Krta Yuga
A particular age of the world in one of
the reckonings of cosmic time.
According to traditional belief, time has
neither beginning nor end, but alter-
nates between cycles of creation and
activity, followed by cessation and qui-
etude. Each of these cycles lasts for 4.32
billion years; the active phase is known
as the Day of Brahma, and the quiet
phase as the Night of Brahma. In one
reckoning of cosmic time, the Day of
Brahma is divided into one thousand
mahayugas(“great cosmic ages”), each
of which lasts for 4.32 million years.
Each mahayuga is composed of four
constituent yugas, named the Krta Yuga,
Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali
Yuga. Each of these four yugas is shorter
than its predecessor and ushers in an
era more degenerate and depraved than
the preceding one. By the end of the Kali
Yuga, things have gotten so bad that the
only solution is the destruction and
recreation of the earth, at which time
the next Krta era begins.
The Krta Yuga is the first of the four
yugas, and at 1,728,000 years, it is by far
the longest. It is also considered to be
the best of all the yugas, symbolized by
gold, the most valuable of all metals. In a
dice game played in ancient India, the
side designated Krta was the one for the
winning throw, representing the best
possible option. In the mythic descrip-
tions of the Krta Yuga, people live
extremely long times, are of tremendous
physical stature, and by nature, are com-
pletely virtuous.
Kshanika (“momentary”) Linga
A type of linga, the pillar-shaped object
symbolizing the god Shiva. A kshanika
linga is temporarily made for immediate
worship, from whatever materials are at
hand—whether earth, sand, grain, but-
ter, or any other substance that can be
heaped and molded. This use of tempo-
rary images reveals an important aspect
of Hindu religious life—that although
God is everywhere, many human beings
tend to work better when they have a
concrete focus for their religious atten-
tion. This being so, God deigns to come
into the humblest objects, if they are
created with him (or her) in mind.Kshatriya
In traditional Hindu social theory, the
kshatriyas were the second most influ-
ential of the four major social groups
(varnas). The kshatriyas’ function was
ruling, protecting, and creating social
order so that the other varnas could
carry out their tasks. This image is
reflected in the creation story known as
the Purusha Sukta. The kshatriyas are
described as being created from the
Primeval Man’s shoulders and associat-
ed with strength and power. In actual
practice, the kshatriya varnamay have
been the most permeable of all, since
any person with the power to rule was
usually given de factokshatriya status,
which could be solidified by a fictitious
genealogy in the following generations.
Perhaps the best example of this phe-
nomenon is the subgroup known as the
Rajputs(“king’s sons”), who at varyingKshatriyaThe Krishna River runs across south central India,
from Maharashtra to the Bay of Bengal.