Time is an enigma and also it depends on where you are in the Universe. On earth itself we have different time zones and we are capable of communicating all through video conferencing. So the timelines are blurred and what time it is, dependents on our understanding. If we don’t measure time on earth, it is hard to meet people at a place because we are not on the same page and place. So it is necessary and also it is considered as the 4th dimension.
In olden days it was struggle to measure the time of the day. Many techniques were used. On day time, it is position of the sun and tallness of the shadow is used measure it. The other way is easily to track moon’s waxing and waning which provided the time line in a month approximately. Based on that we can approximately calculate a year and its position of sun. There is Solar or Sun and Lunar or Moon calendar. With these, based on seasons and many ways the time is almost calculated correctly. Today we use solar calendar and much more advanced in precisely predicting the time on a place.
Smallest Unit fo Time
Vedic astronomy give a very detailed division of the Time upto the lowest sub division level of prāņa (respiration), a time lapse of four seconds. The lowest sub divisions prāņa is the same part of the day as the minute is of the circle, so that a respiration of time is equivalent to a minute of apparent revolution of the heavenly bodies above the earth. The astronomical division of sidereal time are: 1 ahoratra is 24hrs which is 1 day.
Seven days of week
Indian astronomers dedicated each day to a planet as its lord and derived the name of the day as per the lord of the day. Sun (Surya), moon (Chandra,Soma), Mars (Mangala), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Brihaspati,Guru), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), Rahu (north node of the moon), and Ketu (south node of the moon).
The Sun or Ravi being the most powerful among the planets, as well as the giver and sustainer of life, has been honoured to be the lord of first ghaţi of the first day of the week. Hence it is named Ravivāra or Sunday. The lords of second and third ghaţis of Ravivāra are Mars and Jupiter respectively. Proceeding in this manner, Saturn is the lord of the 60th ghaţi of Ravivāra and the moon or Soma becomes the lord of the first ghaţi of the following day and hence it is named Somavāra or Monday (Moonday). One may notice here that in counting 60 ghaţis along the circle of Firure-1, one has to make 8 complete revolutions and 4 more planets and hence starting from a particular planet, the 5th place gives the name of the following day. In this manner one finally arrives at Śanivāra or Saturday (Saturnday) and starting from Śanivāra one observes that the next day is Ravivāra and thus the cycle is completed.
It may be recalled that the Horā System is not essential for naming seven days of a week and primarily it was done by the Vedic astronomers dividing a day and night into 60 ghaţis or 60 daņdas. Hence, we may conclude without doubt that, it is the Vedic astronomers who named the seven days of a week using the system of dividing a day and night into 60 ghaţis and in their subsequent attempt they have shown that, one can arrive at the same results using 24 horās as well.
Fortnight, Month and Year
Units of time larger than day and week are fortnight and month. The Ŗgveda says, “aruņo māsakŗvikah’’, “aruņo arocano māsakŗņmāsānām cārddhamāsānām ca kartā bhavati” or the moon is the creator of months and fortnights. In Sanskrit the moon is called candramas and the word māsa has been derived from the parting syllable ‘mas’ of candramas. So it appears that, during the Vedic period people counted months and fortnights according to the phases of the moon. It was quite natural since one has to ascertain the duration of a solar month by tedious calculations, while lunar months arc visible to the naked eye, “Therefore it is clear that solar months came into being afterwards”.
Year Samvatsara - Year Cycles
Samvatsara is a Sanskrit term for "year". In Hindu tradition, there are 60 Samvatsaras, each of which has a name. Once all 60 samvatsaras are over, the cycle starts over again. The sixty Samvatsaras are divided into 3 groups of 20 Samvatsaras each. The first 20 from Prabhava to Vyaya are attributed to Brahma. The next 20 from Sarvajit to Parabhava to Vishnu & the last 20 to Shiva. The 60 Samvatsaras are below. Once the 60 are finished, the next year starts with the first name again. This goes on in a cyclic manner.
Yuga
The units of time larger than a year are called yugas. The word yuga has been derived from yoga and yoga from samyoga, or conjunction of heavenly bodies. So one finds the origin of every unit of yuga to a specific conjunction of the heavenly bodies in the sky. In Hindu astronomy, starting from a mere 5 year yuga to a vast Mahāyuga of 4,320,000 years are in vogue. Every 5 year, a conjunction of the sun and the moon occurs at the asterism Dhanişthā in the zodiacal sign Makara (Capricorn). The sun enters Makara, in the month of Māgha. Hence the conjunction recurs every 5 year on the new-moon day in the month of Māgha and that is the basis of counting a 5 year yuga.
The planet Vŗhaspati (Jupiter) takes 1 year to cover a zodiacal sign and hence takes 12 years to complete its journey through all the 12 signs of the zodiac. This is the basis for counting a 12 year yuga and since it originates from the motion of Vŗhaspati, it is often called the Vrāhaspatya-yuga. It would be relevant to mention here that the Kumbha-Mela is held when Vŗhaspati enters the house of Kumbha (Aquarious) and hence the festival recurs every 12 years.
From the facts narrated above, one observes that a conjunction of the sun and the moon at Dhanişthā, while the Vŗhaspati (Jupiter) at makara (Capricorn), occurs every 60 years and that is the basis for counting a 60 year yuga. Hindu scriptures provide separate names for all the sixty years of a 60 year yuga. The rare occasion when the sun, the moon and Bŗhaspati (Jupiter) meet at dhanişthā repeats at an interval of 865 million years. Such a conjunction occurs five times in a Kalpa.
Mahayuga (Chartuyuga) - Yuga Cycles
Beyond this level there are 4 epochs or yugas, namely, Krita Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. All these four yugas together is called a chatur yuga, which means "four epochs"or also termed maha yuga that means "great epochs". Together a chatur yuga constitutes 4,320,000 human years and the lengths of each chatur yuga follow a ratio of (4:3:2:1:).
The Yuga ages sees a gradual decline of dharma, wisdom, knowledge, intellectual capability, life span and emotional and physical strength.
Time of Devas - Cosmic Years
The lifespan of the Devas is 100 years = 36,000 human years.
Kalpa - A Cosmic day of Brahma
In this cyclic process of time, 1000 chaturyuga or mahayuga period is called a Kalpa, and period of time is equal to a daytime for the Brahma, the creator of the universe. A thousand and a thousand (i.e. two thousand) chaturyuga-s are said to be one day and night of Brahmā (the creator). At the beginning of creation begins the day of creation. At the end of that goes back all of the creation of the Absolute. This is a Kalpa a cosmic cycle of becoming and either of creation and destruction.
ManVantara
A cosmic days includes 14 Period or Manvantaras to 306 720 000 solar years. The next day, a cosmic unity is a Manvantara, there are fourteen pieces. A Manu mastered such a period. We live in the 7th Manvantara. Manvantara the first 6 have gone, 7 more will come.
01. Svaayambhuva — son of the self-born (here began the creation)
02. Svaarochisha — son of the Self Shining
03. Uttama — Son of the Most High
04. Taamasa — Son of Darkness
05. Raivata — son of wealth
06. Chaakshusha — son of the vision (this was the Quirlung instead of the milk ocean)
07. Vaivasvata — Vaivasvata is the son of the Sun God. <—- We currently live here.
08. Arka Saavarni (or Savarnika) — stands with the Sun God in relationship
09. Daksha-Saavarni — son of the rituals
10. Brahma-Saavarni — son of Brahma
11. Dharma-Saavarni — Son of the Eternal Law
12. Rudra-Saavarni — son of the Destroyer
13. Deva-Saavarni — Son of the Shining
14. Indra-Saavarni — son of the mighty Indra
71 cycles of chatur yuga is called a manvantara. At the end of each manvantara period, there comes a partial devastation period, which is equivalant to the duration of krita yuga. This means after every manvantara period, the world is partially destroyed and recreated.
1 manvantara | 71 cycles of chatur yuga |
A Manvantara is one of the 14 sub-units of a cosmic creation and lasts for 710 days or 306 720 000 solar years. 306 720 000 years. A Manvantara is divided into a total of 71 Mahayugas ( "big Yugas"). Currently, we live the 28th Mahayuga. Mahayuga of the 7th Manvantara. The Mahayugas close to each other seamlessly, without having a period of twilight to be separated.
Mahakalpa
Brahma (the creator) lives for 100 years of 360 such days and at the end, he is said to dissolve, along with his entire Creation, into the Paramātman (Eternal Soul). The scriptures put Brahma's age at 100 years in his unique time scale.
Brahma's life span is equal to 311,040,000,000,000 or 3.11 trillion human years. This period in named as maha kalpa. A universe lasts only for one maha kalpa period. At the end of it the universe is completely destroyed together with the creator Brahma and a new universe would be created with a new Brahma. This cycle goes on endlessly. The Vedic universe passes through repetitive cycles of creation and destruction. During the annihilation of the universe, energy is conserved, to manifest again in the next creation.
1 maha kalpa | 100 years of Brahma (311,040,000,000,000 human years) |
Present Day in the Timeline
How old is the universe on this day of Brahma?
The current Kali Yuga began after the Surya Siddhanta at midnight on a change of 17 at 18 February in the year 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar. Since the beginning of the Kalpa until the year 2005 AD :
- 6 complete Manvantaras: 6 x 710
- 7-Manvantara twilight before a Manvantara each: 7 x 4
- 27 complete Mahayugas of the current 7th Manvantara: 27 x 10
- 3 Elapsed Yugas the current 28th Mahayuga: (4 + 3 + 2) x l
- 5107 solar years in the current Kali Yuga
Creation of Universe
Prior to the creation of the universe, Lord Vishnu lies asleep on the ocean of all causes. He rests upon a serpent bed with thousands of cobra-like hoods. While asleep, a lotus sprouts from His navel. Upon this lotus is born Brahma the creator of the universe. Lord Brahma lives for a hundred years and then dies, while Lord Vishnu remains. One year of Brahma consists of three hundred and sixty days. At the beginning of each day Brahma creates the living beings that reside in the universe and at the end of each day the living beings are absorbed into Brahma while he sleeps on the lotus. On day of Brahma is known as a KALPA. Within each KALPA there are fourteen MANUS and within each MANU are seventy one CHATUR-YUGAS. Each CHATUR-YUGA is divided into four parts called YUGAPADAS.
From the first chapter of Surya-Siddhanta, the most revered authoritative source of Hindu astronomy, we have the following passage:
11. That which begins with respirations (prana) is called real…….Six respirations make a vinadi, sixty of these a nadi:
12. And sixty nadis make a sidereal day and night. Of thirty of these sidereal days is composed a month; a civil (savana) month consists of as many sunrises;
13. A lunar month, of as many lunar days (tithi); a solar (saura) month is determined by the entrance of the Sun into a sign of the zodiac; twelve months make a year. This is called a day of the gods.
14. The day and night of the devas are mutually opposed to one another. Six times sixty of them are a year of the devas.
15 & 16. Twelve thousand of these divine years are denominated a chatur-yuga; of ten-thousand times four hundred and thirty two solar years is composed that chatur-yuga, with its dawn and twilight. The difference of the krita-yuga and the other yugas, as measured by the difference in the number of the feet of virtue in each is as follows:
17. The tenth part of a chatur-yuga, multiplied successively by four, three, two, and one, gives the length of the krita and the other yugas: the sixth part of each belongs to its dawn and twilight.
18. One and seventy chatur-yugas make a manu; at its end is a twilight which has the number of years of a krita-yuga, and which is a deluge.
19. In a kalpa are reckoned fourteen manus with their respective twilights; at the commencement of the kalpa is a fifteenth dawn, having the length of a krita-yuga.
20. The kalpa, thus composed of a thousand chatur-yugas, and which brings about the destruction of all that exists, is a day of Brahma; his night is of the same length.
21. His extreme age is a hundred, according to this valuation of a day and a night. The half of his life is past; of the remainder, this is the firsts kalpa.
22. And of this kalpa, six manus are past, with their respective twilights; and of the Manu son of Vivasvat, twenty seven chatur-yugas are past;
23. Of the present, the twenty eighth chatur-yuga, this krita yuga is past……..
Pralaya
"ALL THE BEINGS OF THIS UNIVERSE INCLUDING CHATURMUKHA BRAHMA AND OTHER GODS ARE RULED BY TIME. THEY ARE CREATED, LIVE AND ARE DESTROYED BY ONE SUPREME AND POWERFUL BEING , WHO HAS NO BIRTH OR DEATH."
This destruction is of four types:
(1) Nitya Pralaya (2) Naimittika Pralaya (3) Maha Pralaya and (4) Aatyantika Pralaya.
Nitya Pralaya is the sleep or by an extension thereof, Death.
Naimittika Pralaya is the end of a single day of Brahma, when the three worlds (Bhuh:, Bhuvaha: and Suvaha:) disintegrate.
Maha Pralaya is the
great deluge at the end of the age of one Brahma ,which consists of 100 Brahmic Years (365 Times 2,000 ChaturYugas).
Aatyantika Pralaya is "the final deliverance or the attainment of Salvation by a Jivan and after that the Jivan is never again in the clutches of Karma nor bound by the tight ropes of Samsara.It is therefore a variable time span conditioned by the practise of the different kind of Yogas or Prapatti.
After these definitions of Units of Kaala and the alloted life spans of the Humans and Gods, we come to the concept of Kaala in the Nitya Vibuthi or Sri Vaikuntam. Since, Kaala is omnipresent, it has to be in Sri Vaikuntam also. However, it does not have the same power as in Leela Vibuthi or the Physical Universe, which serves as the play ground for Sriman Narayana. Kaala in Sri Vaikuntam is powerless and hence does not bring about growth, decay or destruction of any thing. Hence all there have eternal existence. Kaala is helpful there only "to describe one action as taking place before or after another. For instance in the service that the Muktas do to Sriman Narayana , they give a bath (Snana) at a point of time previous to that in which they offer food(Bhojana). It is all day there for ever and there is no division into day and night. Kaala is under the control of Sriman Narayana and he manipulates it as He likes it. It is used as an Instrument by Him in bringing about the modification of the various objects in Lila Vibhuti."
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