~ Kali Yuga & Others : 2 ~

Traditional timescale : The traditional timescale of the yugas suggests that the Satya Yuga lasts 1,728,000 years, the Treta Yuga 1,296,000 years, the Dvapara Yuga 864,000 years and the Kali Yuga 432,000 years. As this list indicates, each yuga is progressively shorter. In total, a complete cycle constitutes 4,320,000 years, a period of time which is known as a mahayuga (or "great Yuga"). One thousand mahayugas are said to constitute a day in the life of the creator god Brahma, also known as a kalpa, which is the fundamental cosmic cycle in Hinduism. As per written in the last entry, some points are listed below :

1. Kalyuga started at 3102 BC.

2. Lord Krishna attained mahasamadhi on 20th December, 3102 BC.

3. Mahabharat war had happened in 3139 BC. The Pandavas, after winning the Mahabharat war, ruled Hastinapur for 36 years and 8 months until the beginning of kaliyug in 3102 BC.

4. The stone's chronological age is 1,700,000. Which was used by Lord Rama and his troops some 8000 years ago.

5. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge´s age is also almost equivalent. This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the mysterious legend called Ramayana, which was supposed to have taken place in treta yuga (more than 1,700,000 years ago).

Now the traditional 4,320,000 years cycle is questionable, based on Vedic and Puranic historical records.

Point to note that Matsya (the fish), Kurma (the turtle), Varaha (the boar) and Narasimha (the man-lion), the first four incarnations of Vishnu, appear in this epoch. Treta Yuga saw the incarnation of the first human avatars of Vishnu: Vamana, Parashurama, and Rama, respectively. The Dharma bull stood on three legs during this period. The Dvapara Yuga (द्वापर युग) is described as seeing the first drastic decline in righteousness of humanity. The dharma bull now only stands only on two legs, so the overall moral standard of the people in the Dvapara Yuga drops immensely. In this age, adherence to the Vedas becomes less acute and the Vedas are divided into the four parts that we know today as the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas. More seriously, the Caste system of the varnas is neglected during this time, along with the Yajnas (sacrifices). People living in the Dvapara Yuga were zealous, valiant, courageous and competitive by nature. Further, they were cosmopolitan and pleasure-seeking, and so the divine intellect ceased to exist, and it was therefore seldom that anyone was wholly truthful. Because of this life of deceit, the living standard also decreased in the Dvapara Yuga, with the average life expectancy of humans falling to only 2,000 years. this age played host to the events described in the great Mahabharata epic, including the incarnation of the beloved deity Krishna (Vishnu's eighth avatar in Treta Yuga) and his subsequent participation in the battle between the righteous Pandavas and their corrupt counterparts the Kauravas. Included in this work is the Bhagavadgita, the single most popular set of teachings in Hinduism, wherein Krishna unravels the nature of the universe for the pensive Pandava warrior Arjuna. According to the Puranas this yuga ended at the moment when Krishna died and returned to his eternal abode of Vaikuntha. The Vishnu Purana summarizes the turmoil of the Kali Yuga most succinctly in the following passage:


At that time there will be monarchs reigning over the earth; kings of churlish spirit, violent, and even addicted to falsehood and wickedness (…) Wealth and piety will decrease day by day, until the world will be wholly depraved. Then property alone will confer rank; wealth will be the only source of devotion; Passion will be the sole bond of union between the sexes (…) and women will be objects merely of sensual gratification. (IV: 24).


The Kali Yuga is personified by the demon Kali (not be confused with the Hindu goddess Kali), the source of evil who oversees the final phase of humanity's chaos. At the end of the cycle, the demon Kali, however, will be defeated in a climactic apocalyptic battle by Kalkin, the tenth and final avatar of Vishnu, who will then reestablish the righteous order of dharma, thus beginning a new Satya Yuga.


Two avatars of Klyuga are Gautama Buddha or Paramahansa Shri Ramakrishna & Kalki in Kalyuga.

Some reference : http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Yuga