According to Hindu mythology and cosmology, the universe is cyclically created and destroyed. The life span of Brahma, the creator, is 120 divine years (Mahakalpamu). Every day, Brahma creates 14 Manus one after the other, who in turn create and regulate the world. Thus, there are fourteen generations of Manu in one day (Kalpamu) of Brahma.
Each Manu’s life (Manvantaramu) consists of 71 quartets of eras. Each quartet is composed of four eras: Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. The span of Krita era is 1,728,000 human years, Treta era is 1,296,000 human years, Dvapara era is 864,000 human years and Kali era is 432,000 human years. When Manu perishes at the end of his life, Brahma creates the next Manu and the cycle continues until all fourteen Manus and the Universe perish by the end of the day. When night falls, Brahma goes to sleep for a period of time equal to fourteen lives of Manus. The next morning, he begins the creation with first Manu again. The cycle goes on for 100 divine years at the end of which Brahma himself perishes and is regenerated.
The present period is the Kaliyuga or last era of the seventh Manu’s life. According to Aryabhata, the Kaliyuga began in 3102 BC, at the end of the Dvapara era that was marked by the disappearance of Vishnu's Krishna avatar. Aryabhata's date is widely repeated in modern Hinduism.
The Nasadiya Sukta of the Rigveda describes the origin of the universe.
The Rig Veda's view of the cosmos also sees one true divine principle self-projecting as the divine word, Vaak, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know, from the monistic Hiranyagarbha or Golden Womb. The Hiranyagarbha is alternatively viewed as Brahma, the creator who was in turn created by God (Brahman) himself. The universe maintained by Vishnu (The god of presence) and destroyed by Shiva (The god of destruction). These three constitute the holy trinity of the Hindu religion. Once the universe has been destroyed by Shiva, Brahma starts the creation once again. This creation-destruction cycle is called Yuga which is the highest measuring unit of time in the Hindu religion.
The later puranic view asserts that the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. In Hindu cosmology, a universe endures for about 4,320,000 years (one day of Brahma, the creator or kalpa) and is then destroyed by fire or water elements. At this point, Brahma rests for one night, just as long as the day. This process, named pralaya (Cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 trillion, 40 billion human years) that represents Brahma's lifespan. It must be noted that Brahma is the creator but not necessarily regarded as God in Hinduism. He is mostly regarded as a creation of God.
Brahma's life is divided in one thousand cycles (Maha Yuga, or the Great Year). Maha Yuga, during which life, including the human race appears and then disappears, has 71 divisions, each made of 14 Manvantara (1000) years. . Manvantara is Manu's cycle, the one who gives birth and governs the human race. Each Maha Yuga lasts for 4,320,000 years. Each Maha Yuga consists of a series of four shorter yugas, or ages. The yugas get progressively worse from a moral point of view as one proceeds from one yuga to another. As a result each yuga is of shorter duration than the age that preceded it. The current Kali Yuga (Iron Age) began at midnight 17 February / 18 February in 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar.
The Rigveda and Brahmanda Purana describe a universe that is cyclical or oscillating and infinite in time. The universe is described as a cosmic egg that cycles between expansion and total collapse. It expanded from a concentrated form —a point called a Bindu. The universe, as a living entity, is bound to the perpetual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
The cosmic egg is an ancient concept resurrected by modern science in the 1930s and explored by theoreticians during the following two decades. The idea comes from a perceived need to reconcile Edwin Hubble's observation of an expanding universe (which is also predicted by Einstein's equations of general relativity) with the notion that the universe must be eternally old. Georges Lemaitre proposed in 1927 that the cosmos originated from what he called the primeval atom.
Current cosmological models maintain that 13.7 billion years ago, the entire mass of the universe was compressed into a singularity, from which it expanded to its current state (the Big Bang), the so-called cosmic egg.
The Upanishads elaborate that Hiranyagarbha floated around in emptiness and the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the Swarga and the Prithvi.
In classical Puranic Hinduism, Hiranyagarbha is a name of Brahma, so called because he was born from a golden egg (Manusmrti 1.9)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
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