Devanagari
मैत्रेय उवाच
चरम: सद्विशेषाणामनेकोऽसंयुत: सदा ।
परमाणु: स विज्ञेयो नृणामैक्यभ्रमो यत: ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
maitreya uvāca
caramaḥ sad-viśeṣāṇām
aneko ’saṁyutaḥ sadā
paramāṇuḥ sa vijṣeyo
nṛṇām aikya-bhramo yataḥ
Synonyms
maitreyaḥ uvāca
—
Maitreya said
;
caramaḥ
—
ultimate
;
sat
—
effect
;
viśeṣāṇām
—
symptoms
;
anekaḥ
—
innumerable
;
asaṁyutaḥ
—
unmixed
;
sadā
—
always
;
parama
—
aṇuḥ — atoms
;
saḥ
—
that
;
vijṣeyaḥ
—
should be understood
;
nṛṇām
—
of men
;
aikya
—
oneness
;
bhramaḥ
—
mistaken
;
yataḥ
—
from which .
Translation
The material manifestation’s ultimate particle, which is indivisible and not formed into a body, is called the atom. It exists always as an invisible identity, even after the dissolution of all forms. The material body is but a combination of such atoms, but it is misunderstood by the common man.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Maitreya said: The paramāṇu is understood to be the ultimate particle of the material elements. There are innumerable such particles and they are always uncombined. Because of their small size, men are mistaken, identifying them with small particles they can see.
In the Eleventh Chapter details of time are given, from which one can understand the length of the month, year and yuga.
Finding the nature of subtle time difficult to describe, Maitreya first describes the division of matter. The smallest division (caramaḥ) of parts (viśeṣānām) of material elements (sat) is called the paramāṇu. Why is carama in the singular, indicating only one particle when there are many? Though the particles are many, to understand about the subtle nature of time, it is appropriate isolate one particle and thus the singular is used. But still the one particle should by its nature be either combined or uncombined. The verse therefore says it is not joined. This particle is understood to be the paramāṇu. This means that it cannot be seen. Then what is its size? From these particles which arise, men make a mistake concerning what constitutes a single particle. One perceived the very small particles of light which are seen in the rays of sun shining through a lattice window and thinks “Here is one particle, here is another fine particle.” A sixth part of that light particle is a paramāṇu, but it is invisible. Men are mentioned because some small insects the size of a trasareṇu can see this particle.
Purport
The atomic description of the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is almost the same as the modern science of atomism, and this is further described in the Paramāṇu-vāda of Kaṇāda. In modern science also, the atom is accepted as the ultimate indivisible particle of which the universe is composed.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is the full text of all descriptions of knowledge, including the theory of atomism. The atom is the minute subtle form of eternal time.