Treta Yuga Explained
Treta Yuga (IAST: Tretā-yuga), in Hinduism, is the second and second-best of the four yugas (world ages) in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Krita (Satya) Yuga and followed by Dvapara Yuga. Treta Yuga lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years).
Treta means 'a collection of three things' in Sanskrit, and is so called because during the Treta Yuga, there were three Avatars of Vishnu that were seen: the fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations as Vamana, Parashurama and Rama, respectively. The bull of Dharma symbolizes that morality stood on three legs during this period. It had all four legs in the Satya Yuga and two in the succeeding Dvapara Yuga. Currently, in the immoral age of Kali, it stands on one leg.[1]
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]
Treta Yuga (Sanskrit: त्रेतायुग|tretāyuga or tretā-yuga) means "the age of three or triads", where its length is three times that of Kali Yuga. During this period, the Dharma bull, which symbolizes morality, stands on three legs;, and .
Treta Yuga is described in the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Surya Siddhanta, Vishnu Smriti, and various Puranas.[3]
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.[4] [5] [6]
Treta Yuga, the second age in a cycle, lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years), where its main period lasts for 1,080,000 years (3,000 divine years) and its two twilights each lasts for 108,000 years (300 divine years). The current cycle's Treta Yuga has the following dates based on Kali Yuga, the fourth and present age, starting in 3102BCE:[4] [5] [6]
Mahabharata, Book 12 (Shanti Parva), Ch. 231:[7]
Manusmriti, Ch. 1:[8]
Surya Siddhanta, Ch. 1:[9]
Characteristics
Vamana,[10] Parashurama,[11] and Rama[12] are believed to have lived during the Treta Yuga.
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Four Yugas.
- Web site: *yeug- . . 2021-02-27.
- Kane . P. V. . Pandurang Vaman Kane . September 1936 . Sukthankar . 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.
- Book: Godwin . Joscelyn . Joscelyn Godwin . 2011 . Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: Prophecies, Traditions, and Occult Revelations . . 9781594778575 . 300–301.
- Encyclopedia: Merriam-Webster . 1999 . Doniger . Wendy . Wendy Doniger . Hawley . John Stratton . Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions . registration . . . 445 (Hinduism), 1159 (Yuga) . 0877790442 .
- HINDUISM: Myths of time and eternity:... Each yuga is preceded by an intermediate "dawn" and "dusk." The Krita yuga lasts 4,000 god-years, with a dawn and dusk of 400 god-years each, or a total of 4,800 god-years; Treta a total of 3,600 god-years; Dvapara 2,400 god-years; and Kali (the current yuga) 1,200 god-years. A mahayuga thus lasts 12,000 god-years... Since each god-year lasts 360 human years, a mahayuga is 4,320,000 years long in human time. Two thousand mahayugas form one kalpa (eon) [and pralaya], which is itself but one day in the life of Brahma, whose full life lasts 100 years; the present is the midpoint of his life. Each kalpa is followed by an equally long period of abeyance (pralaya), in which the universe is asleep. Seemingly the universe will come to an end at the end of Brahma's life, but Brahmas too are innumerable, and a new universe is reborn with each new Brahma.
* YUGA: Each yuga is progressively shorter than the preceding one, corresponding to a decline in the moral and physical state of humanity. Four such yugas (called... after throws of an Indian game of dice) make up a mahayuga ("great yuga")... The first yuga (Krita) was an age of perfection, lasting 1,728,000 years. The fourth and most degenerate yuga (Kali) began in 3102 BCE and will last 432,000 years. At the close of the Kali yuga, the world will be destroyed by fire and flood, to be re-created as the cycle resumes. In a partially competing vision of time, Vishnu's 10th and final AVATAR, KALKI, is described as bringing the present cosmic cycle to a close by destroying the evil forces that rule the Kali yuga and ushering in an immediate return to the idyllic Krita yuga.
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- 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 . Paraphrased: Deva day equals solar year. Deva lifespan (36,000 solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Mahayuga equals 12,000 Deva (divine) years (4,320,000 solar years), and is divided into 10 charnas consisting of four Yugas: Satya Yuga (4 charnas of 1,728,000 solar years), Treta Yuga (3 charnas of 1,296,000 solar years), Dvapara Yuga (2 charnas of 864,000 solar years), and Kali Yuga (1 charna of 432,000 solar years). Manvantara equals 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 solar years). Kalpa (day of Brahma) equals an Adi Sandhya, 14 Manvantaras, and 14 Sandhya Kalas, where 1st Manvantara preceded by Adi Sandhya and each Manvantara followed by Sandhya Kala, each Sandhya lasting same duration as Satya yuga (1,728,000 solar years), during which the entire earth is submerged in water. Day of Brahma equals 1,000 Mahayugas, the same length for a night of Brahma (Bhagavad-gita 8.17). Brahma lifespan (311.04 trillion solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Parardha is 50 Brahma years and we are in the 2nd half of his life. After 100 years of Brahma, the universe starts with a new Brahma. We are currently in the 28th Kali yuga of the first day of the 51st year of the second Parardha in the reign of the 7th (Vaivasvata) Manu. This is the 51st year of the present Brahma and so about 155 trillion years have elapsed. The current Kali Yuga (Iron Age) began at midnight on 17/18 February 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar..
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- Book: Lochtefeld, Ph.D, James G. . 2001-12-15 . The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 1 . The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc . 175 . 978-0-8239-3179-8.
- Book: Coulter. Charles Russell. Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Turner. Patricia. 2013-07-04. Routledge. 978-1-135-96390-3. en.
- Book: Menon, Ramesh . Ramesh Menon . 2004 . 2008 . The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic . 10–11 . HarperCollins . 978-0-86547-660-8.
