Kalā

Kalā · kalā, “a part, an art, a digit of the moon”

Grammar: feminine noun: “a small part, a portion”.

Meaning: (1) a measure of time, thirty kāshṭhās; (2) an art or skill, of which the texts count sixty-four; (3) a digit of the moon.

In the scriptures: the Bhavishya Purāṇa uses the word in all three senses.

  • Time: Sumantu Muni, giving the reckoning of time, says that thirty kāshṭhās are one kalā (Brahma Parva, Chapter 2).
  • The arts: śāstra, śilpa, the kalās and all works are accomplished by wealth, and wealth is gained by dharma and the like (Brahma Parva, Chapter 6). A wife who has ripened in the outer acts of śṛṅgāra delights her husband with the sixty-four kalās, surpassing the elder wife (Brahma Parva, Chapter 14). Śrī Kṛshṇa says that whoever wishes to learn śāstra, śastra, the sixty-four kalās, jñāna and vijñāna should be helped, for it brings the highest gain (Uttara Parva, Chapter 174).
  • The moon: pūrṇimā is dear to Candra, for on this day he is complete with sixteen kalās (Uttara Parva, Chapter 99).

Related terms: Kāshṭhā · Shoḍaśa-kalā · Candra · Śilpa

Other meanings

Kalā has more than one meaning in the Purāṇas and Itihāsas, and Kāla with the long a is given here with it. Besides the meaning above, it names those listed here, each with where it is told.

  • Kāla: time, and also fate, the highest cause that rules all creation and dissolution, which the Bhāgavata Purāṇa names as the own form of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva; Bhāgavata Purāṇa; Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa; Agni Purāṇa; Bhavishya Purāṇa
  • Kalā, Wife of Śoṇa: the pativratā wife of the brāhmaṇa Śoṇa, killed by the rākshasa Mārīca, who went to the abode of Bhagavān Śiva. Padma Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 112

Named in passing

  • Kāla, attendant of Sūrya: named with Upakāla, foremost in śakti, among the attendants the Aśvinī Kumāras gave Bhagavān Sūrya, told on The Attendants of Sūrya. Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 53
  • Kāla, a Viśvedeva: one of the ten Viśvedevas, told on Viśvedevas. Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 125
  • Kāla, a name of Agni: the name of Agni in the utpīḍana, told on Agni. Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 17–18
  • Kāla in the worship of Yama: one of the seven names under which Yama is worshipped, told on Vṛntāka-tyāga Vrata. Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 112–113

Sources

  • Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 2, 6, 14; Uttara Parva, Chapters 99, 174