yugas and colours

[Dominic Goodall]

Dear all,

Thank you for all those helpful replies.  My doubt is laid to rest.   
Since I was aware of this notion only from the Bhaagavatapuraa.na, I  
had been wondering whether it could really already be the basis for a  
trope in a Cambodian inscription dated to "saka 801 (K. 713).  Thanks  
to all these reponses, it is now quite clear to me that it can.  The  
verse in question (verse 25) reads:

sa.mrak.sati k.siti.m yatra "saure"s "sauklyam bhaved yadi
ida.m yuga.m k.rtayuga.m yathaivaabhaati sarvvathaa

I wasn't convinced by what the printed translations make of this, and  
I now feel more confident that it should indeed be understood to mean  
something like this:

"If, with him protecting the earth, "Sauri were white [rather than  
being K.r.s.na], then this age would appear to be in every respect  
like the K.rtayuga [although it is in fact of course the Kaliyuga]."

Dominic Goodall



On 1 Nov 2009, at 17:03, Stella Sandahl wrote:

> Regarding the problem of the exact meaning of colours there is the  
> excellent article by Jean Filliozat: "Classement des coleurs et des  
> lumières en sanskrit" in Bulletin de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes  
> Etudes, IVe section, Paris 1955. See also the chapter "Les coleurs  
> des sentiments" in my book Le GItagovinda. Tradition et innovation  
> dans le kAvya, Stockholm 1977, pp.144-154.
> Best
> Stella Sandahl
> --
> Stella Sandahl
> ssandahl at sympatico.ca
>
>
>
> On 31-Oct-09, at 9:50 PM, JKirkpatrick wrote:
>
>> Here you can see a photo of durva grass:
>> http://tinyurl.com/yamfzx2
>>
>> It is (by our naming) "green". One of the problems with colors is
>> that black, blue and green often are conflated in the same term.
>> Or "dark" might mean green.
>> And in some areas green and yellow share the same term.
>> So here, I'd guess (in terms of the way 'we" perceive color),
>> dvapara would be green, not
>> "black as durva grass".
>>
>> krta--color of conch or milk--= white
>> treta--like gold = yellow
>> dvapara --durva grass = green (elsewhere, blue or dark blue)
>> kali= kaajal--usually  there's little variation with real black.
>>
>> The missing color here is red.
>>
>> But, like classification of foods according to their warmth or
>> coldness, dryness or moisture, etc.,  these color classifications
>> will show variation.
>>
>> Joanna K.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Indology [mailto:INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk] On Behalf Of
>> Luis Gonzalez-Reimann
>> Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2009 6:34 PM
>> To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
>> Subject: Re: yugas and colours
>>
>> The /Balacarita/ of Bhasa also mentions Narayana/Visnu's changing
>> colors in the yugas in its opening lines:
>>
>> Krta: the color of conch or milk
>> Treta: shiny like gold
>> Dvapara: black as durva grass
>> Kali: black as collyrium
>>
>> Luis González-Reimann
>> _____
>>
>> on 10/31/2009 1:30 PM Luis Gonzalez-Reimann wrote:
>>> The colors in 3.148, mentioned by Harunaga, are:
>>>
>>> Krta: white
>>> Treta: red
>>> Dvapara: yellow
>>> Kali: black
>>>
>>> But there is a different version in Mbh 3.187.31:
>>>
>>> Krta: white
>>> Treta: yellow
>>> Dvapara: red
>>> Kali: black
>>>
>>> Where the colors for Treta and Dvapara are reversed.
>>>
>>> I discuss this in my book /The Mahabharata and the Yugas/ (pp.
>> 103,
>>> 114-116).
>>>
>>> Luis González-Reimann
>>> _____
>>>
>>> on 10/31/2009 12:29 PM Harunaga Isaacson wrote:
>>>> And it is in the MBh, not only in passages excluded from the
>> critical
>>>> edition (such as that which DG quoted), but also in 3.148
>> ("sukla in
>>>> vs. 16, rakta in 23, piita in 26, and k.r.s.na in 33).
>>>>
>>>> Harunaga Isaacson
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Peter Bisschop wrote:
>>>>> It is found in the Vi.s.nudharma (edition R. Gruenendahl):
>>>>> 104.27 ("sukla), 104.35 (rakta), 104.38 (piita), 104.45
>> (k.r.s.na)
>>>>>
>>>>> Peter Bisschop
>>>>>
>>>>> Quoting Dominic Goodall <dominic.goodall at GMAIL.COM>:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Dear all,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Can anybody tell me whether the notion that Vi.s.nu changes
>> colour
>>>>>> in each yuga predates the Bhaagavatapuraa.na?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> BhP_10.08.013/1 aasan var.naas trayo hy asya g.rh.nato
>> 'nuyuga.m
>>>>>> tanuu.h
>>>>>> BhP_10.08.013/3 "suklo raktas tathaa piita idaanii.m
>> k.r.s.nataa.m
>>>>>> gata.h
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I find it in a few passages excluded from the critical text
>> of the
>>>>>> Mahaabhaarata, e.g.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 13*0002_01 ya.h "svetatvam upaagata.h k.rtayuge tretaayuge
>>>>>> raktataa.m
>>>>>> 13*0002_02 yugme ya.h kapila.h kalau sa bhagavaan
>> k.r.s.natvam
>>>>>> abhyaagata.h
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does anybody know of any demonstrably early references?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dominic Goodall
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>