mahayuga

Mahayuga, also known as a Chatur Yuga, is a unit of time in Hindu cosmology that represents a great age or era. It comprises four successive yugas—Satya (Krita) Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga—whose combined duration is 4,320,000 years. The cycle is endless, with one Mahayuga followed by another in an ongoing cosmic rhythm.

In this framework, virtue and righteousness decline through the four ages. Satya Yuga is described as the age of truth and virtue; Treta Yuga sees a mild decline; Dvapara Yuga includes further deterioration; and Kali Yuga, the current age in many traditions, is associated with strife, hardship, and moral decay. After Kali Yuga ends, a new Satya Yuga begins, renewing the cycle.

Durations assigned to each yuga are: Satya Yuga 1,728,000 years; Treta Yuga 1,296,000 years; Dvapara Yuga 864,000 years; Kali Yuga 432,000 years. The total of 4,320,000 years constitutes one Mahayuga. In Hindu cosmology, many Mahayugas form a day of Brahma, a 24-hour cycle of the creator god; a Brahma day equals 4.32 billion years and contains 1,000 Mahayugas. A Brahma’s life spans 100 such years.

The Mahayuga concept appears in various Hindu scriptures, including the Puranas and the Mahabharata, and is used to describe the cyclical nature of cosmic time, creation, and dissolution. In some traditions, Kali Yuga is said to have begun around 3102 BCE and continues to the present day.