Rahul Mangla, 29th January 2014
Dear devotees,
Hare Krishna!!
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Gurudev & Srimati Gurumata!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupad!
1. Srimad Bhagavatam 2.9.6 purport:
It is stated in the Brahma-samhita that Lord Brahma was initiated into the eighteen-letter Krsna mantra, which is generally accepted by all the devotees of Lord Krsna.
Q: What is this eighteen-letter Krsna mantra?
2. Srimad Bhagavatam 2.9.8 purport:
One celestial year is equal to 6 x 30 x 12 x 1000 of our years.
Q: How the first figure 6 is derived in above calculation?
=> I have read only upto 2.9.10, I may come across answers later but just curious to know the answers.
your servant,
Rahul
Mahabhagavat Das SDA, 05th February 2014
Dear Bhakta Rahul,
Hare Krishna!
Short answers to your questions (others please kindly correct/elaborate if possible):
1. The 18 letter mantra is mentioned in the Brahma Samhita purport, but it is advisable not to discuss openly as this 18-letter mantra is part of the Gayatri mantras which are confidential and meant to be received in disciplic succession (even if known, they are not effective until received properly in disciplic succession) – in ISKCON, this is at the time of the second initiation, so please rest assured that in due course of time, as and when you get to the right stage, you will receive that mysterious magical 18-syllable mantra… 🙂
2. One celestial day is equal to 6 earthly months. But note that this celestial year mentioned is not Lord Brahma’s year but the years as calculated on heavenly planets… where one day is equal to 6 months of our time.
Sincerely,
Mahabhagavat Das
Rahul Mangla, 06th February 2014
Dear Prabhuji,
Hare Krishna!!
Thank you so much for the answers. But I still have doubt in second question.
It is actually the calculation for the duration which Lord Brahma engaged himself in meditation.
He engaged himself for 1000 Celestial Years. To convert it into earthly years it should be multiplied with (X x 30 x 12), where X should be the duration on earth IN YEARS and at the same time should be equal to 1 Celestial Day.
What I could conclude from various references is that one full day (12 hours day + 12 hours night) of heavenly planets is equal to one year on earth. I am including following references to support this:
1. Srimad Bhagavatam 2.10.27 purport: Six months on earth is equal to one day on the heavenly planets.
2. Srimad Bhagavatam 3.17.15 purport:
On the Brahmaloka planet the duration of one day is calculated to be 4,300,000 x 1,000 solar years. [and same is the duration of night which is not written in the purport]
Similarly, in other heavenly planets one day is calculated to be six months of this planet [and same must be the duration of night which is not written in the purport]
3.
24-Nov-2012 – Utthana Ekadashi
07-July-2013 – Sayana Ekadashi
13-Nov-2013 – Utthana Ekadashi
From above Ekadashi dates also, it appears that one heavenly day is equal to one earth year.
So from above references, value of X should be 1.
Therefore 1 Celestial Year = 1 x 30 x 12 Earthly Years
And Lord Brahma engaged in meditation for 1 x 30 x 12 x 1000 earthly years (1000 Celestial Years)
Please confirm if I am correct and forgive for offenses in seeking this clarification.
your servant,
Rahul
Rahul Mangla, 20th February 2014
Hare Krishna!!
I was reading Srimad Bhagavatam 2.10.46 purport, there also it is confirmed that one heavenly (upper planetary) day is equal to one earth year:
In the upper planetary system the duration of one complete day and night is equal to one complete year of this earth. This is accepted even by the modern scientist and attested by the astronauts.
your servant,
Rahul
Jagannatha Dasa, 15th March 2014
Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Gurudeva!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
One celestial year is equal to 6 x 30 x 12 x 1000 of our years. This is stated in Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 2.9.8. One celestial year is thus 2,160,000 (Two million, one hundred and sixty thousand) years. Since we know based on the same purport that Lord Brahma was in meditation for 1,000 years, therefore, if we want to understand how many years Lord Brahma was meditating, we have to multiply 2,160,000 by 1,000. The resulting number is the earth years he meditated, viz. 2,160,000,000 or Two billion, one hundred and sixty million years.
Hoping this meets you well.
your servant,
Jagannatha Dasa Brahmacari
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Servant of the Servant of the Servant of God 
Here’s my understanding/conjecture of SP’s math:
First…All years are broken down into 12 months, even the celestial year.
Indeed, from SB 3.11.19, we know that the 4 ages added together (a divya-yuga) = 12,000 heavenly years [the yr for those living atop Manasottara Mtn where 1 yr = 360 human or solar yrs]. A yuga is actually comprised of 12 parts. 10 of them make up the body of the yuga, while 2 of them make up the sandhyas between the yugas (CC Adi 3.29).
Similarly, the divya-yuga has 12 parts. Each of these 12 parts is thus 1000 heavenly yrs. Four parts make Satya, 3 make Treta, 2 make Dvapara, 1 makes Kali, & 2 parts comprise the sandhyas.
So this is my current understanding: A celestial yr (experienced in Svarga) is a divya-yuga. It has 12 months consisting of 1000 yrs. of the demigods (those atop Manas. Mtn.).
Getting back to SP’s math in 2.9.8…
First, the 6 x 30 appears to be a statement showing the calculation of human days per heavenly days.
We know that one human year = one full day (24 hrs) of these demigods. In other words 6 of our months make their day & 6 of our months make their night.
See the confusion? Sometimes the English word “day” means 12 hrs & sometimes it means 24 hrs! I conjecture that this is where an error occurred in SP’s (or his assistants’) math. [Perhaps it could have come from another acarya’s commentary.] It seems SP put only 6 (not 12) of our months as the heavenly day (!!), then multiplied it by 30 days per month to get (incorrectly by a factor of 2) the number of our days per their year.
That is, he got 6 HumMon/1 HeavDay x 30 days/mon = 180 HumDays per 1 HeavDay. This is off by 2; it should be 360. We see human time is 360 times the heavenly time. So just as there are 360 HumDays per a HeavDay, there are 360 HumYr in a HeavYr. But if we wrongly calculate that there are 180 of our days in their one day, then we’ll also incorrectly end up w/ 180 of our years in their one year.
Thus with the correction of “6” changed to “12” we have 12 x 30 = 360 HumYrs/HeavYr.
Second, the 12 x 1000 could be a statement calculating the # of HeavYrs in a celestial yr.
As I conjectured above, there seems to be 1000 HeavYr per celestial month. Hence I postulate that this is where the math of 12 x 1000 comes from. Thus we have 12,000 HeavYr/CelYr.
So, putting the 2 parts together, we have:
360 HumYr/HeavYr x 12,000 HeavYr/CelY = 4.32 mill HumYr per CelYr = divya-yuga.
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Hare Krishna!
PAMHO | AGTSP
1 celestial Yr. (Heavenly Yr.) = 365 Human Yrs. (earthly Yrs.)
But, Srila Prabhupada in Srimad Bhagavatam 2.9.8. mentioned that,
1 celestial Yr. = 2,160,000 Human Yrs.
Can anyone Please Solve this Confusion . elaborate if possible):
your Servant
Dhiraj
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One thing to note is that he Vedic year is of 360 days, not 365. Please kindly research this yourself. There are many devotees who are well-versed in Vedic Astronomy and such calculations. A good textbook is Surya Siddhanta by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. When you have found out the details of Srila Prabhupada’s calculations, please share with all of us.
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