Yuga is the time period in which the universe is divided into, this time period is also calculated on the basis of number of years of Gods. One God year is approximately 432 human years.

(1) SATYA or KRITA YUGA

Length of Satya Yuga: 1,728,000 human years/ 4,000 years of the Gods.

This is said to be the golden age when Gods used to live with humans as humans were pure at heart. The life of people was filled with happiness and joy and they used live on the Amrit/Nectar provided by the Mother Earth. The mental faculties of the people were developed to such an extent that the powers possessed by them were nearly equivalent to Gods.

It was a period when every individual was endowed with the chausatt (64-Sixty four) Riddhis, ashtang (8-Eight) Siddhis and Nav (9-Nine) Nidhis. It may be strange but there were no climates, no day and night and the human nature was as pure as Gold. Every individual used to do dhyana and was not afraid of the cycle of life and death. In this period, people used to live for thousands of years and that is the reason they were called chirayu (eternal life). The sky was roof and the lap of Mother Earth was bed for them.

(2) TRETA YUGA

Length of Treta Yuga: 1,296,000 human years/ 3,000 years of the Gods.

It was a test for the Gods to find out the quantum of purity of the human and for this God created a sense of confusion in the minds of people. This confusion created a void in the minds of people and they began to search for the truth. Gods hid himself from the sight of the people. It was only during this time that the trees and plants appeared, Indra (also known as Purandra, god of rain) created rain and the climates started appearing. The beauty, which had appeared around the Mother Earth fascinated people, and this fascination led to selfishness for possession. People started fighting over the trees, land, etc. This led to creation of houses, villages and cities. People started working on gaining knowledge for finding the truth. The siddhis and riddhis of the human started diminishing and strived hard to achieve those spiritual powers.

Evil natured human with the increase of knowledge started feeling superior. They started claiming themselves to be demigods on the face of earth. The life span of people also reduced considerably. Due to felling of plants and trees for building houses the ecological disbalanced started occurring.

It was during this period that Rig Veda was composed. People started worshipping nature, Indra (Water), Varuna (Air) and Agni (Fire). It was also in this period that human started fearing for life. They also started sacrificing animals and humans to gain material benefits.

(3) DWAPARA YUGA

Length of Dwapara Yuga: 864,000 years/ 2,000 years of the Gods.

By the beginning of this period human had lost nearly every Riddhis and Siddhis gained during the Satya Yuga.

The plants and trees nearly became extinct by now and this caused human to fight over rivers, land and mountains. It was during this period Ayurveda was born, by which people became knowledgeable on the qualities of herbs for curing people.

Due to fighting and over utilisation of the hearbs they too became extinct. People felt the need for finding a solution. During this period the concept of Varnas was developed by Lord Brahma in order to stop the fighting and blessed them with cow and created trees, herbs and animals again.

but people were so corrupt as they found solace in material gains and for achieving these goals they even got their kith and kin sacrificed. Gods disappeared from earth.

this period saw the development of various mantras and tantras dedicated to various Gods. People started organising huge Yagyas for appeasing Gods. Many complicated and difficult techniques for achieving riddhis and siddhis were also developed during this period.

(4) KALI YUGA

Length of this Kali Yuga: 432,000 human years/ 1,000 years of Gods.

Presently we are in this yuga and have completed nearly 5,100 human years. The mind of human beings have been corrupted with material wants to such an extent that they would not hesitate to sell God to earn for their living. People with little knowledge will become incarnation of Gods and they would be asked to worship. These people would have large followers and even will not hesitate to proclaim themselves as Gods.

True worshippers will gain a lot with little efforts in this yuga. What a person might achieve in one month in this yuga would be equivalent to 10 years of efforts in Treta yuga.

When this yuga completes its tenure a new universe would be formed and the cycle would continue again.

Total Time for One Cycle or Manvantara: 4,320,000,000 years.

This great article is taken from below book:
Book Name: INDIA, Known things Unknown secrets
Writer: R. VENUGOPALAN
ISBN: 81-8056-373-1
Book Code: BV-5725
Publisher: Health Harmony, New Delhi, India