Time
The Complete Hindu metrics of time (Kāla Vyavahāra) can be summarized as below.
| Name | Definition | Equivalence | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prāna | प्राण | ca. 4 s | normal interval of respiration in humans | |
| Vipala | विपल | |||
| Vighaṭi | विघटि | 6 Prāna | ca. 24 s | |
| Vinādī | विनाडी | |||
| Pala | पल | |||
| Ghaṭi | घटि | 60 Vighaṭis | ca. 24 min | |
| Nādī | नाडी | |||
| Muhūrta | मुहूर्त | 2 Ghaṭīkā | ca. 48 min | |
| Nakṣatra Ahorātram | नक्षत्र अहोरात्रम् | 30 Muhūrta | ca. 24 h | sidereal day |
| Sāvana Ahorātram | सावन अहोरात्रम् | ca. 1 d | considered to begin from and end at sunrise | |
An alternate system described in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa Time measurement section of the Viṣṇu Purāṇa Book I Chapter III is as follows:
| Name | Definition | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Kāṣṭhās | 10 blinks of the eye | ca. 4.11 s |
| Kalā | 35 Kāṣṭhās | 144 s, 2.4 min |
| Muhūrta | 20 Kalās | 48 min |
| day | 30 Muhūrtas | 24 h |
| month | 30 days | |
| Ayana | 6 months | |
| year | 2 Ayanas | 360 days |
| day (day + night) of the gods | ||
| Name | Definition | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Paramāṇu | ca. 16.8 µs | |
| Aṇu | 2 Paramāṇu | ca. 33.7 µs |
| Trasareṇu | 3 Aṇu | ca. 101 µs |
| Truṭi | 3 Trasareṇu | ca. 1/3290 s = ca. 304 µs |
| Vedha | 100 Truṭi | ca. 30 ms |
| Lava | 3 Vedha | ca. 91 ms |
| Nimeṣa (blink) | 3 Lava | ca. 0.273 s |
| Kṣaṇas | 3 Nimeṣa | 0.82 s |
| Kāṣṭhās | 5 Kṣaṇa | ca. 4.1 s |
| Laghu | 15 Kāṣṭhā | ca. 1 min |
| Nāḍika | 15 Laghu | ca. 15.3 min |
| Daṇḍa | ||
| Muhūrta | 2 Daṇḍa | ca. 30.7 min |
| Yāma | 6 or 7 Muhūrta | |
| day(light) | 4 praharas or 4 yamas | |
| night | ||
| day | 1 day(light) + 1 night |
Read more about this topic: Hindu Time Cycles
Famous quotes containing the word time:
“The great belt on the wheel of Time slipped and eternity stood still.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“They have gone about the world like wind,
But little time had they to pray
For whom the hangman’s rope was spun,
And what, God help us, could they save?”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“I lay my eternal curse on whomsoever shall now or at any time hereafter make schoolbooks of my works and make me hated as Shakespeare is hated. My plays were not designed as instruments of torture. All the schools that lust after them get this answer, and will never get any other.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)