Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori

THE AGES 37
The Satya Yuga is, according to Hindu belief, the
Golden Age of righteousness, free of sin, marked by
longevity, physical strength, beauty, and stature. “There
were giants in those days” whose moral, mental, and
physical strength enabled them to undergo long brahmacārya
(continence) and tapas (austerities). Longevity
permitted lengthy spiritual exercises. Life then depended
on the marrow, and lasted a lakh of years, 1 men
dying when they willed. Their stature was 21 cubits. To
this age belong the Avatāras or incarnations of Viṣṇ u,
Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛ -siṃha, and Vāmana. Its
duration is computed to be 4,800 Divine years, which,
when multiplied by 360 (a year of the Devas being equal
to 360 human years) are the equivalent of 1,728,000 of the
years of man.
The second age, or Treta (three-fourth) Yuga, is that
in which righteousness (dharma) decreased by onefourth.
The duration was 3,600 Divine years, or 1,296,000
human years. Longevity, strength, and stature decreased.
Life was in the bone, and lasted 10,000 years.
Man's stature was 14 cubits. Of sin there appeared onequarter,
and of virtue there remained three-quarters.
Men were still attached to pious and charitable acts,
penances, sacrifice and pilgrimage, of which the chief
was that to Naimiśāraṇ ya. In this period appeared the
avatāras of Viṣṇ u as Paraśurāma and Rāma.
The third, or Dvāpara (one-half) yuga, is that in
which righteousness decreased by one-half, and the
1 Cf. the Biblical account of the long-lived patriarchs, Methuselah and
others: and for more favourable modern estimate of the “Primitives,” see M.
A. Leblond, “L’Ideal du dixneuvième siècle,” and Elie Reclus’ celebrated work
on the Primitives (1888).