Shrimdbhagavatam Canto 3 chapter 11.

The Mystery of Time eternal wheel of Creation –

In the peaceful hermitage of Haridwar,Vidura who had renounced everything to seek the truth was sitting with the great sage Maitreya Rishi . After hearing about the creation of the universe,a deep question arose in Vidura’s heart .He folded his hand and said,”O revered Sage ,you have explained to me how the Lord created this universe ,But I am still confused about onething . What is this Time that devours everything ? How is Time measured in this world ? Please explain its secret to me ?”

Smiling with compassion ,Maitreya Rishi began to speak –

“O Vidura ,time is the very form of the Supreme Lord .It is invisible ,but it is Time that brings all things together and it is time that takes them apart . No one can conquer Time .Even the most powerful beings are under its control .Only the devotees who surrender to Lord Krishna can cross beyond Time “| then the sage explained the subtle calculation of Time ,starting from the smallest particle.

He said,”The smallest particle of matter that can be seen only when sunlight passes through a window,that tiny dust particle is called Paramanu .The Time it takes for one Paramanu to pass is the smallest unit of Time .” Two Paramanus make one Anu ,and three Anus make one Tresarenu .Time taken by sun to cross the three trisarenu ,that time is called a Truti.One hundred Trutis make one Vedha ,and three Vedhas make one Lava . Three Lavas make one Nimesha ,which is the blink of an eye .Three Nimeshas make one kshna ,Five kshna make one Kashtha,and fifteen Kashthas make one Laghu .

fifteen Laghus make one Nadika or Danda . Two Nadikas make one Muhurta . And six or seven Nadikas make one prahara ,which is a watch of the day . There are eight Prahara in a full day and night . Fifteen days make on Paksha .Two Paksha make one month,and two months make one Ritu or season .There are six Ritus in a year .

In this way,one year of human is only one day and night for the Devtas,the celestial beings.The northern movement of the sun ,Uttarayan ,is their day,and the southern movement,Dakshinayan ,is their night .One year of Devtas is equal to 360 years of human beings.The four Yuga follow this divine calculation .

Satya Yuga is of 4800 divine years,Treta Yuga is of 3600 divine years,Dwapara Yuga is of 2400 divine years,and Kali Yuga is of 1200divine years .When you add the Sandhya or joining periods,the total of the four yugas become 12000 divine years.This is called one Chaturyugi or one Mahayug,which is equal to 43,20000 human years.

“OVidura ,in one day of Lord Brahma ,there are 14 Manus who rule ,Each Manu rules for 71 Mahayuga .This period is called one Manvantara . During each Manvantara,different Devtas,Sptarishis,Indra and Gandharvas come into being to manage the universe.

Before each Manvantara ,there is a Sandhi Kaal,a period of dissolution when the earth is submerged in water ,but Saptrishis and others are saved and brought into the next Manvantara.

Now listen about the life of Brahma himself one thousands Mahayugas make one day of Brahma ,which ia called a Klpa,and his night is equally long .During his day ,the three worlds,Bhu,Bhuva and Sva remain manifest .And during his night they are all submerged in darkness and sleep .

At the end of one day of Brahma ,there is a partial dissolution called Naimittik Pralaya .At that time ,Lord Sankarshan from the lower worlds sends forth fire ,and the three worlds begin to burn.The residents,scorched by the heat,move to higher planets like Maharloka. Then for one hundred years of the Devtas,there are heavy clouds and continuous rain ,and the entire creation is submerged in water.

Brahma then sleeps on that water for his whole night.When his night ends,he wakes up again by the will of the Lord and srarts creation a new .

The age of Brahma is one hundred of his years.Each year has 360 days and nights .His total life span is 311 trillion and 40 billion human years . Half of his life ,fifty years ,has already passed.This is called Parardha . We are now in the second Parardha,in the first day of the 51st year of Brahma . This day is called Shwet Varaha Kalpa ,because in this Kalpa the Lod appeared as Varaha,the divine Boar ,to recue the earth .

In this Kalpa ,Six Manavantras have passed . We are now living in the seventh Manavntra,which is ruled by Vaivasvat Manu ,the son of the Sun God .

“O Vidura, beyond this Brahma Loka ,there are even higher planets like Tapoloka and Satyaloka where great sages live who are free from desires .Even they have to return when Brahma’s life ends,because everything within this material universe is temporary .Only the abode of Lord Vishnu ,Vaikuntha ,is eternal and beyond Time .

Hearing this ,Vidura was filled with wonder and fear.He understood that is this universe,from the smallest insect to Lord Brahma himself ,everyone is bound by the wheel of Time ,No wealth,no power,no long life can save one from Time .

He asked ,”Then what is the way to be free ?”

Maitreya smiled and said,”The only way to conquer Time is to take shelter of the one,who is the Master of Time ,the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna ,by hearing his pastimes,chanting His holy names,and doing His devotion,a living being can cross over this ocean,of time and attain the eternal world where there is no birth and no death.”

This is the supreme teaching of the eleventh chapter of the Third Canto of shrimdbhagavate.

By-Madan Lal Sharma

Website-thegodweknow.com