Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
Ages

Dushama-dushama

Also Known As The Sixth Ara
Position 6 in Its Cycle

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

Dushama-dushama is the sixth and final ara of the avasarpini, the descending half of the beginningless Jain cosmic time cycle, the age still to come after the present Dushama age ends, described in Jain cosmological texts as the harshest of the six, in which human stature, lifespan, morality and happiness fall to their lowest point before the cycle turns and the ascending utsarpini half begins with the same six ara in reverse order. This entry names its position in the cross traditional cycle of world ages this atlas already tracks; the doctrine page elsewhere in this atlas carries the fuller treatment of the avasarpini and utsarpini cycle itself.

Facts
Identity
Symbol
No individual glyph marks the age on its own; Jain tradition instead pictures all twelve ara of the avasarpini and utsarpini together as spokes on a single wheel of time, kalachakra, with Dushama-dushama occupying the sixth and final spoke of the descending half, immediately before the wheel turns into the ascending utsarpini. 1
Dating
Proposed Dating
Given as 21,000 years, the same fixed span the tradition gives the current Dushama age before it, rather than the far larger sagaropama figures used for the first four ara. No source in the tradition attempts a further calendar conversion, and the atlas does not invent one. 1
Attributions
Tradition
Jain cosmological texts including the Tattvartha Sutra and its commentaries, which set out the avasarpini's six ara. 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Jainism, Religions

The sixth and harshest ara of the avasarpini, still to come, after which the ascending utsarpini half begins the same six ara in reverse.

Source Cycles of Time (Jainpedia)No individual author named; content credited to Professor Nalini Balbir
Sources
1. Cycles of Time (Jainpedia)
No individual author named; content credited to Professor Nalini Balbir, Institute of Jainology, 2026View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.