कल्पाभिधानक्षणजीविनो हि कल्पौघसंख्याकलने विरिञ्च्याः । अतः कलाशालिनि कालजाले लघुत्वदीर्घत्वधियोऽप्यसत्याः ॥ ३२ ॥
kalpābhidhānakṣaṇajīvinō hi kalpaughasaṁkhyākalanē viriñcyāḥ | ataḥ kalāśālini kālajālē laghutvadīrghatvadhiyō’pyasatyāḥ || 32 ||
Translation
For the Viriñcis live a moment called an aeon, in the counting of floods of aeons; therefore in the net of Time, which consists of parts, even the notions of short and long are unreal.
Word by word
- kalpa
- an aeon (repeated: of aeons)
- abhidhāna
- called
- kṣaṇa
- a moment
- jīvinō
- (jīvinaḥ) live
- hi
- for
- ōgha
- of floods
- saṁkhyā
- in the counting
- kalanē
- reckoning
- viriñcyāḥ
- the Viriñcis
- ataḥ
- therefore
- kalā
- of parts
- śālini
- which consists
- kāla
- of Time
- jālē
- in the net
- laghutva
- of short
- dīrghatva
- and long
- dhiyō
- (dhiyaḥ) the notions
- api
- even
- asatyāḥ
- are unreal
Meaning
To us an aeon is endless; to the Brahmās who count aeons by the thousand, it is a moment. The commentary: as a moment is to us, so a kalpa is to them; therefore "short" and "long" are only relative, and unreal. The verse moves the argument from the transience of things to the unreality of time's measures. It prepares the teaching that time itself is a construction of the mind.