Kali Yuga Explained

Kali Yuga, in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest and worst of the four yugas (world ages) in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Dvapara Yuga and followed by the next cycle's Krita (Satya) Yuga. It is believed to be the present age, which is full of conflict and sin.[1]

According to Puranic sources, Krishna's death marked the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE. Lasting for 432,000 years (1,200 divine years), Kali Yuga began years ago and has years left as of  CE. Kali Yuga will end in the year 428,899 CE.

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 Krita (Satya) Yuga, prophesied to occur by Kalki.

Etymology

Yuga (Sanskrit: युग), in this context, means "an age of the world", where its archaic spelling is yug, with other forms of yugam,, and yuge, derived from yuj (Sanskrit: युज्||to join or yoke), believed derived from (Proto-Indo-European: 'to join or unite').[2]

Kali Yuga (Sanskrit: कलियुग|kaliyuga or kali-yuga) means "the age of Kali", "the age of darkness", "the age of vice and misery", or "the age of quarrel and hypocrisy".[3]

A complete description of Kali Yuga is found in the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Vishnu Smriti, and various Puranas.[4]

Epigraphy

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 centuryCE):[5]

Other epigraphs exist with named yugas in the Old Mysore region of India, published in Epigraphia Carnatica.[6]

Start date

The start date and time of Kali Yuga was at midnight (00:00) on 17/18 February 3102 BCE.[7] [8]

Astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata, who was born in 476 CE, finished his book Aryabhatiya in 499 CE, in which he wrote "When the three yugas (satyug, tretayug and dwaparyug) have elapsed and 60 x 60 (3,600) years of kaliyug have already passed, I am now 23 years old." Based on this information, Kali Yuga began in 3102 BCE, which is calculated from 3600 - (476 + 23) + 1 (no year zero from 1 BCE to 1 CE).[9]

According to K. D. Abhyankar, the starting point of Kali Yuga is an extremely rare planetary alignment, which is depicted in the Mohenjo-daro seals.[10]

Duration and structure

See also: Yuga Cycle, Hindu units of time and List of numbers in Hindu scriptures.

Hindu texts describe four yugas (world ages)⁠ in a Yuga Cycle, where, starting in order from the first age of Krita (Satya) Yuga, each yuga's length decreases by one-fourth (25%), giving proportions of 4:3:2:1. Each yuga is described as having a main period (yuga proper) preceded by its (dawn) and followed by its (dusk)⁠, where each twilight (dawn/dusk) lasts for one-tenth (10%) of its main period. Lengths are given in divine years (years of the gods), each lasting for 360 solar (human) years.[11] [12] [13]

Kali Yuga, the fourth age in a cycle, lasts for 432,000 years (1,200 divine years), where its main period lasts for 360,000 years (1,000 divine years) and its two twilights each last for 36,000 years (100 divine years). The current cycle's Kali Yuga, the present age, has the following dates based on it starting in 3102BCE:[11] [12] [13]

Kali yuga
PartStart (– End)Length
Kali-yuga-sandhya (dawn)*3102BCE36,000 (100)
Kali-yuga (proper)32,899CE360,000 (1,000)
Kali-yuga-sandhyamsa (dusk)392,899–428,899CE36,000 (100)
Years: 432,000 solar (1,200 divine)

Mahabharata, Book 12 (Shanti Parva), Ch. 231:[14]

Manusmriti, Ch. 1:[15]

Surya Siddhanta, Ch. 1:[16]

10,000-year sub-period

A dialogue between Krishna and Ganga (goddess) found in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana describes that for the first 10,000 years of Kali Yuga, the ill effects of Kali Yuga will be reduced due to the presence of bhakti yogis and the ability to nullify sinful reactions, after which Earth will be devoid of devout religious people and be shackled by Kali Yuga.[17] Gaudiya Vaishnavism believes this sub-period started later in Kali Yuga with the birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486 CE).[18]

Characteristics

Hinduism often symbolically represents morality (dharma) as an Indian bull. In the Satya Yuga, the first stage of development, the bull has four legs, which is reduced by one in each age that follows. The four legs of Dharma are , , and .[19] By the age of Kali, morality is reduced to only a quarter of that of the golden age, so that the bull of Dharma has only one leg, the one representing .[20] [21]

References in the Mahabharata

The Kurukshetra War and the decimation of Kauravas thus happened at the Yuga-Sandhi, the point of transition from one yuga to another.[22]

Prophesied events

A discourse by Markandeya in the Mahabharata identifies some of the attributes of people, animals, nature, and weather during the Kali Yuga.[23] [24]

Other usage

The Kali Yuga is an important concept in both Theosophy and Anthroposophy,[25] [26] and in the writings of Helena Blavatsky, W.Q. Judge, Rudolf Steiner, Savitri Devi, and Traditionalist philosophers such as René Guénon and Julius Evola, among others. Rudolf Steiner believed that the Kali Yuga ended in 1900.[25]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Smith, John D. . John D. Smith . 2009 . The Mahābhārata: an abridged translation . . 978-0-670-08415-9 . 200.
  2. Web site: युग (yuga) . . 2021-02-27.
    Web site: yuga . . 2021-02-27.
    Web site: Yuga . Wisdom Library . 29 June 2012 . 2021-02-27.
    Web site: युज् (yuj) . . 2021-02-27.
    Web site: *yeug- . . 2021-02-27.
    Web site: yug . . 6 June 2022 . 2023-09-01.
  3. Web site: कलि (kali) . . 2021-02-27.
    Web site: Kali Yuga . . 25 November 2020 . 2021-02-27.
    Web site: Kaliyuga, Kali-yuga . Wisdom Library . 11 April 2009 . 2021-02-27.
  4. Kane . P. V. . Pandurang Vaman Kane . September 1936 . Sukthankar . Dr. V. S. . Vishnu Sitaram Sukthankar . Fyzee . A. A. A. . Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee . Bhagwat . N. K. . Kalivarjya (actions forbidden in the Kali Age) . Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society . 12 . 1–2 . . 4.
  5. The Pikira grant inscription has the word "kaliyuga" on line 10 located on 3rd plate, first side.
    ⁠— Book: Hultzsch . E. . E. Hultzsch . 1981 . VIII — 1905–06 . Epigraphia Indica and Records of the Archaeological Survey of India . Bombay . Education Society's Press . 162.
  6. 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.
    — Book: Krishna . Dr. M. H. . M. H. Krishna . 1934 . Mysore Archeological Survey: Epigraphia Carnatica . XIII (Part I): General Index . Government Press . Bangalore . 177, 301, 364.
  7. Book: Matchett . Freda . Yano . Michio . 2003 . Part II, Ch. 6: The Puranas / Part III, Ch. 18: Calendar, Astrology, and Astronomy . Flood . Gavin . Gavin Flood . The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism . https://books.google.com/books?id=SKBxa-MNqA8C&pg=PA390 . . 390 . 0631215352 . The [Kali yuga] epoch arrived at ... was midnight of February 17/18 in 3102 BC according to the midnight (ardharatika) school, and the sunrise of February 18 (Friday) of the same year according to the sunrise (audayika) school..
  8. The Induand the Rg-Veda, Page 16, By Egbert Richter-Ushanas,
  9. H.D. Dharm Chakravarty Swami Prakashanand Saraswati. Encyclopedia Of Authentic Hinduism The True History and the Religion of India, Hardbound, 2nd Edition, 2003, Retrieved 2015-01-21
  10. Astronomical significance to two Mohenjodaro seals . 1993BASI...21..475A . 477 . Abhyankar . K. D. . Astronomical Society of India, Bulletin . 21 . 3–4 . 1993.
  11. Book: Godwin . Joscelyn . Joscelyn Godwin . 2011 . Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: Prophecies, Traditions, and Occult Revelations . . 9781594778575 . 300–301.
  12. Encyclopedia: Merriam-Webster . 1999 . Doniger . Wendy . Wendy Doniger . Hawley . John Stratton . Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions . registration . . . 445 (Hinduism), 1159 (Yuga) . 0877790442.
  13. Book: Gupta . S. V. . 2010 . Ch. 1.2.4 Time Measurements . Hull . Robert . Osgood . Richard M. Jr. . Richard M. Osgood Jr. . Parisi . Jurgen . Warlimont . Hans . Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units . https://books.google.com/books?id=pHiKycrLmEQC&pg=PA7 . Springer Series in Materials Science: 122 . . 6–8 . 9783642007378.
  14. Book: Dutt . Manmatha Nath . 1903 . Ch. 231 (CCXXXI) . A Prose English Translation of The Mahabharata (Translated Literally from the Original Sanskrit text) . https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.142208/page/n272/mode/1up . Book 12 (Shanti Parva) . Calcutta . Elysium Press . 351 (12.231.17, 19–21). .
  15. Book: Bühler . G. . Georg Bühler . 1886 . Ch. 1, The Creation . Müller . F. Max . Max Müller . The Laws of Manu: translated with extracts from seven commentaries . https://archive.org/details/lawsofman00manu/page/n163/mode/1up . . XXV . . 20 (1.67–70).
  16. Book: Burgess . Rev. Ebenezer . 1935 . 1860 . Ch. 1: Of the Mean Motions of the Planets. . Gangooly . Phanindralal . Translation of the Surya-Siddhanta, A Text-Book of Hindu Astronomy; With notes and an appendix . https://archive.org/details/SuryaSiddhantaTranslation/page/n59/mode/1up . . 7–9 (1.13–17).
  17. Book: Ramesh . Chaturvedi . Shantilal . Nagar . Brahmavaivarta Purana . Parimal Publications . 978-81-7110-170-2 . 2001 . Book 4 . 129. (versus 49–60)
  18. Web site: Kali-yuga and Sakabda . Veda - Vedic Knowledge Online . 2023-05-15.
  19. Book: 1974. Purāṇam. 16. Varanasi. All-India Kasiraja Trust. 69.
  20. Web site: The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva: Section CLXXXIX . Sacred-texts.com . 2013-01-20.
  21. 1.16.20
  22. News: Epic lessons for Kali Yuga: Rereading the 'Mahabharata' in our contemporary moment. The Hindu. 29 June 2019 . Vajpeyi . Ananya .
  23. http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03189.htm Mahabharata SECTION CLXXXIX
  24. Web site: www.wisdomlib.org . 2019-01-28 . Story of Kali . 2022-08-18 . www.wisdomlib.org . en.
  25. Book: Spiritualism, Madame Blavatsky & Theosophy: An Eyewitness View of Occult History : Lectures by Rudolf Steiner . Christopher . Bamford.
  26. Book: Dann, Kevin T. . Across the Great Border Fault: The Naturalist Myth in America . . 2000.