Satya Yuga
Satya Yuga, in Hinduism, is the first and best of the four yugas in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Kali Yuga of the previous cycle and followed by Treta Yuga. Satya Yuga lasts for 1,728,000 years.
Satya Yuga is known as the age of truth, when humanity is governed by gods, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and humanity will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme. It is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age". Dharma symbolizes morality and stood on all four legs during this period; the legs of Dharma reduce by one in each yuga that follows. As per Bhagavata Purana, the four legs of Dharma are ', ' , ' and '.
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 derived from yeug-.Satya Yuga means "the age of truth or sincerity", sometimes abbreviated as Sat Yuga or Satyuga.
Krita Yuga, a synonym for Satya Yuga, means "the accomplished or completed age" or "the age of righteous or action", a time when people perform pious actions, and is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age".
Krita 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.Krita Yuga, the first age in a cycle, lasts for 1,728,000 years, where its main period lasts for 1,440,000 years and its two twilights each lasts for 144,000 years. The current cycle's Krita 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:
Characteristics
Among the four eras, the Satya Yuga is the first and the most significant one. Knowledge, meditation, and penance hold special importance in this era.The Mahabharata, a Hindu epic, describes Krita Yuga as such:
The Bhagavata Purana states that this age was characterised by the worship of one god, Vishnu; thus, demigods were reportedly not worshipped during this period and the world was united under the worship of one mantra--praṇava. Furthermore, there was only one Veda, with the Atharva Veda being divided into four parts later on, shortly before the beginning of the ''Kali Yuga.''