Today, let us explore some interesting details about the massive time calculations of Sanathan dharma. "Manu" the first man and Brahma, the creator are the base for today's discussion. Many of us would have heard the name of Manu and also the law book associated with him called "Manusmriti". Other than that, not much details are known about Manu. One main reason is the complexity of "time calculations" involved in this process. I agree that the time line is massive but it should not restrain us from knowing the details. Hence, in this effort, I am trying my best to make it simple, so that it is easier for us to understand some of the concepts called "Manu", "Manvantara", "Kalpa" and "Age of Brahma".
In Hindu mythology, people often get confused about some events and the persons involved in those events. It is because all the events feature the same people like Indra, Devas, Asuras, Manu, Brahma and the Avatars of Gods. Hence people easily say them as "Mythology" or "Stories of imagination". But before coming to such conclusion, we should understand one basic information. All those events "really happened" but in different time lines and yes, with different people (!!!!!). This article is an attempt to explain that in detail. Plenty of patience and effort is required to understand these concepts, but I encourage all of you to devote some of your valuable time (hence quick view is not given). Knowing this will certainly break the idea that such events are "Mythology". They are, rather "Stupendous History" which we, humans cannot even contemplate. Let us get prepared for a massive time travel.......
Age of Universe and Hindu cosmology :
According to modern science, age of Universe is estimated as 13.82 billion years. That is the time elapsed since big bang. You can get the exact calculation from this wikipedia article....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_universe
And please take a look at the following statements from another wikipedia article......
"The Hindu cosmology and timeline is the closest to modern scientific timelines and even more which might indicate that the
Big Bang is not the beginning of everything but just the start of the present cycle preceded by an infinite number of Universes and to be followed by another infinite number of Universes".
"The Hindu dharma is the only one of the world's greatest faiths dedicated to the idea that the cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only dharma in which the time scales correspond to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to
a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion years long, longer than the age of Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big bang". - Carl Sagan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_cosmology
The above statements reveal the massiveness of our time scale. The time scale which goes even beyond the "Age of Universe" as per modern scientific calculations. Please keep this in mind before we go any further......
Few definitions :
There are certain terms used in Hindu scriptures repeatedly to mention massive units of time and it is important to know them for better clarity. I hope these simple definitions will give a better understanding of such terms....
ChaturYuga :
It is one cycle of 4 yugas (Kritha, tretha, dwapara and kali). A total of 4320000 (4.3 million) human years. For a detailed calculation about each yuga, please refer to my earlier blog post.
Kalpa :
Kalpa means Aeon, which denotes relatively long period of time according to human calculations. 1000 chaturyuga is one kalpa. (1000 * 4320000). In simple terms, it can be said as 4.32 billion years and this is one day of Brahma. An equal amount of time is his night. Hence 4.32 + 4.32 = 8.64 billion years is one full day (day + night) of Brahma. Each kalpa has a different name and our current kalpa is called as "Shvethavaraha kalpa"
Age of Brahma :
Brahma has 100 years of life span. The equivalent human years are calculated as follows :
2 kalpas - 1 day and night for Brahma = 8.64 billion years
1 month of Brahma = 259.2 billion years
1 year of brahma = 3.1104 trillion years
100 years of Brahma =
311.04 trillion years.
50 year time period of Brahma is called parardha. This is why in "Sankalpa Mantra" we use the term "dvitheeya parardhe" which means in the second half of Brahma's life. It is amazing to see the deep meanings which are always hidden in many rituals. Hence, our current Brahma is in his middle age now. The most astonishing fact is that, when his full life span of 100 years is over, new Brahma will take over and this cycle will go on and on. Can we even imagine that with our tiny human brain????
And don't forget that, according to modern calculations, Age of Universe itself is estimated only as 13.8 billion years. But according to the calculations in our scriptures, the life span of one Brahma is itself 311.04 trillion years and this is an ongoing cycle......
Manvantara :
It is Manu Antara, which means the life span of Manu. We have 14 Manus to rule over in one day of Brahma (kalpa) and this is classified as 14 manvantaras. Life span of one Manu is roughly 71 chaturyugas. It is considered that no life exists during the night of Brahma and hence Manvantara refers to day time of Brahma only. Hence, 504000 Manus manifest in one full life of Brahma. Each Manu has a different name. The total number of Manus in one full life span of Brahma is calculated as follows :
One day of Brahma (kalpa) = 14 Manus
One month of Brahma = (14*30) = 420 Manus
One year of Brahma = (420*12) = 5040 Manus
100 years of Brahma = (5040*100) = 504000 Manus
We are in the 28th chaturyuga of the seventh Manvantara now and the name of our current Manu is "Vaivasvatha"
Every name is actually a Position :
This is an important concept to be understood. Whenever we refer Indra, any Deva, Manu or even Brahma, we should clearly understand that they are only the name of positions (பதவி) they hold. They are just the titles.This is where we all get confused and hence believe every event told in Hindu scriptures are mythology. The scriptures only mention the name of their positions for all events. For instance, Brahma is responsible for creation and hence creation stories always highlight Brahma. But which Brahma? He too, has specified life span and as such after him, another Brahma will obviously come. Similarly, whenever the scriptures say Indra, it is not the same Indra. They actually refer to different Indras in different time periods. A simple example can clarify this. When we say President or Prime minister, we actually refer to the person who is holding that position but generally denote only by the words President and Prime minister. Please take a look at the 14 Manus for this current "Shvethavaraha kalpa" which is just one day of Brahma. (Source - Wikipedia)
As seen above, these 14 Manus are only for one day of Brahma. Since Our Brahma is now 51 years old, the total number of Manus actually passed in the previous years were 252000 (14*30*12*50). All these Manus are different people but denoted by the same title in all Vedic Puranic stories. Same applies to Indra and other Devas too. I hope this will change your perception regarding the scriptural stories here after.
Manu - The First Man :
Manu is considered to be the first man according to Sanathan Dharma. With the help of above calculations, we are now clear that Manu is only a position and 14 different people come to this position in one kalpa (day of Brahma) in an interval of 71 chaturyugas respectively. 71 chaturyuga means 4320000*71 = 306,720,000 human years. What a massive time line? But since Manu is only a position, even the above time line is small compared to that of the life span of all 14 manus' put together. We can say, that in one kalpa (day) of Brahma, we have 14 First Men. In other words 14 minor pralayas are there in one day of Brahma and one Major pralaya which takes place at the end of his day where entire Earth is destroyed. Click the below link to see "End of the world, Dooms day calculations".
After each minor pralaya, a new Manu comes to repopulate the world.
For a detailed description of each Manu, please refer this link.
Timeline of some important Scriptural stories :
Varaha Avatar :
This current kalpa is called "Shvethavaraha kalpa". As the name reveals, Varaha avatar is the starting point of this kalpa in the period of the First Manu - Svayambhuva. Please remember our current Manu is Vaivasvatha and Svayambhuva Manu lived 6 Manvantaras before, which means :
Timeline of one Manu (Manvantara) = 4320000*71 = 306720000
Timeline for six Manvantaras = 306720000 * 6 = 1840320000 (1.8 billion years)
Hence the story of Hiranyaksha hiding the Earth in Ocean and Varaha avatar restoring it back happened 1.8 billion years ago. For a detailed analysis of this story and the Ocean associated with it, please go to the following link....
Dhruva - The Pole Star :
Uttanapada is the son of the First Manu, Svayambhuva. His son was Dhruva. He got the boon from Lord Maha Vishnu and became "Dhruva Nakshathra". This is one story in our scriptures and this also happened in
"Svayambhuva Manu" period which is 1.8 billion years ago. To know the story in detail, please click the link below :
http://kids.baps.org/storytime/dhruv.htm
As per modern science, the Northern Pole Star, Polaris is what we call as "Dhruva Nakshathra".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_star#In_world_cultures
Understanding the cycle of time :
The time line of Sanathan dharma is not only massive but also cyclical. The Yugas, Manvantaras, Time of Brahma all are repetitive and so are the incidents. For a simple example, let us take the two great epics Ramayana and Mahabaratha which happened in Tretha yuga and Dwapara yuga respectively and analyse with this time cycle concept....
In one chathur yuga (4 yugas put together) - 1 Ramayana and 1 Mahabaratha
In one Manvanthara (71 chathuryugas) - 71 Ramayanas and 71 Mahabarathas
In one Kalpa (1000 chathuryugas) - 1000 Ramayanas and 1000 Mahabarathas
We are still arguing and trying to estimate the time line of one Ramayana and Mahabaratha. Considering we are in the 28th chathuryuga of the present Vaivaswatha Manvanthara, Ramayana and Mahabaratha have already happened 28 times and still going to happen 43 times in the future (71-28). If we take kalpa, these two epics have already happened 454 times (6 manvantaras * 71 = 426 + 28) and going to happen 540 times in the future in this kalpa alone. (7 more manvantaras to go = 7*71 = 497+43 left in this manvantara). The timeline goes beyond this also but for our calculations let us stop here.
Infinite and Eternal :
One of the main principles of "Sanathan Dharma" is that time (kala) is eternal. It is infinite and it has no beginning and end. It starts from void and goes back to void but this process happen again and again in cycles and hence it is considered eternal.
According to modern science, everything started with Big bang and that happened 13.6 billion years ago. But please take a look.... the following theories suggest that the concept of big bang itself is wrong and that the Universe has no beginning or end.....
To conclude :
Actually I do not know how to conclude this post as I completely lost myself in writing it. But one thought came to my mind is that, the petty problems we face in everyday life are actually nothing. It is like how Earth looks from Space. Earth, our gigantic planet is nothing when compared to the ever expanding space. Likewise, our life and our time is nothing when compared to the massive timeline given above.. Isn't it? Thank you all readers for taking your precious time in reading this.
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