The table below contains calculations of cosmic Hindu units of time as experienced by different entities, namely
humans,
Pitris (forefathers),
Devas (gods),
Manu (progenitor of humanity), and
Brahma (creator god). Calculations use a traditional 360-day year (twelve 30-day months) and a standard 24-hour day for all entities.
Lifespans Hindu texts define lifespans differently for
humans,
Pitris (forefathers),
Devas (gods),
Manus (progenitors of mankind), and
Brahma (creator god). The division of a year for each is twelve 30-day months or 360 days, where a day is divided into a 12-hour day proper and 12-hour night. A 30-day month amounts to four 7-day weeks with an extra 8th day every two weeks (48-week year). A traditional human year is measured by the sun's northern (
uttarayana) and southern (
dakshinayana) movements in the sky, where the new year commences only when the sun returns to the same starting point and a pause on the commencement otherwise. Ebenezer Burgess postulates an intercalary month was inserted every five years to anciently maintain the correspondence of the 360-day years with the true solar years (~365.24-day years). For this reason, a traditional 360-day year is equivalent to a modern ~365.24-day solar or
tropical year.
Cosmic date According to
Puranic sources,
Krishna's departure marks the end of the human age of
Dvapara-yuga and the start of
Kali-yuga, which is dated to midnight (
Ujjain meridian) 17/18 February 3102
BCE (
proleptic Julian), corresponding to 22/23 January (
proleptic Gregorian). We are currently halfway through
Brahma's life (
maha-kalpa), whose lifespan is equal to the duration of the manifested material elements, from which Brahma manifests his universe in
kalpa cycles: • 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 of 71 • 4th
yuga (
Kali-yuga) of 4 A
maha-kalpa is followed by a
maha-pralaya (full dissolution) of equal length. Each
kalpa (day of Brahma) is followed by a
pralaya (night of Brahma or partial dissolution) of equal length. Preceding the first and following each
manvantara is a
manvantara-sandhya (connection period), each with a length of
Krita-yuga (
Satya-yuga).
Human The history of humanity is divided up into
four yugas (
dharmic ages or world ages)— (pronounced
Krita-yuga;
Satya-yuga), Treta Yuga|, Dvapara Yuga| and
Kali-yuga—each with a decline in
dharmic practices and length, giving proportions (; pronounced
charanas) of 4:3:2:1 (e.g.
Satya: 100% start;
Kali: 25% start, 0% end), indicating a
de-evolution in spiritual consciousness and an evolution in material consciousness.
Kali-yuga is followed by
Satya-yuga of the next cycle, where a cycle is called a Yuga Cycle| (pronounced
chatur-yuga;
mahā-yuga). Each
yuga is divided into a main period (
yuga proper) and two
yuga-sandhis ( ; connecting periods)— (dawn) and ( ; dusk)—where each
yuga-sandhi lasts for 10% of the main period. Lengths are given in divine years ( celestial or
Deva years), where a divine year lasts for 360
solar (human) years. A
chatur-yuga lasts for 4.32 million solar (12,000 divine) years with 1,728,000 years of
Krita-yuga, 1,296,000 years of
Treta-yuga, 864,000 years of
Dvapara-yuga, and 432,000 years of
Kali-yuga.
Current yuga Kali-yuga lasts for 432,000 years and is the 4th of 4
yugas in a cycle as well as the current
yuga, with two
sandhyas, each lasting for 36,000 years: •
Kali-yuga started in 3102BCE: : = (current year +
Kali-yuga start year) −
year zero : = ( + 3102) − 1 : = years ago •
Kali-yuga-sandhya (dawn) ends in CE: : =
Kali-yuga-sandhya − elapsed
Kali-yuga : = 36,000 − : = years from now •
Kali-yuga-sandhyamsa (dusk) starts in CE: : = (
Kali-yuga −
Kali-yuga-sandhyamsa) − elapsed
Kali-yuga : = (432,000 − 36,000) − : = years from now •
Kali-yuga ends in CE: : =
Kali-yuga − elapsed
Kali-yuga : = 432,000 − : = years from now
Current chatur yuga A
chatur-yuga lasts for 4.32million years, where the current is the 28th of 71: • Started in BCE: : = (
chatur-yuga −
Kali-yuga) + elapsed
Kali-yuga : = (4,320,000 − 432,000) + : = years ago : ≈ million years ago • Ends in CE: : =
Kali-yuga − elapsed
Kali-yuga : = 432,000 − : = years from now
Pitri The lifespan of the
Pitris (forefathers) lasts for 100 of their years. • 24 hours (1 day & night) of Pitris = 1 solar month (
masa; Moon's two 15-day fortnights: bright and dark) • 30 days (1 month) of Pitris = 30 solar months (2.5 solar years) • 12 months (1 year) of Pitris = 30 solar years (1 month of
Devas) • 100 years (lifespan) of Pitris = 3,000 solar years
Deva The lifespan of the
Devas (gods) lasts for 100 of their years. • 24 hours (1 day & night) of Devas = 1 solar year (Sun's two 180-day motions: northern and southern) • 30 days (1 month) of Devas = 30 solar years (1 year of
Pitris) • 12 months (1 year) of Devas = 360 solar years • 100 years (lifespan) of Devas = 36,000 solar years
Manu The lifespan of the
Manus (progenitors of mankind) lasts for 100 of their years. Each Manu reigns over a period called a
manvantara, each lasting for 71
chatur-yugas (306.72 million years). A total of 14 Manus reign successively in one
kalpa (day of
Brahma). Preceding the first and following each
manvantara is a ''
(connection period), each lasting the duration of Satya-yuga (1.728 million years). During each ( manvantara-sandhi
), Earth (Bhu-loka'') is submerged in water. • 24 hours (1 day & night) of Manu = 8,520 solar years • 30 days (1 month) of Manu = 255,600 solar years • 12 months (1 year) of Manu = 3,067,200 solar years • 100 years (lifespan) of Manu = 306,720,000 solar years (71
chatur-yugas)
Current manvantara A
manvantara lasts for 306.72million years, where the current (ruled by
Vaivasvatha Manu) is the 7th of 14: • Started in the past: : = elapsed 28th
chatur-yuga + 27
chatur-yugas : = (
chatur-yuga −
Kali-yuga) + elapsed
Kali-yuga + 27
chatur-yugas : = (4,320,000 − 432,000) + + (27 × 4,320,000) : = years ago : ≈ million years ago • Ends in the future: : = remaining 28th
chatur-yuga + 43
chatur-yugas : = (
Kali-yuga − elapsed
Kali-yuga) + 43
chatur-yugas : = (432,000 − ) + (43 × 4,320,000) : = years from now : ≈ million years from now
Brahma The lifespan of
Brahma (creator god) lasts for 100 of his years. His 12-hour day or
kalpa ( day of Brahma) is followed by a 12-hour night or
pralaya ( night of Brahma) of equal length, each lasting for 4.32 billion years. A
kalpa lasts for 1,000
chatur-yugas and has 14
manvantaras and 15
manvantara-sandhyas occurring in it. At the start of Brahma's days, he is re-born and creates the planets and the first living entities. At the end of his days, he and his creations are unmanifest (partial dissolution). His 100-year life (311.04 trillion years) is called a , which is followed by a (full dissolution) of equal length, where the bases of the universe,
prakriti, is manifest at the start and unmanifest at the end of a
maha-kalpa. His 100-year life is divided into two 50-year periods, each called a . In 100 360-day years (
maha-kalpa), there are a total of 36,000 full days: 36,000
kalpas (days proper) and 36,000
pralayas (nights). • 12 hours (1 day proper:
kalpa) of Brahma = 4.32 billion solar years (1,000
chatur-yugas; 14
manvantaras + 15
manvantara-sandhyas) • 24 hours (1 day & night:
kalpa +
pralaya) of Brahma = 8.64 billion solar years • 30 days (1 month) of Brahma = 259.2 billion solar years • 12 months (1 year) of Brahma = 3.1104 trillion solar years • 50 years (
parardha) of Brahma = 155.52 trillion solar years • 100 years (lifespan: 2
parardhas) of Brahma = 311.04 trillion solar years
Current kalpa A
kalpa (day of
Brahma, 12 hours) lasts for 4.32billion years, where the current (
Shveta-Varaha Kalpa) is the 1st of 30 in his 1st month of his 51st year: • Started in the past: : = elapsed 7th
manvantara + 7
manvantara-sandhyas + 6
manvantaras : = elapsed 28th
chatur-yuga + 27
chatur-yugas + 7
manvantara-sandhyas + 6
manvantaras : = (
chatur-yuga −
Kali-yuga) + elapsed
Kali-yuga + 27
chatur-yugas + 7
manvantara-sandhyas + 6
manvantaras : = (4,320,000 − 432,000) + + (27 × 4,320,000) + (7 × 1,728,000) + (6 × 306,720,000) : = years ago : ≈ billion years ago • Ends in the future: : = remaining 7th
manvantara + 8
manvantara-sandhyas + 7
manvantaras : = remaining 28th
chatur-yuga + 43
chatur-yugas + 8
manvantara-sandhyas + 7
manvantaras : = (
Kali-yuga − elapsed
Kali-yuga) + 43
chatur-yugas + 8
manvantara-sandhyas + 7
manvantaras : = (432,000 − ) + (43 × 4,320,000) + (8 × 1,728,000) + (7 × 306,720,000) : = years from now : ≈ billion years from now
Current maha kalpa A
maha-kalpa (life of
Brahma) lasts for 311.04trillion years: • Started in the past: : = elapsed 18,001st
kalpa + 18,000
kalpas + 18,000
pralayas : = elapsed 7th
manvantara + 7
manvantara-sandhyas + 6
manvantaras + 36,000
kalpas/pralayas : = elapsed 28th
chatur-yuga + 27
chatur-yugas + 7
manvantara-sandhyas + 6
manvantaras + 36,000
kalpas/pralayas : = (
chatur-yuga −
Kali-yuga) + elapsed
Kali-yuga + 27
chatur-yugas + 7
manvantara-sandhyas + 6
manvantaras + 36,000
kalpas/pralayas : = (4,320,000 − 432,000) + + (27 × 4,320,000) + (7 × 1,728,000) + (6 × 306,720,000) + (36,000 × 4,320,000,000) : = years ago : ≈ trillion years ago • Ends in the future: : = remaining 18,001st
kalpa + 17,999
kalpas + 18,000
pralayas : = remaining 7th
manvantara + 8
manvantara-sandhyas + 7
manvantaras + 35,999
kalpas/pralayas : = remaining 28th
chatur-yuga + 43
chatur-yugas + 8
manvantara-sandhyas + 7
manvantaras + 35,999
kalpas/pralayas : = (
Kali-yuga − elapsed
Kali-yuga) + 43
chatur-yugas + 8
manvantara-sandhyas + 7
manvantaras + 35,999
kalpas/pralayas : = (432,000 − ) + (43 × 4,320,000) + (8 × 1,728,000) + (7 × 306,720,000) + (35,999 × 4,320,000,000) : = years from now : ≈ trillion years from now ==Hindu texts==