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As each grain of Time is destroyed,The next comes along and brings with it either Creation or Destruction.This is the Dance of Shiva.

The eternal cycle of Life and Death; Birth and Re-birth; Formation and Dissolution is called the

Kaal-chakra or the 'Wheel of Time' .

Puraanic genealogies take us back into the mists of time when Human-beings were first tryingto settle down on arth and make it their Home. The Age of Kali (Kaliyug ) is astrologicallybelie!ed to ha!e commenced on "#th February $%#" B& and conse'uently( we are currently inthe )%%*th year of this ra.

The +aliyuga ,odiac

How did the ancients really ercei!e their world /ere they also as bewildered by these mind-boggling numbers as we are today 0r did they acce t it nonchalantly and went back to theirdaily chores with a shrug.

The 1ndian calendar is ingeniously based on B0TH the 2un and 3oon; it uses a solar year butdi!ides it into %" lunar months4 1n this calendar( seasons follow the 2un; months follow the3oon; and days follow both. To hel the lunar months coincide with the solar year( the ractice

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of inserting an e5tra month( called the Adhik Maas ( arose which is inserted e!ery $# monthssince 6# months 7 6" months.

Lunar days in the 1ndian calendar are called Tithis . They are calculated using the difference ofthe longitudinal angle between the osition of the sun and moon. Because of this( the tithi may or

may not ha!e changed by the time the day has changed and this is why sometimes a tithi isomitted( and at others( two consecuti!e days share the same.

Tithis or Days in a Lunar &alendar

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8strologically( one of the oldest &alendars followed in Hinduism( is the Saptarishi calendarwhich begins from 6696 B& :earlier referred to as B& . This !ersion was in use in northern1ndia from at least the * th century B& ( as witnessed by the statements of ??ain.8nother calenad which is the 0fficial 1ndian calendar now is known as the 2aka &alendar andstarts in 9@ & .

Measurement o Time in !induism

The authenticity and !eracity of these dates will be dealt with subse'uently( but for now let us tryto understand the basic units of measurement used in ancient 1ndia. These units are based on themethod of calculation known as Kaal-ganana"

8ccording to the rinci les of 1ndian time measurement( the smallest unit of measurement ofTime is the in!oluntary time taken to dro oneAs eyelid or the Blink of an Eye . 1t is remarkablethat the ancients chose such a mode of measurement because this time is &onstant for all li!ingindi!iduals hence does not de end on any =ariables4

This unit is known as a ' #imish$ Three >nits :#$ of imish combine to form a $Kshan$ Fi!e >nits :#) of +shan combine to form a $Kashtha$ Thirty >nits :$# of +ashtha combine to form a $Kaal$ Thirty >nits :$# of +aal combine to form a $Muhurat$ Thirty >nits :$# of 3uhurat then combine to form a "* hour eriod known as the

$%ivas-ratri$ This "* hour eriod is also di!ided into an o!erla ing di!ision called the $&raher$ or 'Paher' .

ach %" hour eriod has * Crahers each( thereby di!iding one rotation of arth into @ e'ualarts.

Fifteen >nits :%) of Di!as-Ratri form a fortnight or a $&aksh$. The bright wa5ing 3oonfortnight is called the Shukla Paksh and the dark waning 3oon fortnight is known as the

Krishna Paksh.

+alchakra 3andala

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramadityahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujjainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujjainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramaditya

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1n one of the higher lanets called Pitralok ' one fortnight of humans corres onds to one day anda similar time eriod counts as their night. Therefore( the Bright fortnight forms the Day of thePitras and the Dark one forms the ight.

Two >nits :" of Cakshs combine to form a month or a $Masa$ 2i5 >nits :6 of 3aas ?ointly are referred to as an $Ayan$

The si5 months when 2un is in the orthern Hemis here are called the Uttarayan and thecorres onding si5 in the lower hemis here form the Dakshinayan " This bright northern ?urney of2un forms 0ne day of the Devas and the si5 human month 2outhern ?ourney forms their

ight. Thus( for the demigods( 0ne human year is e'ui!alent to 0ne Day- ight eriod.

alculation o ugas

Lord BrahmaAs day and night are each known as a Kal a and Brahma li!es for a Hundred suchears. 0ne day in the life of Brahma thus comes to be close to*.$" Billion human years4

Like our %" hour di!ision( each day of Brahma is di!ided into fourteen :%* di!isionsknown as the Manvantars . ach 3an!antar is ruled o!er by a leader of mankind knownas the !anu .

ach 3an!antar is further di!ided into 9% Mahayugas ?ust as each hour of our day isdi!ided into 6# minutes.

ach 3ahayuga is further sub-di!ided into * ugas each which are - Satyuga 'Tretayuga ( Dva aryuga and Kaliyuga .

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1n the continuum called !ahayuga" each successi!e uga is lesser in duration than itsredecessor by ")E. 8lso( at the beginning and end of each uga( there e5ists a San#hya which

forms %#E of the duration of that uga. These are the durations of the res ecti!e ugas

Kritayug uga *### 2andhya *## 2andhyansh *##

*@##

Tretayug uga $### 2andhya $## 2andhyansh $##

$6##

%*aparyug uga "### 2andhya "## 2andhyansh "##

"*##

Kaliyug uga %### 2andhya %## 2andhyansh %##

%"##

Total %"###

1n %eva ears ( they corres ond to the durations of *@##( $6##( "*## and %"## res ecti!ely andsince 0ne De!a ear is e'ual to $6# human years( these figures become %9"@###( %"G6###(@6*### and *$"### res ecti!ely.

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0nce a &haturyuga cycle gets o!er( there is a deluge which drowns the entire arth after whichlife begins anew with the ne5t &haturyuga 3ahayuga cycle.

/hen these cycles of time ha!e re eated themsel!es for a %## years of Brahma( it is time for thecreator-god to lea!e his mortal body as well. 8t the end of this Time( there is dissolution of theentire &reation and all li!ing as well as non-li!ing matter is absorbed unto itself to once again+egin at the +eginning .

"Aum Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,

http://decodehindumythology.blogspot.com/2011/06/hinduism-is-oldest-belief-system-in.htmlhttp://decodehindumythology.blogspot.com/2011/06/hinduism-is-oldest-belief-system-in.html