KAALA (TIME)- Manvantara and Yuga

Kaala (Time) is a concept that comes under 'maya'. The term 'Maya' itself is a concept that is under discussion for over 2000 years and there is no definite clue as to what this 'maya' is. However, 'ma' and 'ya', or 'ya'  and 'ma' mean just 'that which comes under measurement'! Thus, when we say my time starts now, that means a measurement of my activity (including my life or breathing) is recorded in secs, minutes, hours, days, years, etc. and my age is said to be this and this. So and so lived for so many years, or such and such activities happened in terms of time. Thus, Time (kala) exists in a relational or event-based one. And, all events and relational existence are unreal. In that sense, even the, so called, 'Time' does not exist since it depends on so many other factors. For instance, Time on earth depends on the planet's movements- rotation and revolution. Time emanates from the Sun's radiation as electromagnetic waves and creates 'Space' along with its movement. There is astronomical time, real time, relative and absolute aspects of Time. Since Time cannot be measured, its accompanying 'Space', too, cannot be measured. Thus there are many versions of Time and Space that are elusive. It is the mind's gimmick that these Time, space and causality and the subsequent objective world are created. But, all these things are meaningless, an illusion, a maya. The concept of 'maya' contains kala (Time) and niyati (Destiny) within its power of creation as prakruti or pradhana.
   Who created Time? Time is God. Time is God's will. Time is lila (elan) of the Lord. Time creates, projects, creates an illusion, imageries of objects, and finally destroys everything. Everything exists in Time and its adjunct 'Space'. Both these Time and  Space exists in the Mind and Mind exists in Consciousness. If Mind disappears Time also disappears! Consciousness is what makes Time, Space, and objects appear and disappear on the Mind-screen.
  It is the ingenuity of human intelligence, the power of the mind that things are created in images and destroyed, and make them appear, as if, real! Time is one such that is divided and sub-divided! So also Space and all that appears on the mind screen are subject to division and sub-divisions like the atoms- electrons, protons, neutrons, bosons and fermions. Human ingenuity knows no bounds. IfTime is an illusion, the Space created by it is also an illusion, and so also, the objects that fill the imaginary space in time! The real world experience too disappears! Everything disappears in deep sleep, unconscious state, and in samadhi yoga. While a yogi visualizes the truth in samadi yoga, it is not the case in unconscious and deep sleep states.
Thus, there are innumerable Calendars, calculations of Time and a few interesting ones are presented below.

 Here is a brief account of calculation of Time (kaala). The smallest unit is the nemisha (Time of an eye wink) and the largest is the Yuga/kalpa. Brahma's One day is the world's existence and one night is its disappearance; whatever appears disappears! But, the question is whether there is anything called 'Brahma', at all?
 Indian Calendars used manvantaras, yugas and other such duration, to date and narrate what and when things happened. The original calendars were of shorter duration and related to people; longer ones related to astronomy came later and Aryabhata is supposed to be our first astronomer followed by Varahamihira, Bhaskara and others.

  The first manu is Vivasvan, the Sun. Time starts from the moment radiation of electromagnetic rays move out of solar disc. The age of Sun is said to be 4.56 billion years (NASA). Earth is born out of the condensation of the solar flares ejected by the rotating solar mass of Hydrogen under fission and fusion creating Helium waves.  Thus, Bhagavad-Gita says, Sri Krishna taught Gitopadesha to Vivasvan the first manu. From manu comes Light, Guna (qualities), Prana (Life-force), Manas (Mind), Space air, fire, water and earth and all living beings-  manu-manus, and manavas. The first manvantara is devoted to formation of the earth. Second to mountains, rivers etc and the third to plants and fish and such other aquatics. The next one to amphibians, reptiles and birds nd then came the quadrupeds, monkeys and man. The present one is the Vaivasvata  Manvantara and the last quarter Kaliyuga. This Kaliyuga also has four quarters and the first one is coming to a close.

The manvantaras were originally as long as the period of a manu’s duration or regime. One Manu Pruthiu is said to have ruled for 10 million years! and shed light wherever he went! Now the reference to the duration for manvantaras are not individuals but astronomical events. Some more details are quoted from texts available (with credits at the end).

The Manus: The lineage of manu is traced to Vishnu Purana where it is stated that the first manu was Dhruva’s grandfather, Uttanapada’s father and the next four were his cousins-Swarochishta, Uthama, Taamasa, Raivatha. The story goes on. Dhruva’s son Sishti, had a son called Ripu and a grandson called Cakshusha. Cakshusha married Pushkarini,  the granddaughter of Varuna. (See : Dvadasha Aditya). Their son was Cakshusha Manu. So Chakusha manu was the great-great-grandson of Dhruva. 

   It is said the Vishnu appeared in several avatara- from Nara Narayana to Prithu. This avatara occured during the Cakshusha Manvantaram. Caksusha Manvantaram ended with the Matysa Avatara when the great pralaya in the form of flood occured, The Lord appeared in the form of a fish to rescue the earth (submerged part) symbolically said to be Lakshmi/Bhu/Shree) and the save the VEda and its adherents. Thus, Matsya (fish) avataras is the first avatara of the Vaivaswata Manvantara.

  The present manvantara is the 7th in the order and another seven are to follow. Hence, we are in the Vaivaswata Manvantara.

   There are Fourteen Manvantaras in a Kalpa. A manu or an Indra lives for 1 manvantara. 1 manvanatara is a 100 years of Indra. This is an astronomical number. But it does not mean that each of the manus were living such long time!  

  The earth is about 1 kalpa old (4.32 or 4.53 billion years old and much time has taken to cool down to accommodate the present life forms.). Age of rocks can be calculate bu Uranium-lead ratio. The oldest rocks in India are about 25o million years and the Himalayas are just a Million years old!

Many Stars are just born and some are very ancient. The first star born did not last even for a second but its light waves are still to reach the Earth!? The Sun is 93 million miles away from the earth and it takes the rays seven days to reach the earth. The earth rotates on its axis at a mean velocity of  1040 Km. per hour at the Equator. It takes 365 days 6 hours to go round the Sun once and comes near in summer, and goes far away in winter during this rotation causing winter and summer, respectively causing changes in duration of days and nights on earth.  …
   The first yugas were just one year old. (But what is One year with reference to the linear velocity of the Earth in relation to the Sun? The earth was nearer to the Sun and its rotation was much faster than now. Mahayugas (Carturyugas) grew in length from the 5 years of the Paitamaha siddhanta to the 4,320,000 years of Aryabhata, as more celestial bodies were taken into consideration, for computing Yuga durations. Since this article refers to astronomy and to the Vishnu Puranam and it requires people to learn a little mathematics, astronomy and samskrutam.

 We see the characters in Mahabharata created by Vyasa or Veda Vyasa, or Krishna Dwaipayana, the son of Parasara and Satyavati, the great grandson of Vasishtha and the father of Suka, All these are mere stories albeit with much secrecy, symbolism, imageries, involved and lot os hoidden meaning (antarartha). The Characters such as Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura and a hundred and one Kourava clan are noteworthy. These characters are traced to Dvapara Yuga preceding the present Kaliyuga, dated back to just 3500 years or so. However, as per Devi Bhagavata, every Dvapara Yuga, had its own Veda Vyasa, (the one who classified the Veda?). These Puranic episodes are not to be taken seriously. For instance, King Dasharatha was worshiping the idol of Rama and gave that name to his son Ramachandra. So who is the real God Rama? Further, Madhvacharya got an idol of Rama from the King of Odisha when his disciple Narahari was taking care of the young prince. This makes us think how history and purana are mixed up.  

 It is also said that the son of Satyavati and Parashara, called Sri Krishna Dvaipayas who classified the One Veda- Ekayana told by Lord Nrayana to Sankarshana, which was lost, again came to be told by Brahma to his first brain-child Atharvana, and that was Atharva Veda. This Atharva Veda was too bulky with almost a lakh verses and was classified into four parts by Veda Vyasa (the 28th Vyasa Deva?); so it may be surmised that in each Yuga there will be a Rama, a Krishna, and a Buddha and Kali?).
 All these require some in-depth study and research in the light of Rk Veda, Brahmasutra, Bhagavad-Gita, where Bhagavan Sri Krishna says, everything is "His own manifest forms" as in Vibhuti Yoga. Which one should we believe? Puranas seem ridiculous sometimes!?

    So, Asvatthama, the son of Drona will be the Veda Vyâsa in one dvapara yuga.

 Twenty-seven Veda Vyâsas had expired and they duly compiled each their own Purâna Samhitas in their own (Second of the Four Quarters) Dvâpara Yugas.

1.    In the first Dvâpara, Brahmâ Himself divided the Vedas;

2.    In the second Dvâpara, the first Prajapati Vyâsa did the same;

3.    So S’akra, (Indra) in the third,

4.    Brihaspati, in the fourth,

5.    Surya in the fifth;

6.    Yama, in the sixth,

7.    Indra, in the seventh,

8.    Vasistha, in the eighth;

9.    Sarasvata Risi in the ninth,

10. Tridhama, in the tenth;

11. Trivrisa, in the eleventh,

12. Bharadvâja, in the twelfth;

13. Antariksa, in the thirteenth;

14. Dharma, in the fourteenth;

15. Evaruni in the fifteenth;

16. Dhananjaya, in the sixteenth;

17. Medhatithi in the seventeenth;

18. Vrati, in the eighteenth;

19. Atri, in the nineteenth;

20. Gautama in the twentieth,

21. Uttama, whose soul was fixed on Hari, in the twenty-first,

22. Vâjasravâ Vena, in the twenty second;

23. His family descendant Soma, In the twenty-third;

24. Trinavindu, in the twenty-fourth;

25. Bhârgava, in the twenty-fifth;

26. Sakti, in the twenty-sixth,

27. Jâtûkarnya in the twenty-seventh

28. and Krisna Dvaipâyana became the twenty-eighth Veda Vyâsa in the Dvâpara Yugas.”

kRSNa dwaipAyana was of the 28th Dwapara Yuga, his grandfather Sakthi was of the 26th Dwapara Yuga, his great grandfather Vasishta was of the 8th Dwapara Yuga. 

·         Krishna Dwaipayana Veda Vyasa is fifth generation from Brahma, but in the 28th Caturyuga.

The statements made in this blog will be further clarified later.

   The concept of Time or calculations of Time from a wink of our eye (nemisha) to a Millenia is not an easy one to be understood easily. We say we are now in Kaliyuga and it lasts for 432000 years; and, further we say that only about 2000 years have lapsed! Today is a date of February 2016 AD. What do we mean? Does our Calendar (Time/ kala or Week and Day/ vaara and  tithi),  starts with death of Jesus whom we do not consider as a Manu. What about the Hijari, and the Shalivahana Shakha Calendars? . What about theSolar, the Lunar, and the Solar-Lunar Calendars that we follow??
Let us go into this in detail later.

(To be contd,)