Historic & Prehistoric ages - Still a mystery!!!
Dwapara Yuga is the third out of four yugas, or ages or era of human existence, described in the Puranas (ancient scripts on Hinduism). This yuga comes after Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and before Kali Yuga (current one that we are living now). According to the Puranas (ancient scripts on Hinduism) this Yuga ended at the moment when Krishna returned to his eternal abode of Vaikuntha. According to the Bhagavata Purana, the Dvapara Yuga lasted 864,000 years. And then after, the KALI YUGA started, which we are living now.
Fine! If these four eras and end of each era were mentioned in Hindu Puranas; then what is the actual meaning of end-of-era? Did it mean, all living beings, lived in one era died, and a completely different set were reproduced? I struggled to find an answer to this question since my childhood. Even today I struggle.
The earliest traces of human existence in India, so far discovered, go back to the period between 400,000 and 200,000 BC. The large number of primitive stone tools found in the Soan Valley and South India suggests this.
Primitive man in the Paleolithic (Stone) Age, which lasted till 8000 BC, used tools and implements of rough stone. Man was essentially a food gatherer and depended on nature for food.
Man learnt to control fire, which helped him to improve his way of living. At the end of this age, the modern human being (Homo Sapiens) first appeared - around 36,000 BC.
From 8000 BC, the Mesolithic age began and continued up to 4000 BC in India. During this time, sharp and pointed tools were used for killing fast-moving animals. The beginning of plant cultivation also appeared. Chotanagpur plateau, central India and south of the river Krishna are some of the various Mesolithic sites.
Neolithic (New Stone Age) settlements in the Indian sub-continent are not older than 4000 BC. Man began to domesticate animals and cultivate plants, settling down in villages to form farming communities. The wheel was an important discovery.
Around the beginning of the third millennium BC, a culture appeared to the south-east of Baluchistan, which evolved into what is now known as the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization.
Towards the end of the Neolithic period, metals like bronze and copper began to be used. This was the Chalcolithic phase (1800 BC to 1000 BC). Chalcolithic cultures extended from the Chotanagpur plateau to the upper Gangetic basin. Some of the sites of this era are Brahmgiri (near Mysore) and Navada Toli on the Narmada.
History says Mahabharata war was fought in 900 BC. And it is believed that Mahabharata war happened towards end of Dwapara Yuga . If Dwapara Yuga lasted about 864,000 years in total; what does it mean? In initial part of Dwapara Yuga; people didn’t know how to communicate? They were all living in Jungles like animal? If that is the case in Dwapara Yuga, what was the scene in Treta Yuga and Satya Yuga? We watched epic of “Ramayana” in television, where all the characters spoke so well in Sanskrit/Hindi and they dressed up so well. Ramayana believed to have set during Treta Yuga. If in Dwapara Yuga itself people didn’t know how to communicate and were living in Jungles like animals, how all these were possible in Treta Yuga or the era before Treta Yuga, which was Satya Yuga? I am just passionately curious! Are we? There are many theories and many scripts. Some of them differ too!!!
Ancient Age
2700 BC |
Harappa Civilisation |
1000 BC |
Aryans expand into the Ganga valley |
900 BC |
Mahabharata War |
800 BC |
Aryans expand into Bengal; Beginning of the Epic Age: Mahabharata composed, first version of Ramayana |
550 BC |
Composition of the Upanishads |
544 BC |
Buddha's Nirvana |
327 BC |
Alexander's Invasion |
325 BC |
Alexander marches ahead |
324 BC |
Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleacus Nicator |
322 BC |
Rise of the Mauryas; Chandragupta establishes first Indian Empire |
298 BC |
Bindusara Coronated |
272 BC |
Ashoka begins reign ; Exclusive Interview with Ashoka |
180 BC |
Fall of the Mauryas ; Rise of the Sungas |
145 BC |
Chola king conquers Ceylon |
58 BC |
Epoch of the Krita-Malava-Vikram Era |
30 BC |
Rise of the Satvahana Dynasty in the Deccan |
40 AD |
Sakas in power in Indus Valley and Western India |
50 AD |
The Kushans and Kanishkas |
78 AD |
Saka Era begins |
320 AD |
Chandragupta I establishes the Gupta dynasty |
360 AD |
Samudragupta conquers the North and most of the Deccan |
380 AD |
Chandragupta II comes to power; Golden Age of Gupta Literary Renaissance |
405 AD |
Fa-hein begins his travels through the Gupta Empire |
415 AD |
Accession of Kumara Gupta I |
467 AD |
Skanda Gupta assumes power |
476 AD |
Birth of astronomer Aryabhatta |
606 AD |
Accession of Harshavardhan Gupta |
622 AD |
Era of the Hejira begins |
711 AD |
Invasion of Sind by Muhammad Bin Qasim |
892 AD |
|
985 AD |
The Chola Dynasty: Accession of Rajaraja, the Great |
1001 AD |
Defeat of Jaipal by Sultan Mahumd |
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