Hindu texts describe units of Kala measurements, from microseconds to Trillions of years.[1] According to these texts, time is cyclic, which repeats itself forever.[2]
Various fragments of time are used in Hindu Scriptures like Vedas, Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Puran, Mahabharata, Suryasidhanta etc. A summary of the Hindu metrics of time (kāla vyavahāra) follows.[citation needed]
Unit | Definition | Relation to SI units | |
---|---|---|---|
Truti | त्रुटि | Base unit | ≈ 0.30 µs |
Renu | रेणु | 60 Truti | ≈ 18 µs |
Lava | लव | 60 Renu | ≈ 1080 µs |
Līkṣaka | लीक्षक | 60 Lava | ≈ 64.8 ms |
Lipta | लिप्ता | 64.8Leekshaka | ≈ 4.2 s |
Vipala | विपल =30 s | ||
Pala | पल | 60 Lipta | ≈ 30 s |
Vighaṭi | विघटि | ||
Vinādī | विनाडी | ||
Ghaṭi | घटि | 31 Vighaṭi | ≈ 1.86 ks |
Nādī | नाडी | ||
Danda | दण्ड | ||
Muhūrta | मुहूर्त | 2 Ghaṭi | ≈ 3.72 ks |
Nakṣhatra Ahorātram (Sidereal Day) | नक्षत्र अहोरात्रम् | 62Ghaṭī | ≈ 86.4 ks |
32Muhūrta | ≈ 86.4 ks |
Unit | Definition | Relation to SI units |
---|---|---|
Truti | Base unit | ≈ 29.6 µs |
Tatpara | 100 Truti | ≈ 2.96 ms |
Nimesha | 30 Tatpara | ≈ 88.9 ms |
Kāṣṭhā | 18 Nimesha | ≈ 1.6 s |
Kalā | 30 Kāṣṭhā | ≈ 48 s |
Ghatika | 30 Kalā | ≈ 1.44 ks |
Muhūrta | 2 Ghatika | ≈ 2.88 ks |
Ahorātram (Sidereal Day) | 30 Muhūrta | ≈ 86.4 ks |
Unit | Definition | Relation to SI units |
---|---|---|
Paramāṇu | Base unit | ≈ 25 µs |
Aṇu | 2 Paramāṇu | ≈ 50 µs |
Trasareṇu | 3 Aṇu | ≈ 151 µs |
Truṭi | 3 Trasareṇu | ≈ 454 µs |
Vedha | 100 Truṭi | ≈ 45 ms |
Lava | 3 Vedha | ≈ 0.14 s |
Nimeṣa | 3 Lava | ≈ 0.4 s |
Kṣaṇa | 3 Nimesha | ≈ 1.22 s |
Kāṣṭhā | 5 Kṣaṇa | ≈ 6 s |
Laghu | 15 Kāṣṭhā | ≈ 92 s |
Danda | 15 Laghu | ≈ 1.38 ks |
Muhūrta | 2 Danda | ≈ 2.76 ks |
Ahorātram | 31 Muhūrta | ≈ 86.4 ks |
Masa (Month) | 30 Ahorātram | ≈ 2592 ks |
Ritu (Season) | 2 Masa | ≈ 5184 ks |
Ayana | 3 Ritu | ≈ 15552 ks |
Samvatsara (Year) | 2 Ayana | ≈ 31104 ks[4] |
Ahorātram of Deva |
Name | Definition | Equivalence | |
---|---|---|---|
Yama | याम | 1⁄4 of a day (light) or night | ≈ 3 hours |
Sāvana Ahorātram | सावन अहोरात्रम् | 8 Yamas | 1 Solar day |
The Lifespan of the pitras is 100 years of pitras (3,000 Solar years).[7]
The life span of any Hindu deva spans nearly (or more than) 4.5 million years. Statistically, we can also look it as:
The Viṣṇu Purāṇa Time measurement section of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa Book I Chapter III explains the above as follows:
(2 Kalpas constitute a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion human years)
One day of Brahma is divided into 10000 parts called charaṇas.[9]
The four yugas which come one after the other are as follows (along with their durations):
4 charaṇas (1,728,000 solar years) | Satya Yuga |
3 charaṇas (1,296,000 solar years) | Treta Yuga |
2 charaṇas (864,000 solar years) | Dvapara Yuga |
1 charaṇas (432,000 solar years) | Kali Yuga |
Source: [1] |
The cycle repeats itself, so altogether there are 1,000 cycles of Mahā-Yuga in one day of Brahma.
The "Four-Yuga" structure, more popular as "Chaturyuga" system, actually attempts to describe the history of human evolution. In modern times, the prevailing theory of "Survival of the Fittest" tells us that the human beings are a result of gradual evolution process starting from single-cell living beings. But the "Chaturyuga" system mentions about the declining journey of human beings across the ages. In "Satya Yuga", the human beings were at its peak. Then it gradually came down throughout Treta and Dwapara yuga. In Kali Yuga, it is supposed to hit the lowest possible stature. If we go by the ancient scriptures, they specify that the start and end of each of the "Yuga" was marked by astronomical alignments. At the beginning of Treta Yuga, 5 planets resided in "Aries" constellation.At the end of last "Dwapara" yuga, the "Saptarshi" constellation (Ursa major), resided in "Magha" constellation. At the end of ongoing Kali-Yuga, Sun, Moon and Jupiter is said to reside in "Pushya" sector simultaneously.[Source]
Currently, 50 years of Brahma have elapsed. The last Kalpa at the end of the 50th year is called Padma Kalpa. We are currently in the first 'day' of the 51st year.[11] This Brahma's day, Kalpa is named as Shveta-Varaha Kalpa. Within this Day, six Manvantaras have already elapsed[12] and this is the seventh Manvantara, named as – Vaivasvatha Manvantara (or Sraddhadeva Manvantara). Within the Vaivasvatha Manvantara, 27 Mahayugas[12] (4 Yugas together is a Mahayuga), and the Krita,[13] Treta and Dwapara Yugas of the 28th Mahayuga have elapsed. This Kaliyuga is in the 28th Mahayuga. This Kaliyuga began in the year 3102 BCE in the proleptic Julian Calendar.[14] Since 50 years of Brahma have already elapsed, this is the second Parardha, also called as Dvithiya Parardha.
432000 × 10 × 1000 × 2 = 8.64 billion years (2 Kalpa (day and night))
8.64 × 109 × 30 × 12 = 3.1104 Trillion Years (1 year of Brahma)
3.1104 × 1012 × 50 = 155.52 trillion years (50 years of Brahma)
(6 × 71 × 4320000) + 7 × 1.728 × 106 = 1852416000 years elapsed in first six Manvataras, and Sandhi Kalas in the current Kalpa
27 × 4320000 = 116640000 years elapsed in first 27 Mahayugas of the current Manvantara
1.728 × 10^6 + 1.296 × 106 + 864000 = 3888000 years elapsed in current Mahayuga
3102 + 2019 = 5121 years elapsed in current Kaliyuga.
So the total time elapsed since current Brahma is
155520000000000 + 1852416000 + 116640000 + 3888000 + 5119 = 155,521,972,949,120 years
(one hundred fifty-five trillion, five hundred twenty-one billion, nine hundred seventy-two million, nine hundred forty-nine thousand, one hundred twenty years) as of 2018 AD
Total age of Brahma is 100 (Brahma Years) which is equal to 311,040,000,000,000 Human years
The current Kali Yuga began at midnight 17 February / 18 February in 3102 BCE in the proleptic Julian calendar.[15] As per the information above about Yuga periods, only 5,120 years are passed out of 432,000 years of current Kali Yuga, and hence another 426,880 years are left to complete this 28th Kali Yuga of Vaivaswatha Manvantara.[note 1]