Kali Yuga

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Kali Yuga

The "Iron Age" of Hindu mythology. Hindu mythology posits four ages of the world: the Krita Yuga (Golden Age of Truth), lasting 4,800 years of the gods; the Treta Yuga (Silver Age), 3,600 years of the gods; the Dwapara Yuga, 2,400 years of the gods; and the Kali Yuga (Iron or Evil Age), 1,200 years of the gods.

Since a year of the gods equals 360 years of men, the extent of Kali Yuga is said to be 432,000 years; it would have begun in 540 B.C.E. During the Kali Yuga righteousness has diminished by three-quarters, and the age is one of devolution, culminating in the destruction of the world prior to a new creation and another Krita Yuga in an endless cycle of time.