Day of Brahma
Day of Brahma
The Day of Brahma, or kalpa, is the
largest generally accepted measure of
time in Indian cosmology, and spans
432 million years. This time period is the
ultimate limit for the existence of the
created world, although within it the
universe undergoes periodic renewals.
At the conclusion of the Day of Brahma
comes the universal dissolution (pralaya),
in which the created universe is com-
pletely destroyed and reabsorbed into
Vishnu. The Day of Brahma is followed
by a night of equal length, during
which the only living thing is the god
Vishnu, who sleeps on the back of his
serpent couch, Shesha, and floats on
the surface of the cosmic ocean. When
the Night of Brahma is ended, a lotus
sprouts forth from Vishnu’s navel,
which opens to reveal the god Brahma,
and with the new Day of Brahma the
universe begins anew.
The Day of Brahma can be divided
into smaller units based on two different
methods. One of these divides the Day
of Brahma into fourteen equal ages, in
which each age is identified by the par-
ticular divine sovereign (Manu) who
rules during that age. Another divides
the Day of Brahma into one thousand
mahayugas, each of which has four con-
stituent yugas (units of cosmic time),
each shorter than the last. See also
Cosmic Time.
Deathbed Rites
General term for the rites done for a
dying person. These rites have a twofold
purpose: to purify the person’s body,
and, more importantly, to calm the
mind. The first is generally done by
applying holy substances, such as
Ganges wateror a Tulsileaf. In some
cases, the dying person will also hold the
tail of a cow, since according to popular
mythology this will enable the person to
cross the Vaitarani River, the river lead-
ing to the afterlife. The emphasis on
calming the dying person’s mind comes
from the belief that one’s dying thoughts
have enormous karmic ramifications for
future lives. Ideally, the dying person
should be calm and composed, since
any sort of fear or agitation is believed to
have negative consequences. One
method to help promote such calmness
is to read passages from religious texts,
whether to remind the hearer of the
body’s impermanence, or to have the
last thing one hears be the name of God.
At the moment of death the dying per-
son is often placed on the earth—per-
haps so that the earth can absorb the
impurity (ashaucha) of the corpse, or
perhaps as a symbol that whatever a
person’s status in life, all human beings
eventually share the same fate. After
death the rites associated with crema-
tion begin, which are the next set of rites
in the series known as the antyeshthi
samskara(“last rites”).Death Rites
See antyeshthi samskara.Deccan
A region of the Indian subcontinent. In
its broadest usage, this word can refer to
all of India south of the Vindhya
Mountains, the range that divides
northern and southern India. More
specifically, this term denotes the dry
and hilly plateau in the northern and
eastern parts of the region south of the
Vindhyas, bounded on the east and west
by the highlands known as the Eastern
and Western Ghats. In Hindu cultural
terms, the Deccan is a transitional cul-
tural area between the northern Indian
plain and the deep south.Deer
In Hindu iconography, an animal
strongly associated with the god Shiva,
particularly in his form as Pashupati,
the “Lord of Beasts.” In many of the four-
armed images of Shiva, one of the upper
arms will have the figure of the deer
emerging from it, symbolizing his con-
trol over all life. In Hindu bhakti(devo-
tional) poetry, the musk deer is often
used as a symbol for an ignorant,Day of Brahma