Yugādis and Manvantarādis

In the reckoning of time in Sanātana Dharma, the universe passes through four yugas (ages) and fourteen manvantaras (long periods, each ruled by a Manu). A yugādi is the day on which a yuga begins, and a manvantarādi is the day on which a manvantara begins. Each of these falls on a particular tithi (a day of the lunar calendar).

The fifth chapter of the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa gives a full list of these tithis. The list comes in the answers of the child-ṛṣi Sutanu to questions asked by Nārada. The text declares that dāna (gifts given in charity) on these tithis brings ananta (endless) merit, equal to hundreds of years of dāna given at ordinary times. The teaching belongs to a wider understanding that some moments in the great cycle of time hold concentrated sacred power.

Yugādis: The Days the Four Yugas Begin

Each of the four yugas begins on a set tithi. Dāna given on these tithis brings endless merit, with fruit equal to hundreds of years of ordinary dāna.

In the lunar calendar each month has a śukla pakṣa (bright fortnight, when the moon grows) and a kṛṣṇa pakṣa (dark fortnight, when it wanes).

So the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa names Vaiśākha śukla tṛtīyā, or Akṣaya Tṛtīyā, as the day the Tretā Yuga began. This fits the wider tradition of the Purāṇas, which treats Akṣaya Tṛtīyā as one of the most auspicious days of the year.

Manvantarādis: The Days the Fourteen Manvantaras Begin

Each of the fourteen manvantaras also begins on a set tithi. Dāna given on these tithis likewise brings endless merit.

Here navamī is the 9th day, dvādaśī the 12th, tṛtīyā the 3rd, amāvāsyā the new moon, ekādaśī the 11th, daśamī the 10th, saptamī the 7th, aṣṭamī the 8th, and pūrṇimā the full moon.

Ratha-Saptamī

The Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa also names a related auspicious tithi: Ratha-Saptamī, the seventh day of the bright fortnight of Māgha. On this day the Sun first mounted his ratha (chariot) and began his journey across the sky. Dāna and havana (fire offerings) made on Ratha-Saptamī please Bhāskara (the Sun) and remove all poverty. This tithi is separate from the Manvantarādi of the 8th manvantara (Māgha saptamī) and has its own special meaning.

Why These Days Are Sacred

Behind the Yugādis and Manvantarādis lies one idea: some moments in the great cycle of time hold concentrated sacred power. They are “meeting points” in the calendar of the universe, where the value of any action is magnified. A tīrtha (holy place) is a sacred meeting point in space, where ordinary water becomes holy. In the same way, certain tithis are sacred meeting points in time, where ordinary action becomes extraordinary.

This idea shapes the whole practice of following the pañcāṅga (the sacred calendar) as taught in the Purāṇas. Time is not the same all the way through. It has peaks of sacred power, and spiritual action done at those peaks brings merit far beyond its usual weight.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 5