Kalasamuddesha or reckoning of time

[Venkatraman.Chandrasekaran at NOKIA.COM]

Sri Jaldhar:
  Thanks for posting this. I find a discrepancy though.. 

>12 months of the Devas = 1 year of the Devas (= 360 human years)
>This is the reckoning of time for Brahma.
>12,000 years of the Devas =  1 day of Brahma (432,000,000 human years)
  
  As per above assumptions, 1 day of Brahma should be 4,320,000 human years 
and not 432 million yrs. Not trying to pick... But the subsequent calculations
you have for Brahma's life time etc., will change accordingly, so that we get
a correct perspective.

  Regards,
  chandrasekaran.


-----Original Message-----
From: ext Jaldhar H. Vyas [mailto:jaldhar at BRAINCELLS.COM]
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 9:31 PM
To: ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG
Subject: Kalasamuddesha or reckoning of time


[Was Re: Indra and Vrtra]

On Tue, 29 Oct 2002, Shrinivas Gadkari wrote:

> I hope this thread has not crossed the acceptable limits regarding the
> scope of this list.
>

I don't think so.  Jyotish is a vedanga.

> I have been wanting to understand the yuga durations for quite some time
> however the data available is very confusing.
>

I concur with the warning not to trust random websites.  This subject is
covered in all the Puranas.  Here is the account in Bhagavata Purana 3rd
skandha, chapter 11.

This is the reckoning of time amongst men:

1 paramaNu = 0.000040 seconds
2 paramaNu = 1 aNu (0.000079 seconds)
3 aNu = 1 traseraNu (0.000157 seconds)
3 traseraNu = 1 truTi (0.000471 seconds)
100 truTi = 1 vedha (0.04741 seconds)
3 vedha = 1 lava (0.142 seconds)
3 lava = 1 nimeSha (0.427 seconds)
3 nimeSha = 1 kshaNa (1.28 seconds)
5 kshaNa = 1 kashTA (6.4 seconds)
15 kashTA = 1 laghu (96 seconds)
15 laghu = 1 ghaDi or naDi (24 minutes)
2 ghaDi = 1 muhurta (48 minutes)
7 or 8 ghadis = 1 prahara (168-192 minutes)
8 prahara = 1 divasa (1 day) [1]
1 divasa  = approximately 1 tithi. [2]
15 tithi = 1 paksha (15 days)
2 paksha =  1 masa (1 month) [3]
2 masa = 1 rtu (season)
3 rtus = 1 ayana (half-year) [4]
6 rtu = 1 varsha (1 year) [5]

This is the reckoning of time amonst the pitrs.

1 human masa = 1 day of the pitrs
30 days of the pitrs = 1 month of the pitras (= 2.5 human years)
12 months of the pitrs = 1 year of the pitrs (= 30 human years)
The lifespan of the pitrs is 100 years of the pitrs (= 3000 human years)

This is the reckoning of time amonst the Devas.

1 human year = 1 day of the Devas.
30 days of the Devas = 1 month of the Devas. (= 30 human years)
12 months of the Devas = 1 year of the Devas (= 360 human years)
The lifespan of the Devas is 100 years of the Devas (= 36,000 human years)

This is the reckoning of time for Brahma.

12,000 years of the Devas =  1 day of Brahma (432,000,000 human years)
this day is divided into 1000 parts called charaNas

The charaNas are divided as follows:
4 charaNas = satya yuga (1,728,000 human years) then
3 charaNas = treta yuga (1,296,000 human years)
2 charaNas = dvApara yuga (864,000 human years)
1 charaNa = kali yuga (432,000 human years)
then the cycle repeats itself so altogether there are 100 cycles of yugas
in one day of Brahma

Each day of Brahma is divided into  periods called Manvantaras which are
ruled over by a Manu.

30 days of Brahma = 1 month of Brahma (12,960,000,000 human years)
12 months of Brahma = 1 year of Brahma (155,520,000,000 human years)
25 years of Brahma = 1 kalpa (3,888,000,000,000 human years)
2 kalpas = 1 parardha (7,776,000,000,000 human years) [6]
2 parardhas = 100 years of Brahma
            = the lifespan of Brahma (15,552,000,000,000 human years)

We are currently in the 28th kaliyuga of the first day of the 1st year of
the shvetavaraha kalpa of the second parardha of Brahma in the reign of
the 7th Manu, Manu Vaivasvata as we recite every day in the samkalpa.

Yet even the vastest measure of time is but a moment to Bhagavan.  Yet He
is more subtle than even the most tiny measure of time.

Notes
-----
[1] of the 8 praharas in a day, 4 have seven ghadis and 4 have 8 to make
the required 60.

[2] A divasa is a solar day while a tithi is a lunar day which is slightly
shorter.  So occasionaly a tithi has to be doubled (vrddha) or omitted
(kshaya) to keep in sync.

[3] A paksha represents the waxing or waning phase of the moon.

[4] rtu and  ayana are solar measures, the time for the sun to transit two
signs of the zodiac, and the interval between equinoxes respecitively.

[5] As a lunar year is shorter than a solar year, even with vrddha and
kshaya tithis they go out of sync. So occasionally a "leap" (adhika) masa
has to be added.

[6] The 4 kalpas in the life of Brahma are: BrAhma, padma, ShvetavAraha,
and ? (the Bhagavata doesn't say.)

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/

>From  Thu Oct 31 09:15:00 2002
Message-Id: <THU.31.OCT.2002.091500.0800.>
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 09:15:00 -0800
Reply-To: venky at oreka.com
To: List for advaita vedanta as taught by Shri Shankara
        <ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
From: "Venkatesh ." <venky at OREKA.COM>
Subject: Weekly page from Hindu Dharma: Tarka Treatises

This week's page from Hindu Dharma (see note at bottom) is "Tarka Treatises" from "Nyaya". The original page can be found at http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part13/chap6.htm.

Next week, you will be emailed "Cause of Creation" (from "Nyaya")

Best regards
for kamakoti.org


Venkatesh
(this email is being sent on an automated basis)

Tarka Treatises
from Nyaya, Hindu Dharma

      Gautama Maharsi who composed the Nyaya-sutra is called "Aksapada". He was always so wrapped up in thought that he was often oblivious of the outside world. We call scientists, professors and such people "absent-minded" and retail jokes about them. Gautama too was absent-minded. One day as he was walking along, brooding over some philosophical problem, he fell into a well. Isvara then rescued him and fixed eyes to his feet. Thus, as he walked, he would be guided by the pair of new eyes. That is how he came to be called "Aksapada", one with eyes on his feet. So goes the story.

 Vatsyayana wrote a bhasya for the Nyaya-sutra and Uddyotakara a vartika. Vacaspatimisra, who was a great non-dualist, wrote a gloss called Nyaya-vartika-tatparya-tika. Udayanacarya write a gloss on this gloss: it is known as Tatparya-tika-parisuddhi. He also wrote the Nyaya-kusumanjali. To recall what I said before, he was foremost among responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India. Jayanta wrote a commentary on the Nyaya-sutra called Nyaya-manjari. Annambhatta wrote the Tarka-samgraha and himself wrote a commentary on it called Dipika. Usually students of Nyaya start with the last-mentioned two works.

 It is believed that the Ravana-bhasya, a commentary on Kanadas Vaisesika-sutra, is no longer available. However, a bhasya-like work called Padartha-dharma-samgraha by Prasastapada is still extant. Udayana has commented on it. Recently, Uttamur Sri Viraraghavacariyar wrote a book called Vaisesika-rasayana.

 Vaisesika came to be called "Aulukya-darsana". "Uluka" means an owl-the English word "owl" is from "ulu". What belongs to, or what is concerned with, the owl is "aulukya". Kanada himself was called "Uluka". If Gautama, always lost in thought, fell one day into the well, Kanada was so absorbed in his philosophical investigations by day that he had to go begging for his food at night. He got the nickname of "Uluka" from this fact, that is he was not seen during day time and went about at night. (Bhagavan says in the Gita. that the night of the ignorant man is the day of the wise and enlightened man, jnanin. So all jnanins are owls in this sense).

 Vaisesika is also called "Kanada-sastra" after the name of its founder, Kanada. Not the Tamil "kanada". A scholar has said jocularly that Kanada founded his system after having seen (kandu). Grammar and Vaisesika are believed to be of great help in the study of all subjects. So the saying:

 Kanadam Paniniyam ca sarvasastropakarakam.

 Like grammar (which originated in Nataraja's damaru), Nyaya and Vaisesika are also connected with Siva. In the Vaisesika treatises obeisance is paid to Mahesvara who is regarded as the Paramatman. The Saiva schools hold the view that Isvara is the "nimitta" or cause of the universe.





Note:
Hindu Dharma is a translation of two volumes of the well known Tamil Book "Deivatthin Kural", which, in turn, is a book of 6 volumes that contains talks of His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji of Kanchipuram. The entire book is available online at http://www.kamakoti.org/ .