Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c7.1735

c7.1735

Fifteen Nimiṣas make one Kāṣṭhā. Thirty Kāṣṭhās make one Kalā and thirty Kalās make one Muhūrta. Thirty Muhūrtas make one day (man’s) and thirty such days, divided into two fortnights form a Māsa (month). Six months form an Ayana; there are two ayanas called Dakṣiṇa and Uttara. Dakṣiṇāyana is night, and Uttarāyaṇa is day for the Devas. 12,000 Divyavarṣas—Deva varṣas—form a Caturyuga consisting of the Kṛta—Tretā—Dvāpara and Kali yugas, consisting respectively of 4000, 3000, 2000 and 1000 Divyavarṣas. Before the commencement and after the end of every one of the above four yugas there is an interval respectively of 400, 300, 200, and 100 years. The interval before the commencement is called Sandhyā and that at the end is called Sandhyāṁśa. The period between Sandhyā and Sandhyāṁśa is called Kṛta yuga etc. One thousand Caturyugas form one day for Brahmā, and it (Brahmā’s one day) has 14 Manus. Again, Chapter 8, Part 2 of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa has the following to say about Kālamāna.