Sankalpam & Cosmic Cycle

It may be noticed that any rituals which a Hindu performs on auspicious as well as
inauspicious occasions always start with a fixation of the precise time, the star, the day,
the Thithi, the fortnight, the month, the season, the half year , and the year on the micro
side as also the quarter of the yuga, the name of the yuga , the name of the cycle, the
Manvantara, and the Kalpa on the Macro side. In fact, orthodox Hindus do this
reckoning daily in their ' Nitya karma Anushtana' the daily routine Puja ( honoring) of
their Ishtadevata. In this way the formula for describing the exact time in the eternal cycle
has been passed on from generation to generation.

This is what we call the "Sankalpa' before commencing any rituals. This is also true of
fixation of the exact location where the ritual is performed. as already discussed in the
'Section on ' Space'.

SrI govinda govinda govinda!

asya SrI-bhagavata: mahA purushasya
vishNor AgjnayA pravartamAnasya
aadhya brahmaNa: dviteeya-parArdhE
SrI-SvEtha-varAha-kalpE,
vaivasvatha-manvantarE,
kaliyugE, prathamE pAdE,
Jamboo dveepE,
BhArata varshE,
Bharata: khaNDE,
SakAbde:,
merO: dakshiNE pArSvE
asmin vartamAnE vyAvahArikE,
PrabhavAdi shashTi samvatsarANAm madhyE,

*_____________ nAma samvatsarE, (e.g. Sarvajith 2007 )

* ______________ AyaNE, (e.g. DakshinaAyane, UtharAyane)
* _______________ Ritou, (e.g Varsha )
*_________________ mAsE, (e.g. Sravaana, Simhah )
*_________________ pakshE, (e.g. Sukla )
*_________________ Subha-tithau, (e.g. PourNamAsyAm )
*__________________vAsara (e.g. Baanu )
*__________________nakshatra yuktAyAm (e.g sravishTA )

SrI-vishnu-yOga, SrI-vishnu-karaNa, Subha-yOga, Subha-karaNa,

Yevam guNa,-viSeshaNa viSishTAyAm, asyAm PourNamAsyAm Subha-tithou,
SrI-Bhagavad-AjnayA, Sri Bhagavat-kainkarya-roopam

Sankalpam and Background of Cosmic Cycle 1

 Now, let us have a look at this Sankalpa: It goes on like this:

Dviteeya parardhe In the second half of Brahma’s life

Svetavaraha Kalpe In the Kalpa

of Sveta
Varaha

Vaivaswatha Manvantare In the reign of

Vaivaswatha Manu

Ashta Vimsati me within the

28th cycle

Kali Yuge In the Kali yuga

Prathame Pade In the

first quarter
thereof
Then, the Sankalpa refers to the geographical position of the place where the ritual is
performed. and this has been explained in the section on ' Space'. Resuming the reference
to time, the Sankalpa proceeds further as follows:-
Asmin Varthamane Vyavaharike In the current period
now proceeding
Prabavadi Shashti Samvatsaranam Madye Among the cycle of 60
years starting from
Prabhava

..... Nama Samvatsare in the year named

Dakshinayane or Uttarayane in the Soutern/Northern

movement of the Sun

.......Ritou in the season named ..

...... Mase in the month of ..

........Pakshe in bright/dark fortnight

........Punya Thithou in this holy Thithi numbered

.........Vasara uktayam on the day called.........

..........Nakshatra uktayam when the star … holds sway

Then, the Sankalpa proceeds to say that the ritual called..............is performed for the pleasure
of the Lord.

Sankalpam and Background of Cosmic Cycle 2

Background of Cosmic cycle and Sankalpam

Cosmic cycle: One of the infinitely recurring periods of the universe, comprising its
creation, preservation and dissolution. These cycles are measured in periods of
progressive ages, called yugas. Satya (or Krita), Treta, Dvapara and Kali are the names of
these four divisions, and they repeat themselves in that order, with the Satya Yuga being
the longest and the Kali Yuga the shortest. The comparison is often made of these ages
with the cycles of the day: Satya Yuga being morning until noon, the period of greatest
light or enlightenment, Treta Yuga afternoon, Dvapara evening, and Kali Yuga the darkest
part of the night. Four yugas equal one mahayuga.

Theories vary, but by traditional astronomical calculation, a mahayuga equals 4,320,000

solar years (or 12,000 "divine years;" one divine year is 360 solar years) - with the

• Satya Yuga lasting 1,728,000 years,

• Treta Yuga 1,296,000 years,
• Dvapara Yuga 864,000 years, and
• Kali Yuga 432,000 years.

Mankind is now experiencing the Kali Yuga, which began at midnight, February 18, 3102
bce (year one on the Hindu calendar [see Hindu Timeline]) and will end in
approximately 427,000 years. (By another reckoning, one mahayuga equals
approximately two million solar years.) A dissolution called laya occurs at the end of
each mahayuga, when the physical world is destroyed by flood and fire. Each destructive
period is followed by the succession of creation (srishti), evolution or preservation (sthiti)
and dissolution (laya).

A summary of the periods in the cosmic cycles:

• 1 mahayuga = 4,320,000 years (four yugas)

• 71 mahayugas = 1 manvantara or manu (we are in the 28th mahayuga)
• 14 manvantaras = 1 kalpa or day of Brahma (we are in the 7th manvantara)
• 2 kalpas = 1 ahoratra or day and night of Brahma 360 ahoratras = 1 year of
Brahma
• 100 Brahma years = 309,173,760,000,000 years (one "lifetime" of Brahma, or
the universe).

We are in Brahma Year 51 of the current cycle. At the end of every kalpa or day of
Brahma a greater dissolution, called pralaya (or kalpanta, "end of an eon"), occurs when
both the physical and subtle worlds are absorbed into the causal world, where souls rest
until the next kalpa begins. This state of withdrawal or "night of Brahma," continues for
the length of an entire kalpa until creation again issues forth.

Sankalpam and Background of Cosmic Cycle 3

After 36,000 of these dissolutions and creations there is a total, universal annihilation,
mahapralaya, when all three worlds, all time, form and space, are withdrawn into God .
After a period of total withdrawal a new universe or lifespan of Brahma begins. This
entire cycle repeats infinitely. This view of cosmic time is recorded in the Puranas and the
Dharma Shastras.

Vedic mantras pin point the time of performance of a ritual - by narrowing down from
dwiteeya paraardhe (in the 2nd half of the term of Bhrahma), Sweta varaaha kalpe (in the
kalpa sweta varaaha), Vaivasvata manvantare (in the 7th manvantaram), Kaliyuge (in the
kali epoch) - through the finer details such as the name of the current
year, month etc.

Sankalpam and Background of Cosmic Cycle 4