Kritayuga, Krita-yuga, Kṛtayuga: 14 definitions
Introduction:
Kritayuga means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
The Sanskrit term Kṛtayuga can be transliterated into English as Krtayuga or Kritayuga, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).
In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग).—There are four Yugas (Eras) called Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali yugas. (For the set up etc. of the Yugas see under Manvantara).
In the first Yuga, i.e. Kṛta yuga, people will be quite righteous. As the Yugas change righteousness will fade out in increasing measure till the world will be filled with unrighteousness and evil by the time it is Kaliyuga. When Kaliyuga is completed Mahāviṣṇu will incarnate himself as Kalki and wipe out unrighteousness and establish Kṛtayuga once again.
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग) or Prathamayuga refers to the formost of Yuga, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.2 (“The Prayer of the gods).—Accordingly, as the Gods eulogized Śiva: “[...] Among sacrifices you are the horse-sacrifice. Among the Yugas you are the Kṛta Yuga (prathamayuga) [yugānāṃ prathamo yugaḥ]; among the asterisms you are Puṣya; among the Tithis you are Amāvāsyā. Among the seasons you are the spring; among holy occasions you are the Saṃkrama; among grasses you are the Kuśa grass; among gross trees you are the Banyan tree. [...]”.
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग).—(also kṛta)—commences when the sun, moon and Bṛhaspati are in one, and the same rāśī. Its characteristic features.1 Form of Hari as worshipped in this yuga, and worship by contemplation.2 Etymologically people in this age are kṛtakṛtyas. Hari took the form of a vṛṣa (bull) for the manifestation of dharma. Haṃsa was the caste name of men.3 Its duration; repeats at the end of Kaliyuga. Pitṛs are worshipped.4 Physical and moral state of world in; duration 4000 divine years; sandhya, and sandhyāṃśa 108 years; dhyāna important in; sandhyāṃśa 400 = prakrīyāpāda;5 after Kali with seven sages; at the beginning man in Kalinga;6 pertaining to the Brahmanas; Vedas honoured.7 People with no restrictions lived on roots and fruits enjoying sexual bliss; jñāna.8
- 1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa XII. 2. 24; 3. 18-19, 27.
- 2) Ib. XI. 5. 21-23; IX. 10. 52; XII. 3. 52.
- 3) Ib. XI. 17. 10-11.
- 4) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 16. 69; 29. 24-31; 31. 103. 11; III. 14. 46-7; 74. 225; Matsya-purāṇa 1. 34; 142. 19 and 24; 144. 90; 145. 6-7; 165. 1.
- 5) Vāyu-purāṇa 8. 32-67.
- 6) Ib. 58. 103, 110.
- 7) Ib. 78. 36-7.
- 8) Ib. 99. 413. Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 7. 21, 45-59.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग) or Kṛta refers to the age associated with Oḍḍiyāna, one of the sacred seats (pīṭha), according to the Manthānabhairavatantra, a vast sprawling work that belongs to a corpus of Tantric texts concerned with the worship of the goddess Kubjikā.—The Kumārikākhaṇḍa displays most of the many new developments that took place after the revelation of the Kubjikāmatatantra including those concerning the sacred seats. [...] Although the seats are the same five described in the Kubjikāmatatantra and its expansions, their contents [i.e., the Kṛtayuga] and the beings who inhabit them are quite different.
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
Ayurveda (science of life)
Veterinary Medicine (The study and treatment of Animals)
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग) refers to the “golden age” (during which certain elephants appeared), according to the 15th century Mātaṅgalīlā composed by Nīlakaṇṭha in 263 Sanskrit verses, dealing with elephantology in ancient India, focusing on the science of management and treatment of elephants.—[Cf. chapter 1, “on the origin of elephants”]: “[...] ‘State’ elephants, furnished with their characteristic marks, were produced (prevailingly) in the (‘golden’) kṛta age (kṛtayuga-samaya); elephants of the ‘slow’ caste in the (second) treta; in the (third) age called dvāpara, these elephants known as ‘deer’; in this very kali age those of ‘mixed’ caste. Here the production of elephants according to their different castes is set forth, each appropriate to its association with (its respective) world age”.
Āyurveda (आयुर्वेद, ayurveda) is a branch of Indian science dealing with medicine, herbalism, taxology, anatomy, surgery, alchemy and related topics. Traditional practice of Āyurveda in ancient India dates back to at least the first millenium BC. Literature is commonly written in Sanskrit using various poetic metres.
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग) refers to one of the “Four Ages” (in Indic mythology) which are known in Tibetan as: dus bzhi.—The full list is: kṛta, treta, dvapara and kali-yugas.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग) or simply Kṛta refers to the “accomplished age ” and represents the first of the “four ages” (yuga) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 88). The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., kṛta-yuga). The work is attributed to Nagarjuna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
kṛtayuga (कृतयुग).—n (S) The first of the four ages of the world, the satyayuga.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग).—the first (golden) of the four ages.
Derivable forms: kṛtayugam (कृतयुगम्).
Kṛtayuga is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms kṛta and yuga (युग).
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग).—n. = satya-yuga, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 1, 85.
Kṛtayuga is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms kṛta and yuga (युग).
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग):—[=kṛta-yuga] [from kṛta > kṛ] n. the first of the four ages of the world, golden age, [Manu-smṛti; Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa; Sūryasiddhānta] (See kṛta above)
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग):—(kṛta + yuga) n. das goldene Weltalter (s. kṛta 3,g.) [Manu’s Gesetzbuch 1, 85. 86.] [Mahābhārata 3, 11236. fg.] [Harivaṃśa 11217. 11219.] [Rāmāyaṇa 1, 1, 90. 45, 15.]
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Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग):—[Sūryasiddhānta 1, 17. 46. 57.]
Kṛtayuga (कृतयुग):—n. das goldene Weltalter.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Kannada-English dictionary
Kṛtayuga (ಕೃತಯುಗ):—[noun] = ಕೃತ [krita]2 - 1.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Kritayugasamaya, Kritayugaya.
Full-text (+117): Satyayuga, Kartayuga, Dharmayuga, Krita, Kritayugasamaya, Padmavati, Four ages, Prathamayuga, Yuan man shi, Devayuga, Gunata, Kritayugaya, Anukampaka, Satyayugadya, Prakriyarthapada, Vema, Mandi, Yugadi, Kritaparva, Golaki.
Relevant text
Search found 88 books and stories containing Kritayuga, Krita-yuga, Kṛta-yuga, Krta-yuga, Kṛtayuga, Krtayuga; (plurals include: Kritayugas, yugas, Kṛtayugas, Krtayugas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
108 Tirupathi Anthathi (English translation) (by Sri Varadachari Sadagopan)
Inscriptions of Orissa (Rajaguru) (by Shri Satyanarayana Rajguru)
Page 209 < [Volume 3, Part 2]
Paumacariya (critical study) (by K. R. Chandra)
1.4. Social Evolution: Kritayuga (Era of Sweat and Toil) < [Chapter 7 - Social Conditions]
1.3. Social Evolution: Bhogabhumi < [Chapter 7 - Social Conditions]
2. Castes: Origin, Duties, Occupation and Position < [Chapter 7 - Social Conditions]
Vyavaharamala: a text on Indian jurisprudence (by P. V. Rajee)
3. Ideal society in Kritayuga < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
History of Science in South Asia
The Units of Time in Ancient and Medieval India < [Vol. 5 No. 1 (2017)]
Megasthenes and Indian Chronology (Part 5) < [Purana, Volume 10, Part 2 (1968)]
The various aspects of the Narada-Purana < [Purana, Volume 8, Part 1 (1966)]
Puranic Theory of the Yugas and Kalpas < [Purana, Volume 11, Part 2 (1969)]
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