Yuga Cycle

A Yuga Cycle (a.k.a. chatur yuga, maha yuga, etc.) is a cyclic age (epoch) in Hindu cosmology. Each cycle lasts for 4,320,000 years (12,000 divine years) and repeats four yugas (dharmic ages): Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga.[1]

This article is about Hindu ages. It is not to be confused with Buddhist ages, Jain ages, or Greek ages.

As a Yuga Cycle progresses through the four yugas, each yuga's length and humanity's general moral and physical state within each yuga decrease by one-fourth. Kali Yuga, which lasts for 432,000 years, is believed to have started in 3102 BCE.[2][3] Near the end of Kali Yuga, when virtues are at their worst, a cataclysm and a re-establishment of dharma occur to usher in the next cycle's Satya Yuga, prophesied to occur by Kalki.[4]

There are 71 Yuga Cycles in a manvantara (age of Manu) and 1,000 Yuga Cycles in a kalpa (day of Brahma).[3]

Lexicology

A Yuga Cycle has several names, where "yuga" is sometimes written in its archaic form of "yug".

Yuga (Sanskrit: युग, lit. 'age'):

Sometimes used to describe a "catur-yuga".[lower-alpha 1]

Chatur Yuga (Sanskrit: चतुर्युग, romanized: caturyuga, catur-yuga, chaturyuga, or chatur-yuga, lit. 'four yugas or ages'):

A cyclic age encompassing the four yuga ages[3][7] as defined in Hindu texts.[8][9]

Daiva Yuga (Sanskrit: दैवयुग, romanized: daivayuga or daiva-yuga, lit. 'divine age'),
Deva Yuga (Sanskrit: देवयुग, romanized: devayuga or deva-yuga, lit. 'age of gods'),
Divya Yuga (Sanskrit: दिव्य युग, romanized: divyayuga or divya-yuga, lit. 'divine age'):

A cyclic age of the divine, celestrial, or gods (Devas) encompassing the four yuga ages (a.k.a. "human ages" or "world ages"). The Hindu texts give a length of 12,000 divine years, where a divine year lasts for 360 solar (human) years.[2][3]

Maha Yuga (Sanskrit: महायुग, romanized: mahāyuga or mahā-yuga, lit. 'great age'):

A greater cyclic age encompassing the smaller four yuga ages.[3][10]

Yuga Cycle (Sanskrit: युग, lit. 'age') + (English: cycle):

A cyclic age encompassing the four yuga ages.

Sources

It is theorized that the concept of the four yugas originated some time after the compilation of the four Vedas but prior to the rest of the Hindu texts based on the concept's absence in the former writings. It is believed that the four yugas⁠—Krita (Satya), Treta, Dvapara, and Kali⁠—are named after throws of an Indian game of long dice, marked with 4-3-2-1 respectively.[2][11] A dice game is described in the Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Upanishads, Puranas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata, while the four yugas are described after the Vedas with no mention of a correlation to dice.[7] A complete description of the four yugas and their characteristics are in the Vishnu Smriti, Mahabharata (e.g. Vanaparva 149, 183), Manusmriti (I.81–86), and Puranas (e.g. Brahma, ch. 122–123; Matsya, ch. 142–143; Naradiya, Purvardha, ch. 41).[12] The four yugas are also described in the Bhagavata Purana (3.11.18–20).

Manusmriti

In the Manusmriti (a.k.a. Laws of Manu), divisions of time are described from a moment up to Brahma's days and nights (1.61–86), which includes the length of a "catur-yuga" (1.71) and its four yugas (1.69–70). Included is a method to convert a day/night of the gods (trad. 360-day years) to human (solar) years (1.67). This composition indicates that the four yugas were named by some previous persons, which William Jones translated as Sages (1.69).[13][14][15]

(67) A year is a day and a night of the gods; their division is (as follows): the half year during which the sun progresses to the north will be the day, that during which it goes southwards the night. (68) But hear now the brief (description of) the duration of a night and a day of Brahma and of the seveal ages (of the world, yuga) according to their order. (69) They declare that the Krita age (consists of) four thousand years (of the gods); the twilight preceding it consists of as many hundreds, and the twilight following it of the same number. (70) In the other three ages with their twilights preceding and following, the thousands and hundreds are diminished by one (in each). (71) These twelve thousand (years) which thus have been just mentioned as the total of four (human) ages, are called one age of the gods. (72) But know that the sum of one thousand ages of the gods (makes) one day of Brahma, and that his night has the same length. (73) Those (only, who) know that the holy day of Brahma, indeed, ends after (the completion of) one thousand ages (of the gods) and that his night lasts as long, (are really) men acquainted with (the length of) days and nights. (79) The before-mentioned age of the gods, (or) twelve thousand (of their years), being multiplied by seventy-one, (constitutes what) is here named the period of a Manu (Manvantara). (80) The Manvantaras, the creations and destructions (of the world, are) numberless; sporting, as it were, Brahma repeats this again and again.

— Georg Bühler[16], Manusmriti, Ch. 1[lower-alpha 2]

According to Patrick Olivelle, most scholars take the table of contents (1.111–118) to be an addition, but for him the account of time and cosmology (1.61–86) to the aforementioned (1.118) are out of place redactions. He feels the narrative should have ended when the initial command to "listen" (1.4) was repeated (1.60), then transition to "learn" (2.1).[17]

Georg Bühler, whose translation has remained the standard for over a century according to Olivelle, translated 1.71 as 12,000 years in a four-aged period, same as Jones's translation, both based on Kulluka Bhatta's commentary. Medhatithi translated it as 12,000 four-aged periods in an age of the gods. Kulluka and Olivelle reject Medhatithi's interpretation based on 1.79 mentioning 12,000 without a qualifier ("etat" or "this") and must be assumed as years.[18]

Surya Siddhanta

A Yuga Cycle and its four ages are in the Surya Siddhanta, which only mentions Krita Yuga (a.k.a. Satya Yuga) by name.[19]

Other cultures

According to Robert Bolten, there is a universal belief in many traditions that the world started in a perfect state, when nature and the supernatural were still in harmony with all things in their fullest degree of perfection possible, which was followed by an unpreventable constant deterioration of the world through the ages.[20]

In the Works and Days (lines 109–201; c. 700 BCE), considered the earliest European writing about human ages, Hesiod (Greek) describes five ages (Golden, Silver, Bronze, Heroic, and Iron Ages), where the Heroic Age was added, according to Godwin, as a compromise with Greek history when the Trojan War and its heroes loomed so large.[21] Bolton explains that the men of the Golden Age lived like gods without sorrow, toil, grief, and old age, while the men of the Iron Age ("the race of iron") never rest from labor and sorrow, are degenerated without shame, morality, and righteous indignation, and have short lives with frequent deaths at night, where even a new-born baby shows signs of old age, only to end when Zeus destroys it all.[22]

In the Statesman (c. 399 – c. 347 BCE), Plato (Greek) describes time as an indefinite cycle of two 36,000-year halves: (1) the world's unmaking descent into chaos and destruction (2) the world's remaking by its creator into a renewed state.[23] In the Cratylus (397e), Plato recounts the golden race of men who came first, who were noble and good daemons (godlike guides) upon the earth.

In the Metamorphoses (I, 89–150; c. 8 BCE), Ovid (Greek) describes four ages (Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages), excluding Hesiod's Heroic Age, as a downward curve with the present time as the nadir of misery and immorality, according to Godwin, affecting both human life and the after-death state, where deaths in the first two ages became immortal watchful spirits that benefited the human race, deaths in the third age went to Hades (the underworld), and deaths in the fourth age had an unknown fate.[24]

Joscelyn Godwin posits that it is probably from Hindu tradition that knowledge of the ages reached the Greeks and other Indo-European peoples.[24] Godwin adds that the number 432,000 (Kali Yuga's duration) occurring in four widely separated cultures (Hindu, Chaldean, Chinese, and Icelandic) has long been noticed.[25]

The cycle
See also: List of numbers in Hindu scriptures, Hindu units of time, and Kali Yuga § Possible starting and ending dates

One cycle contains four ages in the following order: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga.[1] As it progresses, each yuga's length and humanity's general moral and physical state within each yuga decrease by one-fourth (25%), giving proportions of 4:3:2:1 (e.g. Satya: 100% start; Kali: 25% start, 0% end).[2][3] Dharma is personified as a bull, whose four legs reduce by one with each new yuga, often related to Mother Earth personified as a cow.[26][27][lower-alpha 3]

Each yuga is divided into a main period (a.k.a. yuga proper) and two yuga-sandhis (a.k.a. yuga-sandhyās; connecting periods)⁠—yuga-sandhyā (dawn) and yuga-sandhyāṃśa (a.k.a. yuga-sandhyānśa; dusk)⁠—where each yuga-sandhi lasts for one-tenth (10%) of the main period. Lengths are given in divine or celestial years, where a divine year lasts for 360 solar (human) years. A Yuga Cycle lasts for 4,320,000 solar (12,000 divine) years with the following flow of time:[1][2][3]

  • Satya Yuga: 1,728,000 (4,800 divine) years
    • Sandhya: 144,000 (400 divine)
    • Main: 1,440,000 (4,000 divine)
    • Sandhyamsa: 144,000 (400 divine)
  • Treta Yuga: 1,296,000 (3,600 divine) years
    • Sandhya: 108,000 (300 divine)
    • Main: 1,080,000 (3,000 divine)
    • Sandhyamsa: 108,000 (300 divine)
  • Dvapara Yuga: 864,000 (2,400 divine) years
    • Sandhya: 72,000 (200 divine)
    • Main: 720,000 (2,000 divine)
    • Sandhyamsa: 72,000 (200 divine)
  • Kali Yuga: 432,000 (1,200 divine) years
    • Sandhya: 36,000 (100 divine)
    • Main: 360,000 (1,000 divine)
    • Sandhyamsa: 36,000 (100 divine)

According to Puranic sources,[lower-alpha 4] Krishna's departure marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE.[3][7][31] Near the end of Kali Yuga, when virtues are at their worst, a cataclysm and a re-establishment of dharma occur to usher in the next cycle's Satya Yuga, prophesied to occur by Kalki.[4]

Yuga Cycle
Yuga Start Length
Satya 3,891,102 BCE 1,728,000 (4,800)
Treta 2,163,102 BCE 1,296,000 (3,600)
Dvapara 867,102 BCE 864,000 (2,400)
Kali* 3102 BCE – 428,899 CE[lower-alpha 5] 432,000 (1,200)
Years: 4,320,000 solar (12,000 divine)
(*) Current.  

Greater cycles
Main articles: Hindu units of time, Kalpa (aeon), Pralaya, and Manvantara

There are 71 Yuga Cycles (306,720,000 years) in a manvantara, a period ruled by Manu, who is the progenitor of mankind.[32] There are 1,000 Yuga Cycles (4,320,000,000 years) in a kalpa, a period that is a day (12-hour day proper) of Brahma, who is the creator of the planets and first living entities. There are 14 manvantaras (4,294,080,000 years) in a kalpa with a remainder of 25,920,000 years assigned to 15 manvantara-sandhyas (junctures), each the length of a Satya Yuga (1,728,000 years). A kalpa is followed by a pralaya (night or partial dissolution) of equal length forming a full day (24-hour day). A maha-kalpa (life of Brahma) lasts for 100 360-day years of Brahma, which lasts for 72,000,000 Yuga Cycles (311.04 trillion years) and is followed by a maha-pralaya (full dissolution) of equal length.[3]

We are currently halfway through Brahma's life (maha-kalpa):[3][33][34][35]

  • 51st year of 100 (2nd half or parardha)
  • 1st month of 12
  • 1st kalpa (Shveta-Varaha Kalpa) of 30
  • 7th manvantara (Vaivasvatha Manu) of 14
  • 28th chatur-yuga (a.k.a. Yuga Cycle) of 71
  • 4th yuga (Kali Yuga) of 4

Yuga dates

Yuga dates are used in an ashloka, which is read out at the beginning of Hindu rites to specify the elapsed time in Brahma's life:[36]

5121 of Kaliyuga year (for 2020 CE) of the 28th Caturyuga of the 7th Manvantra on the first day of the 51st year of Brahma.

According to P. V. Kane, one of the earliest inscriptions with one of the four yugas named is the Pikira grant of Pallava Simhavarman (mid-5th century CE):[37][38]

Who was ever ready to extricate dharma that had become sunk owing to the evil effects of Kaliyuga.

— Pikira grant of Pallava Simhavarman, line 10 (3rd plate, front)

Other epigraphs exist with named yugas in the Old Mysore region of India, published in Epigraphia Carnatica.[39]

Yuga avatars

Ganesha
Main article: Ganesha Purana § Kridakhanda: Ganesha in four Yugas

Ganesha avatars are described as coming during specific yugas.[40][41][42][43][44]

Vishnu
Main articles: Dashavatara § List of Avatars, and Vamana § Vayu Purana

The Puranas describe Vishnu avatars that come during specific yugas, but may not occur in every Yuga Cycle.

Vamana appears at the beginning of Treta Yuga. According to Vayu Purana, Vamana's 3rd appearance was in the 7th Treta Yuga.[45][46]

Rama appears at the end of Treta Yuga.[47] According to Vayu Purana and Matsya Purana, Rama appeared in the 24th Yuga Cycle.[48] According to Padma Purana, Rama also appeared in the 27th Yuga Cycle of the 6th manvantara. [49]

Vyasa
Main article: Vyasa (title) § Past Vyasa

Vyasa is attributed as the compiler of the four Vedas, Mahabharata, and Puranas. According to the Vishnu Purana, Kurma Purana, and Shiva Purana, a different Vyasa comes at the end of each Dvapara Yuga to write down veda (knowledge) for the degraded age of Kali Yuga.[50][51][52][53]

Modern theories

Breaking from the long duration of a Yuga Cycle, new theories have emerged regarding the length, number and order of the yugas.

Sri Yukteswar Giri
See also: The Holy Science § Yuga theory

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri (1855 – 1936), in the introduction of his book, The Holy Science (1894),[54] proposed a Yuga Cycle of 24,000 years.

He claimed the understanding that Kali Yuga lasts for 432,000 years was a mistake, which he traced back to Raja Parikshit, just after the descending Dvapara Yuga ended (c. 3101 BCE) and all the wise men of his court retired to the Himalaya Mountains. With no one left to correctly calculate the ages, Kali Yuga never officially started. After 499 CE, in ascending Dvapara Yuga, when the intellect of men began to develop, but not fully, they noticed mistakes and attempted to correct them by converting what they thought to be divine years to human years (1:360 ratio). Yukteswar's yuga lengths for Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali are respectively 4,800, 3,600, 2,400, and 1,200 "human" years (12,000 years total).[55][56]

He accepted the four yugas and their 4:3:2:1 length and dharma proportions, but his Yuga Cycle contained eight yugas, the original descending set of the four yugas followed by an ascending (reversed) set, where he called each set a "Daiva Yuga" or "Electric Couple". His Yuga Cycle lasts for 24,000 years, which he believed equals one precession of the equinoxes (traditionally 25,920 years; 1,920 years ignored). He states that the world entered the Pisces-Virgo Age in 499 CE ("cycle bottom"), and that the current age of ascending Dvapara Yuga started in 1699 CE around the time of scientific discoveries and advancements such as electricity.[57][56]

He explained that in a 24,000-year Yuga Cycle, our Sun completes one orbit around some dual star, becoming nearer and farther to a galactic center, which the pair orbit in a longer period. He called this galactic center Vishnunabhi (Vishnu's Navel), where Brahma regulates dharma or, as Yukteswar defined it, mental virtue. Dharma is lowest when farthest from Brahma at the descending-ascending intersection ("cycle-bottom"), where the opposite occurs at the "cycle-top" when nearest. At dharma's lowest (499 CE), human intellect cannot comprehend anything beyond the gross material world.[58][59]

Sri Yukteswar's Yuga Cycle
Yuga Start Length
Descending (12,000 years):
Satya 11,501 BCE 4,800
Treta 6701 BCE 3,600
Dvapara 3101 BCE 2,400
Kali 701 BCE 1,200
Ascending (12,000 years):
Kali 499 CE 1,200
Dvapara* 1699 CE 2,400
Treta 4099 CE 3,600
Satya 7699 CE – 12,499 CE 4,800
Years: 24,000
(*) Current. [lower-alpha 6]

Joscelyn Godwin states that Yukteswar believed the traditional chronology of the yugas wrong and rigged for political reasons, but that Yukteswar may have had political reasons of his own, evident in a police report printed in Atlantis and the Cycles of Time, which links Yukteswar to a secret anti-colonial movement called Yugantar, meaning "new age" or "transition of an epoch".[60]

Godwin claims the Jain time cycle and the European myth of progress influenced Yukteswar, whose theory only recently became prominent outside India. Humanity in an upward cycle is contrary to traditional ideas. Godwin points out many philosophies and religions that started during a time when "man could not see beyond the gross material world" (701 BCE – 1699 CE). Only materialists and atheists would welcome the post-1700 age as an improvement.[61]

John Major Jenkins, who adjusted ascending Kali Yuga from 499 CE to 2012 in his version, criticizes Yukteswar as wanting the "cycle-bottom" to correspond to his education, beliefs, and historical understanding. Technology has thrust us deeper into material dependency and spiritual darkness.[62]

René Guénon
See also: The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times

René Guénon (1886 – 1951), in his original 1931 French article, which was later translated in the book, Traditional Forms & Cosmic Cycles (2001),[63] proposed a Yuga Cycle of 64,800 years.

Guénon accepted the doctrine of the four yugas, the 4:3:2:1 yuga length proportions, and Kali Yuga as the present age. He couldn't accept the extremely large lengths and felt they were encoded with additional zeros to mislead those who might use it to predict the future. He reduced a Yuga Cycle from 4,320,000 to 4,320 years (1,728 + 1,296 + 864 + 432), but he felt this was too short for humanity's history.[64]

In looking for a multiplier, he worked backwards from the precession of the equinoxes (traditionally 25,920 years; 360 72-year degrees). Using 25,920 and 72, he calculated the sub-multiplier to be 4,320 years (72 x 60 = 4,320; 4,320 x 6 = 25,920). In noticing the "great year" of the Persians (~12,000) and Greeks (~13,000) as almost half the precession, he concluded a "great year" must be 12,960 years (4,320 x 3). In trying to find the whole number of "great years" in a manvantara or reign of Vaivasvata Manu, he found the reign of Xisuthros of the Chaldeans to be set to 64,800 years (12,960 x 5), someone he thought to be the same Manu. Guénon felt 64,800 years was a more plausible length that may line up with humanity's history. He calculated a 64,800 manvantara divided into a 4,320 "encoded" Yuga Cycle gave a multiplier of 15 (5 "great years"). Using 15 as the multiplier, he "decoded" a 5-"great year" Yuga Cycle as having the following yuga lengths:[63][65]

  • Satya: 25,920 (4 ratio or 2 x "great year"; 15 x 1,728)
  • Treta: 19,440 (3 ratio or 1.5 x "great year"; 15 x 1,296)
  • Dvapara: 12,960 (2 ratio or 1 x "great year"; 15 x 864)
  • Kali: 6,480 (1 ratio or 0.5 x "great year"; 15 x 432)

Guénon did not give a start date for Kali Yuga, but instead left clues in his description of the cataclysmic destruction of the Atlantean civilization. His commentator, Jean Robin, in an early 1980s publication, claimed to have decoded this description and calculated that Kali Yuga lasted from 4481 BCE to 1999 CE (2000 CE excluding year 0).[66] In Les Quatre Ages de L’Humanité (The Four Ages of Humanity), a book written in 1949 by Gaston Georgel, this same end date of 1999 CE was calculated; although, in his 1983 book titled Le Cycle Judeo-Chrétien (The Judeo-Christian cycle), he argued to shift the cycle forward by 31 years so it ends in 2030 CE.[67]

René Guénon's Yuga Cycle
Yuga Start Length
Satya 62,801 BCE 25,920
Treta 36,881 BCE 19,440
Dvapara 17,441 BCE 12,960
Kali 4481 BCE – 1999 CE 6,480
Years: 64,800
Current: Satya Yuga [1999 CE – 27,919 CE]. [lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7]

Alain Daniélou

Alain Daniélou (1907 – 1994), in his book, While the Gods Play: Shaiva Oracles and Predictions on the Cycles of History and the Destiny of Mankind (1985),[68] proposed a Yuga Cycle of 60,487 years.

Daniélou and René Guénon had some correspondence where they both couldn't accept the extremely large lengths found in the Puranas. Daniélou mostly cited Linga Purana and his calculations are based on a 4,320,000-year Yuga Cycle containing (his calculation of 1000 ÷ 14) 71.42 manvantaras, each containing 4 yugas [4:3:2:1 proportions]. He pegged 3102 BCE as the start of Kali Yuga and placed it after the dawn (yuga-sandhya). He claimed his dates are accurate to within 50 years, and that the Yuga Cycle started with a great flood and appearance of Cro-Magnon man, and will end with a catastrophe wiping out mankind.[69]

Alain Daniélou's Yuga Cycle
Yuga Start Length
Satya 58,042 BCE 24,195
Treta 33,848 BCE 18,146
Dvapara 15,703 BCE 12,097
Kali* 3606 BCE – 2442 CE 6,048.72
Years: 60,487
(*) Current. [lower-alpha 6][70]

Godwin found that Daniélou's misunderstanding rests solely on a bad translation of Linga Purana 1.4.7.[71]

See also

Notes
  1. The general word "yuga" is sometimes used instead of the more specific word "catur-yuga". A kalpa is described as lasting 1,000 catur-yuga in Bhagavata Purana 12.4.2 ("catur-yuga")[5] and Bhagavad Gita 8.17 ("yuga").[6]
  2. Manusmriti Ch. 1, Slokas 67-73, 79-80; Sanskrit and romanized transliteration:
    दैवे रात्र्यहनी वर्षं प्रविभागस्तयोः पुनः ।
    अहस्तत्रोदगयनं रात्रिः स्याद् दक्षिणायनम् ॥ ६७ ॥
    daive rātryahanī varṣaṃ pravibhāgastayoḥ punaḥ ।
    ahastatrodagayanaṃ rātriḥ syād dakṣiṇāyanam ॥ 67 ॥
    ब्राह्मस्य तु क्षपाहस्य यत् प्रमाणं समासतः ।
    एकैकशो युगानां तु क्रमशस्तन्निबोधत ॥ ६८ ॥
    brāhmasya tu kṣapāhasya yat pramāṇaṃ samāsataḥ ।
    ekaikaśo yugānāṃ tu kramaśastannibodhata ॥ 68 ॥
    चत्वार्याहुः सहस्राणि वर्षाणां तत् कृतं युगम् ।
    तस्य तावत्शती सन्ध्या सन्ध्यांशश्च तथाविधः ॥ ६९ ॥
    catvāryāhuḥ sahasrāṇi varṣāṇāṃ tat kṛtaṃ yugam ।
    tasya tāvatśatī sandhyā sandhyāṃśaśca tathāvidhaḥ ॥ 69 ॥
    इतरेषु ससन्ध्येषु ससन्ध्यांशेषु च त्रिषु ।
    एकापायेन वर्तन्ते सहस्राणि शतानि च ॥ ७० ॥
    itareṣu sasandhyeṣu sasandhyāṃśeṣu ca triṣu ।
    ekāpāyena vartante sahasrāṇi śatāni ca ॥ 70 ॥
    यदेतत् परिसङ्ख्यातमादावेव चतुर्युगम् ।
    एतद् द्वादशसाहस्रं देवानां युगमुच्यते ॥ ७१ ॥
    yadetat parisaṅkhyātamādāveva caturyugam ।
    etad dvādaśasāhasraṃ devānāṃ yugamucyate ॥ 71 ॥
    दैविकानां युगानां तु सहस्रं परिसङ्ख्यया ।
    ब्राह्ममेकमहर्ज्ञेयं तावतीं रात्रिमेव च ॥ ७२ ॥
    daivikānāṃ yugānāṃ tu sahasraṃ parisaṅkhyayā ।
    brāhmamekamaharjñeyaṃ tāvatīṃ rātrimeva ca ॥ 72 ॥
    तद् वै युगसहस्रान्तं ब्राह्मं पुण्यमहर्विदुः ।
    रात्रिं च तावतीमेव तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥ ७३ ॥
    tad vai yugasahasrāntaṃ brāhmaṃ puṇyamaharviduḥ ।
    rātriṃ ca tāvatīmeva te'horātravido janāḥ ॥ 73 ॥
    यद् प्राग् द्वादशसाहस्रमुदितं दैविकं युगम् ।
    तदेकसप्ततिगुणं मन्वन्तरमिहोच्यते ॥ ७९ ॥
    yad prāg dvādaśasāhasramuditaṃ daivikaṃ yugam ।
    tadekasaptatiguṇaṃ manvantaramihocyate ॥ 79 ॥
    मन्वन्तराण्यसङ्ख्यानि सर्गः संहार एव च ।
    क्रीडन्निवैतत् कुरुते परमेष्ठी पुनः पुनः ॥ ८० ॥
    manvantarāṇyasaṅkhyāni sargaḥ saṃhāra eva ca ।
    krīḍannivaitat kurute parameṣṭhī punaḥ punaḥ ॥ 80 ॥
  3. Bhumi Devi personified as a cow.

    Varaha Purana. 32.5: Decline in each yuga. 32.7: His four feet are acclaimed as Guna (quality), Dravya (substance), Kriya (action) and Jati (genus). 32.27: "Bow to you the bull-shaped one with four feet, four horns, three eyes, seven hands and three joints."

    Seems to describe the same bull during an earlier yuga (4 vs. 3 feet) found in Rig Veda 4.58.3: "Four are his horns, three are the feet that bear him; his heads are two, his hands are seven in number. Bound with a triple bond the Steer roars loudly: the mighty God hath entered in to mortals." with the same bull found in Yajur Veda 17.91 "Four are his horns, three are the feet that bear him: his heads are two, his hands are seven in number.".

    Bhagavata Purana. In the age of Satya your four legs were established by the four principles of austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. But it appears that three of your legs are broken due to rampant irreligion in the form of pride, lust for women, and intoxication. You are now standing on one leg only, which is your truthfulness, and you are somehow or other hobbling along. But ... [Kali], flourishing by deceit, is also trying to destroy that leg. Tapas or austerity, Shaucha or cleanliness, Daya or mercy, and Satya or truth. By the start of the Treta Yuga, austerity is gone, and by the start of the Dvapara Yuga cleanliness is gone. Finally, by the time the Kali Yuga comes, only one leg is left standing, namely truth, and even truth is steadily eroded as the Kali Yuga progresses.
  4. The Bhagavata Purana (1.18.6),[28] Vishnu Purana (5.38.8),[29] and Brahma Purana (2.103.8)[30] state that the day Krishna left the earth was the day that the Dvapara Yuga ended and the Kali Yuga began.
  5. Each Kali-yuga-sandhi lasts for 36,000 solar (100 divine) years:
    * Sandhya: 3102 BCE – 32,899 CE
    * Sandhyamsa: 392,899 CE – 428,899 CE
  6. A common error exists in calculating from 1 BCE to 1 CE as 2 years instead of 1. There is no year zero.
  7. René Guénon's Yuga Cycle table: the calculated dates are based on the 1949 publication by Gaston Georgel, Les Quatre Ages de L’Humanité (The Four Ages of Humanity), and an early 1980s publication by Jean Robin.

References
  1. Godwin, Joscelyn (2011). Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: Prophecies, Traditions, and Occult Revelations. Inner Traditions. p. 300-301. ISBN 9781594778575.
  2. Merriam-Webster (1999). "Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions". In Doniger, Wendy; Hawley, John Stratton (eds.). Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. pp. 445 (Hinduism), 1159 (Yuga). ISBN 0877790442.
    * HINDUISM: Myths of time and eternity: ... Each yuga is preceded by an intermediate "dawn" and "dusk." The Krita yuga lasts 4,000 god-years, with a dawn and dusk of 400 god-years each, or a total of 4,800 god-years; Treta a total of 3,600 god-years; Dvapara 2,400 god-years; and Kali (the current yuga) 1,200 god-years. A mahayuga thus lasts 12,000 god-years ... Since each god-year lasts 360 human years, a mahayuga is 4,320,000 years long in human time. Two thousand mahayugas form one kalpa (eon) [and pralaya], which is itself but one day in the life of Brahma, whose full life lasts 100 years; the present is the midpoint of his life. Each kalpa is followed by an equally long period of abeyance (pralaya), in which the universe is asleep. Seemingly the universe will come to an end at the end of Brahma's life, but Brahmas too are innumerable, and a new universe is reborn with each new Brahma.
    * YUGA: Each yuga is progressively shorter than the preceding one, corresponding to a decline in the moral and physical state of humanity. Four such yugas (called ... after throws of an Indian game of dice) make up a mahayuga ("great yuga") ... The first yuga (Krita) was an age of perfection, lasting 1,728,000 years. The forth and most degenerate yuga (Kali) began in 3102 BCE and will last 432,000 years. At the close of the Kali yuga, the world will be destroyed by fire and flood, to be re-created as the cycle resumes. In a partially competing vision of time, Vishnu's 10th and final AVATAR, KALKI, is described as bringing the present cosmic cycle to a close by destroying the evil forces that rule the Kali yuga and ushering in an immediate return to the idyllic Krita yuga.
  3. Gupta, Dr. S. V. (2010). "Ch. 1.2.4 Time Measurements". In Hull, Prof. Robert; Osgood, Jr., Prof. Richard M.; Parisi, Prof. Jurgen; Warlimont, Prof. Hans (eds.). Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units. Springer Series in Materials Science: 122. Springer. pp. 6–8. ISBN 9783642007378. Paraphrased: Deva day equals solar year. Deva lifespan (36,000 solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Mahayuga equals 12,000 Deva (divine) years (4,320,000 solar years), and is divided into 10 charnas consisting of four Yugas: Satya Yuga (4 charnas of 1,728,000 solar years), Treta Yuga (3 charnas of 1,296,000 solar years), Dvapara Yuga (2 charnas of 864,000 solar years), and Kali Yuga (1 charna of 432,000 solar years). Manvantara equals 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 solar years). Kalpa (day of Brahma) equals an Adi Sandhya, 14 Manvantaras, and 14 Sandhya Kalas, where 1st Manvantara preceded by Adi Sandhya and each Manvantara followed by Sandhya Kala, each Sandhya lasting same duration as Satya yuga (1,728,000 solar years), during which the entire earth is submerged in water. Day of Brahma equals 1,000 Mahayugas, the same length for a night of Brahma (Bhagavad-gita 8.17). Brahma lifespan (311.04 trillion solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Parardha is 50 Brahma years and we are in the 2nd half of his life. After 100 years of Brahma, the universe starts with a new Brahma. We are currently in the 28th Kali yuga of the first day of the 51st year of the second Parardha in the reign of the 7th (Vaivasvata) Manu. This is the 51st year of the present Brahma and so about 155 trillion years have elapsed. The current Kali Yuga (Iron Age) began at midnight on 17/18 February 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar.
  4. Merriam-Webster 1999, p. 629 (Kalki): At the end of the present Kali age, when virtue and religion have disappeared into CHAOS and the world is ruled by unjust men, Kalki will appear to destroy the wicked and usher in a new age. ... According to some myths, Kalki's horse will stamp the earth with its right foot, causing the tortoise that supports the world to drop into the deep. Then Kalki will restore the earth to its initial purity.
  5. "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) 12.4.2". Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
    catur-yuga-sahasraṁ tu brahmaṇo dinam ucyate ।
    sa kalpo yatra manavaś caturdaśa viśām-pate ॥ 2 ॥
    (2) One thousand cycles of four ages [catur-yuga] constitute a single day of Brahmā, known as a kalpa. In that period, O King, fourteen Manus come and go.
  6. "Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 8.17". Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
    sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ ।
    rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te ’ho-rātra-vido janāḥ ॥ 17 ॥
    (17) By human calculation, a thousand ages [yuga] taken together form the duration of Brahmā’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.
  7. Matchett, Freda; Yano, Michio (2003). "Part II, Ch. 6: The Puranas / Part III, Ch. 18: Calendar, Astrology, and Astronomy". In Flood, Gavin (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 139–140, 390. ISBN 0631215352.
  8. Bühler 1886, p. 20:
    yadetat parisaṅkhyātamādāveva caturyugam ।
    etad dvādaśasāhasraṃ devānāṃ yugamucyate ॥ 71 ॥
    (71) These twelve thousand (years) which thus have been just mentioned as the total of four (human) ages [caturyugam], are called one age of the gods.
  9. "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) 12.2.39". Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
    kṛtaṁ tretā dvāparaṁ ca kaliś ceti catur-yugam ।
    anena krama-yogena bhuvi prāṇiṣu vartate ॥ 39 ॥
    (39) The cycle of four ages [catur-yugam] — Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali — continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.
  10. Godwin 2011, p. 301b: Great Age (Mahayuga).
  11. They are in order Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali, and correspond roughly to the Gold, Silver, Brass and Iron Ages of the classics. The Sanskrit names are called after the sides of a die in descending order of their value in play. Thus Kṛta is the side with four dots, while Kali, being the side with only one dot, is always a certain loser. The connection between dice and the different eras of the world is perhaps not at first evident. It is well explained by H. Jacobi in “Ages of the World,” Hastings’ Ency. Rel. Eth., vol. i, p. 200 et. seq.
    The Rig-Veda, which we may reasonably consider to have been in its present form before 1000 B.C., has references to the use of dice, and one of its hymns (Book 10, 34) is a charm to cure an inveterate and unsuccessful gambler of the compulsion to gamble that has ruined him. In the Atharva Veda, also, gambling with dice is mentioned (2.3; 4.38; 6.118; 7.52; 7.109). The Aryans of Rig-Vedic times made their dice of the vibhidaka-tree nuts, and we do not know how they used them.
  12. Kane, P. V. (September 1936). Sukthankar, Dr. V. S.; Fyzee, A. A. A.; Bhagwat, Prof. N. K. (eds.). "Kalivarjya (actions forbidden in the Kali Age)". Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The Asiatic Society of Bombay. Vol. 12 (Nos. 1–2): 4.
  13. Jones, Sir William (1807) [1st ed. 1794]. "The Laws of Menu, Son of Brahma - Chapter The First: On the Creation; with a Summary of the Contents". The Works of Sir William Jones in thirteen volumes. Vol. VII. pp. 101–105.
  14. Bühler, G. (1886). "Ch. 1, The Creation". In Müller, F. Max (ed.). The Laws of Manu: translated with extracts from seven commentaries. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. XXV. Oxford University Press. pp. 19–24.
  15. Jha, Ganganath (1999) [1st ed. 1920]. "Discourse I - Origin of the Work—Creation of the World—Summary of Contents of the Book.". Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi in Ten Volumes. Wisdom Library. Adhyāya 1. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 8120811550.
  16. Bühler 1886, Ch. 1, Slokas 67-73, 79-80.
  17. Olivelle 2005, pp. 53-54.
  18. Olivelle, Patrick (2005). Manu's Code of Law. Oxford University Press. pp. 3, 241 (1.71). ISBN 0-19-517146-2.
  19. pp. 152-153
  20. Bolton, Robert (2001). The Order of the Ages: World History in the Light of a Universal Cosmogony. Sophia Perennis. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-900588-31-0.
  21. Godwin 2011, pp. 298–299.
  22. Bolton 2001, pp. 64–65.
  23. Bolton 2001, pp. 65–68.
  24. Godwin 2011, p. 299.
  25. Godwin 2011, p. 304.
  26. Penprase, Bryan E. (2017). The Power of Stars (2nd ed.). Springer. p. 182. ISBN 9783319525976. Paraphrased: The first of the four ages was symbolized by the bull of creation on all four legs, when the universe was in a state of purity and the laws of dharma were obeyed. The second age showed the first signs of decay, where the bull had only three legs.
  27. "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) 12.3 Summary". Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Retrieved 2020-04-17. In the age of Satya, religion was complete, still possessing its four legs of truth, mercy, austerity and charity. With the coming of each succeeding age, starting with Tretā, these religious qualities each diminish by one quarter. In Kali-yuga the legs of religion retain only one fourth of their power, and even that will be lost with the progress of the age. The mode of goodness is predominant during Satya-yuga, and the mode of passion is predominant during the Tretā-yuga. The mixed modes of passion and ignorance are predominant during Dvāpara-yuga, and in the Age of Kali the mode of ignorance is predominant.
  28. "Skanda I, Ch. 18: Curse of the Brahmana, Sloka 6". Bhagavata Purana. Part I. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. 1950. p. 137. On the very day, and at the very moment the Lord [Krishna] left the earth, on that very day this Kali, the source of irreligiousness, (in this world), entered here.
  29. Wilson, H. H. (1895). "Book V, Ch. 38: Arjuna burns the dead, etc., Sloka 8". The Vishnu Purana. S.P.C.K. Press. p. 61. The Parijata tree proceeded to heaven, and on the same day that Hari [Krishna] departed from the earth the dark-bodied Kali age descended.
  30. "Ch. 103, Episode of Krsna concluded, Sloka 8". Brahma Purana. Part II. Motilal Banarsidass. 1955. p. 515. It was on the day on which Krishna left the Earth and went to heaven that the Kali age, with time for its body set in.
  31. Godwin 2011, p. 301 (bottom): The Hindu astronomers agree that the Kali Yuga began at midnight between February 17 and 18, 3102 BCE. Consequently it is due to end about 427,000 CE, whereupon a new Golden Age will dawn.
  32. Merriam-Webster 1999, p. 691 (Manu): a day in the life of Brahma is divided into 14 periods called manvantaras ("Manu intervals"), each of which lasts for 306,720,000 years. In every second cycle [(new kalpa after pralaya)] the world is recreated, and a new Manu appears to become the father of the next human race. The present age is considered to be the seventh Manu cycle.
  33. Burgess, Ebenezer (1860). "Ch. I, Of the Mean Motions of the Planets". Translation of the Sûrya-Siddhânta: A text-book of Hindu astronomy, with notes and an appendix. Journal of the American Oriental Society. pp. 10-12 (1.21-24), 17.
  34. Krishnamurthy, Prof. V. (2019). "Ch. 20: The Cosmic Flow of Time as per Scriptures". Meet the Ancient Scriptures of Hinduism. Notion Press. ISBN 9781684669387. According to the traditional time-keeping ... Thus in Brahma's calendar the present time may be coded as his 51st year - first month - first day - 7th manvantara - 28th maha-yuga - 4th yuga or kaliyuga.
  35. Godwin 2011, p. 301: Vishnu Purana, translated by the great Sanskritist Horace Hayman Wilson: One Pararddha, or half [Brahma's] existence, has expired, terminating with the Maha Kalpa called Padma. The Kalpa (or day of Brahma) termed Varaha is the first of the second period of Brahma's existence. ... The Hindu astronomers agree that the Kali Yuga began at midnight between February 17 and 18, 3102 BCE. Consequently it is due to end about 427,000 CE, whereupon a new Golden Age will dawn.
  36. Gupta 2010, p. 9: At the beginning of any Hindu rite, an ashloka in Sanskrit is read out, which means that this ritual is being performed for a certain purpose (name of the purpose) by this particular person (name of the person including father's and family names) at this place (full address with country name) at this time of day (Ghadi and Pala or in hours and minutes) in 5109 of Kalyugi year (for AD 2007, or Hindu calendar year 2064 Sambat) of the 28th Chaturyugee of the 7th Manvantara on the first day of the 51st year of the 2nd Brahma [2nd half of Brahma's life]. This is a wonderful example of counting time from the start of the universe to the present time.
  37. Kane 1936, p. 4: Among the earliest is the Pikira grant of Pallava Simhavarman where we have the words 'Who was ever ready to extricate dharma that had become sunk owing to the evil effects of Kaliyuga.'
  38. The Pikira grant inscription has the word "kaliyuga" on line 10 located on 3rd plate, first side.
    ⁠— Hultzsch, Ph. D., E., ed. (1981). Epigraphia Indica and Records of the Archaeological Survey of India. Vol. VIII — 1905–06. Bombay: Education Society's Press. p. 162.
  39. Each term has an index of volumes:
    * p. 177: Dvapara, Yuga or age; Dvapara-yuga, do.
    * p. 301: Kali-yuga, age of Kali
    * p. 364: Kritayuga, age; Kritayuga, do.
    — Krishna, Dr. M. H. (1934). Mysore Archeological Survey: Epigraphia Carnatica. Vol. XIII (Part I): General Index. Bangalore: Government Press. pp. 177, 301, 364.
  40. Krishan, Yuvraj (1999). Gaņeśa: Unravelling An Enigma. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-81-208-1413-4.
  41. Brief summaries of events in each incarnation are given in John A. Grimes. Ganapati: Song of the Self. pp. 100–105. (State University of New York Press: Albany, 1995) ISBN 978-0-7914-2440-7
  42. Bailey, Greg (2008). Gaṇeśapurāṇa: Krīḍākhaṇḍa. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 5. ISBN 978-3-447-05472-0.
  43. Ganesha Purana I.46.28 in the 1993 Sharma edition. In the version used by Bhāskararāya in his Khadyota commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama the verse is numbered I.46.33 and the name is given as Kaśyapasuta.
  44. Yuvraj Krishan, op. cit. p. 84, footnote 13, says that in the Ganesha Purana 2.131.32, Dhūmraketu is said to have four arms but in ibid. 2.1.21 and 2.85.15 he is said to have only two arms. The version given in Grimes mentions only two arms.
  45. Part 1: 50.41 (city of Bali), 55.3, 55.7. THE VAYU PURANA PART. 1. MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI. 1960. pp. 377–382.
  46. Part 2: 5.133, 35.73, 35.77, 36.74-85, 37.26-32, 38.21-22, 46.29 (Bali as oblation). THE VAYU PURANA PART. 2. MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, DELHI. 1960.
  47. "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) 9.10.51". Bhaktivedanta Vedabase. Retrieved 2020-05-18. Lord Rāmacandra became King during Tretā-yuga, but because of His good government, the age was like Satya-yuga. Everyone was religious and completely happy.
  48. Knapp, Stephen. "Lord Rama: Fact or Fiction". Stephen Knapp and His Books on Vedic Culture, Eastern Philosophy and Spirituality. Retrieved 2020-05-17. In the Vayu Purana (70.47-48) [published by Motilal Banarsidass] there is a description of the length of Ravana’s life. It explains that when Ravana’s merit of penance began to decline, he met Lord Rama, the son of Dasarath, in a battle wherein Ravana and his followers were killed in the 24th Treta-yuga. ... The Matsya Purana (47/240,243-246) is another source that also gives more detail of various avataras and says Bhagawan Rama appeared at the end of the 24th Treta-yuga.
  49. Mani, Vettam (1975). "RAKTAJA". A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature. Puranic Encyclopedia. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 630(b). ISBN 0842608222. In Padma Purana (Chapter 14). Devendra raised a legal objection to the above injunction of Vishnu as follows: "You, who incarnated yourself as Rama in the twentyseventh yuga of the last Manvantara for the purpose of killing Ravana, killed my son Bali. Therefore I do not wish to procreate Nara as my son." To this objection of Indra, Vishnu assured him that as a penalty for the mistake of killing Bali, he would be a companion of Nara (Arjuna) who would be born as Indra's son.
  50. Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas, Volume 1 (2001), page 1408
  51. "Vishnu Purana". Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  52. H. H. Wilson, M.A., F.R.S. The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition (Translated from the Original Sanskrit),Hardcover – 31 Dec 2010,Sri Satguru Publications,ISBN 8170309166 Retrieved 2015-02-15
  53. Horace Hayman Wilson 1840. The Vishnu Purana sacred-texts.com,Retrieved 2015-02-14
  54. Yukteswar, Swami Sri (1990) [1st ed. 1894]. The Holy Science [Kaivalya Darsanam]. Self-Realization Fellowship. pp. 7–17. ISBN 0876120516.
  55. Yukteswar 1990, pp. 15-17.
  56. Godwin 2011, pp. 331-332.
  57. Yukteswar 1990, pp. 9-13.
  58. Yukteswar 1990, pp. 7-8, 10.
  59. Godwin 2011, pp. 332-333.
  60. Godwin 2011, pp. 330-331.
  61. Godwin 2011, pp. 330, 331, 332.
  62. Godwin 2011, pp. 333-334.
  63. Guénon, René (2001) [1st ed. 1970]. Fohr, Samuel D. (ed.). Traditional Forms & Cosmic Cycles [Formes Traditionnelles et Cycles Cosmiques]. Translated by Fohr, Henry D. Sophia Perennis. pp. 5–8. ISBN 0900588179.
  64. Godwin 2011, pp. 305-306.
  65. Godwin 2011, p. 306.
  66. Godwin 2011, pp. 306-307.
  67. "Timeline of Cycles by René Guénon and Gaston Georgel". Sufi Path of Love. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  68. Daniélou, Alain (1987) [1st ed. 1985]. While the Gods Play: Shaiva Oracles and Predictions on the Cycles of History and the Destiny of Mankind [La Fantaisie des Dieux et L'Aventure Humaine]. Translated by Bailey, Barbara; Baker, Michael. Inner Traditions International. pp. 193–198. ISBN 0892811153.
  69. Godwin 2011, pp. 307-310.
  70. Godwin 2011, p. 309: Daniélou said his figures are accurate to within fifty years.
  71. Godwin 2011, p. 308.
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