Time
occupies a pivotal role in the functioning of this Universe. Its importance is
often understated and lost in clichés such as ‘Time and tide waits for no man’.
We all know that most events in our daily life occur on the basis of time. From
the ubiquitous sunrise to the birth of a baby, everything hinges on the passage
of time. There is no aspect in this cosmos that does not rely on time.
Every major
civilization developed a method of measuring time at various points in history.
The hourglass and the sundial were amongst the most ingenious of solutions.
Modern science has given us the atomic clock, powered by nuclear energy and is
said to the most precise time keeping device in history. Yet, plotting the
movement of the sun, the moon and the stars has always provided the most
reliable methods of measuring time. Using these tools, man has always tried to
guess the age of this Universe, the starting seconds of the Big Bang and even
guess the time when ‘Time’ began!
The Bhagwatam gives us an accurate account of time
measurement. Starting with the smallest unit of time, they reveal a journey of
unimaginable proportions, leading us all the way to the age of the Universe.
The smallest
particle in the Universe is
a Paramanu. It is invisible to the naked eye and
is a sub-atomic particle. It is impossible to divide, dissect or destroy a Paramanu. A Paramanu retains its original state /
personality till it combines forces with another Paramanu.
2
Paramanus
= 1 Anu (an atom)
3 Anus =
1 Trasarenu (visible to the naked eye, in sunshine)
3
Trasarenus
= Truti (8/13,500th of a second)
The time
taken by the Sun (or its rays) to travel through 3 Trasarenus is called a Truti.
100
Truti =
Vedh
The
Chaitanya Charitavali reveals that 300 Trutis make a Bodh and 3 Bodhs make a
Lav.
3
Vedh =
1 Lav (8/45th of a
second)
3
Lav
= 1 Nimesh (8/15th of a second)
3
Nimesh =
1 Kshan (1.6 seconds)
5
Kshan
= Kashta
15 Kashta
= 1 Laghu (approx. 2
minutes)
15
Laghu
= 1 Ghadi (also called Nadika)
2
Ghadi
= Muhurth (approx. one hour)
6 or 7
Ghadi
= Pahar (approx. 3 to 3
1/2 hours)
The length
of a day and the night keeps varying according the solstice in which the Sun is
currently in. Hence, the no .of hours in a day keep changing, depending on
whether it is a long day or a short day.
8
Pahars
= 1 Day and 1 Night (a
full cycle of 24 hours)
7 Days /
Nights
= 1 Saptah (1 week)
15
days
= 1 Paksh
A lunar
month is divided into 2 Pakshas,
of 15 days each. They are called Shukla
Paksha (light half) and Krishna Paksha (dark half). It depicts the passage of
time between new moon and full moon (waxing or shukla paksha) and then between
the full moon and the new moon (waning or krishna paksha).
2 Pakshas = 1 month
2 months = 1 Ritu
3 Ritu = 1 Ayan
2 Ayans = 1 year
Uttarayan and Dakshinayan split a year into two equal
halves. Uttarayan,
known as the ‘Summer Solstice’ in the western world, marks the transition of
the Sun from south to north (Tropic of Cancer), in the Northern Hemisphere. The
beginning of Uttarayan is celebrated as Sankranti, in January
and generally ends in July.
Dakshinayan, popularly
known as the ‘Winter Solstice’ for the people of the Northern Hemisphere, marks
the beginning of the transition of the Sun from north to south, towards the
Tropic of Capricorn.
The two Ayans make for one full movement of the Sun
from, north to south and then south to north. 1 human year constitutes a day
and a night for the Devtas (Demigods). Uttarayan is the day and Dakshinayan is the night.
Endless
cycle of time
Yuga
The Vedas
mention that creation and destruction is a cyclic phenomenon and eternal. The
basic classification of time has 4 yugas.
Satyug
= 1,728,000 years (4000
Devta years)
Tretayug =
1,296,000 years (3000 Devta years)
Dwaparyug =
864,000 years (2000 Devta years)
Kaliyug =
432,000 years (1000 Devta years)
The passage
of each yug denotes a progressive degradation of
human, moral and spiritual values. People in Satyug are very pious and spiritually
evolved. Violence, crime and other negative characteristics are almost
non-existent. The same cannot be said of the people in Kaliyug (the current age that started about
5100 years ago).
A full cycle
of 4 yugas takes 4,320,000 years (4.32 Million
years) to complete. This is known as Chaturyugi or Chaukdi.
The ‘transition period’ between two yugas is known as Sandhya and Sandhyansh. At the beginning of every yug, the passage of a defined
number of years is called Sandhya and the transition period at the end
of that yug is called Sandhyansh.
This cycle
of 4 yugas is also known as one ‘Divya Yuga’,
or the passage of 12000 Devta years.
Manvantar
When 71
cycles of the 4 yugas are complete, a manvantar is said to have passed. A manvantar takes approximately 306,720,000 years
or 308.57142 million years to complete. A partial destruction of the Universe
takes place at the end / beginning of every manvantar.
Kalp
The passage
of 14 manvantars is called kalp. This constitutes 1 day of
Lord Brahma’s life!
The total
time elapsed in a kalp is approximately 4,320,000,000 years
or 4.32 Billion years. This is equal to 1000 Chaukdis or 1000 ‘Divya Yugas’.
An equal
amount of time (4.32 Billion years) constitutes Lord Brahma’s night. When each
day in Lord Brahma’s life comes to a close, the earth planet and the three
celestial adobes (Bhu, Bhuv and Swah)
enter a transition stage. The Sun and The Moon cease to exist. This is called
as Kalp Pralaya. The
complete Universe as we know it merges into Lord Brahma during his night. When
the night (4.32 Billion years) passes and a new day dawns, Lord Brahma
manifests the Universe in exactly the same stage as it was before they merged
into his form.
1 year of Lord
Brahma’s life is 3,110,400,000,000 years or 3.11 trillion years.
100 years of
Lord Brahma’s life equals 311,040,000,000,000 years 311. 04 trillion years.
The lifespan
of Brahma is identical with the lifespan of this universe. After 100 years of
Lord Brahma’s lifespan, the complete Universe is dissolved. This event is known
as Maha Pralay, when
nothing except the Supreme God exists. Everything merges (not destroyed or
terminated) into the Supreme and lies in a dormant state till God manifests
them again to begin the endless cycle of life and destruction.
What time
is it now?
According to
the Vedic scriptures, we are now in the first day of the second half of the
life of Lord Brahma (he is now 50). Fifty years of Lord Brahma’s life is called Parardh.
Within this
current day (kalp) of Lord Brahma, we are in the seventh manvantar (of Vaivasvata Manu), in the 28th
cycle of the 4 yugas. In the 28th cycle, we have completed the 3 yugas, Satyug, Tretayug, Dwaparyug. Kaliyug started just over 5000 years ago.
In this way,
it is clearly established in the Vedas that life and time ride on an endless
and eternal cycle of yuga, manvantar and kalp.
There is no end.
