Phase 6 · Indian Contributions

26.4 4.32 Billion Years — Cosmic Time

How ancient Hindu cosmology computed a cosmic time cycle of 4.32 billion years — remarkably close to Earth's actual age of 4.54 billion years

~12 min3 pages + knowledge check

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Cosmic Time: The Yuga System

Hindu cosmology envisions time as a vast, cyclic structure unlike anything in Western conception. The universe is created and destroyed an infinite number of times, each cycle spanning billions of years. Remarkably, the numbers for these cycles are astonishingly close to modern astronomical timescales.

The Hierarchy of Time

Kali Yuga432,000 years

Dvapara Yuga864,000 years

Treta Yuga1,296,000 years

Krita/Satya Yuga1,728,000 years

Mahayuga (1 Chaturyuga)4,320,000 years

1 Kalpa = 1,000 Mahayugas4.32 billion years

Earth's actual age4.54 billion years

The Base Number: 432

The entire Yuga system is based on 432: Kali Yuga = 432,000; Mahayuga = 4,320,000 (432 × 10,000); Kalpa = 4,320,000,000 (432 × 10,000,000). The number 432 is sacred in Indian tradition. Some scholars have noted that 432,000 multiplied by the speed of light approaches the radius of the solar system — though this is a debated coincidence.