Listen, O wise ones, to the ancient reckoning of time as declared in the sacred tradition. A hundred years, it is said, make up the divine span, which in human measure amounts to three hundred thousand years. Among those learned in numbers, sixty thousand are counted, and these knowers proclaim that one thousand divine years comprise this span. By the measure of the gods, the calculation of the yugas—the great ages—unfolds. First comes the Krita Yuga, the age of perfection, followed by the Treta Yuga as prescribed in the scriptures. Then arise the Dvapara and Kali Yugas, these four forming the cycle of ages, each with its own duration counted in human years. O foremost of Brahmins, hear now the measure of the Krita Yuga according to the divine reckoning: it endures for one million four hundred thousand years, counted in thousands and hundreds. In another way, the Krita Yuga is said to last forty thousand years, and also ten thousand years multiplied by a hundred, as tradition records. The Treta Yuga, in turn, is said to endure for eighty thousand years, and in human measure, seven hundred thousand years. The Dvapara Yuga lasts for twenty thousand years, and altogether, three hundred thousand years. The Kali Yuga, the last and shortest, extends for sixty thousand years. Thus, the four yugas are remembered, excluding the twilight periods that mark their transitions. Without the twilight portions, the total comes to three million six hundred thousand years; including them, the count rises to four million three hundred thousand years. The twilight periods themselves span twenty thousand years, so the full measure of the four yugas with their twilights is seven million one hundred thousand years. This span—from Krita through Kali—is known as a Manvantara, a period whose count is declared at the beginning of each cycle. O best of the twice-born, a Manvantara consists of thirty crores of human years, with an additional sixty-seven lakhs. Of this duration, twenty thousand years are set aside as excess and excluded; such is the reckoning of a Manvantara as revealed in the Liṅga scripture. Thus is the cycle of the four yugas proclaimed. Know, O best of Brahmins, that a thousand such cycles make up one Kalpa, the day of Brahmā. At the end of Brahmā’s night, the worlds are created anew, while during the night, all living beings perish. For the celestial beings, twenty-eight crores are reckoned in this span. Within the Manvantaras, the count increases further: three hundred crores and ninety-two crores are spoken of. In the past Kalpa, there were seventy thousand, and again, eight thousand everywhere, summed up in the tradition. When dissolution comes at the end of the Kalpa, those beings who dwell in the Maharloka depart and ascend to Janaloka. The numbers continue: two thousand crores, eight hundred crore hundreds, sixty-two crores, and seventy lakhs are counted—such is the divine reckoning for half a Kalpa. A thousand Kalpas, in turn, make up one year of the unborn, the Supreme. Eight thousand years comprise the Brahma Yuga, the age of Brahmā; a thousand Yugas of the Savana are said to mark the origin of all the gods. Indeed, a thousand sacrifices—of three kinds and three qualities—are spoken of, and thus is the time of Brahmā, the embodiment of time, declared. Within these cycles are creation, emergence, and austerity; the things to come, the blossoming, the sacrifice, the seasons, the fire, the carrier of offerings, the Sāvitra, and the pure one. The names of the cycles and sages are remembered: Uśika, Kuśika, Gāndhāra, Ṛṣabha, Ṣaḍja, Majjālīya, Madhyama, Vairāja, Niṣāda, Meghavāhana, Citraka, Ākūti, and knowledge itself. Mind, Sudarśa, Bṛṃha, Śvetalohita, Rakta, those clad in yellow, Asita, and the one of all forms—such are the names by which the kalpas of Brahmā, whose birth is unmanifest, are counted. O best of sages, there are countless billions of such kalpas. So many days and nights have passed in this endless cycle. At the end of the supreme period, all things, everywhere, return to their source. The dissolution of all transformation occurs only by the command of Śiva; when transformation ceases, only primordial matter and the self remain. By similarity, both matter and person persist; yet when their qualities become unequal, O sages, that is creation. When the qualities are in perfect balance, dissolution occurs; the cause of both is Maheśvara, the Great Lord, who by his divine play brings forth such creations. In brief, from primordial matter, under its sway, arise countless beings, countless kalpas, and countless Pitāmahas—the grandfathers of creation. The Haris, too, are innumerable, but Maheśvara is ever one; all evolutions, beginning from primordial matter, proceed by his divine play. The activity of that God is threefold and consists of the three qualities; yet for the transcendent one, there is neither beginning, middle, nor end to his being. Beyond Pitāmaha, the great grandsire, there is another whose day equals two parārdhas; all that is created during his day is destroyed at his night. Then, the worlds of Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, and Svar, and those above, all are dissolved; at night, when all that moves and is still is lost, Brahmā rests in the one great ocean. Immersed in the waters of deep sleep, he is called Nārāyaṇa. At the end of the night, awakened, he beholds the world—both moving and unmoving—void and empty. Then, Brahmā, best among the knowers of Brahman, resolves to create anew. He lifts up the earth, which had been submerged in the waters, and, taking the form of a great boar, establishes it as before. The Lord then shapes the rivers, streams, and oceans, restoring them as they were in ages past.