The four yugas – Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, rotate in a cyclical manner, similar to calendar months. Currently, we are in the Kali Yuga which is predicted to last for 432,000 years, with only 5,000 years having passed since the Battle of Kurukshetra. As the Kali Yuga progresses, the number of spiritually advanced individuals on Earth is predicted to decline gradually. Eventually, the Kali Yuga will reach its dark and dominant phase, unleashing its full power of evil influence. The Kali Yuga, which is characterized by violence, deceit, and spiritual degeneration, is the last of the four ages in Hinduism. According to predictions, the Kalki avatar, the Supreme Lord, will incarnate at the end of Kali Yuga to destroy the miscreants who have lost their ability to appreciate spiritual values, and restore eternal religious postulates. The Kalki avatar will be born as the son of Vishnuyasha, a distinguished brahmana from the village of Shambhala.
Start Date (Beginning) of Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is believed to have started after Lord Krishna left the earth. According to Jyotish Shastra, ancient Indian astrology, the beginning of Kali Yuga was marked by a planetary alignment. On that day, the sun, moon, and the seven planets were all positioned in one direction, making them invisible from earth. It has been calculated that this event occurred at midnight on the 18th of February, 3102 BC, on the Ujjain meridian in India. The dark planet Rahu was also situated directly above India on that day, but remained unseen due to the darkness of night. According to Jyotish, this date marked the start of Kali Yuga.
The astronomical text Surya Siddhanta measures time in days since the beginning of Kali Yuga and indicates that the seven planets in their two cycles were aligned with the star Zeta Piscium on day zero. This star is known as Revati in Sanskrit and is used as the reference point for measuring astronomical longitudes in Indian astrology. Additionally, Surya Siddhanta confirms that Rahu was located 180 degrees from Revati on day zero.
Indian astronomer Aryabhatta wrote that he was 23 years old when 3600 years of Kali Yuga had passed, and since he is said to have been born in saka 398 or 476 AD, the starting date of Kali-yuga is estimated to be around 3102 BC.
End Date of Kali Yuga
We have previously presented in detail how both the Vedic texts and the astronomical calculations infer that the commencement of Kali Yuga was about 5000 years ago in the year 3102 B.C. Below are the duration of each of these four ages as per calculations-,
- Satya Yuga (entirely characterized by virtue, enlightenment, spirituality) – Duration : 1,728,000 years
- Treta Yuga (characterized with a 25% loss of virtue, enlightenment, spirituality than Satya Yuga at its onset) – Duration : 1,296,000 years
- Dvapara Yuga (characterized with a 50% loss of virtue, enlightenment, spirituality than Satya Yuga at its onset) – Duration : 864,000 years
- Kali Yuga (characterized with a 75% loss of virtue, enlightenment, spirituality than Satya Yuga at its onset) – Duration : 432,000 years
A thousand cycles of these four ages comprise a single day of Brahma, the creator of this universe. Brahma lives for 100 such years. At the end of these 100 years, the universe shall dissolve into the causal ocean. Hence, these 100 years of Brahma amount to about 311 trillion and 40 million earthly years [1000 * (1,728,000+1,296,000+864,000+432,000)]. Returning to our immediate discussion, since Kali Yuga lasts for 432,000 years, it shall come to a close in the year 428,899 A.D.
Duration (Timespan) of Kali Yuga – Detailed Calculation
According to celestial time measurement, a year is made up of 360 celestial days, and each of these days is equivalent to a year on Earth. The entire cosmic cycle, consisting of 12,000 celestial years, at the end of which the universe dissolves, is divided into four ages: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Satya Yuga lasts for 4,000 celestial years, Treta Yuga lasts for 3,000, Dvapara Yuga lasts for 2,000, and Kali Yuga lasts for 1,000 divine years. The remaining 2,000 divine years constitute transitional periods between the Yugas. Each Yuga is preceded by a Sandhya period that lasts as many hundreds of celestial years as there are thousands of years in that particular Yuga. Similarly, each Yuga is followed by a Sadhyansa period that lasts as many hundreds of celestial years as there are thousands of years in that particular Yuga. As Kali Yuga progresses, the influence of the age will become more dominant, resulting in the disappearance of spiritually advanced souls from the face of the earth.
Kali Yuga = 1000 celestial years + 100 celestial years of Sandhya + 100 celestial years of Sandhyansa
1000 celestial years = 1000 * 360 celestial days = 1000 * 360 * 1 human year = 360000 human years
100 celestial years (Sandhya) = 100 *360 celestial days = 100 *360 *1 human year = 36000 human years
100 celestial years (Sandhyansa) = 100 *360 celestial days = 100 *360 *1 human year = 36000 human years
Hence the duration (timespan) of Kali Yuga = 360000 + 36000 + 36000 human years = 432000 human years
Symptoms of Kali Yuga
As Kali Yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy advances, good qualities in people will decline and their negative traits will increase. The prevalence of atheism and irreligion will replace Vedic principles. Rulers will behave like thieves and people will mainly work in lowly occupations. The Bhagavata Purana (canto 12, chapter 2) lists the following signs of Kali Yuga: the disappearance of genuinely spiritual people, the rise of the dark influence of the age, and the unleashing of its negative impact. Below are the prophecies for Kali Yuga –
- Religion, honesty, purity, kindness, tolerance of the people will decrease day by day.
- Hypocrisy shall be practiced as a virtue.
- People will suffer from a lack of physical strength, weak memory, and a shortened duration of life.
- The maximum span of human life will be reduced to fifty years.
- In the age of Kali, wealth alone shall be considered as one’s sign of noble birth, decent behavior, and excellent qualities.
- Might will be deemed right. Brute power will determine law and justice in this age of Kali.
- Men and women will live together merely because of shallow superficial attraction. The institution of marriage will degenerate.
- By the end of Kali Yuga, family ties will extend to no further than the immediate bindings of marriage.
- Business shall be conducted and success achieved based on deception.
- Manliness and womanliness would be decided based on one’s expertise in sexual intercourse.
- A person’s spiritual position shall be defined based on his externals. It is on this same basis, that people will change from one spiritual order to the next.
- A person’s status in society will be determined by his wealth. If he does not earn much, he/she would be deemed unholy.
- One who is very clever at juggling words will be judged a good scholar.
- One’s hairstyle would come to define one’s beauty.
- Filling the belly would become the ultimate goal of life.
- Principles of religion will simply be observed for the sake of reputation.
- A holy place would simply be considered to be a pool of water located at a distance.
- As the earth becomes populated with such wicked people, whoever exhibits himself to be the most powerful, will gain political power.
- Losing their wives and properties to these leaders, who are no better than thieves, citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.
- Devastated with famine and excessive taxes, people would resort to eating roots, leaves, flesh, honey, flowers, seeds, etc.
- By the end of Kali Yuga, all creatures including trees shall be considerably reduced in height.
- By the end of Kali Yuga, the religious principles of Varnasrama (class and order) shall be completely destroyed.
- By the end of Kali Yuga, the path of Vedas will be completely forgotten and human society will be largely atheistic and animalistic.
- Deception, lying and unnecessary violence will become the primary occupations of men.
Kalki Avatar – Incarnation of Lord Vishnu
In the Kali Yuga’s culmination, Lord Vishnu is prophesied to descend in his Kalki avatar to vanquish the wrongdoers and reinstate the tenets of eternal religion. He will emerge as the son of Vishnuyasha, a renowned Brahmin residing in the village of Shambhala. During this time, the rulers of the earth will have devolved into marauders. Riding on his swift horse, Devadatta, brandishing a sword, and displaying his eight mystic powers and unparalleled radiance, he will journey across the world. As the ultimate punisher, he will slay millions of thieves who have dared to assume the guise of kings. According to the Agni Purana (16.7-9), when these impostors, posing as kings, begin to prey on righteous individuals and consume human flesh, Kalki, with his weapons and accompanied by his priest and teacher Yajnavalkya, will annihilate them. He will reestablish the precepts of eternal religion, leading people back to the path of morality. After the earth has been purged of all pretenders, the populace will breathe in the scent of sandalwood paste and other sacred items of Lord Vishnu, purifying their body and soul. This will signal the start of the Satya Yuga, an era of virtue, enlightenment, and spirituality. At this precise moment, the sun, moon, and Jupiter (Brihaspati) will align in the constellation of Cancer (Karkata) and enter the lunar mansion of Pushya (Pushya Nakshatra).
asvam asu gam aruhya
devadattam jagat patih
asinasadhu damanam
astaisvarya gunanvitah
vicharann asuna ksaunyam
hayenapratima dyutih
nripa-linga-cchado dasyun
kotiso nihanisyati
(Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.19-20)
–
Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will ascend His swift horse Devadatta and, carrying a sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and special qualities of Godhead. Unveiling His unmatched effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.
Remedies – Surviving the Age of Kali
The one positive aspect of Kali-yuga is that anyone can attain liberation from despair and degradation by merely reciting the names of God. The Vedic scriptures recommend the chanting of the holy names of Krishna as the most straightforward path to authentic bliss and spiritual enlightenment in the Age of Kali. The Kali Santarana Upanishad states –
Hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
Hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
Iti sodasakam namnam kali kalmasa nasanam
Natah parataropayah sarva vedesu drsyate
(Kali Santarana Upanishad)
–
The sixteen syllables of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra: ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare’ destroy all inauspiciousness in this age of Kali. This is the verdict of the Vedas.
On similar lines, Brhan Naradiya Purana states –
harer-nama harer-nama harer-namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty-eva nasty-eva nasty-eva gatir anyatha
(Brhan Naradiya Purana)
–
In this age of Kali the only means of deliverance is chanting of the holy name of Lord Hari. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.
This is again confirmed in Srimad Bhagavatam wherein Sukadeva Goswami states –
Kaler dosa nidhe rajann asti hy eko mahan gunah
Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta sangha param vrajet
(Srimad Bhagavatam, 12.3.51)
–
My dear King, although Kali Yuga is an ocean of faults, yet there is one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the holy names of Krishna, one gets liberated from material bondage and is promoted to the transcendental spiritual kingdom.
According to Vedic scriptures, the ages or yugas are characterized by distinct modes of worship that lead to spiritual progress. In Satya Yuga, the age of purity, meditation was the primary means of attaining one’s desired goals. In Treta Yuga, the age of sacrifice, performing yajna or sacrificial rituals was the primary means of attaining spiritual benefits. In Dvapara Yuga, the age of devotion, worshiping the Lord through Archana or deity worship was the primary means of attaining spiritual elevation.
However, in Kali Yuga, the current age of darkness and ignorance, such achievements are attainable only through Hari-Nama Kirtana, the chanting of the names and praises of Lord Krishna, also known as Keshava. This is confirmed in various Vedic texts that state that all the purifying potency of acts of charity, religious rituals, austerities, pilgrimage to holy sites, Karma-Kanda offerings to demigods, rajasuya yajna, asvamedha yajna, and knowledge of self-realization have been infused into the Names of Lord Krishna.
The holy name of Krishna is like a wish-granting jewel that provides all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krishna Himself. The chanting of the holy name of Krishna is the most direct and accessible way to connect with the divine in Kali Yuga. By simply chanting the holy name of Krishna, one can attain the highest spiritual realization and liberation from the material world.
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