KALPA –The Hindu TIME Element

Om! Gam! Ganapathaye! Namaha!

Om! Sri Raghavendraya Namaha!

Om! Namo! Bhagavathe! Vasudevaya!

Om! Ham! Hanumathe! Sri Rama Doothaya Namaha!

KALPA –THE HINDU TIME ELEMENT

Having understood the concept of Ugadi (Yuga + Aadi) as a time element let us now try to understand the arithmetic of Hindu time element and certain related terminologies that will help us in understanding the time element called Kalpa Para that refers to the life span of the Universe and Lord Brahma. Reference to Hindu time element is said to have been scripted in many Vishnu related puranas like Maha Bhagavatha, Matsya Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Mahabharatha and Bhagavath Geetha.

Hindu sages describe time as cyclic and an endless process of creation, preservation and dissolution. The Universe is cyclically created and destroyed. Hindu religion and philosophy which strongly believes in Vedas has clearly spelled out the time element of the universe at different levels. Understanding of time element in Hinduism is as old as the Hinduism itself. Several pouranic texts have mentioned about the time element in Hinduism.

It is said that before commencement of Creation (Srushti) there was only water every where and Lord SriManNarayana the primordial person (Aadi Purusha) only was present in deep meditation. Desired (Sankalpa) to start the creation, He first created the Universe and Omkara from where the Vedas got originated. It is also said that Vedas are (swayambhu) Lord SriManNarayana himself. He then created Lord Brahma from his navel to take further the process of Creation.

A Kalpa is a Sanskrit word meaning an aeon (immeasurably long period of time) in Hindu cosmology. In Hindu philosophy a Kalpa is equal to 432 crores of years. It is a day in the life of Lord Brahma. It is equal to 1000 Mahayugas measuring the duration of the world. Each Kalpa is divided into 14 Manvantharas each one lasting 306,720,000 years. Two kalpas constitute a day and night of Lord Brahma.

A Kalpa is also called as Vedanga, the hand of VedaPurusha. Kalpa is also referred to as the Sasthra that involves one to carry out the injunctions of Kalpa. Various kinds of spiritual rituals to be performed come under the province of Kalpa. Kalpa is one of the six disciplines of Vedanga.

YUGA

Yuga is a period or an Era in which we live. As per Kalpa Pramana there are four Yugas viz. Krita Yuga known as Sathya Yuga which is also called as the Golden age an era of total virtue, Thretha Yuga called as the Silver age an era of 3/4^th virtue, Dwapara Yuga called as bronze age with half virtue and half sin in its era, and Kali Yuga called as iron age (Black age) with 1/4^th virtue and 3/4^th sin in its era.

Life span of these Yugas will not be equal. The Yugas get progressively worse from morality point of view as one proceeds from one Yuga to another. As a result each Yuga is of shorter duration than its previous one. It is as follows,

Krita Yuga (Sathya Yuga) 1728000 years

Thretha Yuga 1296000 years

Dwapara Yuga 864000 years

Kali Yuga 432000 years

Total 43, 20,000 years

MAHA YUGA

One cycle of four Yugas (Krita, Thretha, Dwapara and Kali) is called as Maha Yuga (Chatur Yuga); its life span will be 43, 20,000 years. It is also called as a Divine Yuga.

MANVANTHARA

During every Kalpa Lord Brahma creates 14 Manus one after the other, who in turn manifest and regulate the world. Manvanthara is Manu’s cycle the one who gives birth and govern the human race. Manvanthara is reckoned with the age or period of Manu. The period of each Manvanthara consists of 71 Mahayugas (Chaturyugas) that is 71 x 4320000 = 306.720 million human years. After each Manvanthara there follows a Sandhi Kala of the duration of Krita Yuga years. (1728000). It is said that at the end of each Manvanthara it is followed by a Pralaya during the Sandhikala.

There are 14 generations of Manus they are, Swayambhuva, Swarochisha, Outtama, Tamasa, Raivatha, Chakshuva, Vaivaswatha, Savarni, Daksha Savarni, Brahma Savarni, Dharma Savarni, Rudra Savarni, Deva Savarni, and Indra Savarni. At end of the 14^th Manu, the cycle repeats again and Brahma creates fourteen additional Manus. Each Manvanthara will have a set of seven sages called Saptha Rishis who will live through out the Manvanthara period.

KALPA

A Kalpa is a day (12 hours) in the life of Lord Brahma. Each Kalpa is ruled by a succession of 14 Manus and the period of reign is called Manvanthara. A Kalpa (day period of Brahma) consists of a period of 17,28,000 years called Aadi Sandhi followed by 14 Manvantharas and Sandhi kalas that will be equal to 1000 Maha Yugas.

One day (Kalpa) of Brahma is also divided into 10000 parts called charanas equivalent to 1000 Maha Yugas of 10 charanas each. Each Maha Yuga consists of 10 charanas (Krita Yuga 4, Thretha Yuga 3, Dwapara Yuga 2 and Kali Yuga 1 charana).

A day of Brahma (Kalpa) is equal to 14 (Manvantharas) x 71(Maha Yugas) = 994 Maha Yugas + Sandhi kalas (equal to 6 Maha Yugas) = 1000 Maha Yugas. Sandhi kala is arrived at as follows; For 14 Manvanthara 14 sandhikala periods equal to the age of 14 Krita Yugas = 1728000 x 14 = 24192000 + 1728000 (Aadi Sandhi period) = 2,59,20,000 /43,20,000 years = 6 Maha Yugas. In terms of number of years, a Kalpa will be of 1000 Maha Yugas x 4320000 = 432 crores of years. A night of Brahma is of equal duration of another 1000 Maha Yugas = 432 crores years. Thus a full day (day + night) of Brahma is the period of Two Kalpas equal to 2000 Maha Yugas (864 crores years)

At the end of Brahma’s day time there will be a deluge (Pralaya) when the Universe will temporarily get dissolved by way of a Naimittika Pralaya. Then that will be the night time of Lord Brahma which will be equal to another Kalpa. During this time Lord Maha Vishnu reclines into meditative pose (Yoganidra) before Brahma starts recreation in the new Kalpa that will be the beginning of a new day for Lord Brahma. Thus in a full day’s cycle of Lord Brahma there will be creation during day time and destruction during night time.

There are 30 Kalpas as per Matsya Purana which gets repeated cyclically. They are Swetha, Neelalohita, Vamadeva, Rathanthara, Rourava, Deva, Bruhath, Kandarpa, Sadhya, Eesana, Tamah, Saraswatha, Udaana, Garuda, Kaurma, Narasimha, Samana, Agneya, Soma, Maanava, Tathpuman, Vaikunta, Lakshmi, Savithri, Aghora, Vaaraah, Vairaja, Gouri, Maheswara, and Pithru Kalpa. It is said that Vayu Purana gives a different list of Kalpas which are 28 in number.

Reckoning of time for Lord Brahma:

In Bhagavath Geetha a day of Lord Brahma has been defined as 1000 Maha Yugas (Sahasra Yuga paryantham ahar-yad brahmano vidhuh meaning a day of Brahma is of 1000 Mahayugas). According to Mahabharatha 12 months of Brahma is equal to 360 days that constitute his year and 100 such years is his life time and that is the life cycle of the Universe.

Fifty years of Brahma are supposed to have been elapsed and we are now in the 51^st year of Lord Brahma in Swetha Varaha Kalpa. At the end of the Kalpa, Brahma rests for one night that is equal to the day during which time the world is annihilated (destroyed) that is called as Pralaya.

As per Vedamana the life span of Lord Brahma is said to be 100 years called as Brahma Kalpa. Though Brahma Kalpa had started from the day of his origin, first half of his life (50 years) was spent in knowing and understanding the tatva of Lord SriManNarayana.

As per the directions of supreme Lord Sri Maha Vishnu, Brahma started creation in his 51^st year that is the current year in the life of Lord Brahma. Life span of Lord Brahma is reckoned as follows in terms of human years

· 1000 Maha Yugas = 1 Kalpa = 1 day (12 hours) of Lord Brahma = 432 crores of years

· 2000 Maha Yugas = 2 Kalpas = 1 day (24 hours) of Lord Brahma = 864 crores of years

· 30 such days of Brahma = 30 x 864 crores of years = 259.2 billions years = 60 Kalpas

· 12 such months (one year or 360 days) of Brahma = 12 x 259.2 billions years = 3.1104 trillions years = 720 (360+360) Kalpas

· 50 such years = 1 Paraarddha = 50 x 3.1104 trillion years = 155.52 trillions years = 36000 Kalpas

· 2 such Paraardhas = 100 years of Brahma = 311.04 trillions years = 72000 Kalpas

As per the above arithmetic life span of Lord Brahma will be 311.04 trillions years.

Reckoning for the Current Date:

(The time elapsed since the current Brahma has taken over the task of creation)

Some of the words in Sankalpa sloka that we recite daily during Sandhyavandana or before commencement of any divine prayer or ritual contain the time element viz. Aaadhya Brahmana, Dwiteeya Parardhe, Swetha Varaha Kalpe, Vaivaswatha Manwanthare, Kaliyuge, Prathama Pade, Salivahana Sakhe. In these words there is reckoning of the current date as per Vedamana since the birth of Lord Brahma.

Aaadhya Brahmana Dwiteeya Parardhe:

That means first half of the life time of Lord Brahma is over and we are in the 2^nd half called Dwiteeya Parardhe in the 51^st year of Lord Brahma (50 years of Lord Brahma is equal to 155.52 trillions human years)

Swetha Varaha Kalpe:

That means we are in the first day (only day) called Swetha Varaha Kalpa in the 51^st year of Lord Brahma. In Swetha Varaha Kalpa (first day of Lord Brahma) after passing through 6 Manvantharas out of 14 we are currently in the 7^th Manvanthara called Vaivaswatha Manvanthara. In terms of number of years after taking into account the sandhi kalas we have passed through 185.2416 crores human years (4320000 x 71 x 6) + (17,28,000 x 7) in the current Kalpa (during the previous six Manvantharas)

Vaivaswatha Manvanthare:

And in the current Manvanthara (Vaivasvatha) we have passed through 27 Maha Yugas out of 71 and we are currently in the 28^th Maha Yuga. That means in this Manvanthara we have passed through 11.6644 crores human years during the last 27 Maha Yugas.

Kali Yuge:

In the 28^th Maha Yuga after passing through the three periods viz. Krita, Thretha, and Dwapara Yugas comprising of 38,88,000 human years we are currently in the 4^th Yuga that is Kali Yuga, in which we have already passed through 5110 human years out of the Kali Yuga span of 4,32,000 years. As per scripts it is said that Kali Yuga had begun 3102 years BC.

Counting from beginning of the Kalpa it is (185.24 + 11.67 + 0.39 + 0.005) =197.30 crores human years since commencement of creation by Lord Brahma. That also means out of 432 crores years in the current Kalpa we have already passed through 197.30 crores of years and still 234.70 crores of years have to pass through before end of the Kalpa.

Salivahana Sakhe:

Further reckoning down based on the concept of Sakha, after passing through the Yudhistira and Vikrama Sakhas we are currently in the Salivahana Sakha 1931 years since its beginning in 78 AD.

Tabulating the above it is reckoned as (taking the year 2009 as the base)

· 311.04 Trillions human years is the life span of current Brahma (100 Brahma years)

· 157.49 Trillions human years since the origin of current Brahma (153.55 trillion years still left)

· 197.30 Crores years since the beginning of the Swetha Varaha Kalpa, the time since creation started (234.70 crores years still left in the present Kalpa)

· 12.06 Crores years since the beginning of Vaivaswatha Manvanthara (18.61 crores years still left in the current Manvanthara)

· 38.88 lakhs years since the beginning of this 28^th Maha Yuga (4.27 lakhs years till left in this Maha Yuga)

· 5110 years since the beginning of the present Kali Yuga (4,26,890 years still left in the current Yuga)

· 1931 years since the beginning of Salivahana Sakha

It is said that after the life span of Lord Brahma it will take another 100 Brahma years before a new Brahma is born. It is also said and believed that Lord Hanuman is going to be the future Brahma after the expiry of the life span of the current Brahma.

We would have heard or come across statements or news items like the world is coming to end, Pralaya is coming, it is going to be a dooms day, soon the world is going to disintegrate etc., Latest of such statements is that the year 2012 is going to be an end of the world. Behind all its realities, such statements are definitely going to create lot of confusion, chaos, scare, anxiety among the world population. While most of the non Hindu cultures base their cosmologies on familiar units such as few hundreds or thousands of years, Hindu concept of time element based on Vedic scripts believes on immeasurable period of time lasting billions and trillions of years.

Universal repositioning takes place whenever celestial splendors like Eclipses occur. Astronomically lot of changes do takes place in the universe and all such may not and need not lead to a dooms day. Above arithmetic shows that still 18.61 crores human years have to pass through before end of the present Manvanthara when it is expected to be a deluge (Pralaya). So as per this study one can be assured that cyclical end of the Universe is far away and it is a long way to go for a dooms day.

One should always remember the fact that nothing is permanent in this world even the Universe, or even Lord Brahma (Creator). The only permanent entity is the Primordial Person Lord SriManNarayana the creator of Brahma. In Phalastuthi of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Sthothram, Lord Brahma describes Lord Maha Vishnu as

! Namostvananthaya Sahasramuurthaye! SahasraPaadaakshi Sirorubaahave!

! Sahasranaamne Purushaya Saswathe! SahasraKoti Yugadhaarine Namah!!

Salutations to the Infinite, one who has manifested as innumerable number of forms, who has innumerable feet, eyes, heads, arms, one who has innumerable number of names, who is an eternal person, and who holds thousands of crores of Yugas which are uncountable.

NB: One billion = 1000 million = 100 crores - One trillion = 1000 billion = 100000 crores

Annexure

Sakha Karthas of Kali Yuga:

The legends says that in Kali Yuga six Kings will create new eras (Sakhas) which will be named after them. They are,

· Yudhistira Sakha (Dharmaraja): His calendar started in the year 3102 BC continued for 3044 years.

· Vikrama Sakha: His calendar started in 57 BC continued for 135 years

· Salivahana Sakha (current period): His calendar started in 78 AD and will continue for 18000 years.

· Vijayabhinandana Sakha (future coming): His calendar will start in 18078 AD and will continue for 10000 years.

· Nagarjuna Sakha (future coming): His calendar will start in 28078 AD and will continue for 4, 00,000 years.

· Kalki Sakha (future coming): His calendar will start at the end of Kali Yuga 4, 28,078 AD and will run for 821 years when the Kali Yuga will come to an end.

Time Element for other Entities

For Devathas:

One day for Devathas = One human year comprising of two half years.

Brighter half of the day is called as Uttarayana

Darker half of the day is called as Dakshinayana.

12000 years for Devathas is equal to one Maha Yuga (Chatur Yuga) for human beings.

For Pithrus (Ancestors)

1 day of Pitru = One human month (comprising of two fortnights).

Brighter fortnight (sukla paksha) is day time for Pitrus.

Darker fortnight (Krishna paksha) is night time for Pitrus.

Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu

bhargavasarma

SUPPRESSING TRUE INDIAN HISTORY - Can it keep Harmony ? Does it stop terrorism?

by FRANCOIS GAUTIER

The anniversary of Ayodhya has come and passed. Once more, many of India’s intelligentsia felt that the destruction of the mosque has signalled the end of a certain tolerant India, for which secularism was the unifying factor and has planted a dangerous seed of Hindu “nationalism” in India’s psyche. Yet, one should remember that the Hindu ‘fundamentalists’ did not kill a single soul in Ayodhya, whereas the bombs planted a while later in revenge by Indian Muslims with the help of Pakistan, killed more than 350 innocent human beings. In fact, during its long history, Hinduism has been one of the most peaceful creeds in the world, accepting the reality of different beliefs, never trying to convert -even in a non-violent manner, like the Buddhists did in Asia - and submitting itself rather meekly, except for a Shivaji, a Guru Gobind or a Rani of Jhansi, to numerous invasions. The same thing cannot be said about Islam, whatever N. Ram says in Frontline. Many historians, amongst them Will Durant, Louis Frederick, or Alain Danielou, have remarked that the Muslim invaders were so certain that they were doing their holy duty by razing temples and killing Hindus, that they had recorded down carefully and proudly their deeds in their own archives.

Mahmud of Ghazni, for instance, who patronised art and literature, would recite a verse of the Koran every night after having razed temples and killed his quota of unbelievers. Firuz Shah Tughlak, personally confirms that the destruction of Pagan temples was done out of piety and writes: "on the day of a Hindu festival, I went there myself, ordered the executions of all the leaders and practionners of his abomination; I destroyed their idols temples and built mosques in their places". Aurangzeb did not just build an isolated mosque on a razed temple, as Romila Thapar would like us to believe, he ordered all temples destroyed, among them the Kashi Vishvanath, one of the most sacred places of Hinduism and had mosques built on a number of cleared temples sites. All other Hindu sacred places within his reach equally suffered destruction, with mosques built on them. A few examples: Krishna's birth temple in Mathura, the rebuilt Somnath temple on the coast of Gujurat, the Vishnu temple replaced with the Alamgir mosque now overlooking Benares and the Treta-ka-Thakur temple in Ayodhya. The number of temples destroyed by Aurangzeb is counted in 4, if not 5 figures. This is a small excerpt of his own official court chronicles: "Aurangzeb ordered all provincial governors to destroy all schools and temples of the Pagans and to make a complete end to all pagan teachings and practices". Or:: "Hasan Ali Khan came and said that 172 temples in the area had been destroyed... His majesty went to Chittor and 63 temples were destroyed. Abu Tarab, appointed to destroy the idol-temples of Amber, reported that 66 temples had been razed to the ground".. Aurangzeb did not stop at destroying temples, their users were also wiped-out; even his own brother, Dara Shikoh, was executed for taking an interest in Hindu religion and the Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded because he objected to Aurangzeb's forced conversions. As we can see Romila Thapar and Percival Spear's statement of a benevolent Aurangzeb is a flagrant attempt at negationism (the negation of historical crimes). Even the respectable Encyclopedia Brittannica in its entry on India, does not mention in its chapter on the Sultanate period any persecutions of Hindus by Muslims, except "that Firuz Shah Tughlaq made largely unsuccessful attempts at converting his Hindu subjects and sometime persecuted them".

Indian school books seem to have taken their cue from the Encyclopedia Brittannica , as there is hardly any mention of this dark aspect of India’s past. But why does India negate its history? We know that Nehru and Gandhi wanted to keep Pakistan within India and wished to avoid the splintering away of Muslim groups. But was it a good enough reason to suppress information about Muslim atrocities during ten centuries of bloody invasions and the massive destruction of Hindu temples ? On the contrary this has only created more terrorism. Denying and suppressing the history cannot keep the harmony. In its place, truth and reconciliation are necessary. Hiding the truth denies sympathy to the victim, civilization and culture. A nation unless, it is ready to face its own history - the Good and the Bad, the Courageous and the Cowardly - can never bloom into its full plenitude. Hidden aspects of its own history sooner or later will surface and bring with them the guilt, anger, regret, which are the necessary ingredients to wipe-off that particular black karma. In Germany, for instance, Germans have been reminded again and again about the atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II, and that has brought a sense of guilt, which has acted as a deterrent to future atrocities

The Jews have constantly tried, since the Nazi genocide, to keep alive the remembrance of their six million martyrs. This has got nothing to do with vengeance. Do the Jews of today want to retaliate upon contemporary Germany? No. It is only a matter of making sure that history does not repeat its mistakes, as alas it is doing today in India : witness the persecution of Hindus in Kashmir, whose 250.000 Pandits have fled their 5000 year old homeland, or the oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan. To remember, is to be able to look at today with the wisdom of yesterday. No collective memory should be erased for appeasing a particular community. Hiding the facts and justifying past Muslim crimes has led to terrorism in the Indian sub-continent. Muslims were never held accountable. One of the first steps to curb violence is to make one aware of past mistakes. Guilt in the culprit and forgiveness in the victim can put an end to self-righteousness and the kind of terrorism we see today in Kashmir, in spite of India’s peace overtures.