Kalpa (time)

A ''kalpa'' is a long period of time (aeon) in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, generally between the creation and recreation of a world or universe.

Etymology

''Kalpa'' () in this context, means "a long period of time (aeon) related to the lifetime of the universe (creation)." It is derived from कॢप् (kḷp) + -अ (-a, nominalizing suffix) ().

Hinduism

In Hinduism, a ''kalpa'' is a unit of time equal to 4.32 billion years. It corresponds to one day in the life of Brahma, the creator god, and represents the active, creative phase of the cosmic cycle. Each ''kalpa'' is made up of 1,000 '' Yuga Cycles'', vast ages that repeat in a set pattern.

A ''kalpa'' is further divided into 14 ''manvantaras''. Each ''manvantara'' lasts for 71 ''Yuga Cycles'', or 306.72 million years. Before the first ''manvantara'' and after each one are transitional periods known as ''sandhyas'', each as long as a ''Satya Yuga''—1.728 million years.

At the end of each ''kalpa'', the universe enters a period of rest and dissolution called ''pralaya'', or the night of Brahma. This night is equal in length to the day—another 4.32 billion years. Together, one day and night of Brahma make up a full cosmic day, totaling 8.64 billion years.

Expanding further, a month of Brahma contains 30 such day-and-night cycles, which adds up to 259.2 billion years. A year of Brahma consists of 12 months, or 360 days and nights, equaling 3.1104 trillion years. Brahma's full lifespan is 100 of these divine years—a span of 311.04 trillion years, known as a ''maha-kalpa''.

According to the traditional time-keeping, 50 years of Brahma's life have already passed. We are currently living in the ''Shveta-Varaha Kalpa'', which marks the first day of Brahma’s 51st year. At the conclusion of each ''kalpa'', it is believed that the world is destroyed by fire, only to be recreated again when the next day of Brahma begins.

The definition of a ''kalpa'' equaling 4.32 billion years is found in the Puranas such as ''Vishnu Purana'' and ''Bhagavata Purana''.

The ''Matsya Purana'' (290.3–12) lists the names of 30 ''kalpas'', each named by Brahma based on a significant event in the ''kalpa'' and the most glorious person in the beginning of the ''kalpa''. These 30 ''kalpas'' or days (along with 30 ''pralayas'' or nights) form a 30-day month of Brahma.

The ''Vayu Purana'' has a different list of names for 33 ''kalpas'', which G. V. Tagare describes as fanciful derivations.

Buddhism

In the Pali language of early Buddhism, the word ''kalpa'' takes the form ''kappa'', and is mentioned in the assumed oldest scripture of Buddhism, the ''Sutta Nipata''. This speaks of "Kappâtita: one who has gone beyond time, an Arahant". This part of the Buddhist manuscripts dates back to the middle part of the last millennium BCE.

Gautama Buddha claimed an incalculable number of Buddhas lived in previous ''kalpas'': Vipassi Buddha 91 ''kalpas'' ago, Sikhi Buddha 31 ''kalpas'' ago, and three prior Buddhas in the present ''kalpa''. He confines his teachings to the present ''kalpa'', the duration of which he doesn't arithmetically define, but uses a similitude:

A similar similitude is found in the ''Mountain Pabbata Sutta'' (SN 15:5) of the Pali Canon:

Described in the Vibhanga division of the Abhidhamma Pitaka are sixteen ''rupa brahma lokas'' (worlds or planes) and four higher ''arupa brahma lokas'', each attained through the imperfect, medial or perfect performance of the four states of ''jhāna'' (meditation), granting a duration of life measured in ''kalpas'' that exceed the top-most heavenly ''loka'' of 9.216 billion years:
* 1st ''jhāna'' leads to 3 lowest ''rupa lokas'' with respective lifespans of 1/3, 1/2 and 1 ''kalpa''.
* 2nd ''jhāna'' leads to 3 higher ''rupa lokas'' with respective lifespans of 2, 4 and 8 ''kalpas''.
* 3rd ''jhāna'' leads to 3 more higher ''rupa lokas'' with respective lifespans of 16, 32 and 64 ''kalpas''.
* 4th ''jhāna'' leads to 7 highest ''rupa lokas'' with respective lifespans ranging from 500 to 16,000 ''kalpas'', and 4 still higher ''arupa lokas'' with respective lifespans of 20,000; 40,000; 60,000 and 84,000 ''kalpas''.

At the termination of each ''kalpa'', the lower three ''rupa brahma lokas'', attained through the 1st ''jhāna'', and everything below them (six heavens, Earth, etc.) are destroyed by fire (seven suns), only to later again come into being.

In one explanation, there are four different lengths of kalpas. A regular kalpa is approximately 16 million years long (16,798,000 years), and a ''small'' kalpa is 1000 regular kalpas, or about 16.8 billion years. Further, a ''medium'' kalpa is roughly 336 billion years, the equivalent of 20 small kalpas. A ''great'' kalpa is four medium kalpas, or about 1.3 trillion years.

Gautama Buddha did not give the exact length of the ''maha-kalpa'' in terms of years. However, he gave several analogies to understand it.

# Imagine a huge empty cube at the beginning of a kalpa, approximately 16 miles in each side. Once every 100 years, you insert a tiny mustard seed into the cube. According to the Buddha, the huge cube will be filled even before the kalpa ends.

In one instance, when some monks wanted to know how many kalpas had elapsed so far, Buddha gave the below analogy:

# If you count the total number of sand particles at the depths of the Ganga river, from where it begins to where it ends at the Bay of Bengal sea, even that number will be less than the number of passed kalpas.

Another definition of Kalpa is the world where Buddhas are born. There are generally 2 types of kalpa, ''Suñña-Kalpa'' and ''Asuñña-kalpa''. The ''Suñña-Kalpa'' is the world where no Buddha is born. ''Asuñña-Kalpa'' is the world where at least one Buddha is born. There are 5 types of ''Asuñña-Kalpa'':

# ''Sāra-Kalpa'' – The world where one Buddha is born.
# ''Maṇḍa-Kalpa'' – The world where two Buddhas are born.
# ''Vara-Kalpa'' – The world where three Buddhas are born.
# ''Sāramaṇḍa-Kalpa'' – The world where four Buddhas are born.
# ''Bhadda-Kalpa'' – The world where five Buddhas are born.

The previous ''kalpa'' was the ''Vyuhakalpa'' (Glorious aeon), the present kalpa is called the ''Bhadrakalpa'' (Auspicious aeon), and the next kalpa will be the ''Nakshatrakalpa'' (Constellation aeon).

See also

* Brahma
* 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

References

External links

Kalpa names from various texts

{{Buddhism topics

Units of time
Buddhist philosophical concepts
Hindu philosophical concepts
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Time in Buddhism
Time in Hinduism