Time : Kala - The philosophy of Time from Ancient India
“Kalo asvo vahati saptarasmih
sahasrakso ajaro bhuriretah.
Tama rohanti kavayo
vipascitasya cakr bhuvanani visva”1
“Profilic, thousand-eyed, and
undecaying, a horse with seven reins Time bears us onward.
Sages inspired with holy
knowledge mount him : his chariot wheels are all the worlds of creatures.”1
The genesis of defining
Time in Ancient India evolved from the Vedas, notwithstanding, man since the
beginning of the Universe must have wondered about the passage of time on
seeing the movement of the sun and the moon. The philosophical debate of Time
evolved around the world with Ancient India developing its own thought – its
reality and non reality. It is not that the seers did not question the proof of
its very existence which did lead to the question of what is the essence of
time. Is it what the clock reads? Is it real and absolute or is it an
intellectual concept that humans use to understand and sequence events. Are we
merely occupying time which is relative? And how old is Time?
The Hindu philosophy has
always led all creations of this Universe including Time to the creative power
of ‘Brahman’, the ultimate reality – “That” from which everything in this world
proceeds and to which everything returns, the origin and cause of all that
exists. Time is one but actions and moments are fragmented and appear in a
sequence. These segments of time are categorized into seconds, minutes, days,
months and so on creating the notion of past, present and future. The ordinary
life is sequenced by these three powers of Time which has been called the wire puller of the world machine2.
Yet in reality there is no sequence and all the three powers of time are
constantly present where the objects move on the three paths separately. Time
is a dimension that differentiates activities with quickness and slowness as
superimposed on a single locus. All these doctrines of time are valid as long
as there is illusion, but when the wisdom dawns, they vanish.
Since Time is ineffable
by the senses, the progression of the Sun, measured by the wink of the Nimesha
(eye) and prana (breathing), becomes the
evidence of its existence and symbol. Without
proof there is no evidence of what is to be proved, but even what is to be
proved can become proof, for the sake of making itself known3 . Time
starts from the end of that stillness of the Universe, the moment of
Hrinayagarbha and when the sun rises, moving from Non-Time to Time and again
ending in the destruction to restart a new cycle. Time is cyclic according to
the Indian philosophy, unlike the Abrahamic view of it being linear and
directional. It is depicted as a wheel called the “Kalachakra” or the wheel of
time, where the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and
destruction.
“From
Fervour kindled to its height Eternal Law and Truth were born:
Thence was the Night produced, and thence the
billowy flood of sea arose.
From that same billowy flood of sea ’Savatsaro
Ajayata’- the Year was afterwards produced”4
The motion of the sun
and the moon have in all ages determined the natural division of time. Sunrise
to sunrise was the day, from one moon to another was the month and the year,
from the beginning of one season until its return. The most ancient year consisted
of 360 days which were about twelve revolutions of the moon and one of the sun.
This is embedded in a Rig Veda hymn where the 360 days, with as many nights,
are called the 720 children of the Sun. But the twelve lunar months and one
revolution of the sun created a difference of eleven days in a year (Solar
Year:3651/4 days; Moon’s revolution : 291/2 days). Being conscious of this
difference, ancient India created a cycle of 5 solar years with 62 lunations.
Three ordinary years of 12 lunations and two years, the 2nd and the
5th, each with an intercalary or thirteenth month with minor upward
adjustment of half a day every year. The intercalary month was well known in the Vedic period as oblations
were offered not only to the twelve months, but also to the deity of the
offspring month called Anhasaspati. The lunar months were divided into two
fortnights, pakshas, the dark
(Krishna) and the light (shukla) according to the wanning and waxing of the
moon with lunar days called tithis. Each year in the five year cycle were
named with the first year as Samvatsara
and thereafter Parivatsara, Iddvatsara, Anuvatsara and Udvatsara.The year was
also divided into three seasons of Grishma (Heat), Varsha (Rain) and Hemanta
(Cold).
Over the centuries
numerous system of calandar were formed and many of them to account for the
study of astronomy and astrology. The Saptarishi Kal, or the cycle of the seven
Rishis, the Barhaspatya-Manas, or sixty and twelve year cycles of Jupiter, the
Kali-Yuga, the Parasuram Chakra or cycle of 1000 years, the eras of Selenkidae
and Parthia, Graha-parivrithi Chakra of 90 years, Gupta Kal, Saka Kal, Lakshman
Sena era of Bengal were some of the era formulation of which the Vikram Samavat
is the most prominent Hindu Calendar still in use. It is a unisolar calendar
using twelve to thirteen lunar months and is 57 years ahead of the Gregorian
Calender.
Another important
aspect in the evolution of Time philosophy was the expounding of the Vedic
notions of cyclic timelines and
developing cosmic or divine ages by embracing the solar and lunar years. The
Hindu cosmological framework encompasses the imaginative vastness of cycles of
Time where a mahayuga or a cycle of time lasts for 43,20,000 years and
encapsulates four lesser cycles, each smaller than the previous and declining
in an orderly, arithmetical progression. These are repeated again and again
through out every day of the creator of Brahma. The day of Brahma is the basic
time unit of creation whereas his night brings about the destruction of the
world. The four yugas are Krita (Satya)
yuga lasting 17,28,000 years, Treta yuga of 1,296,000 years, Dvapara yuga with
864000 years and Kali yuga believed to have started in 3102 BCE and which will
last for 432,000 years. This 4:3:2:1 ratio in the number of years in each yuga
is to be found in their other characteristics like the duration of human life
and observance of Dharma decreasing according to this proportion. The yuga
concept in Hinduism, as understood today, is a product of later Puranic texts
with their names linked to the ancient practice of dice
gambling, marked with 4-3-2-1, and which had both secular and ritual
significance near the Vedic altars. The
connection between the names of the Yugas and the game of dice lies in the fact
that in some Vedic Texts these names are given to the different throws of the
game or, according to a different interpretation, to the different dice in the
game. The names appear in the Taittiriya Samhita in an invocation to the five
world directions (cardinal points plus zenith) which is used during the
building of an altar. Each element is associated with different elements such
as season, a deity, a sage and acertain age in the life of the calf.The dice
throws are among these elements.5 The explanation in the use of
the names of the dice throws for the Yugas are multiple and one among them is
embedded in a Rig Veda hymn where a relationship between the Gods and the dice
is expressed and confirms the “cyclic” character of the coming and going of
fortune. The gods move about like dice,
who gives us wealth and take it away
The vastness of this
cosmological lifespan extends much beyond the Mahayuga with the next step being
Manvantara having 71 Chatur yugas. It is a cyclic period of time identifying
the duration, reign or age of a Manu, the progenitor of mankind in which the
seven Rishis, a Manu, an Indra and kings are created and perish and currently
we are in the seventh manvantara. The next is a Kalpa with 4.32 billion years
representing 1000 mahayugas and a day of Brahma, the creator (12 hour day). A
kalpa is followed by a pralaya (dissolution) of equal length, which together
constitute a day and night of Brahma. We are believed to be currently in the
Shveat_Varaha kalpa which is the 51st year of Brahma. This is all
encompassed within Maha-Kalpa and Maha-Pralaya having 311.04 trillion years
representing 100 years of Brahma or his end where he enters the absolute.
According to the Hindu philosophy the lifespans for humans, forefathers, devas
and Brahma are different with 1 year of a human being 1us or one millionth of a
second for Brahma. To measure this vast lifespan of time, wink of the eye
(Nimesha) and respiration (prana) was used to describe the units of time Five
and ten winks of the eye made a kashtha. Thirty kashthas made a kala, thirty
kashthas with the tenth of a kala made a muhurta and thirty muhurtas made one
day and night. This went upto the day and night of Brahma with the base unit
being a Truti representing 29.6 us (One millionth of a second)
But how did people in
ancient times record time during the course of the day in absence of any modern
day clock. The ordinary class of people must have used their basic senses to
perceive time. But Arthshastra enjoins the King to be bound by time and divide
his day and night into eight watches to carry out his responsibilities and
conduct of life within the accuracy of time. The measurement of time through instruments and conveying it through striking
of a drum or a gong are all detailed by Kautilya. This was India of 3rd
Century BCE when the Mauryan empire had already been established. But more
important was the accuracy of time required for performing the vedic rituals as
the benefits were governed by the timings and locations of the heavenly
planets. “The very purpose of Vedas is to prescribe how yajnas should be
performed. Yajnas should be performed as per auspicious time prescribed. If one
can determine time accuracy that will clear all sins and deliver the full
benefits of rituals. The Sun (the position) determines the time.”
The Surya Sidhanta
broadly details two time measuring instruments in ancient India, one being a
shadow based system called Chaya Yantra with six variants in the shape of the
gnomon and the other being a flow based system called a Jal Yantra with
variants used as water, oil, sand and kapala. The Jal yantra was a copper
vessel with a hole of a specific measure in the bottom, set in a basin of pure
water, and which sank sixty times in a day and night. The chaya yantra worked
with the complexities of direction and circular lines on a horizontal platform
which measured time based on the shadow of the sun falling on this platform through
a gnomon. The magnificent 13th century Konark Sun Temple on the
coastline in Puri is designed in the shape of a huge sun chariot. Drawn by seven mighty spirited horses on
twelve pairs of beautifully decorated wheels, it is a symbol of that chaya yantra embedded
with the units of time. The seven horses represent seven days of a week, the
twelve pairs of wheels represent Twelve months of the year, twenty four wheels
signify twenty four hours of a day and the eight major spokes in the wheel
signify eight major prahar (three hour period) of a day. The thinner spoke between
two wider spokes is of ninty minutes. There are thirty beads between one wider
spoke to the next thinner spoke and each bead represents three minutes. The sun
dial shows time in anticlockwise and the top centre wider spoke represents 12 o
clock based on the shadow of the sun falling on it. This temple is a
representative of that importance imbibed in the intellectual fabric of time
philosophy and measurement in ancient India.
What is amazing of the Hindu
Time philosophy is that it is priori
to the Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity which postulated that Time was
relative and was not the same everywhere in the universe. The rate at which
time passes depends on the frame of reference and there is Time dilation. This
theory of relativity in the modern age was already embedded in the Hindu
philosophy many thousand years ago where Time was considered relative and
passing at different speeds for different people and in different situations.
When Time of Brahma, the creator, was
made different to that experienced by a normal human being on earth, it was
with this sense of relativity that the numbering was postulated. A beautiful story
of a princess narrated in Vishnu Puran
sums it all ;
“Revati
was the only daughter of Kakudmi, a
king in the ancient times. Like any father he felt that that no human could
prove to be good enough to marry his lovely and talented daughter. Kakudmi took
Revati with him to Brahmaloka—abode of Brahma.
When
they arrived, Brahma was listening to a musical performance by the gandharvas, so they waited
patiently until the performance was finished. Then, Kakudmi bowed humbly, made
his request and presented his shortlist of candidates. Brahma laughed, and
explained that time runs differently on different planes of existence and that
during the short time they had waited in Brahmaloka to see him, 27 chatur-yugas had
already passed on Earth and all the candidates had died long ago. Brahma added
that Kakudmi was now alone as his friends, ministers, servants, wives, kinsmen,
armies and treasures had now vanished from Earth and he should soon bestow his
daughter to a husband as Kali Yuga was near.
Kakudmi
was overcome with astonishment and alarm at this news.[10] However,
Brahma comforted him and added that Vishnu the
Preserver was currently on Earth in the forms of Krishna and Balarama and
he recommended Balarama as a worthy husband for Revati.
Kakudmi
and Revati then returned to earth, which they regarded as having left only just
a short while ago. They were shocked by the changes that had taken place. The
landscape and environment had changed and time had moved with a different speed
while they were with Brahma.”
Time is ultimately a womb of all that is created, sustainer of all that exists, destroyer of all that ceases to be. As Yajnavalkya, one of the greatest Vedic seers of 8th century BCE, says –“Kalah sanmanyah sukarye vinyaset’ (Time is something to be cherished and used wisely)
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