yugas and colours

[Tenzin Bob Thurman]

Just noticed this discussion, and it brought to mind the not unrelated 
fact that the faces of the Buddha Kaalachakra and the dirctional colors 
in his mandala palace are precisely those, front-east black, right-south 
red, back-west yellow, left-north white. ince his body is supposed to 
represent all the "parts" of time, fitting that his faces represent the 
yugas.

That mandala is the only one in the Tibetan collection that I know of 
that uses those colors for the faces and directions.

Bob Thurman


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
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>