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कल्प
kalpa
A 'day of Brahma' = 1,000 mahayugas = 4.32 billion human years. Also 14 manvantaras. Brahma's night equals one kalpa, then dissolution.
कल्प; ब्रह्मा का एक दिन।
Hindu thought is built from a vocabulary of carefully-distinguished terms. Words like kalpa are not loose translations — each has a precise scriptural genealogy, a specific role in ritual or philosophy, and often a counterpart that completes its meaning. Many of the major Hindu darśanas (Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Vedānta, Mīmāṃsā, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika) refined their vocabulary over centuries; the same Sanskrit term can carry different shades in different schools.
Kalpa sits within a cluster of related concepts — yuga, manvantara, brahma. Reading these together gives you the actual texture of the idea, rather than treating it as an isolated definition. Each Sanskrit term in this glossary is cross-linked to the others it presupposes.
Where useful we cite the primary scriptural source — the Upaniṣad, sūtra, or smṛti passage where the term is given its classical sense — alongside trusted modern dictionaries (Monier-Williams, V.S. Apte, Sanskrit Heritage). For practical questions about usage in pūjā or daily life, ask a paṇḍita in your tradition.
Age. The four yugas (chatur-yuga or maha-yuga): Satya (1,728,000 yrs), Treta (1,296,000 yrs), Dvapara (864,000 yrs), Kali (432,000 yrs). One mahayuga = 4,320,000 human years.
The reign of one Manu = 71 mahayugas. Fourteen manvantaras complete a kalpa. We are currently in the Vaivasvata Manvantara (the seventh).
Creator deity of the trimurti. Four-faced (chaturmukha) reading the four Vedas. Consort: Saraswati. Vahana: hamsa. Rare in temple worship — only Pushkar (Rajasthan) and Asotra have major Brahma temples.
World/realm. Fourteen lokas: 7 upper (Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah, Mahah, Janah, Tapah, Satya) and 7 lower (Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala, Patala).
The reign of one Manu = 71 mahayugas. Fourteen manvantaras complete a kalpa. We are currently in the Vaivasvata Manvantara (the seventh).
Age. The four yugas (chatur-yuga or maha-yuga): Satya (1,728,000 yrs), Treta (1,296,000 yrs), Dvapara (864,000 yrs), Kali (432,000 yrs). One mahayuga = 4,320,000 human years.
Awaiting paṇḍita verification before final publication. If you spot an inaccuracy in the Sanskrit, IAST, or interpretation, please write to us.