JETxAS AND DATES. 317 



precifely the fame as at the beginning of it ; and the 

 commencement of it was when the fun, moon, and all 

 the planets, nodes and apfides, were in a line of con- 

 junction, in the beginning of Aries, or 1955,884,8C)7 

 years ago : therefore fix Manwantaras, 23 Mahay tigs 

 of the feventh Manwantara\ and as far as the 220897 th 

 year of the Call yug, of the twenty-fourth Maha 

 yug, are' now (A 1 796) expired of the Culpa. The 

 ancient aitronomers, mo ft probably, for the lake of 

 convenience, made the prefent Call yug of the Hindus, 

 of which there are now 4SQ7 years expired, to com- 

 mence when juft the iirit half, or 21(3000 years were 

 elapfed of the above mentioned Call yug, of the 

 twenty-fourth Maha yug; and we are now only in the 

 48Q8th year of the fecond half of that period. I 

 fhall therefore by way of diftinclion, call the prefent 

 Cali yu<r the " Aftronomic /Era." 



The Br ah mens and poets, in imitation of the aftro- 

 nomic periods above given, invented others for their 

 hiiiory and poetry. Thefe I fhall diftinguifh by the 

 name of " Poetic Ao-es," or £eras, becaufc thev are 

 embellifhed by fiction, and covered over with a 

 myfterious veil : nominally, they appear the lame as the 

 aftronomic periods, but hiitorical facts prove them to 

 be eiientiallv different in point of duration; one aftro- 

 nomic year being equal to 1000 poetic ones : hence 



Years Real Years 



A Poetic Satyayug of 1728000 is only 1728 



Tret a yug of i 2U0000 1 '2Q6 



Dwaparyug of 8 04 000 8 6 4 



Call yug of- 432000 4 32 



The iirit of thefe Poetic Ages, or Satya yug, com- 

 menced at the creation and the reft in fucceillon, 

 agreeable to the following Abort chronological table, 

 continued down to the prefent time. 



U 3 CIIROXO 



