Hindu units of time

Hindu texts describe units of Kala

measurements, from microseconds to
Trillions of years.[1] According to these
texts, time is cyclic, which repeats itself
forever.[2]

Time units
Hindu measurements in logarithmic scale.
Various fragments of time are used in
Hindu Scriptures like Vedas, Bhagavata
Purana, Vishnu Puran, Mahabharata,
Suryasidhanta etc. A summary of the
Hindu metrics of time (kāla vyavahāra)
follows.

Sidereal metrics …
 Unit Definition Relation to SI units

Truti ुट Base unit ≈ 0.30 µs

Renu रेणु 60 Truti ≈ 18 µs

Lava लव 60 Renu ≈ 1080 µs

Līkṣaka ली क 60 Lava ≈ 64.8 ms

Lipta ल ता
64.8Leekshaka ≈ 4.2 s
Vipala वपल =30 s

Pala पल

Vighaṭi वघ ट 60 Lipta ≈ 30 s

Vinādī वनाडी

Ghaṭi घट

Nādī नाडी 31 Vighaṭi ≈ 1.86 ks

Danda द ड

Muhūrta मु त 2 Ghaṭi ≈ 3.72 ks

62Ghaṭī ≈ 86.4 ks
Nakṣhatra Ahorātram (Sidereal Day) न अहोरा म्
32Muhūrta ≈ 86.4 ks

According to Sūrya Siddhānta [3] …

Unit Definition Relation to SI units

Truti Base unit ≈ 29.6 µs

Tatpara 100 Truti ≈ 2.96 ms

Nimesha 30 Tatpara ≈ 88.9 ms

Kāṣṭhā 18 Nimesha ≈ 1.6 s

Kalā 30 Kāṣṭhā ≈ 48 s

Ghatika 30 Kalā ≈ 1.44 ks

Muhūrta 2 Khatika ≈ 2.88 ks

Ahorātram (Sidereal Day) 30 Muhūrta ≈ 86.4 ks

Small units of time used in the Vedas …

Unit Definition Relation to SI units

Paramāṇu Base unit ≈ 25 µs

Aṇu 2 Paramāṇu ≈ 50 µs

Trasareṇu 3 Aṇu ≈ 151 µs

Truṭi 3 Trasareṇu ≈ 454 µs

Vedha 100 Truṭi ≈ 45 ms

Lava 3 Vedha ≈ 0.14 s

Nimeṣa 3 Lava ≈ 0.4 s

Kṣaṇa 3 Nimesha ≈ 1.22 s

Kāṣṭhā 5 Kṣaṇa ≈6s

Laghu 15 Kāṣṭhā ≈ 92 s

Danda 15 Laghu ≈ 1.38 ks

Muhūrta 2 Danda ≈ 2.76 ks

Ahorātram 31 Muhūrta ≈ 86.4 ks

Masa (Month) 30 Ahorātram ≈ 2592 ks

Ritu (Season) 2 Masa ≈ 5184 ks

Ayana 3 Ritu ≈ 15552 ks

Samvatsara (Year)
2 Ayana ≈ 31104 ks[4]
Ahorātram of Deva

Lunar metrics
A Tithi or lunar day is defined as the
time it takes for the longitudinal angle
between the moon and the Sun to
 increase by 12°.Tithis begin at varying
times of day and vary in duration from
approximately 19 to approximately 26
hours.[5][6]
A Paksa (also Pakṣa) or lunar fortnight
consists of 15 tithes.[5]
A Māsa or lunar month (30days) is
divided into 2 Pakṣas: the one between
new moon and full moon (waxing) is
called gaura or (bright) or Śukla Pakṣa;
the one between full moon and new
moon (waning) Kṛiṣhṇa (dark) paksha[5]
A Ṛitu (or season) is 2 Māsa[5]
An Ayana is 3 Ṛitus[5]
A year is two Ayanas[5]

Tropical metrics
 A Yāma = 1⁄4 of a day (light) or night =
71⁄2 Ghatis (घ ट) = 33⁄4 Muhurtas = 3
Horas (होरा)tely 24 hours.[7]
Eight Yāmas make a full day (day +
night)[7]
An Ahorātra is a tropical day (Note: A
day is considered to begin and end at
sunrise, not midnight.)[7]
Name Definition Equivalence
1
Yama याम ⁄4 of a day (light) or night ≈ 3 hours

Sāvana Ahorātram सावन अहोरा म् 8 Yamas 1 Solar day

Reckoning of time among

other entities

Among the Pitṛs (forefathers) …

1 day of pitras = 1 solar masa (month)

[7]
 30 days of pitras = 1 month of pitras[7]
12 months of pitras = 1 year of pitras[7]

The Lifespan of the pitras is 100 years of

pitras (3,000 Solar years).[7]

Among the Devas …

The life span of any Hindu deva spans

nearly (or more than) 4.5 million years.
Statistically, we can also look it as:

12000 Deva Years = Life Span of Devas

= 1 Mahā-Yuga.[8]

The Viṣṇu Purāṇa Time measurement

section of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa Book I
Chapter III explains the above as follows:
2 Ayanas (6-month periods, see above)
= 1 human year or 1 day of the devas
4,000 + 400 + 400 = 4,800 divine years
(= 1,728,000 human years) = 1 Satya
Yuga[8]
3,000 + 300 + 300 = 3,600 divine years
(= 1,296,000 human years) = 1 Treta
Yuga[8]
2,000 + 200 + 200 = 2,400 divine years
(= 864,000 human years) = 1 Dvapara
Yuga[8]
1,000 + 100 + 100 = 1,200 divine years
(= 432,000 human years) = 1 Kali
Yuga[8]
12,000 divine year = 4 Yugas (=
4,320,000 human years) = 1 Mahā-
 Yuga (also is equaled to 12000 Daiva
(divine) Yuga)[8]
[2*12,000 = 24,000 divine year = 12000
revolutions of sun around its dual][8]

For Brahma …

1000 Mahā-Yugas = 1 Kalpa = 1 day of

Brahma

(2 Kalpas constitute a day and night of

Brahma, 8.64 billion human years)

30 days of Brahma = 1 month of

Brahma (259.2 billion human years)
12 months of Brahma = 1 year of
Brahma (3.1104 trillion human years)
50 years of Brahma = 1 Parārdha
(156,764,160,000,000 human years)
 2 parardhas = 100 years of Brahma = 1
Para = 1 Mahā-Kalpa (the lifespan of
Brahma) (313,528,320,000,000 human
years)

One day of Brahma is divided into 10000

parts called charaṇas.[9]

Four Yugas
The four yugas which come one after the
other are as follows (along with their
durations):

The Four Yugas

4 charaṇas (1,728,000 solar years) Satya Yuga

3 charaṇas (1,296,000 solar years) Treta Yuga

2 charaṇas (864,000 solar years) Dvapara Yuga

1 charaṇas (432,000 solar years) Kali Yuga

Source: [1]
The cycle repeats itself, so altogether
there are 1,000 cycles of Mahā-Yuga in
one day of Brahma.

One cycle of the above four Yugas is

one Mahā-Yuga (4.32 million solar
years)
as is confirmed by the Gītā Śhloka
8.17 (statement) "sahasra-yuga-
paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ
rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te 'ho-
rātra-vido janāḥ", meaning, a day of
brahma is of 1000 Mahā-Yuga. Thus
a day of Brahma, Kalpa, is of
duration: 4.32 billion solar years.
Two Kalpas constitute a day and
night (Adhi Sandhi) of Brahma.[10]
A Manvantara consists of 71 Mahā-
Yuga (306,720,000 solar years).
Each Manvantara is ruled by a
Manu.[9]
After each Manvantara follows one
Saṃdhi Kāla of the same duration as
a Kṛta Yuga (1,728,000 = 4
Charaṇas). (It is said that during a
Saṃdhi Kāla, the entire earth is
submerged in water.)[9]
A Kalpa consists of a period of 4.32
Billion solar years followed by 14
Manvataras and Saṃdhi Kalas.[9]
A day of Brahma equals
(14 times 71 Mahā-Yuga) + (15 × 4
Charaṇas)
 = 994 Mahā-Yuga + (15 × 4800)
= 994 Mahā-Yuga + (72,000 years)
[deva years] ÷ 6 = 12,000 [deva
years] viz. one maha yuga.
= 994 Mahā-Yuga + 6 Mahā-Yuga
= 1,000 Mahā-Yuga.[9]

Significance of the "Four-

Yuga" System
The "Four-Yuga" structure, more popular
as "Chaturyuga" system, actually
attempts to describe the history of
human evolution. In modern times, the
prevailing theory of "Survival of the
Fittest" tells us that the human beings are
a result of gradual evolution process
starting from single-cell living beings. But
the "Chaturyuga" system mentions about
the declining journey of human beings
across the ages. In "Satya Yuga", the
human beings were at its peak. Then it
gradually came down throughout Treta
and Dwapara yuga. In Kali Yuga, it is
supposed to hit the lowest possible
stature. If we go by the ancient
scriptures, they specify that the start and
end of each of the "Yuga" was marked by
astronomical alignments. At the
beginning of Treta Yuga, 5 planets
resided in "Aries" constellation.At the end
of last "Dwapara" yuga, the "Saptarshi"
constellation (Ursa major), resided in
"Magha" constellation. At the end of
ongoing Kali-Yuga, Sun, Moon and
Jupiter is said to reside in "Pushya"
sector simultaneously.[Source ]

Current date
Currently, 50 years of Brahma have
elapsed. The last Kalpa at the end of the
50th year is called Padma Kalpa. We are
currently in the first 'day' of the 51st
year.[11] This Brahma's day, Kalpa is
named as Shveta-Varaha Kalpa. Within
this Day, six Manvantaras have already
elapsed[12] and this is the seventh
Manvantara, named as – Vaivasvatha
Manvantara (or Sraddhadeva
Manvantara). Within the Vaivasvatha
Manvantara, 27 Mahayugas[12] (4 Yugas
together is a Mahayuga), and the Krita,[13]
Treta and Dwapara Yugas of the 28th
Mahayuga have elapsed. This Kaliyuga is
in the 28th Mahayuga. This Kaliyuga
began in the year 3102 BCE in the
proleptic Julian Calendar.[14] Since 50
years of Brahma have already elapsed,
this is the second Parardha, also called
as Dvithiya Parardha.

Calculating the elapsed time since

current Brahma's creation
…

432000 × 10 × 1000 × 2 = 8.64 billion

years (2 Kalpa (day and night))
8.64 × 109 × 30 × 12 = 3.1104 Trillion
Years (1 year of Brahma)
3.1104 × 1012 × 50 = 155.52 trillion years
(50 years of Brahma)

(6 × 71 × 4320000) + 7 × 1.728 × 106 =

1852416000 years elapsed in first six
Manvataras, and Sandhi Kalas in the
current Kalpa

27 × 4320000 = 116640000 years

elapsed in first 27 Mahayugas of the
current Manvantara

1.728 × 10^6 + 1.296 × 106 + 864000 =

3888000 years elapsed in current
Mahayuga
3102 + 2019 = 5121 years elapsed in
current Kaliyuga.

So the total time elapsed since current

Brahma is

155520000000000 + 1852416000 +
116640000 + 3888000 + 5119 =
155,521,972,949,120 years

(one hundred fifty-five trillion, five

hundred twenty-one billion, nine hundred
seventy-two million, nine hundred forty-
nine thousand, one hundred twenty
years) as of 2018 AD

Total age of Brahma is 100 (Brahma

Years) which is equal to
311,040,000,000,000 Human years

The current Kali Yuga began at midnight

17 February / 18 February in 3102 BCE in
the proleptic Julian calendar.[15] As per
the information above about Yuga
periods, only 5,120 years are passed out
of 432,000 years of current Kali Yuga,
and hence another 426,880 years are left
to complete this 28th Kali Yuga of
Vaivaswatha Manvantara.[note 1]

See also
Age of the universe
Hindu cosmology
Hindu astronomy
 Hindu calendar
Indian mathematics
Indian science and technology
Indian weights and measures
Jyotish
List of numbers in Hindu scriptures
Universe
Vedanga Jyotisha
Vedas
Yojana
Tamil units of measurement
Tamil months

Notes
 1. According to Sri Yukteswar Giri, guru
of Paramahansa Yogananda, The
ascending phase of the Kali Yuga
began in September 499 CE. Since
September 1699, we have been in the
ascending phase of the Dwapara
Yuga. According to Sri Yukteswar,
nobody wanted to announce the bad
news of the beginning of the
descending Kali Yuga, so they kept
adding years to the Dvapara date (at
that time 2400 Dvapara) only retitling
the epoch to Kali.[16]

References
1. S.V. Gupta (3 November 2009). Units
of Measurement: Past, Present and
 Future. International System of
Units . Springer. p. 3.
ISBN 9783642007385.
2. Dick Teresi. Lost Discoveries: The
Ancient Roots of Modern Science--
from the Baby. SimonandSchuster.
p. 174.
3. "Vedic Time System - वेद Veda" .
veda.wikidot.com. Retrieved
4 December 2019.
4. S.V. Gupta (3 November 2009). Units
of Measurement: Past, Present and
Future. International System of
Units . Springer. p. 5.
ISBN 9783642007385.
5. S.V. Gupta (3 November 2009). Units
of Measurement: Past, Present and
Future. International System of
Units . Springer. p. 5,6.
ISBN 9783642007385.
6. Kumar, Ashwini (2005). Vaastu: The
Art And Science Of Living . Sterling
Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 50. ISBN 81-
207-2569-7.
7. S.V. Gupta (3 November 2009). Units
of Measurement: Past, Present and
Future. International System of
Units . Springer. p. 6.
ISBN 9783642007385.
8. Hans Kng (31 October 2006). Tracing
The Way: Spiritual Dimensions of the
 World Religions . A&C Black. p. 50.
ISBN 9780826494238.
9. Bryan E. Penprase (5 May 2017). The
Power of Stars . Springer. p. 182.
ISBN 9783319525976.
10. Swami Mukundananda. Bhagavad
Gita The Song of God .
11. Burgess, Chapter 1, Verse 21
12. Burgess, Chapter 1, Verse 22
13. Burgess, Chapter 1, Verse 23
14. Burgess, p17
15. Burgess, Ebenezer Translation of the
Sûrya-Siddhânta: A text-book of
Hindu astronomy, with notes and an
appendix Originally published:
 Journal of the American Oriental
Society 6 (1860) 141–498 , p17"
16. Yukteswar 1949.
Victor J. Katz. A History of
Mathematics: An Introduction, 1998.

External links
Scientific Explanation of Hindu Time
Units
Translation of the Surya Siddhanta
(1861)
Daily Hindu Calendar
Exegesis of Hindu Cosmological Time
Cycles
Surya Siddhanta, Chapter I with
Commentary and Illustrations
 Vedic Time Converter

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