Kālamāna in the Nārada Purāṇa
Kālamāna means “the measure of time”. It is the exact, step-by-step system of time units described in the Purāṇas. It runs from the nimesha (the blink of an eye) at the smallest end to the Brahma-kalpa, the day of Brahmā, at the largest.
The system climbs through the human units of time (nimesha, kāshṭhā, kalā, kshaṇa, ghaṭikā, muhūrta, dina, māsa, ṛtu, ayana, saṃvatsara) and then widens into divine time (deva-dina, deva-yuga, manvantara, kalpa). The Nārada Mahā Purāṇa sets it out in Chapter 5, when Sanaka Ṛshi explains how long Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛshi lived on through the pralaya (the dissolution of the universe).
Human Units of Time
| Unit | Measure |
|---|---|
| Nimesha | A blink of the eye, the smallest unit of time |
| Kāshṭhā | 15 nimeshas |
| Kalā | 30 kāshṭhās |
| Kshaṇa | 30 kalās |
| Ghaṭikā | 6 kshaṇas |
| Muhūrta | 2 ghaṭikās |
| Dina (day) | 30 muhūrtas |
| Māsa (month) | 30 dinas, divided into two pakshas (fortnights) |
| Ṛtu (season) | 2 māsas |
| Ayana | 3 ṛtus |
| Saṃvatsara (year) | 2 ayanas |
Uttarāyaṇa, the northern course of the sun, when it moves from Makara (Capricorn) to Karkaṭa (Cancer), is the day of the devatās. Dakshiṇāyana, the southern course, is their night.
Divine Units of Time
One human year equals one deva-dina (day of the devatās). One human month is one day for the Pitṛ-devatās (the ancestors). The exact reckoning follows the cycles in which Sūrya (the sun) and Candra (the moon) meet.
| Unit | Measure |
|---|---|
| Deva-yuga | 12,000 deva-saṃvatsaras (years of the devas) |
| Brahma-yuga | 2,000 deva-yugas |
| Manvantara | 71 divya-yugas |
| Brahma-dina (kalpa) | 14 manvantaras |
| Brahma-rātri | Equal to a Brahma-dina |
After 28 manvantara periods, the three worlds are destroyed and pralaya takes place. At the end of two parārdhas (the two halves of Brahmā’s life), the day of Bhagavān Vishṇu in the universe comes to an end.
Why the Scale Matters
The Nārada Purāṇa brings in this system of kālamāna to explain how long Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi lived through the pralaya. The three worlds were all dissolved and the first ocean covered everything. Yet Mārkaṇḍeya floated on it like a dry leaf, meditating on Paramātmā (the Supreme Self), for the length of two parārdhas by Vishṇu’s reckoning. So the system of kālamāna is both a teaching about the universe and a measure of the extraordinary power of tapas (tapas-śakti) that carried Mārkaṇḍeya through such vast stretches of time.
Sources
- Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 5