Length and Place in the Cycle

Dwapara Yuga lasts 2,400 years — a core of 2,000 years with two transitional periods (sandhis) of 200 years each. The descending Kali Yuga reached its lowest point and turned upward in 499 AD; humanity then climbed through the ascending Kali age and crossed into the ascending Dwapara Yuga around 1699 AD, with its full influence settling in by 1899. This age will continue until roughly 4099 AD, when the world rises into Treta.

The Consciousness of the Age

By Sri Yukteswar’s measure, the human intellect in Dwapara Yuga is able to comprehend the fine matters of creation — the energies and electricities of nature and their attributes. This is precisely what we have witnessed: in the three centuries since the age dawned, humanity has uncovered electricity, electromagnetism, the atom, the structure of matter, and instant communication across the globe. The discovery that matter itself is a form of energy is the signature insight of the age of Dwapara.

Life in the Age of Energy

In the tradition the “bull of dharma” stands on two legs in Dwapara: virtue and materialism are in balance. It is an age of rapid progress and great power, but also of restlessness — humanity now commands tremendous energies without yet fully grasping the subtle, magnetic intelligence that lies behind them. The work of the age is to use this new mastery wisely while the mind continues to refine.

A Rising, Not a Falling, Age

This is the heart of Sri Yukteswar’s hopeful message. The popular belief that we are trapped in a 432,000-year Kali Yuga is, in his reckoning, a mistake; in truth the dark age ended long ago and we are ascending. The accelerating awakening of our time is the natural fruit of the dawning Dwapara age. (See A Golden Dawn: The Ascending Age of Energy.)

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Part of The Yuga Cycle. Explore the other ages: Satya · Treta · Kali Yuga.