भुङ्क्ते यः कालः स त्रुटिः स्मृतः । शतभागस्तु वेधः स्यात्तैस्त्रिभिस्तु लवः स्मृतः ॥ ६ ॥

trasareṇu-trikaṁ bhuṅkte yaḥ kālaḥ sa truṭiḥ smṛtaḥ śata-bhāgas tu vedhaḥ syāt tais tribhis tu lavaḥ smṛtaḥ

The time it takes for three trasareṇus to combine is known as one truṭi; one hundred truṭis are called one vedha, and three vedhas are known as one lava.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.3.11.7)

निमेषस्त्रिलवो ज्ञेय आम्नातस्ते त्रयः क्षणः । क्षणान् पञ्च विदुः काष्ठां लघु ता दश पञ्च च ॥ ७ ॥

nimeṣas tri-lavo jñeya āmnātas te trayaḥ kṣaṇaḥ kṣaṇān pañca viduḥ kāṣṭhāṁ laghu tā daśa pañca ca

A nimeṣa is to be known as the duration of three lavas; three nimeṣas are called one kṣaṇa; five such kṣaṇas make one kāṣṭhā, and fifteen kāṣṭhās make one laghu.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.3.11.8)

लघूनि वै समाम्नाता दश पञ्च च नाडिका । ते द्वे मुहूर्तः प्रहरः षड्यामः सप्त नृणाम् ॥ ८ ॥

laghūni vai samāmnātā daśa pañca ca nāḍikā te dve muhūrtaḥ praharaḥ ṣaḍ yāmaḥ sapta vā nṛṇām

Fifteen laghus are duly reckoned as one nāḍikā; two nāḍikās make one muhūrta, and by human calculation six or seven praharas (of about three hours each) make up a full day and night.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.3.11.9)

द्वादशार्धपलोन्मानं चतुर्भिश्चतुरङ्गुलैः । स्वर्णमाषैः कृतच्छिद्रं यावत्प्रस्थजलप्लुतम् ॥ ९ ॥

dvādaśārdha-palonmānaṁ caturbhiś catur-aṅgulaiḥ svarṇa-māṣaiḥ kṛta-cchidraṁ yāvat prastha-jala-plutam

A nāḍikā is measured as the time it takes a vessel weighing six palas, pierced with a hole made by a gold pin four fingers in measure, to fill with water to the capacity of one prastha.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.3.11.10)

यामाश्चत्वारश्चत्वारो मर्त्यानामहनी उभे । पक्षः पञ्चदशाहानि शुक्लः कृष्णश्च मानद ॥ १० ॥

yāmāś catvāraś catvāro martyānām ahanī ubhe pakṣaḥ pañca-daśāhāni śuklaḥ kṛṣṇaś ca mānada

Four praharas and four more praharas make up, respectively, the day and night of mortal beings, O measurer; fifteen such days form a fortnight, bright or dark.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.3.11.11)

तयोः समुच्चयो मासः पितृणां तदहर्निशम् । द्वौ तावृतुः षडयनं दक्षिणं चोत्तरं दिवि ॥ ११ ॥

tayoḥ samuccayo māsaḥ pitṝṇāṁ tad ahar-niśam dvau tāv ṛtuḥ ṣaḍ ayanaṁ dakṣiṇaṁ cottaraṁ divi

The combination of the two fortnights is a month, which is a single day and night for the Pitṛs; two such months make a season, and six seasons make one ayana — the southern and northern movement of the sun in the heavens.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.3.11.12)

अयने चाहनी प्राहुर्वत्सरो द्वादश स्मृतः । संवत्सरशतं नृणां परमायुर्निरूपितम् ॥ १२ ॥

ayane cāhanī prāhur vatsaro dvādaśa smṛtaḥ saṁvatsara-śataṁ nṝṇāṁ paramāyur nirūpitam

The two ayanas together are said to form a day of the demigods; twelve months are known as one calendar year, and one hundred such years are estimated as the supreme span of human life.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.3.11.13)

ग्रहर्क्षताराचक्रस्थः परमाण्वादिना जगत् । संवत्सरावसानेन पर्येत्यनिमिषो विभुः ॥ १३ ॥

graharkṣa-tārā-cakra-sthaḥ paramāṇv-ādinā jagat saṁvatsarāvasānena paryety animiṣo vibhuḥ

Situated in the orbit of the planets, luminaries, stars and the wheel of the zodiac, the almighty, unblinking time causes the entire universe, together with its atoms, to complete its circuit by the end of one year.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.3.11.14)

संवत्सरः परिवत्सर इडावत्सर एव च । अनुवत्सरो वत्सरश्च विदुरैवं प्रभाष्यते ॥ १४ ॥

saṁvatsaraḥ parivatsara iḍā-vatsara eva ca anuvatsaro vatsaraś ca viduraivaṁ prabhāṣyate

Saṁvatsara, parivatsara, iḍāvatsara, anuvatsara and vatsara — thus, O Vidura, are these five kinds of years described.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.3.11.15)

यः सृज्यशक्तिमुरुधोच्छ्वसयन् स्वशक्त्या पुंसोऽभ्रमाय दिवि धावति भूतभेदः । कालाख्यया गुणमयं क्रतुभिर्वितन्वं- स्तस्मै बलिं हरत वत्सरपञ्चकाय ॥ १५ ॥

yaḥ sṛjya-śaktim urudhocchvasayan sva-śaktyā puṁso ’bhramāya divi dhāvati bhūta-bhedaḥ kālākhyayā guṇamayaṁ kratubhir vitanvaṁs tasmai baliṁ harata vatsara-pañcakāya

He who, invigorating by his own power the manifold seeds of creation for the sake of living beings, courses through the sky by day to dissipate darkness — distinct from all other material forms — expanding by sacrifices the material fruits known by the name of time: unto him one should offer oblation, once every five years, in this fivefold cycle of years.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.3.11.16)

विदुर उवाच पितृदेवमनुष्याणामायुः परमिदं स्मृतम् । परेषां गतिमाचक्ष्व ये स्युःकल्पाद् बहिर्विदः ॥ १६ ॥

vidura uvāca pitṛ-deva-manuṣyāṇām āyuḥ param idaṁ smṛtam pareṣāṁ gatim ācakṣva ye syuḥ kalpād bahir vidaḥ

Vidura said: This, as I have understood, is the final duration of life of the Pitṛs, the demigods and human beings, each in their own measure; now kindly tell me of the span of life of the still higher beings, those learned ones who exist beyond the limits of a single millennium.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.3.11.17)

भगवान् वेद कालस्य गतिं भगवतो ननु । विश्वं विचक्षते धीरा योगराद्धेन चक्षुषा ॥ १७ ॥

bhagavān veda kālasya gatiṁ bhagavato nanu viśvaṁ vicakṣate dhīrā yoga-rāddhena cakṣuṣā

Only the Personality of Godhead truly knows the course of eternal time, His own movement; the self-realized, however, behold the whole universe by the eye attained through the perfection of mystic vision.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.3.11.18)

मैत्रेय उवाच कृतं त्रेता द्वापरं च कलिश्चेति चतुर्युगम् । दिव्यैर्द्वादशभिर्वर्षैः सावधानं निरूपितम् ॥ १८ ॥

maitreya uvāca kṛtaṁ tretā dvāparaṁ ca kaliś ceti catur-yugam divyair dvādaśabhir varṣaiḥ sāvadhānaṁ nirūpitam

Maitreya said: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — these four ages together, measured by twelve thousand years of the demigods, have thus been approximately ascertained.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.3.11.19)

चत्वारि त्रीणि द्वै चैकं कृतादिषु यथाक्रमम् । संख्यातानि सहस्राणि द्विगुणानि शतानि च ॥ १९ ॥

catvāri trīṇi dve caikaṁ kṛtādiṣu yathā-kramam saṅkhyātāni sahasrāṇi dvi-guṇāni śatāni ca

In due order, beginning with Satya-yuga, the durations are reckoned as four, three, two and one, in thousands of years, each further doubled by hundreds.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.3.11.20)

सन्ध्यासन्ध्यांशयोरन्तर्यः कालः शतसंख्ययोः । तमेवाहुर्युगं तज्ज्ञा यत्र धर्मो विधीयते ॥ २० ॥

sandhyā-sandhyāṁśayor antar yaḥ kālaḥ śata-saṅkhyayoḥ tam evāhur yugaṁ taj-jñā yatra dharmo vidhīyate

That period of time lying between the twilight preceding and the twilight following, each of hundreds of years, the astronomers call a yuga, wherein religion is duly practiced.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.3.11.21)

धर्मश्चतुष्पान्मनुजान् कृते समनुवर्तते । स एवान्येष्वधर्मेण व्येति पादेन वर्धता ॥ २१ ॥

dharmaś catuṣ-pān manujān kṛte samanuvartate sa evānyeṣv adharmeṇa vyeti pādena vardhatā

In the Satya age, religion, with all its four legs complete, remains properly established among mankind; in the other ages, that same religion declines by one leg at a time, through the growing influence of irreligion.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.3.11.22)

त्रिलोक्या युगसाहस्रं बहिराब्रह्मणो दिनम् । तावत्येव निशा तात यन्निमीलति विश्वसृक् ॥ २२ ॥

tri-lokyā yuga-sāhasraṁ bahir ābrahmaṇo dinam tāvaty eva niśā tāta yan nimīlati viśva-sṛk

A thousand cycles of the four yugas together form a single day for those outside the three worlds, up to Brahmaloka; and, O dear one, an equal span becomes night, for it is then that the creator of the universe goes to sleep.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.3.11.23)

निशावसान आरब्धो लोककल्पोऽनुवर्तते । यावद्दिनं भगवतो मनून् भुञ्जंश्चतुर्दश ॥ २३ ॥

niśāvasāna ārabdho loka-kalpo ’nuvartate yāvad dinaṁ bhagavato manūn bhuñjaṁś catur-daśa

At the end of that night, the re-creation of the three worlds begins and continues so long as the daytime of that lord lasts, through the succession of fourteen Manus.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.3.11.24)

स्वं स्वं कालं मनुर्भुङ्क्ते साधिकां ह्येकसप्ततिम् ॥ २४ ॥

svaṁ svaṁ kālaṁ manur bhuṅkte sādhikāṁ hy eka-saptatim

Each Manu enjoys his own allotted span of time — a little more than seventy-one mahā-yugas.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.3.11.25)

मन्वन्तरेषु मनवस्तद्वंश्या ऋषयः सुराः । भवन्ति चैव युगपत्सुरेशाश्चानु ये च तान् ॥ २५ ॥

manvantareṣu manavas tad-vaṁśyā ṛṣayaḥ surāḥ bhavanti caiva yugapat sureśāś cānu ye ca tān

At the passing of each Manu, other Manus together with their descendants, the seven great sages and the demigods all simultaneously come into being, along with Indra and their followers.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.3.11.26)

एष दैनन्दिनः सर्गो ब्राह्मस्त्रैलोक्यवर्तनः । तिर्यङ्नृपितृदेवानां सम्भवो यत्र कर्मभिः ॥ २६ ॥

eṣa dainan-dinaḥ sargo brāhmas trailokya-vartanaḥ tiryaṅ-nṛ-pitṛ-devānāṁ sambhavo yatra karmabhiḥ

This, in terms of the days of Brahmā, is the daily creation, the revolution of the three worlds, in which the appearance of animals, men, Pitṛs and demigods occurs according to the cycle of their fruitive activities.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.3.11.27)

मन्वन्तरेषु भगवान् बिभ्रत्सत्त्वं स्वमूर्तिभिः । मन्वादिभिरिदं विश्वमवत्युदितपौरुषः ॥ २७ ॥

manvantareṣu bhagavān bibhrat sattvaṁ sva-mūrtibhiḥ manv-ādibhir idaṁ viśvam avaty udita-pauruṣaḥ

In each change of Manu, the Personality of Godhead, manifesting His own internal potency through His various incarnations as the Manus and others, maintains this universe, His divine powers ever unfolding.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.3.11.28)

तमोमात्रामुपादाय प्रतिसंरुद्धविक्रमः । कालेनानुगताशेष आस्ते तूष्णीं दिनात्यये ॥ २८ ॥

tamo-mātrām upādāya pratisaṁruddha-vikramaḥ kālenānugatāśeṣa āste tūṣṇīṁ dinātyaye

Accepting but a slight portion of darkness, His power of manifestation suspended, He, in whom all the innumerable living beings have merged through the force of time, remains silent at the close of the day.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.3.11.29)

तमेवान्वपिधीयन्ते लोको भूरादयस्त्रयः । निशायामनुवृत्तायां निर्मुक्तशशिभास्करम् ॥ २९ ॥

tam evānv api dhīyante lokā bhūr-ādayas trayaḥ niśāyām anuvṛttāyāṁ nirmukta-śaśi-bhāskaram

Following after Him, the three worlds — Bhūḥ and the others — also pass out of sight, as the ordinary night proceeds, the moon and sun then shining without their usual glare.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.3.11.30)

त्रिलोक्यां दह्यमानायां शक्त्या सङ्कर्षणाग्निना । यान्त्यूष्मणा महर्लोकाज्जनं भृग्वादयोऽर्दिताः ॥ ३० ॥

tri-lokyāṁ dahyamānāyāṁ śaktyā saṅkarṣaṇāgninā yānty ūṣmaṇā maharlokāj janaṁ bhṛgv-ādayo ’rditāḥ

When the three worlds are set ablaze by the fire proceeding, through His potency, from the mouth of Saṅkarṣaṇa, sages such as Bhṛgu, distressed by the heat, ascend from Maharloka to Janaloka.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.3.11.31)

तावत्त्रिभुवनं सद्यः कल्पान्तैधितसिन्धवः । प्लावयन्त्युत्कटाटोपचण्डवातेरितोर्मयः ॥ ३१ ॥

tāvat tri-bhuvanaṁ sadyaḥ kalpāntaidhita-sindhavaḥ plāvayanty utkaṭāṭopa- caṇḍa-vāteritormayaḥ

Then, immediately, all three worlds are inundated at once by the oceans, swollen at the onset of dissolution, their waves stirred up by fierce and violently raging hurricanes.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.3.11.32)

अन्तः स तस्मिन् सलिल आस्तेऽनन्तासनो हरिः । योगनिद्रानिमीलाक्षः स्तूयमानो जनालयैः ॥ ३२ ॥

antaḥ sa tasmin salila āste ’nantāsano hariḥ yoga-nidrā-nimīlākṣaḥ stūyamāno janālayaiḥ

Within that water lies Hari, seated upon Ananta, His eyes closed in mystic slumber, glorified by the inhabitants of Janaloka.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.3.11.33)

एवंविधैरहोरात्रैः कालगत्योपलक्षितैः । अपक्षितमिवास्यापि परमायुर्वयः शतम् ॥ ३३ ॥

evaṁ-vidhair aho-rātraiḥ kāla-gatyopalakṣitaiḥ apakṣitam ivāsyāpi paramāyur vayaḥ-śatam

Marked in this way by the passage of time through such days and nights, even his own supreme span of a hundred years appears, as it were, diminished.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.3.11.34)

यदर्धमायुषस्तस्य परार्धमभिधीयते । पूर्वः परार्धोऽपक्रान्तो ह्यपरोऽद्य प्रवर्तते ॥ ३४ ॥

yad ardham āyuṣas tasya parārdham abhidhīyate pūrvaḥ parārdho ’pakrānto hy aparo ’dya pravartate

Half of his lifespan is called one parārdha; the former parārdha has already passed, and the latter now begins, in this present millennium.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.3.11.35)

पूर्वस्यादौ परार्धस्य ब्राह्मो नाम महानभूत् । कल्पो यत्राभवद्ब्रह्मा शब्दब्रह्मेति यं विदुः ॥ ३५ ॥

pūrvasyādau parārdhasya brāhmo nāma mahān abhūt kalpo yatrābhavad brahmā śabda-brahmeti yaṁ viduḥ

At the beginning of that former, superior half, there existed the great millennium called Brāhma, in which Brahmā himself came into being, and which is known as Śabda-brahma, the sound-form of the Veda.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.3.11.36)

तस्यैव चान्ते कल्पोऽभूद् यं पाद्ममभिचक्षते । यद्धरेर्नाभिसरस आसील्लोकसरोरुहम् ॥ ३६ ॥

tasyaiva cānte kalpo ’bhūd yaṁ pādmam abhicakṣate yad dharer nābhi-sarasa āsīl loka-saroruham

And at the end of that very kalpa there came into being the millennium called Pādma, in which there arose, from the reservoir of water at the navel of Hari, the lotus that is the universe.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.3.11.37)

अयं तु कथितः कल्पो द्वितीयस्यापि भारत । वाराह इति विख्यातो यत्रासीच्छूकरो हरिः ॥ ३७ ॥

ayaṁ tu kathitaḥ kalpo dvitīyasyāpi bhārata vārāha iti vikhyāto yatrāsīc chūkaro hariḥ

This present millennium, O descendant of Bharata, is celebrated as the second, known as Vārāha, in which the Personality of Godhead appeared in the form of a boar.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.3.11.38)

कालोऽयं द्विपरार्धाख्यो निमेष उपचर्यते । अव्याकृतस्यानन्तस्य ह्यनादेर्जगदात्मनः ॥ ३८ ॥

kālo ’yaṁ dvi-parārdhākhyo nimeṣa upacaryate avyākṛtasyānantasya hy anāder jagad-ātmanaḥ

This time, called dvi-parārdha, is measured as but a single blink of an eye of that unchanging, unlimited, beginningless soul of the universe.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.3.11.39)

कालोऽयं परमाण्वादिर्द्विपरार्धान्त ईश्वरः । नैवेशितुं प्रभुर्भूम्न ईश्वरो धाममानिनाम् ॥ ३९ ॥

kālo ’yaṁ paramāṇv-ādir dvi-parārdhānta īśvaraḥ naiveśituṁ prabhur bhūmna īśvaro dhāma-māninām

This time, beginning from the atom up to the end of dvi-parārdha, is the controller of those who are conscious of their bodies; but it is never capable of controlling the Supreme Lord of unlimited greatness.

Verse 40 (bhagavata.3.11.40)

विकारैः सहितो युक्तैर्विशेषादिभिरावृतः । आण्डकोशो बहिरयं पञ्चाशत्कोटिविस्तृतः ॥ ४० ॥

vikāraiḥ sahito yuktair viśeṣādibhir āvṛtaḥ āṇḍakośo bahir ayaṁ pañcāśat-koṭi-vistṛtaḥ

Covered outside by the transformed elements, joined together and enveloped by their distinguishing manifestations, this shell of the universe extends five hundred million yojanas in width.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.3.11.41)

दशोत्तराधिकैर्यत्र प्रविष्टः परमाणुवत् । लक्ष्यतेऽन्तर्गताश्चान्ये कोटिशो ह्यण्डराशयः ॥ ४१ ॥

daśottarādhikair yatra praviṣṭaḥ paramāṇuvat lakṣyate ’ntar-gatāś cānye koṭiśo hy aṇḍa-rāśayaḥ

Amid countless others of ten times greater thickness in succession, this universe appears like a mere atom entered among them, for within that vastness there gather together, clustered by the millions, whole multitudes of other universes.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.3.11.42)

तदाहुरक्षरं ब्रह्म सर्वकारणकारणम् । विष्णोर्धाम परं साक्षात्पुरुषस्य महात्मनः ॥ ४२ ॥

tad āhur akṣaraṁ brahma sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam viṣṇor dhāma paraṁ sākṣāt puruṣasya mahātmanaḥ

That is called the imperishable Brahman, the cause of all causes, verily the supreme abode of Viṣṇu, of that great soul, the Puruṣa.