Dvapara Yuga
Dvapara Yuga , in Hinduism, is the third and third-best of the four yugas in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Treta Yuga and followed by Kali Yuga. Dvapara Yuga lasts for 864,000 years.
According to the Puranas, this yuga ended when Krishna returned to his eternal abode of Vaikuntha. There are only two pillars of religion during the Dvapara Yuga: compassion and truthfulness. Vishnu assumes the colour yellow and the Vedas are categorized into four parts: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
Etymology
Yuga, in this context, means "an age of the world", where its archaic spelling is yug, with other forms of yugam,, and yuge, derived from yuj, believed to be derived from yeug-.Dvapara is a sandhi of the two words dva and apara . Therefore Dvapara Yuga means "the age after the two", i.e. the third age. As per Bhagavata, During this age the Dharma bull, which symbolizes morality, stands on two legs; and .
Dvapara Yuga is described in the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Surya Siddhanta, Vishnu Smriti, and various Puranas.
Duration and structure
describe four yugas in a Yuga Cycle, where, starting in order from the first age of Krita Yuga, each yuga's length decreases by one-fourth, giving proportions of 4:3:2:1. Each yuga is described as having a main period preceded by its and followed by its , where each twilight lasts for one-tenth of its main period. Lengths are given in divine years, each lasting for 360 solar years.Dvapara Yuga, the third age in a cycle, lasts for 864,000 years, where its main period lasts for 720,000 years and its two twilights each lasts for 72,000 years. The current cycle's Dvapara Yuga has the following dates based on Kali Yuga, the fourth and present age, starting in 3102BCE:
Mahabharata, Book 12, Ch. 231:
Manusmriti, Ch. 1:
Surya Siddhanta, Ch. 1: