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:
“Every epoch which seeks renewal first projects its ideal into a human form. In order to comprehend its own essence tangibly, the spirit of the time chooses a human being as its prototype and raising this single individual, often one upon whom it has chanced to come, far beyond his measure, the spirit enthuses itself for its own enthusiasm.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“The writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet. His problem is to find that location.”
—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964)
“At the time there was a claustral monk named Frere Jean of the Hashes, who was young, gallant, joyful, good natured, dextrous, bold, adventurous, thoughtful, tall, thin, with a capacious mouth, gifted in the nose, a great dispatcher of hours, quite an accomplisher of masses, a quick doer-in of vigils,—to put it in a nutshell, a true monk if ever there’s been one since this monk of a world first monked out a monk; moreover, a cleric to his very teeth in matters of the breviary.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)