According to Indian tradition or Hindu Kālagaņanā, three chronologies are in currency. Firstly, the Kali era or Kalyabda, which has begun from the present Kaliyuga and hence it is 5107 years old. Secondly, the Kalpābda which has begun with the present Svetavārāha Kalpa, and hence it is 1,971,221, 107 years old. And thirdly, the Sŗsţābda, which has begun with the creation of this universe and hence it is 155,521,971,221,107 years old. One should notice that. Kalyabda is fit for narrating historical events of recent past while Kalpābda and Sŗstābda are suitable for narrating much older cosmological, geological, geographical, biological and other events such as the creation of this earth, creation of the sun, beginning of life on earth and so on. So the scientists may find in them the most suitable alternative to the geological time frame which they are now extensively using for describing such older events.
Today, there are many chronologies, much older than the Christian chronology, extant in the world, as shown below:
| Chronology | Antiquity in years |
|---|---|
| Roman | 2,753 |
| Greek | 3,576 |
| Turkish (new) | 4,294 |
| Chinese (new) | 4,360 |
| Hindu (Kalyabda) | 5,106 |
| Jewish | 5,764 |
| Iran (new) | 6,008 |
| Turkish (old) | 7,610 |
| Egyptian | 28,667 |
| Iran (old) | 189,971 |
| Chinese (old) | 96,002,301 |
| Hindu (Kalpābda) | 1,971,221,106 |
| Hindu (Sŗşābda) | 155,521,971,221,106 |
So a rational mind may ask — despite having so many older chronologies, why the shortest of them, the Christian chronology has been given the status of an international calendar? Why the 21st birth centenary of a person is to be observed as the 21st century of the entire world? If a genuine thought is given to the matter, without any racial, regional, political, sectorial or religious prejudice, the Hindu alone deserves the right to be treated as the calendar of the world, since it is the oldest and based entirely astronomical science. So, it carries much more scientific sense in saying that we have entered the 52nd century of Kalyabda in 1998, than in saying that we have entered the 21st century of the Christian calendar in 2001.
References
HINDU SYSTEM OF TIME RECKONING, indianresurgence.com
