- Treta Yuga
The Treta Yuga (
Devanagari : त्रेता युग)is the second out of fouryuga s, or ages of man, in the religion ofHinduism , following theSatya Yuga of perfect morality and preceding theDvapara Yuga . The most famous events in this yuga were LordVishnu 's fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations asVamana [ [http://www.indianetzone.com/6/vamana_avatar.htm Vamana Avatar] ] ,Parashurama and Ramachandra respectively. TheDharma bull, which symbolises morality, stood on three legs during this period. It had all four in the Satya Yuga and two in the later Dvapara Yuga. Currently, in the immoral age of Kali, it stands on one leg [ [http://www.hinduism.co.za/kaliyuga.htm Kali Yuga] ] .Avatars of Vishnu during Treta Yuga
Vamana
Vishnu incarnated as the dwarf son of
Aditi to stop KingMahabali of theAsura race, the grandson ofPrahlada , from completing a sacrifice which would allow him to overshadow Devendra in power and splendor. The jealous and worried Devas persuaded Vishnu to send Bali, abhakta of his, toPatala , the underworld. Vishnu did so by taking advantage of the King's kindness and refusal to go back on his word, but allowed him a luxurious dwelling and sovereignty in one of the lower worlds. He also gave him the boon of being able to visit his subjects once every year.Parashurama
Vishnu incarnated as the
Brahmana Parashurama in this era [ [http://www.4dham.com/go2/Treta_Yuga.html Treta Yuga] ] because there were too many warlikekshatriyas plaguing the Earth, and he therefore had to wipe out most of the world's warriors. However, some of the Kshatriyas survived or more were created, and their population grew again. Eventually, the avatara of Vishnu in Parashurama ended, though it is said that he continued to live on as a mighty warrior-hermit. He confronted Ramachandra angrily years later, before acknowledging the latter's supremacy and retiring. He lived on in the Dvapara Yuga, having a great duel withBhishma forAmba 's sake (and losing), and he taughtKarna how to use the "Brahmastra " and cursed him when he found out that he was not a Brahmin but a kshatriya. He had vowed not to teach or be a Guru of Kshatriyas. He is said to be still alive today, meditating in the mountains or deep in a forest.Ramachandra
The hallmark of this era was the rise of evil in the form of the demon king of Lanka, Ravana. He conquered the three worlds namely, earth, heavens and the netherworlds (
patala ) and terrorized everyone. Even the Devas were subordinate to him - his sonMeghanada had earned the name of Indrajit by defeating Indra, the King of heaven, in battle; and even the Sun had to obey therakshasa king. In this scenario, Lord Vishnu incarnated himself as the son of King Dasaratha of theSun Dynasty orIkshvaku dynasty and was named Lord Rama. Due to a stepmother's jealousy, Lord Rama was sent away to the forest in exile for 14 years, during which time he confronted and killed Ravana for having kidnapped his wife, and thus restored peace on earth. He is said to have afterwards ruled the Kingdom ofKosala fromAyodhya for an eleven-thousand year golden age known as the "Rama-rajya " or Rama's Kingdom, before eventually returning to hisMahavishnu form with his three half-brothers- Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna- who were "minor" incarnations of Vishnu or the great serpent-godShesha .External links
* [http://www.omsriram.com/page10.html Ramayana and Ancient Times]
* [http://www.stephen-knapp.com/timings_of_the_four_yugas.htm Timings of the Four Yugas]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.