An era in Hindu mythology is referred to as a Yuga, these yugas repeat themselves in eternal cycles of Chaturyuga or Mahayuga. Each Chaturyuga in turn is made up of four yugas namely
Enlightenment, Wisdom, Dharma parayanatvam ( Following once righteous duties as prescribed by Veda) , Life span, Emotional & Physical strength in mankind is said to gradually deteriorate from highest in Satya Yuga to lowest in Kali Yuga leading into dark age.
Initially in Satya yuga dharmam remains on four legs and hence this yuga spans across 4*1200*360 years = 1,728,000 human years \ 4800 Deva vatsara (God year)
Subsequently in Treta yuga dharmam remains on three legs and hence this yuga spans across 3*1200*360 years = 1,296,000 human years \ 3600 Deva vatsara (God year)
Subsequently in Dwapara yuga dharmam remains on two legs and hence this yuga spans across 2*1200*360 years = 864,000 human years \ 2400 Deva vatsara (God year)
Finally in Kali yuga dharmam remains only on one leg and hence this yuga spans across 1*1200*360 years = 432,000 human years \ 1400 Deva vatsara (God year)
At the end of 100 Rudra vatsara, rudra unifies with Pancha Mukha Siva, there by ending one cosmic cycle.
The next cosmic cycle is said to start through Pancha Mukha Siva’s respiration i.e Maha Shakthi is born during Inhale and Sri Maha Vishnu, Bramha, Maheswara, Rudra are born during Exhale.
Expansion of this universe beyond leaps and bounds and creation of innumerous forms of life and living creatures (Agni, Vayu, Aksha, Prithvi, Jala i.e Fire, Air, Sky, Earth, Water and Plants, Animals, Human,…)is referred to as Shirshti
Orchestrating such an enormous universe and ensuring the order of life by establishing the divine law and ensuring that the creatures in universe are punished for their wrong doing as needed and appropriate is referred to as Stithi
At the end of each cosmic cycle this gigantic form of universe is transformed into a miniature form, this is referred to as Samharam
Preserving and safeguarding this miniature form of universe till the start of the next cosmic cycle is referred to as TiroBhavam
Forms of life in the universe that exhibit selfless lifestyle and surrender in entirety to almighty ( Sampoorna Saranagathi) attain Moksha \ Mukthi and are no longer needed to be part of the next cosmic cycle, this is referred to as Anugraham
In order to perform the above mentioned 5 divine phases of cosmic cycle, Lord Siva used to be with Five Faces ( Pancha Mukha Siva). At one point in time, Sri Maha Vishnu & Bramha perform an extraordinary meditation ( tapasya) for lord Siva subsequently with his blessings
- Krita Yuga \ Satya Yuga
- Treta Yuga
- Dwapara Yuga
- Kali Yuga
Enlightenment, Wisdom, Dharma parayanatvam ( Following once righteous duties as prescribed by Veda) , Life span, Emotional & Physical strength in mankind is said to gradually deteriorate from highest in Satya Yuga to lowest in Kali Yuga leading into dark age.
Initially in Satya yuga dharmam remains on four legs and hence this yuga spans across 4*1200*360 years = 1,728,000 human years \ 4800 Deva vatsara (God year)
Subsequently in Treta yuga dharmam remains on three legs and hence this yuga spans across 3*1200*360 years = 1,296,000 human years \ 3600 Deva vatsara (God year)
Subsequently in Dwapara yuga dharmam remains on two legs and hence this yuga spans across 2*1200*360 years = 864,000 human years \ 2400 Deva vatsara (God year)
Finally in Kali yuga dharmam remains only on one leg and hence this yuga spans across 1*1200*360 years = 432,000 human years \ 1400 Deva vatsara (God year)
- Each Chaturyuga \ Mahayuga is constituted by 12,000 (4800 + 3600 + 2400 + 1200) deva vatsaras = 4,320,000 human years
- 71 such chaturyugas define a Manvantara (Manu + Antara meaning the difference between Manu) is the age of Manu
- 14 such manvantaras define a Kalpa \ Kalpam ( 1 Kalpam is equivalent to a Day \ Night of Bramha)
- 360 days of Bramha is equal to one Bramha vatsara = 8,588,160,000 (360*2*14*71*12000) deva vatsaras
- 100 Bramha vatsaras = 858,816,000,000 (100*360*2*14*71*12000) deva vatsaras, is the age of Bramha
- 1 Bramha vatsara = 1 day of Sri Maha Vishnu
- 100 Vishnu vatsara = 25,920,000 (100*360*360*2) Kalpas / 362,880,000 Manvantaras / 25,764,480,000 chaturyugas / 103,057,920,000 yugas, is the age of Sri Maha Vishnu
- 1 vishnu vatsara = 1 day of Rudra
- 100 Rudra vatsara = 9,331,200,000(100*360*259200) Kalpas, is the age of Rudra
At the end of 100 Rudra vatsara, rudra unifies with Pancha Mukha Siva, there by ending one cosmic cycle.
The next cosmic cycle is said to start through Pancha Mukha Siva’s respiration i.e Maha Shakthi is born during Inhale and Sri Maha Vishnu, Bramha, Maheswara, Rudra are born during Exhale.
Expansion of this universe beyond leaps and bounds and creation of innumerous forms of life and living creatures (Agni, Vayu, Aksha, Prithvi, Jala i.e Fire, Air, Sky, Earth, Water and Plants, Animals, Human,…)is referred to as Shirshti
Orchestrating such an enormous universe and ensuring the order of life by establishing the divine law and ensuring that the creatures in universe are punished for their wrong doing as needed and appropriate is referred to as Stithi
At the end of each cosmic cycle this gigantic form of universe is transformed into a miniature form, this is referred to as Samharam
Preserving and safeguarding this miniature form of universe till the start of the next cosmic cycle is referred to as TiroBhavam
Forms of life in the universe that exhibit selfless lifestyle and surrender in entirety to almighty ( Sampoorna Saranagathi) attain Moksha \ Mukthi and are no longer needed to be part of the next cosmic cycle, this is referred to as Anugraham
In order to perform the above mentioned 5 divine phases of cosmic cycle, Lord Siva used to be with Five Faces ( Pancha Mukha Siva). At one point in time, Sri Maha Vishnu & Bramha perform an extraordinary meditation ( tapasya) for lord Siva subsequently with his blessings
- Bramha is being granted a boon to manage Shirshti and thus being referred to as Shirshti Kartha
- Sri Maha Vishnu is being granted a boon to manage Stithi and thus being referred to as Stithi Kartha
- Rudra is being granted a boon to manage Samharam and thus being referred to as Samhara Kartha
- Maheswara is being granted a boon to manage TiroBhavam
- However, the last phase of Anugraham remains with the eternal lord Siva
