Treta Yuga
Treta Yuga , in Hinduism, is the second and second-best of the four yugas in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Krita Yuga and followed by Dvapara Yuga. Treta Yuga lasts for 1,296,000 years.
Treta means 'a collection of three things' in Sanskrit, and is so called because during the Treta Yuga, there were three Avatars of Vishnu that were seen: the fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations as Vamana, Parashurama and Rama, respectively. The bull of Dharma symbolizes that morality stood on three legs during this period. It had all four legs in the Satya Yuga and two in the succeeding Dvapara Yuga. Currently, in the immoral age of Kali, it stands on one leg.
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-.Treta Yuga means "the age of three or triads", where its length is three times that of Kali Yuga. During this period, the Dharma bull, which symbolizes morality, stands on three legs; , and .
Treta 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.Treta Yuga, the second age in a cycle, lasts for 1,296,000 years, where its main period lasts for 1,080,000 years and its two twilights each lasts for 108,000 years. The current cycle's Treta 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: