kāla: what the term means and how it is translated

Charaka SamhitaSūtrasthāna 1:48 (standard; Kaviratna prints 47) · checked against the source

khādīnyātmā manaḥ kālō diśaśca dravyasaṅgrahaḥ| sēndriyaṁ cētanaṁ dravyaṁ, nirindriyamacētanam||48||

Kāla is one of the nine dravyas (kāraṇa-dravya), with the five bhūtas, ātmā, manas and diś. Basis of WHO ITA-1.9.3.4.1.

Charaka SamhitaSūtrasthāna 1:54 (standard; Kaviratna prints 53) · checked against the source

kālabuddhīndriyārthānāṁ yōgō mithyā na cāti ca| dvayāśrayāṇāṁ vyādhīnāṁ trividhō hētusaṅgrahaḥ||54||

Kāla heads the etiological triad. Kaviratna's footnote here: 'Time is of two kinds, viz., (1) that portion of eternity with which human life is concerned and which goes on ceaselessly, and (2) the age of man, that is, his infancy, youth, manhood, and decrepitude.' That is the nityaga/avasthika division, but stated in a TRANSLATOR'S FOOTNOTE, not in the verse; and his preface gives a different second kind ('the seasons of the year').

Charaka SamhitaSūtrasthāna 11:42 (standard; Kaviratna's 42 spans this and the opening clause of 43) · checked against the source

शीतोष्णवर्षलक्षणाः पुनर्हेमन्तग्रीष्मवर्षाः संवत्सरः, स कालः| तत्रातिमात्रस्वलक्षणः कालः कालातियोगः, हीनस्वलक्षणः (कालः) कालायोगः, यथास्वलक्षणविपरीतलक्षणस्तु (कालः) कालमिथ्यायोगः| कालः पुनः परिणाम उच्यते||४२||

The etiological definition: kāla IS the year marked by cold, heat and rain (hemanta, grīṣma, varṣā); its ati-, a- and mithyā-yoga are excess, deficiency and reversal of a season's own character; and 'kāla is also called pariṇāma'. Kaviratna: 'Heat, cold, and rain, or autumn, summer, and rain, constitute the indications of the year. That is also called Time. When the particular indication of a particular period of Time manifests itself in excess, that is called excess of correlation in respect of Time ... When indications, that are the reverse of those which are normal, are manifested, that is called improper correlation (such as heat in winter or cold in summer). Time has another name, viz., [Parinama].' English at https://archive.org/stream/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt; 'Ratinanta' in the OCR is a scan error for Parinama.

Sushruta SamhitaSūtrasthāna 6 (Ṛtucaryā):Su.Su.6.3 confirmed from a printed Sanskrit edition: Jadavji Trikamji / Nirnaya Sagar text-with-Dalhana, leaf n86, prints the mula closed with ||3|| · checked against the source

कालस्य निरुक्तिं कुर्वन्नाह,—स सूक्ष्मामित्यादि।—सः कालः, सूक्ष्मामपि स्तोकामपि, कलां भागम्, न लीयते गतिमत्त्वात् श्लिष्टो न भवति; अन्ये तु न लीयत इत्यत्र कलीयते इति पठन्ति। व्याख्यानयन्ति च—कलीयते संख्यायते इति कालः; निरुक्तिपक्षान्तरमाह, संकलयतीत्यादि।—संकलयति संहरणादेकराशीकरोति भूतानीति वा कालः, संकलयति सुखदुःखाभ्यां भूतानि योजयतीति वा कालः; कालयति संक्षिपतीति वा कालः, अथवा कालयति मृत्युसमीपं नयतीति वा कालः; अन्ये तु

Bhishagratna's closing sentence at Su.Su.6.3 ('Some assert that the name is due to the fact that time blends (kalanam) all beings with misery or happiness according to their respective acts, or to its leading all beings to destruction') translates Dalhana's Nibandhasamgraha, not the translator's own speculation: Dalhana offers 'sankalayati sukhaduhkhabhyam bhutani yojayatiti va kalah' and 'athava kalayati mrtyusamipam nayatiti va kalah' as two of four alternative niruktis. Only the qualifier 'according to their respective acts' is Bhishagratna's addition; Dalhana's clause contains no karma word.

Sushruta SamhitaSūtrasthāna 6:not numbered in Bhishagratna · checked against the source

The Sun-god, by his peculiar motions, divides eternal time which is measured by years (Samvatsaras) into (increasingly progressive but smaller subdivisions) such as, Nimeshas (lit:—time taken in closing the eyelids), Kashthas, Kalas, Muhurtas, days and nights, fortnights, months, seasons, solstices, years and Yugas.

The metrological division of kāla; note kalā (a sub-unit) is a different word from kāla and appears inside this list.