According to most hindu scriptures, it is believed that life exists in cycles of time periods called ‘yugas’. There are 4 yugas according to Hinduism, namely – kritha yuga, Thretha yuga, Dwapara yuga and kali yuga. The present time period is kali yuga, which is rightly described as a time where evil gains full control of mankind. According to the ‘bhagavtha’, the relation between these yugas and our concept of years is as follows :-
One Human Year = One Day In Heaven (lets call it ‘one divine day’)
360 human Years = One Divine Year
Kritha Yuga = 4800 Divine years
= 17,28,000 Human years (nope, I didn’t get the zeroes wrong J)
Thretha Yuga=3600 Divine years
=12,96,000 Human years
Dwapara Yuga=2400 Divine years
=8,64,000 Human years
Kali Yuga=1200 Divine years
=4,32,000 Human years
This one set of yugas is together termed a ‘chaturyuga’.
Hence,
1 chatur yuga = Kritha yuga + Thretha yuga + Dwapara yuga + Kali yuga
= 12,000 Divine years
= 43,20,000 human years
Now it starts to get really mind-blowing. J
2000 chatur yugas = 1 day for Lord Brahma
360 Brahma days = 1 Brahma year
100 Brahma years = Life of one Lord Brahma
So according to the Hindu scripture, an estimate of Lord brahma’s life expectancy is….wait for it….31,10,40,00,00,00,000 Human years !!!!!....After which 'pralaya' or a rejuvenation of all creation is said to occur.....At present, we are roughly 5800 years into the 'kali yuga'...
Hope that puts time in a better perspective, do let me know your fascination and views on time in the comments
Some purana texts suggest that Lord Brahma's year has 1000 days each. Similarly it is said 1000 chaturyugas (or mahayugas) make half-day (working half with an equal part as his night) but it is actually 1008, to make evenly devisible by 14 (no of manus) giving 14 different manuantharas with new 'devine' (like the spatarshis, Indra etc) lifes too. There are 14 different Indra in a single day of Brahma. A new Brahma is born on the beginning of a day for Vishnu and dissolves into him at the end of Vishnu's day. Vishnu similarly has such 1000 days in his year and after such 1000 years, Vishnu dissolves into Shiva. In other words, a new Vishnu is born every day of Shiva. Shiva does not have any dissolution further as he is beyond all and everything dissolves into him! New cycle starts in the reverse and full creation happens very much like 'expansion of the universe' that western science claims!
ReplyDeleteThank you 'Anonymous'. Really appreciate your input. Different scriptures glorify a different god as supreme and hence may have varying calculations. The 'Bhagavtha' is a scripture which holds Lord Vishnu as the supreme lord. Hence, it is stated that the whole life of one lord Brahma is only a moment in lord Vishnu's life.
ReplyDeleteBut, regardless of the scripture, the essence that the ultimate 'Brahman' is infinitely powerful and beyond comprehension of the normal mind is evident in all such scriptures.Hope to have more suggestions and inputs from you.Om
Different 'texts' glorify perhaps 'one' of the many different 'expressions' of the same - the ONLY one, 'ekam sadvipra bahudha vadanti' - 'supreme', 'ultimate', 'absolute' or whatever one calls 'that' (tat). The 'Bhagavtha purana' gloifies Lord Vishnu. But it does not contradict with any other vedic literature if one goes deeper. For example, in Bhagavatham itself Lord Shiva is described as 'without equal or rival' and no different from the supreme (for example canto 4 ch.4, v.2, and ch.6 v.42-49; there are many more).
ReplyDeleteBut you are right; the 'absolute' is beyond all conceptualisation and comprehension other than by itself (Bhagvat Gita Ch.10 V.15).
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Thank you for your comment 'Anonymous'...as you have rightly said, different texts focus on only few forms/expressions of the same...and yes i do agree that Lord Shiva is also equally respected in the 'Bhagavtha', but as mentioned by you, it mostly focuses on one expression for the majority of the text, i.e, Lord Vishnu...there are many texts which proclaim that Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are the same Brahman in different forms...i believe the incarnation called 'Sankaranarayana' seen in south India is an example of one such consideration where both the lords are seen as one...Om
ReplyDeleteI would also like to add that this post is in no manner an attempt to fix a human equivalent consideration of god..but rather just a sharing of information from the scripture... and it is more like an attempt to make us realize that the vastness of time and the universe are all beyond the comprehension of the normal human mind...we often go madly behind materialistic pleasures without showing gratitude for god and without realizing that we are hardly even a microscopic unit of this great universe...once we realize that, our ego will vanish and we will be better children of god...Om
ReplyDelete