How Many Yugas Are There in Hindu Mythology?
On September 06, 2024Yugas in Hindu mythology refer to epochs. As per the Hindu scriptures, the universe passes through 4 epochs, with each of them being a full cycle of cosmic creation and destruction. Creation is believed to move in cycles, and each cycle comprises 4 yugas or epochs. The great astronomer Carl Sagan has said that the Hindu religion is the only major faith in the world that revolves around the idea that the universe goes through several deaths and rebirths. He also adds that Hinduism is the sole religion in which “the time scales correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology.”
A Kalpa (eon) comprises a 1000 cycles of 4 yugas. One estimate claims that 4.32 million years make up a single yuga cycle, while a Kalpa consists of 4.32 billion years.
Three of the 4 great yugas of the present universe have come and gone, and we are now supposedly living in the 4th one, or Kali Yuga.
Symbolic Meanings of the Yugas
One interpretation is that the 4 yugas ages represent the 4 phases of involution when human beings slowly lost awareness of their inner self and subtle body.
Hinduism says that human beings have 5 kinds of bodies - Annamayakosa, Pranamayakosa, Manomayakosa, Vignanamayakosa, and Anandamayakosa. They mean “gross body,” “breath body,” “psychic body,” “intelligence body,” and the “bliss body,” respectively.
There is also another theory that says these epochs of time symbolize the degree of loss of Dharma or righteousness in the world. Thus, during Satya Yuga, truth alone prevailed (Satya means ‘truth’). During the Treta Yuga, one-fourth of the truth was lost, and during the Dvapara Yuga, one-half of the truth was lost to the universe. In the current yuga or Kali Yuga, only one-fourth of the truth remains. Hence, truth has given way to evil and lies incrementally during the previous 3 ages.
Vedic time is cyclical in nature, unlike Western notions of time. Like the four seasons of the year, the 4 ages of a yuga cycle rotate endlessly.
The Four Yugas
The four great yugas or epochs in Hinduism are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Satya Yuga (Age of Truth) lasts for 4,000 years, Treta Yuga for 3,000, Dwapara Yuga for 2,000, and Kali Yuga for 1,000 years. The years are divine years, and a divine year equals 432,000 earthly years.
Satya Yuga
During Satya Yuga, people used to meditate regularly and possessed immense strength and longevity. According to Vedic texts, this was the Golden Age, and humans had a life span of around 1,00,000 years. No disparity existed among different cultures, and all enjoyed material comforts and lived in harmony with nature. Things like wars, famines, and conflicts were non-existent, and peace reigned on Earth.
However, with the passage of time, people lost interest in spiritual practices and began to accumulate material comforts. A spirit of competition emerged, giving rise to the system of Varnashrama (class-based society). This led to the Treta Yuga or Silver Age.
Treta Yuga
During Treta Yuga, people performed nonviolent sacrifices to please the gods. Treta Yuga means ‘3 collections’. It lasted for 1,296,000 years and witnessed major events, like the beginning of agriculture and mining. Three avatars of Vishnu appeared during Treta Yuga. They were Vamana, Parashurama and Rama (5th, 6th, and 7th incarnations, respectively).
Men lost their power as people became less spiritual and more intent on acquiring material possessions. There were frequent wars and climate changes occurred often, creating deserts and oceans.
Despite all this, Treta Yuga also bestowed knowledge of universal magnetism, which helped humans to understand natural forces and the universe’s true nature.
Each of the Yugas is connected to one of the 4 universal powers of Maya and offers humans the opportunity to comprehend this power and control it.
To make collective sacrifice possible, society was arranged under 4 classes: Brahmanas (intellectuals), Kshatriyas (administrators), Vaishyas (merchants), and Sudras (workers).
The role of Brahmanas was to study the Vedas and use their spiritual knowledge to guide society. The Kshatriyas were kings, politicians, and army generals, while the Vaishyas were engaged in commerce and industry, and the Sudras served all the other classes. However, there was no envy or condescension among these classes. Instead, all worked for the good of the whole and to satisfy Vishnu. People were dutiful, moral, and compassionate. They had life spans of around 10,000 years. Despite some divisions in society, there was peace and prosperity overall.
Dwapara Yuga
Even before Treta Yuga ended, human beings had begun to wander away from the path of Dharma, or righteousness. Some began to prosper at the expense of others.
This took place at all levels of society. Wars became commonplace as kings jostled for power, riches, and influence. Unable to perform collective sacrifice, people began to worship Vishnu in His deity form. People built many temples for his worship and for the worship of Indra, Agni, Shiva, etc.
During Dwapara Yuga or the Bronze Age, people became selfish. Disdain toward religion became common, casting a shadow over man’s natural godly nature. Godlessness prevailed, and people began to fear and doubt their leaders as well as fellow beings. However, many noble kings still lived on Earth, and they continued to uphold justice and virtue. In this yuga, the life span was up to 1,000 years.
As the most recent Dwapara Yuga came to a close, corrupt leaders who were irreligious and indulged in selfishness and violence became a burden on Earth. Mother Earth, in the form of a helpless cow, went to Brahma, the Creator, and begged him to intervene for her sake and for the well-being of the human race. Brahma appealed to Vishnu, who assured him that Krishna would take birth on Earth to slay the evil kings and restore order and virtue to the world. Thus, Krishna was born as the 8th avatar of Vishnu.
Kali Yuga
As long as Krishna lived on Earth, Kali Yuga could not commence. His presence itself could ward off ignorance and irreligiosity.
However, after Krishna returned to Heaven, Kali Yuga, or the Iron Age, took over completely. The social order went for a toss. Religious and political leaders, instead of enlightening and protecting humanity, gave up virtue and became the main criminals and villains in society.
In Kali Yuga, spirituality and morality are on the backfoot. There is widespread deception and hypocrisy, all in the name of god and religion. Kali Yuga is the opposite of Satya Yuga. Truth and peace are non-existent. All creatures suffer many hardships. Even to survive is a struggle. Fear is the overriding emotion, as injustice, crime, and violence spread everywhere.
In Kali Yuga, the life span of human beings is only 100 years. The Bhagavata Purana has a description of human beings in Kali Yuga:
“In this iron Age of Kali, men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.” (Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.10)
We are now living in the Kali Yuga, and the world is full of vices and impurities. People who have noble virtues are becoming harder to find. Natural disasters like floods, famines, etc., wars and crimes, deceit and duplicity typify this age. But, according to the scriptures, only in this age of severe troubles can final emancipation take place.
Kali Yuga has 2 phases. In the 1st phase, human beings have lost the knowledge of the two higher selves and possess knowledge of the “breath body” and the physical self. During the 2nd phase, they lack even this knowledge. Only the awareness of the gross physical body remains, which explains why people are more preoccupied with the physical self than all other aspects of existence now.
Due to this focus on the physical body and the lower self, as well as the obsessive pursuit of materialism, this age has been called the Age of Darkness. Its characteristic is profound ignorance as we are no longer in touch with our inner selves.
Both the Ramayana and Mahabharata speak about the Kali Yuga. In the Tulasi Ramayana, Sage Kakbhushundi predicts that it will be a hotbed of sin, with both men and women doing Adharma and things contrary to the Vedas. He adds that the sins of Kali Yuga would swallow every virtue.
In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira says that the ordinances of the Vedas vanish slowly in every successive age, and the duties in the Kali Yuga are of another kind. Vyasa later elucidates that during Kali Yuga, the duties of the respective order will vanish, and people will experience inequity.
Another prediction is that Kali Yuga will end with Shiva destroying the universe and the physical body undergoing a huge transformation. After the dissolution of the universe, Brahma will recreate it anew, and another Satyuga will begin.
Symbolic Meanings of the Yugas
One interpretation is that the 4 yugas ages represent the 4 phases of involution when human beings slowly lost awareness of their inner self and subtle body.
Hinduism says that human beings have 5 kinds of bodies - Annamayakosa, Pranamayakosa, Manomayakosa, Vignanamayakosa, and Anandamayakosa. They mean “gross body,” “breath body,” “psychic body,” “intelligence body,” and the “bliss body,” respectively.
There is also another theory that says these epochs of time symbolize the degree of loss of Dharma or righteousness in the world. Thus, during Satya Yuga, truth alone prevailed (Satya means ‘truth’). During the Treta Yuga, one-fourth of the truth was lost, and during the Dvapara Yuga, one-half of the truth was lost to the universe. In the current yuga or Kali Yuga, only one-fourth of the truth remains. Hence, truth has given way to evil and lies incrementally during the previous 3 ages.
Vedic time is cyclical in nature, unlike Western notions of time. Like the four seasons of the year, the 4 ages of a yuga cycle rotate endlessly.
The Four Yugas
The four great yugas or epochs in Hinduism are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Satya Yuga (Age of Truth) lasts for 4,000 years, Treta Yuga for 3,000, Dwapara Yuga for 2,000, and Kali Yuga for 1,000 years. The years are divine years, and a divine year equals 432,000 earthly years.
Satya Yuga
During Satya Yuga, people used to meditate regularly and possessed immense strength and longevity. According to Vedic texts, this was the Golden Age, and humans had a life span of around 1,00,000 years. No disparity existed among different cultures, and all enjoyed material comforts and lived in harmony with nature. Things like wars, famines, and conflicts were non-existent, and peace reigned on Earth.
However, with the passage of time, people lost interest in spiritual practices and began to accumulate material comforts. A spirit of competition emerged, giving rise to the system of Varnashrama (class-based society). This led to the Treta Yuga or Silver Age.
Treta Yuga
During Treta Yuga, people performed nonviolent sacrifices to please the gods. Treta Yuga means ‘3 collections’. It lasted for 1,296,000 years and witnessed major events, like the beginning of agriculture and mining. Three avatars of Vishnu appeared during Treta Yuga. They were Vamana, Parashurama and Rama (5th, 6th, and 7th incarnations, respectively).
Men lost their power as people became less spiritual and more intent on acquiring material possessions. There were frequent wars and climate changes occurred often, creating deserts and oceans.
Despite all this, Treta Yuga also bestowed knowledge of universal magnetism, which helped humans to understand natural forces and the universe’s true nature.
Each of the Yugas is connected to one of the 4 universal powers of Maya and offers humans the opportunity to comprehend this power and control it.
To make collective sacrifice possible, society was arranged under 4 classes: Brahmanas (intellectuals), Kshatriyas (administrators), Vaishyas (merchants), and Sudras (workers).
The role of Brahmanas was to study the Vedas and use their spiritual knowledge to guide society. The Kshatriyas were kings, politicians, and army generals, while the Vaishyas were engaged in commerce and industry, and the Sudras served all the other classes. However, there was no envy or condescension among these classes. Instead, all worked for the good of the whole and to satisfy Vishnu. People were dutiful, moral, and compassionate. They had life spans of around 10,000 years. Despite some divisions in society, there was peace and prosperity overall.
Dwapara Yuga
Even before Treta Yuga ended, human beings had begun to wander away from the path of Dharma, or righteousness. Some began to prosper at the expense of others.
This took place at all levels of society. Wars became commonplace as kings jostled for power, riches, and influence. Unable to perform collective sacrifice, people began to worship Vishnu in His deity form. People built many temples for his worship and for the worship of Indra, Agni, Shiva, etc.
During Dwapara Yuga or the Bronze Age, people became selfish. Disdain toward religion became common, casting a shadow over man’s natural godly nature. Godlessness prevailed, and people began to fear and doubt their leaders as well as fellow beings. However, many noble kings still lived on Earth, and they continued to uphold justice and virtue. In this yuga, the life span was up to 1,000 years.
As the most recent Dwapara Yuga came to a close, corrupt leaders who were irreligious and indulged in selfishness and violence became a burden on Earth. Mother Earth, in the form of a helpless cow, went to Brahma, the Creator, and begged him to intervene for her sake and for the well-being of the human race. Brahma appealed to Vishnu, who assured him that Krishna would take birth on Earth to slay the evil kings and restore order and virtue to the world. Thus, Krishna was born as the 8th avatar of Vishnu.
Kali Yuga
As long as Krishna lived on Earth, Kali Yuga could not commence. His presence itself could ward off ignorance and irreligiosity.
However, after Krishna returned to Heaven, Kali Yuga, or the Iron Age, took over completely. The social order went for a toss. Religious and political leaders, instead of enlightening and protecting humanity, gave up virtue and became the main criminals and villains in society.
In Kali Yuga, spirituality and morality are on the backfoot. There is widespread deception and hypocrisy, all in the name of god and religion. Kali Yuga is the opposite of Satya Yuga. Truth and peace are non-existent. All creatures suffer many hardships. Even to survive is a struggle. Fear is the overriding emotion, as injustice, crime, and violence spread everywhere.
In Kali Yuga, the life span of human beings is only 100 years. The Bhagavata Purana has a description of human beings in Kali Yuga:
“In this iron Age of Kali, men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.” (Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.10)
We are now living in the Kali Yuga, and the world is full of vices and impurities. People who have noble virtues are becoming harder to find. Natural disasters like floods, famines, etc., wars and crimes, deceit and duplicity typify this age. But, according to the scriptures, only in this age of severe troubles can final emancipation take place.
Kali Yuga has 2 phases. In the 1st phase, human beings have lost the knowledge of the two higher selves and possess knowledge of the “breath body” and the physical self. During the 2nd phase, they lack even this knowledge. Only the awareness of the gross physical body remains, which explains why people are more preoccupied with the physical self than all other aspects of existence now.
Due to this focus on the physical body and the lower self, as well as the obsessive pursuit of materialism, this age has been called the Age of Darkness. Its characteristic is profound ignorance as we are no longer in touch with our inner selves.
Both the Ramayana and Mahabharata speak about the Kali Yuga. In the Tulasi Ramayana, Sage Kakbhushundi predicts that it will be a hotbed of sin, with both men and women doing Adharma and things contrary to the Vedas. He adds that the sins of Kali Yuga would swallow every virtue.
In the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira says that the ordinances of the Vedas vanish slowly in every successive age, and the duties in the Kali Yuga are of another kind. Vyasa later elucidates that during Kali Yuga, the duties of the respective order will vanish, and people will experience inequity.
Another prediction is that Kali Yuga will end with Shiva destroying the universe and the physical body undergoing a huge transformation. After the dissolution of the universe, Brahma will recreate it anew, and another Satyuga will begin.
