'The Intriguing Vedic Universe' was my first book on Vedic cosmology, explaining the mysterious universe described in the Srimad Bhagavatam. It describes not just the physical aspects, in a level of detail that rivals modern science, but also the metaphysical aspects, the missing aspect that is missing in the modern perspective.
Chapter 13: The Cosmic Cycles
In the previous chapters, we studied the cycles of four eras that affect our planet. The cycles of Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dwapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga go on cyclically like the seasons of the year.
Each complete cycle of four eras is called catur-yuga, or divya-yuga, and it lasts for a total of 12,000 celestial years or 4.32 million years. It may seem like a very long period, but it’s just a moment in the cosmic scale of time.
It’s described, for example, that inhabitants of Indraloka live for 10,000 celestial years. From there, we can see that not only the living standard but also the perception of time on different planets of the cosmos differ. What’s almost a complete universal cycle for us, is just a lifetime for such higher beings.
The cycle that affects the inhabitants of the higher planetary systems more directly is the Manvantara. To understand this next cycle we need to understand how our universe is managed.
Although the modern understanding is that everything works by just the combination of physical laws, the Vedas explain that the different forces that control the universe are under the supervision of the Devas, like Indra, Surya, Vayu, etc. Although the term “Deva” is usually translated as “demigod”, the Devas are also mortal beings. It’s just that because of their high qualification they receive positions of trust where they become responsible for controlling the forces of nature. Their positions can be compared with those of ministers, who although regular human beings, receive the power and responsibility of looking over certain aspects of the state. The names attributed to them are actually posts that are occupied at different times by different personalities. The current Indra, for example, is called Purandara, and the next will be Bali.
A manvantara is composed of 71 chatur-yugas and lasts for a total of 852,000 celestial years or 306,720,000 years in Jambudvipa. The events at the end of a Manvantara are much more dramatic than the events of the end of kali-yuga, resonating all over the cosmos.
All the Devas, led by Manu, live for the period of a single Manvantara. When the period is concluded, they move to higuer planetary systems and a new generation of Devas has to take their places. During this time there are many disturbances in the universe and it takes some time until things get back on track. During this period, life on most planets ceases almost completely, and everything starts again with the advent of a new Manu, who receives the mission of repopulating the universe with all the different species of life. This period of transition is called Sandhya, and it lasts for 1.728 million years.
The next cosmic cycle is called a Kalpa, and it lasts for a total of 4.32 billion years. At the end of this period, all the gross planets and other structures of the universe are destroyed, and only the material elements remain. All the lower planets, as well as the terrestrial realms of Bhu-Mandala and Swargaloka, are completely destroyed. It's narrated in the Brhad-Bhagavatamrta that only the higher realms of Jana-Loka, Tapa-Loka, and Brahmaloka remain. Even the powerful sages of Maharloka are forced to emigrate to Jana-Loka at this time, since their planetary system becomes too hot, even for them. After the end of the cycle, there is a long period of darkness that persists for another 4.32 billion years.
The Kalpa cycles correspond to the days and nights of Lord Brahma. During the 4.32 billion years of his day, the different cycles of the Universe go on, and the Universe remains dormant during the 4.32 billion years of his night.
Although very powerful, Brahma is a mortal being, just like us. However, due to his great qualification, he receives the responsibility of managing the Universe, like a king or president. It may look like a prestigious position, but in reality it’s a quite difficult job. Most of us already have trouble maintaining a small family with a few children. Imagine having a whole Universe depending on you. It’s narrated, for example, that long ago, Brahma fell asleep during his day, which triggered a partial devastation of the Universe! This illustrates how things can go wrong with Brama’s slightest inattentiveness.
When the Universe is destroyed, all the souls who take part in it enter into a state of deep sleep. Just like we have to sleep at the end of a busy day, everyone has to sleep during this period, it’s just that this slumber lasts much longer. When Brahma finally wakes up, he has to recreate the Universe from the material elements left from the previous cycle, allowing all the souls to get new bodies and start again their activities from where they stopped last time.
As part of this process, Brahma has to re-create all the planets, as well as repopulate the Universe, starting from the most elevated beings. One personality who has a pivotal role in this is Manu, who is in charge of creating the first representatives of each species on each planet, as well as supervising the universal affairs. Just like in the case of the Devas, “Manu” is not a name, but a post that is occupied by different personalities at different times. As mentioned, Manu works in cooperation with the demigods to maintain the order of the cosmos. Each team of a Manu and different demigods lives for a Manvantara, and there is a succession of 14 different teams during a Kalpa.
If you try to do the calculation, the numbers at first will not add up. Each Manvantara corresponds to 71 chatur-yugas, and thus 14 Manvantaras correspond to just 994 chatur-yugas instead of 1000. This difference corresponds to the duration of the initial creation, as well as the sandhyas at the end of each Manvantara. We can say that each Manvantara includes 71 complete cycles of chatur-yugas and there are a few other fragments left over, corresponding to the sandhyas. Including these fragments, the number adds up to exactly 4.32 billion years.
According to the Vedas, we are in the 28th Kali-yuga of the 7th manvantara of the current day of Brahma. In other words, we are close to the middle of his day. We can thus calculate that the Universe has already gone through about 2.281 billion years of this particular cycle of creation. It may sound like a very long time, but this is nothing compared to the total age of the Universe.
According to the Vedas, we are on the first day of the 51st year of the life of Brahma. This means that our Brahma already lived half of his life, which equals 18,000 cycles of creation and destruction. In total, our Universe is more than 155 trillion years old.
Brahma lives for a total of 311.04 trillion years, an extremely long time. During this period the universe goes through 36,000 cycles of creation and destruction, corresponding to the passage of his days and nights. After this period, Brahma finally reaches the end of his life. With his death, the universe is completely destroyed.
Here we come to another difference. We measure time by solar years, which have 365 days, but the Vedas inform us that years in all the high planetary systems have 360 days. This includes the realms of Bhuvar-Loka, Swarga-Loka, Mahar-Loka, Jana-Loka, Tapa-Loka and Brahma-Loka. We also have years with 360 days on our planet when the lunar calendar is used, which was done in many ancient cultures, including the Vedic cultures of India.
In any case, even the mind-boggling 311.04 trillion years of the life of Brahma are not the end. After an equally long period, the universe is created again by Maha-Visnu. There is a new Brahma and a new cycle of 311.04 trillion years starts. Again, all the different cycles repeat.
That’s the secret behind these detailed descriptions of the future offered in the Vedas. Time in our plane works in a circular way, with the same general events repeating cyclically, just like a theatrical performance that is staged again and again, with the same script but different actors. The higher beings that transmitted this knowledge can see the circular nature of time, and they share this knowledge with us in the form of the Vedas, so we can understand how the cycles work and make the best out of it. We tend to think that our everyday events are so important, but they are just an imperceptible blip in the vast scale of universal affairs.
Hari bol ....