Treta Yuga
The second age of the world — the age of Lord Rama and the great sacrifices
The Treta Yuga is the second of the four great ages (yugas) of the world, following the golden Satya Yuga and preceding the Dvapara Yuga. Lasting 1,296,000 years, it is the age in which dharma — pictured as a bull — stood on three of its four legs, virtue having declined to three quarters. It is the age of yajna (the sacred fire-sacrifice), of the first great kings, and above all of three descents of Lord Vishnu: Vamana, Parashurama and Sri Rama. The Ramayana itself unfolds in the Treta Yuga.
Interesting Facts
- ✦The Treta Yuga lasted 1,296,000 years — the second age and the second-longest of the four.
- ✦The name "Treta" means "three": dharma (the bull) now stood on three legs, and three-quarters of virtue remained.
- ✦Three avatars of Vishnu appeared in the Treta Yuga — Vamana (the dwarf), Parashurama (the warrior-sage) and Sri Rama.
- ✦The Ramayana is set in the Treta Yuga; the age is forever associated with Rama-rajya, the ideal kingdom of Rama.
- ✦Yajna (the fire-sacrifice) became the chief means of dharma, and kingship, agriculture and the four-varna order took firm shape.
- ✦By Puranic reckoning, people lived for about 10,000 years and were of great stature and righteousness, though less than in the Satya Yuga.
The second of the four ages
Hindu cosmology divides the great cycle of time (the chaturyuga or maha-yuga) into four ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. Each is shorter and less righteous than the last, like a wheel slowly losing its balance. The Treta Yuga is the second, lasting 1,296,000 human years — three-quarters the length of the Satya Yuga.
The measure of an age is dharma, often pictured as a bull. In the Satya Yuga the bull of dharma stood firmly on all four legs. In the Treta Yuga it stood on three: truth, austerity and compassion remained strong, but one quarter of righteousness had slipped away. So the very name "Treta" — from the Sanskrit for "three" — records both the order of the age and the three legs on which goodness now stood.
Life and dharma in the Treta Yuga
As the Satya Yuga had been an age of pure meditation, the Treta Yuga became the age of yajna — the sacred fire-sacrifice. Where once people lived by inner tapas alone, now dharma was upheld through ritual, offering and the duties of one's station. Agriculture, kingship and the ordered life of the four varnas took firm shape, and the great Vedic sacrifices were performed by emperors and rishis.
Though virtue had declined by a quarter, it was still an age of extraordinary righteousness. Kings ruled as servants of dharma, sages performed mighty austerities, and the bond between heaven and earth was close. Human life was long — some ten thousand years by the Puranic account — and the people tall, strong and devoted to truth. It is the memory of this age that gives us the ideal of "Rama-rajya", a kingdom ruled in perfect justice and compassion.
The avatars and great events of the Treta Yuga
Three of the ten avatars of Vishnu descended in the Treta Yuga. First came Vamana, the dwarf brahmin, who measured the three worlds in three steps and humbled the noble demon-king Bali, restoring the heavens to the gods. Then came Parashurama, the axe-wielding sage, who rid the earth of tyranny when the warrior-kings grew arrogant and cruel.
Greatest of all, the age is crowned by the descent of Sri Rama, the seventh avatar — the prince of Ayodhya, the ideal son, husband and king. The Ramayana tells of his exile, the abduction of Sita by the demon Ravana, the building of the bridge to Lanka with the help of Hanuman and the vanaras, and the final victory of dharma over adharma. With Rama's reign the Treta Yuga reached its height, and with the passing of his age it gave way to the Dvapara Yuga that followed.
Related Mantras & Stotras
Frequently Asked Questions
How long did the Treta Yuga last?
The Treta Yuga lasted 1,296,000 human years — three-quarters the length of the Satya Yuga. It is the second of the four yugas in the great cycle of time (chaturyuga), which together span 4,320,000 years.
Which avatars of Vishnu appeared in the Treta Yuga?
Three avatars descended in the Treta Yuga: Vamana (the dwarf who subdued King Bali), Parashurama (the warrior-sage), and Sri Rama (the prince of Ayodhya, hero of the Ramayana).
Why is it called Treta Yuga?
"Treta" comes from the Sanskrit word for "three". In this age the bull of dharma stood on three of its four legs — three-quarters of righteousness remained — so the name records both its place as the second age and the threefold support of virtue.
Is the Ramayana set in the Treta Yuga?
Yes. The Ramayana, the story of Sri Rama, takes place in the Treta Yuga. The age is forever associated with Rama-rajya — the ideal kingdom of Rama, ruled in perfect justice, truth and compassion.