Mahayuga ia a cosmic time unit.
Time has neither origin or conclusion, according to traditional
Hindu calculation, but instead alternates between cycles of creation and
activity, followed by cessation and quietude.
Each of these cycles lasts 4.32 billion years, with the
active period known as Brahma's Day and the tranquil phase known as Brahma's
Night.
The Day of Brahma is split into one thousand mahayugas
("great cosmic eras"), each lasting 4.32 million years, according to
one reckoning of cosmic chronology.
The Krta Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga are
the four periods that make up each mahayuga.
Each one is shorter and more horrible than the one before
it; towards the conclusion of the Kali Yuga, things have deteriorated to the
point where the only solution is to destroy and recreate the world, at which
point the next Krta Yuga starts.
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