TretYuga

Treta Yuga, also spelled Treta or Tretā Yuga, is the second of the four yugas in Hindu cosmology. It follows Satya Yuga and precedes Dvapara Yuga within a larger cycle known as a Mahayuga, which some traditions describe as a repeating sequence that ends with Kali Yuga before restarting with a new Satya Yuga.

In traditional timelines, Treta Yuga lasts 1,296,000 years, constituting part of a Mahayuga of 4,320,000 years. Moral and spiritual virtue is described as three-quarters of the level found in Satya Yuga, meaning dharma is present but progressively diminished compared with the preceding age. The era is viewed as a time when human society remains relatively virtuous, though not as perfect as in Satya Yuga, and when divine intervention becomes more visible in human affairs.

Cultural and mythological associations with Treta Yuga are strong in Hindu literature. The Ramayana is set during this period, describing Rama’s birth, his enactment as an ideal king, his exile, the rescue of Sita, and the ultimate triumph of dharma. The narrative presents a world where righteous governance and personal virtue are central, but with greater human frailty than in Satya Yuga.

Sources and interpretation vary across texts. The concept of yugas appears in Puranas, the Mahabharata, and various schools of Hindu philosophy, with differences in exact durations and symbolic emphasis. In contemporary Hindu tradition, it is commonly held that we are currently in Kali Yuga, with Treta Yuga understood as a preceding epoch in the same cyclical framework.