TABLE III.

Year of 360 days.

Month of 30 days.

864000= 43200= 43200= 3600=

4= 1

60= 8= 2= 1

12960000= 648000= 648000= 54000= 900= 120= 30= 15 = 1 25920000= 1296000= 1296000= 108000 1800 240= 60= 30= 2= 1 *311040000=15552000=15552000=1296000=21600=2880=720=360=24=12=1

=

* A prophetic Menwantara.

2=

1

20=
240=
14400=
108000=

10=

1

120=

12=

1

7200=

720=

60 =

1

54000=

5400=

450=

7+=

21600=

1800=

30=

Matires.

12

The Hindus have several modes of expressing time; A Menwantara is 71 divine ages, or 432000 × 17 = 306720000. It is given as follows:

Eighteen Nimeshas, or twinklings of an eye, are one Casht'ha; thirty Casht'has one Cala; thirty Calas one Mahurta; and just so many Mahurtas let mankind consider as the duration of their day and night."

"The Sun causes the distribution of day and night, both divine and human; night being intended for the repose of various beings, and day for their exertion."

"A month of mortals is a day and night of the Pitris, or Patriarchs, inhabiting the Moon; and the division of a month being into equal halves, the half beginning with the full moon is their day for action, and that beginning with the new moon is their night for slumber."

“A year of mortals is a day and night of the Gods, or regents of the universe, situated round the north pole: and again their division is this; their day is the northern, and their night the southern course of the Sun."

Learn now the division of a day and night of Brahma, and of the several ages that shall be mentioned in order succinctly."

Suges have given the name of Crita to an age, commining four thousand years of the Gods:

the twilight preceding it consists of as many hundred, and the twilight following it of the same number."

In the other three ages, with their twilight preceding and following, are thousands and hundreds diminished by one."

"The divine years in the four human ages just enumerated, being added together, their sum, or twelve thousand, is called the age of the Gods."

"And by reckoning a thousand such divine ages, a day of Brahma may be known; his night has also an equal duration." Again,

"The before-mentioned age of the Gods, or twelve thousand of their years, being multiplied by seventy-one, constitutes what is here named a Menwantara, or the time, Antara, of a Menu.”

"There are numberless Menwantaras; creations also and destructions of worlds innumerable : the Being supremely exalted performs all this with as much ease as if in sport; again and again, for the sake of conferring happiness *."

It is necessary to explain this mode of reckoning, previously to the application of it. In the preceding table it appears that the Calijug, the fourth age, or 432000 years answers to one half day, or 12 hours; consequently the aggregate of the

* Vide Institutes of Menu, ch. 1.

ages of 432000 years, 12000 years of the Gods, is equal to ten days of 12 hours, or to five whole days. Thus one divine age, or 12000 years is symbolical of five days of 24 hours; and these days multiplied by 71 give 355, or one Savan year. So that a Menwantara, or 71 divine ages, the apparently prolonged period of 306720000 years, denotes one year only; being nothing more than the number of Matires contained in a Savan year. The Hindus have a variety of years, all of which agree with those of the ancient Jews. The Hindu Savan year corresponds in point of duration with the Lunar year of the Jews. It consists of 355 days, which is the number of times the Sun rises above the horizon during its progress through the ecliptic. On this year their cypher is formed. There are, however, several others consisting of 357 and 360 days. In one of the Vedas, time is divided as follows: 18 Nimeshas = 1 Casht'ha.

30 Mahurtas = 1 day of 24 hours,

which multiplied into each other, give 486000. But as that number of Nimeshas † is equal to 864000

• Vide Appendix (C).

+A Casht'ha=32 Matires or 8 Indian seconds=3" European.

A Cala

Matires, it makes no alteration in the calculation of the Menwantara; which is, and ever was, symbolical of one year, or of the renewal of Creation at the return of the vernal equinox.

The life of Brahma comes next to be explained. But we must not confound Brahma with Brahm, or the Eternal; for, according to the mythology of the Hindus, the great power emitted a spark of his divine essence, or Brahma, for the express purpose of creation, saying: "Go, bid all worlds exist;” and the duration of his life is limited to that of the Creation, which he formed, as will be more fully explained by the following table.