---
type: Concept
bundle: cosmology-creation
bundle_version: "0.7.0"
id: kalpa
title: "Kalpa — कल्प"
iast: "Kalpa"
devanagari: "कल्प"
description: "The cosmological day of Brahmā, equal to 1000 Mahāyugas (4,320,000,000 human years); the largest regularly recurring unit of cosmic time, at the end of which a Naimittika Pralaya dissolves the three lower worlds; distinguished from Kalpa as Vedāṅga (ritual procedure texts)."
darshana:
  - Purāṇic
  - Vedānta
school_scope: "Consistent across major Purāṇas; Brahmā's full lifespan of 100 Brahmā-years computes to approximately 311 trillion human years; the present is within the Śvetavarāha Kalpa"
text_source: "BhP 3.11.20-38; Manu-Smṛti 1.72-73; Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.3"
tags: [cosmology, time, kalpa, brahma, pralaya, puranic]
not:
  - term: "Kalpa = Vedāṅga / ritual procedure"
    why: "Kalpa is a homonym: in cosmology, it is Brahmā's day (4.32 billion years); as a Vedāṅga, it refers to the limb of the Veda dealing with śrauta-sūtra ritual procedure. v0.7 treats only the cosmological sense. Context must determine which usage applies."
    instead: "Specify: 'Kalpa (cosmological)' or 'Kalpa (Vedāṅga)' when both might appear in the same context."
  - term: "one Yuga / one Mahāyuga"
    why: "A Kalpa is 1000 Mahāyugas = 4.32 billion years; a Mahāyuga is 4.32 million years. Three orders of magnitude separate them. Conflating Kalpa with Yuga or Mahāyuga collapses the Purāṇic time hierarchy."
  - term: "the universe's lifespan"
    why: "A Kalpa is the lifespan of the present Brahmā's day, not of the universe or of Brahman. At the end of a Kalpa, a Naimittika Pralaya occurs but Brahmā continues. Multiple Kalpas constitute Brahmā's lifespan. The universe in the fullest sense dissolves only at Mahā Pralaya (end of Brahmā's lifespan). See pralaya.md."
related:
  - /concepts/mahayuga.md
  - /concepts/manvantara.md
  - /concepts/pralaya.md
  - /concepts/brahma-the-creator.md
timestamp: "2026-07-01"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Kalpa — कल्प

**Not:** Vedāṅga Kalpa (ritual texts), equivalent to Mahāyuga or Yuga, the universe's total lifespan

## The Cosmological Kalpa

One Kalpa = 1000 Mahāyugas = 4,320,000,000 human years. This is one day of Brahmā. The night of Brahmā (Brahmarātra) is of equal length, during which the three lower worlds (Bhūr, Bhuvar, Svar) rest in dissolution (Naimittika Pralaya) while higher lokas persist.

## Brahmā's Full Lifespan

| Unit | Duration |
|------|----------|
| 1 Kalpa (day of Brahmā) | 4,320,000,000 human years |
| 1 Brahmā-day + night | 8,640,000,000 human years |
| 1 Brahmā-year (360 days+nights) | ~3.11 trillion human years |
| Brahmā's lifespan (100 years) | ~311 trillion human years |

At the end of Brahmā's lifespan, the Mahā Pralaya dissolves the entire manifest cosmos — not just the three lower worlds but all 14 Lokas and Brahmā himself — back to Avyakta.

## The Present Kalpa

The current Kalpa is known as the Śvetavarāha Kalpa (named after Viṣṇu's Varāha Avatāra who appeared early in it). The present moment falls within the 7th Manvantara (Vaivasvata) of this Kalpa, within the 28th Mahāyuga of that Manvantara, within the Kali Yuga of that Mahāyuga — making our position extremely specific within the Purāṇic map.

## The Internal Structure of a Kalpa

A Kalpa contains 14 Manvantaras separated by junctions (Manvantara Sandhyās). Each Manvantara = 71 Mahāyugas. The arithmetic: 14 × 71 = 994 Mahāyugas + the junction periods at the beginning and between each Manvantara (each equal to one Kṛta/Satya Yuga = 1.728 million years × 15 junctions) = 1000 Mahāyugas total.

## The Naimittika Pralaya

At the end of each Kalpa, when Brahmā "sleeps," the three lower worlds (Bhūr, Bhuvar, Svar) dissolve. Higher worlds (Mahar, Jana, Tapa, Satya) persist. The beings of Svarloka dissolve but their subtle bodies carry the accumulated karma into the next Kalpa. This is the Naimittika ("occasion-bound") Pralaya. See pralaya.md.

## Audience Metaphor

A Kalpa is like one complete day in Brahmā's cosmic working life. During the day (4.32 billion years), he populates and maintains a universe. During the night (4.32 billion years), the universe rests in a partial dissolution. Brahmā has 100 cosmic years of such days — after which his own existence ends and is renewed. From a human perspective, 4.32 billion years exceeds the current estimated age of the Earth (4.54 billion years) — indicating the Purāṇic framework was operating at scales that modern science confirms are cosmologically meaningful, whatever the metaphysical framework.

## Citations

1. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.11.20-38 — definitive treatment of Kalpa structure and Brahmā's lifespan
2. Manu-Smṛti 1.72-73 — Kalpa duration; Brahmā's day and night; see references/manusmriti.md
3. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.3 — Kalpa within the nested time-scale; see references/vishnu-purana.md
4. See references/bhagavata-purana.md for comprehensive cosmological framework
