Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.845

v1.c3.845

The divisions of time less than the day are seldom precisely given. In the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,¹⁷ however, a day and night make up 30 muhūrtas; 1 muhūrta = 15 kṣipra; 1 kṣipra = 15 etarhi; 1 etarhi = 15 idāni; 1 idāni = 15 breathings; 1 breathing = 1 spiration; 1 spiration = 1 twinkling (nimeṣa), etc. In the Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka¹⁸ the series is dhvaṃsayo, nimeṣāḥ, kāṣṭhāḥ, kalāḥ, kṣaṇā, muhūrtā, ahorātrāḥ. A thirtyfold division of day as well as of night is seen in one passage of the Rigveda¹⁹ by Zimmer, who compares the Babylonian sixtyfold division of the day and night. But the expression used—thirty Yojanas—is too vague and obscure—Bergaigne²⁰ refers it to the firmament—to build any theory upon with safety.