Hindu eschatology
Encyclopedia
Contemporary Hindu
eschatology
is linked in the Vaishnavite tradition to the figure of Kalki
, or the tenth and last Avatar
of Vishnu
before the age draws to a close, and Shiva
dissolves and Brahma
regenerates the universe.
Most Hindus acknowledge as part of their cosmology
that we are living in the Kali Yuga
, the last of four periods (Yuga
) that make up the current age. Each period has seen a successive degeneration in the moral order and character of human beings, to the point that in the Kali Yuga where quarrel and hypocrisy are prevalent. Often, the invocation of Kali Yuga denotes a certain helplessness in the face of the horrors and suffering of the human condition and a nostalgia for a golden past or a future salvation.
However, Hindu conceptions of time, like those found in other non-Western traditions, is cyclical in that one age may end but another will always begin. As such, the cycle of birth, growth, decay, death, and renewal at the individual level finds its echo in the cosmic order of all things, yet affected by the vagaries of the comings and goings of divine interventions in the Vaishnavite belief.
The Four Yugas
A Divya Yuga comprises four yuga's and lasts for 4.3 billion years (close approximation to earth's age Age of Earth of 4.54 billion years. One cycle of these four yugas complete the existence of the universe and the universe starts to contract backwards
in time followed by a new beginning of big bang. Yuga Dharma is a self-realization in each yuga.
KRUTHA YUGA (SATYA YUGA) lasts 1.632 billion years. (Human beings as heavenly bodies)
TRETA YUGA silver age lasts 1.3 billion years.
DWAPARA YUGA Bronze Age lasts 884 million years.
KALI YUGA Iron Age of hypocrisy and quarrel lasts approximately 448 million years.
(Lord Krishna's Avatar - KALKI)
When one cycle (Divya) of yugas get completed, the universe starts to contract to an incredible size (say the dust in a finger nail) after which a big bang is followed and that leads to formation of universe matters.
In each yugas the life span of the humans gets reduced starting from a few thousand years in the krutha yuga and in the Kali yuga the human's age is about to be 20 years and the food is supposed only to be the animal meat.
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
eschatology
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
is linked in the Vaishnavite tradition to the figure of Kalki
Kalki
In Hinduism, Kalki is the tenth and final Maha Avatar of Vishnu who will come to end the present age of darkness and destruction known as Kali Yuga. The name Kalki is often a metaphor for eternity or time...
, or the tenth and last Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
before the age draws to a close, and Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
dissolves and Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
regenerates the universe.
Most Hindus acknowledge as part of their cosmology
Religious cosmology
A Religious cosmology is a way of explaining the origin, the history and the evolution of the universe based on the religious mythology of a specific tradition...
that we are living in the Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
, the last of four periods (Yuga
Yuga
Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is...
) that make up the current age. Each period has seen a successive degeneration in the moral order and character of human beings, to the point that in the Kali Yuga where quarrel and hypocrisy are prevalent. Often, the invocation of Kali Yuga denotes a certain helplessness in the face of the horrors and suffering of the human condition and a nostalgia for a golden past or a future salvation.
However, Hindu conceptions of time, like those found in other non-Western traditions, is cyclical in that one age may end but another will always begin. As such, the cycle of birth, growth, decay, death, and renewal at the individual level finds its echo in the cosmic order of all things, yet affected by the vagaries of the comings and goings of divine interventions in the Vaishnavite belief.
The Four Yugas
A Divya Yuga comprises four yuga's and lasts for 4.3 billion years (close approximation to earth's age Age of Earth of 4.54 billion years. One cycle of these four yugas complete the existence of the universe and the universe starts to contract backwards
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
in time followed by a new beginning of big bang. Yuga Dharma is a self-realization in each yuga.
KRUTHA YUGA (SATYA YUGA) lasts 1.632 billion years. (Human beings as heavenly bodies)
TRETA YUGA silver age lasts 1.3 billion years.
DWAPARA YUGA Bronze Age lasts 884 million years.
KALI YUGA Iron Age of hypocrisy and quarrel lasts approximately 448 million years.
(Lord Krishna's Avatar - KALKI)
When one cycle (Divya) of yugas get completed, the universe starts to contract to an incredible size (say the dust in a finger nail) after which a big bang is followed and that leads to formation of universe matters.
In each yugas the life span of the humans gets reduced starting from a few thousand years in the krutha yuga and in the Kali yuga the human's age is about to be 20 years and the food is supposed only to be the animal meat.