Interesting Facts About Four Yugas in Hinduism

Every religion follows its own rules and notions and so does Hindu Religion. What makes it unique is its idiosyncratic theories of time and cosmology. Time is considered as the cycle of creation and destruction. According to Hindu Dharma time is endless and is divided into four yugas that follow one after another without any breakage. There are certain facts which are hardly known to us, one of them is that with each succeeding Yuga the lifespan of human race decreases. To know more about such facts related to different yugas let’s scroll down!

The unending Wheel of Yugas

1. Satya Yuga – The Era of Truth

• Known as the Golden Age, Satya Yuga is considered as the purest era.
• Knowledge, meditation, and peace were the prime faces of Satya Yuga.
• Humanity was allowed to rule by the supreme in these years.
• The average human lifespan was about 1,00,000 years.
• The man was free from all the illusions.
• The marriage ritual between Lord Shiva and Sati took place in this yuga.
• The Lord was known by the names of  Dharma, Amala, Yogeśvara, Paramātmā, and Avyakta.

2. Treta Yuga – The Silver Age

• Known as the Age of Mankind, the meaning of the age has its roots in the Sanskrit language which means the collection of three.
• This Yuga has encountered the reincarnation of Vishnu in 3 forms namely, Vamana (5th), Parashurama (6th), and Rama (7th).
• Where the Dharma Bull symbolizing the morality stood on 4 legs in Satya Yuga, here it is seen standing on 3 legs.
• The Almighty was glorified by the names of Yajña, Sarvadeva, Vishnu, and Jayanta.
• It is believed that Dvapar Yuga was supposed to come before the Treta Yuga but Gautam Rishi changed the order of these Yugas in order to release his wife from the curse he had given to her at the earliest.

The story of the curse goes like this. Learning about the absence of Gautam Rishi, Lord Indra undertook the seduction of Ahalya in disguise of her husband Gautam Rishi. On his return, Maharishi saw Lord Indra leaving his hut. This made him suspect his wife’s relations with Lord Indra as a result of which he cursed Ahalya and converted her into a statue. After the conversion took place he got to know about the cleverness of Lord Indra and in order to lessen the effect of his curse, he told Ahalya that an incarnation of Vishnu i.e. Lord Rama would come and release her from the wretchedness of the curse. This is why it is said that there is a possibility of Maharishi Gautam changing the orders of these Yugas.

3. Dvapar Yuga – The Era of Truthfulness and Compassion

• The Yuga was a host to the great war of Mahabharata.
• People in this yuga started indulging in class differences. Everyone wanted to achieve scriptural dharma of their own particular class.
• Diseases became more rampant and the man became weaker than his ancestors.
• This Yuga lasted for 864,000 years.
• Vedas were divided into 4 parts- Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda.
• The end of this yuga took place when Lord Krishna made an exit from the earth.

4. Kali Yuga – The Iron Age

• The age we are presently in is dedicated to the Lord Kalki, the 10th avatar of Lord Vishnu.
• The departure of Lord Krishna marked the beginning of Kali Yuga at midnight (00:00) on 18 February 3102 BCE.
• Sage Vedavyasa had listed 15 predictions in Srimad Bhagavatam about the dark age some 5,000 years ago. Some of them being-

sri-suka uvaca
tatas canu-dinam dharmah
satyam saucam ksama daya
kalena balina rajan
nanksyaty ayur balam smrtih – Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.1

Religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali. (Source)

vittam eva kalau nṝṇāḿ
janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ
dharma-nyāya-vyavasthāyāḿ
kāraṇaḿ balam eva hi – Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.2

In Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior, and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power. (Source)

Prophecies regarding ignorance of dharma and animosity among people were made before the starting of the iron age. To one’s astonishment with the passing days, these prophecies are taking a true face.

It is believed that with each yuga the quality of life and humanity degrades and as the end of the last yuga comes near a divine power takes birth on earth in order to restore the goodness of life and hence commencing the Satya Yuga again.