विष्णुपुराणम् — प्रथमांशे तृतीयोऽध्यायः | viṣṇupurāṇam

मैत्रेय उवाच ।

निर्गुणस्याप्रमेयस्य शुद्धस्याप्यमलात्मनः ।
कथं सर्गादिकर्तृत्वं ब्रह्मणोभ्युपगम्यते ॥

Summary AI How can the agency of creation and other cosmic functions be attributed to Brahman, who is devoid of qualities, immeasurable, pure, and of a stainless nature?

श्रीपराशार उवाच ।

१.३.२

शक्तयः सर्वभावानामचिन्त्यज्ञानगोचराः ।
यतो ऽतो ब्रह्मणस्तस्तु सर्गाद्या भावशक्तयः ।
भवन्ति तपतां श्रेष्ठ पावकस्य यथोष्णता ॥

Summary AI O best of ascetics, the powers of all things are beyond the grasp of thought. Therefore, these creative powers are inherent to Brahman, just as heat is the natural property of fire.

१.३.३

तन्निबोध यथा सर्गे भगवान्संप्रवर्तते ।
नारायणाख्यो भगवान्ब्रह्मा लोकपितामाहः ॥

Summary AI Listen to how the Lord Nārāyaṇa, known as the Lord Brahmā and the grandfather of the worlds, proceeds with the act of creation.

१.३.४

उत्पन्नः प्रोच्यते विद्व- ।
न्नित्यमेवोपचारतः ॥

Summary AI O learned one, although he is eternal, he is only figuratively said to be born or produced.

१.३.५

निजेन तस्य मानेन आयुर्वर्षशतं स्मृतम् ।
तत्पराख्यं तदर्द्ध च परार्धमभिधियते ॥

Summary AI His lifespan is reckoned as one hundred years by his own measurement. This total duration is called Para, and half of it is termed a Parārdha.

१.३.६

कालस्वरूपं विष्णोश्च यन्मयोक्तं तवानघ ।
तेन तस्य निबोधे त्वं परिमाणोपपादनम् ॥

Summary AI O sinless one, through the nature of time as a form of Viṣṇu which I have described, understand the calculation and establishment of his duration.

१.३.७

अन्येषां चैव जन्तूनां चराणामचराश्च ये ।
भूभूभृत्सागरादीनामशेषाणां च सत्तम ॥

Summary AI O virtuous one, understand this measurement for all other beings—both moving and unmoving—as well as for the earth, the mountains, and the oceans.

१.३.८

काष्ठा पञ्चदशाख्याता निमेषा मुनिसत्तम ।
काष्ठात्रिंशत्कला त्रिंशत्कला मौहूर्तिको विधिः ॥

Summary AI O best of sages, fifteen nimeṣas are called a kāṣṭhā. Thirty kāṣṭhās make one kalā, and thirty kalās constitute the measurement of a muhūrta.

१.३.९

तावत्संख्यैरहोरात्रं मुहूर्तैर्मानुषं स्मृतम् ।
अहोरात्राणि तावन्ति मासः पक्षद्वयात्मकः ॥

Summary AI A human day and night consist of thirty such muhūrtas. Thirty such days and nights form a month, which is composed of two fortnights.

१.३.१०

तैः षड्भिरयनं वर्षं द्वे ऽयने दक्षिणोत्तरे ।
अयनं दक्षिणं रात्रिर्देवानामुत्तरं दिनम् ॥

Summary AI Six months constitute an ayana, and two ayanas—the southern and the northern—make a year. The southern ayana is the night of the gods, while the northern is their day.

१.३.११

दिव्यैर्वर्षसहस्रैस्तु कृतत्रेतादिसंज्ञितम् ।
चतुर्युगं द्वादशभिस्तद्विभागं निबोद मे ॥

Summary AI Twelve thousand divine years constitute a caturyuga, consisting of the ages known as Kṛta, Tretā, and the others. Hear from me their specific divisions.

१.३.१२

चत्वारित्रीणि द्वे चैकं कृतादिषु यथाक्रमम् ।
द्विव्याब्दानां सहस्राणि युगोष्वाहुः पुराविदः ॥

Summary AI Those who know the past state that the Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali ages consist of four, three, two, and one thousand divine years respectively.

१.३.१३

तत्प्रमाणैः शतैः संध्या पूर्वा तत्राभिधीयते ।
सन्ध्यांशश्चैव तत्तुल्यो युगस्यानन्तरो हि सः ॥

Summary AI The twilight preceding an age is said to last as many hundreds of years, and the twilight portion following the age is of the same duration.

१.३.१४

सन्ध्यासंध्यांशयोरन्तर्यः कालो मुनिसत्तम ।
युगाख्यः स तु विज्ञेयः कृतत्रेतादिसंज्ञितः ॥

Summary AI O best of sages, the period occurring between the dawn and the dusk of an age is known as the yuga, designated as Kṛta, Tretā, and so forth.

१.३.१५

कृतं त्रेता द्वापरश्च कलिश्चैव चतुर्युगम् ।
प्रोच्यते तत्सहस्रं व ब्रह्मणां दिवसं मुने ॥

Summary AI The four ages—Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali—together form a caturyuga. O sage, one thousand such cycles are called a single day of Brahmā.

१.३.१६

ब्रह्मणो दिवसे ब्रह्मन्मनवस्तु चतुर्दश ।
भवन्ति परिणामं च तेषां कालकृतं शृणु ॥

Summary AI O Brāhmaṇa, fourteen Manus appear within one day of Brahmā. Hear now the calculation of their duration as determined by time.

१.३.१७

सप्तर्षयः सुराः शक्त्रो मनुस्तत्सूनवो नृपाः ।
एककाले हि सृज्यन्ते संह्नियन्ते च पूर्ववत् ॥

Summary AI The seven sages, the gods, Indra, the Manu, and the kings who are his sons, are all created simultaneously and are withdrawn at the end of the period as before.

१.३.१८

चतुर्युगाणां संख्याता साधिका ह्येकसप्ततिः ।
मन्वन्तरं मनोः कालः सुरादीनां च सत्तम ॥

Summary AI O virtuous one, seventy-one caturyugas plus a fraction constitute a manvantara, which is the period of a Manu and the gods.

१.३.१९

अष्टौ शत सहस्राणि दिव्यया संख्यया स्मृतम् ।
द्विपञ्चाशत्तथान्यानि सहस्राण्यधिकानि तु ॥

Summary AI In divine calculation, this duration is recorded as eight hundred and fifty-two thousand years.

१.३.२०

त्रिंशत्कोट्यस्तु संपूर्णाः संख्याताः संख्यया द्विज ।
सप्तषष्टिस्तथान्यानि नियुतानि महामुने ॥

Summary AI O twice-born one, in human years, this period is calculated to be three hundred and six million seven hundred and twenty thousand.

१.३.२१

विंशतिस्तु सहस्राणि कालोयमधिकं विना ।
मन्वन्तरस्य संख्येयं मानुषैर्वत्सरैर्द्विज ॥

Summary AI O twice-born, this duration of twenty thousand human years, without any excess, is recorded as the measure of a Manvantara.

१.३.२२

चतुर्दशगुणो ह्येष कालो ब्रह्ममहः स्मृतम् ।
ब्रह्मो नैमित्तिको नाम तस्यान्ते प्रतिसञ्चरः ॥

Summary AI Fourteen such periods constitute what is known as a single day of Brahmā. At its conclusion, the occasional dissolution termed the Naimittika Pratisañcara occurs.

१.३.२३

तदा हि दह्यते सर्व त्रैलोक्यं भूर्भुवादिकम् ।
जनं प्रयान्ति तापार्ता महर्लोकनिवासिनः ॥

Summary AI At that time, the entire triple world—comprising Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, and the rest—is consumed by fire. Distressed by the intense heat, the inhabitants of Maharloka migrate to Janaloka.

१.३.२४

एकार्णवे तु त्रैतोक्ये ब्रह्मा नारायणात्मकः ।
भोगिशय्यां गतः शेते त्रैलोक्यग्रासबृंहितः ॥

Summary AI When the three worlds are reduced to a single ocean, Brahmā, as the embodiment of Nārāyaṇa, reclines upon his serpent-bed, having grown vast by absorbing the triple world.

१.३.२५

जनस्थैर्योगिभिर्देवश्चित्यमानोब्जसम्भवः ।
तत्प्रमाणां हि तांरात्रिं तदन्ते सृजते पुनः ॥

Summary AI While the yogis residing in Janaloka meditate upon him, the lotus-born deity Brahmā sleeps for a night of the same duration, at the end of which he begins creation anew.

१.३.२६

एवं तु ब्रह्मणो वर्षमेवं वर्षशतं च यत् ।
शतं हिं तस्य वर्षाणां परमायुर्महात्मनः ॥

Summary AI In this manner, a year and a century of Brahmā are calculated. One hundred such years constitute the full lifespan of that Great Soul.

१.३.२७

एकमस्य व्यतीतं तु परार्धं ब्रह्मणो ऽनघ ।
तस्यान्तेभून्महाकल्पः पाद्म इत्यभिविश्रुतः ॥

Summary AI O sinless one, the first half (Parārdha) of Brahmā’s life has already elapsed. At the conclusion of that period, the Great Kalpa famously known as the Pādma Kalpa occurred.

१.३.२८

द्वितीयस्य परार्धस्य वर्तमानस्य वै द्विज ।
वाराह इति कल्पोयः प्रथमः परिकीर्तितः ॥

Summary AI O twice-born, of the current second half of his lifespan, this first Kalpa is celebrated as the Vārāha Kalpa.

इति श्रीविष्णुपुराणे प्रथमेऽंशे तृतीयो ऽध्यायः ।

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