Yuga
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A yuga, in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time.<ref name="Dictionary.com yuga">Template:Dictionary.com</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the Rigveda, a yuga refers to generations, a period of time (whether long or short), or a yoke (joining of two things).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the Mahabharata, the words yuga and kalpa (a day of Brahma) are used interchangeably to describe the cycle of creation and destruction.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
In post-Vedic texts, the words "yuga" and "age" commonly denote a [[Yuga Cycle|Template:IAST]] (pronounced chatur yuga), a cycle of four world ages—for example, in the Surya Siddhanta and Bhagavad Gita (part of the Mahabharata)—unless expressly limited by the name of one of its minor ages: Krita (Satya) Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, or Kali Yuga.<ref name="Dictionary.com yuga"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Efn
The term "yuga" can represent the number 4. In early Indian astronomy, it referred to a five-year cycle starting with the conjunction of the sun and moon in the autumnal equinox.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
EtymologyEdit
Yuga (Template:Langx) means "a yoke" (joining of two things), "generations", or "a period of time" such as an age, where its archaic spelling is yug, with other forms of yugam, Template:IAST, and yuge, derived from yuj (Template:Langx), believed derived from {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Proto-Indo-European: Template:Lit. 'to join or unite').<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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See alsoEdit
- Hindu units of time
- Kalpa (day of Brahma)
- Manvantara (age of Manu)
- Pralaya (period of dissolution)
- Yuga Cycle (four yuga ages): Satya (Krita), Treta, Dvapara, and Kali
- List of numbers in Hindu scriptures
Explanatory notesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Calendars Template:Time in religion and mythology Template:Brahmanda