Kali Yuga
From Wikinfo
- For criticism see Criticism of Kali_Yuga
According to Vedic tradition, there are four Yugas in a Kalpa. Satyug, the the first Yuga is said to last about 1,728,000 years,
Tretyug about 1,296,000 years, Dvaparyug 864,000 years and Kaliyug about 432,000 Years respectively. A Kalpa is always 4,320,000 years. Its duration does not vary like the Yugas. Kali Yuga or Kaliyug (the current Yuga) is the last Yuga of the four. It is believed that in Kaliyug, the Goddess Kali will begin to dance the undoing of time. Lord Vishnu will incarnate as Lord Kalkin, a sort of apocolyptic horseman, and will destroy the universe with his flaming sword. People In Kaliyug, will abandon tradition. Women will take the roles and offices of men, the caste system will fall into disuse, and the Hijra (eunuchs and transexuals) will rule the earth. In the previous three Yugas, the people drank Amrit—the elixre of immortality, milk and honey. In Kaliyug, they drink liquor. Lord Rama is responsible for Treta Yuga, Lord Krishna, for Dvapara Yuga, and Lady Kali—Black Time, for Kaliyug.
It is important to note, that the cycles keep repeating themselves. While the scriptural depiction of Kaliyug may seem quite final, the current Kalpa is only Varehekalp, the age of the boar, and the third Kalpa out of ten. After the current Yuga ends, Satyug will begin again, in Narasimnhkalp. It has not been written, what will occur after the ten Kalpas finish, but it is commonly believed that another cycle of Kalpas will then commence, and so on and so forth.
The Ten Kalpas are presided over by the Ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. They also symbolise the evolution of man. The first Kalpa is Matsyakalp—the fish, followed by Kurmakalp—the tortoise or the amphibious stage of developement. Currently we are in the Kalpa of the boar, and according to Vedic scripture, man has only achieved a mammalion level of intelligence in this Kalpa. The next Kalpa is presided over by Lord Narsimh, who is half man, and half lion, which symbolises a greater stage of developement. It is only in the Fifth Kalpa, that humankind sheds all animal attibutes in the form of Vamana Avatar (the dwarf), but developement is still stunted. In the sixth Kalpa, mankind will reach maturity, in the form of Parashuram, the warrior.
Note on Pronunciation
Due to the faulty form of trasliteration, which has become common in many western contries, Sanskrit and Hindi are often mispronounced by people who are not familiar with the languages. In English spelling many Hindi and Sanskrit words have acquired an extra "a" at the end which is not normally pronounced when speaking properly. A few examples are given below.
Yuga - should be pronounced "Yug". The "u" is formed like "ou" in "should." Rama - should be pronounced "Rahm" The first "a" is long like the "a" in "father." Krishna - should be pronounced Krishrn. The "rn" sound is formed by placing your toungue to your palate in a backward curl, as opposed to the dental "n" we are used to in English. Kalpa - rhymes with "gulp." (Kulp). All "r"s in Hindi and Sanskrit are rolled, as they are in Gaelic and the romantic languages. Often a sort of phantom "r" is audible when forming some of the palatal consenants. This "r" resembles the Enlish "r," but is never transliterated as an "r" in any case.
