Concept of Time in Vedas is described clearly with its nature, but modern science is yet to understand it.
Atharva Veda described about the time in Kand 19, Sooktas 53 and 54.
Atharva Veda [53-1] : Kaala or the Time is Aswa, a horse which flows continuously with seven rays and thousands of axes. Time does not get tired any time because it has tremendous force or energy. The wise people think on the Time again and again and try to ride over it. The wheels of the Time are the worlds (Bhuvanani) and the Galaxies (Viswa).
Aswa is a special noun which has two components A + Swa. It means the Time has no (A) tomorrow (Swa). This means the Time has no future. The statement of the sage is really true because the time is continuous and therefore it has neither yesterday nor tomorrow. Time has no past and no future.
The Time as far as the Earth is concerned, flows according to the Sun; and the Sun has seven rays namely VIBGYOR. Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red are the seven coloured rays of the Sun. The sage says that the Kaala or the Sun has seven rays.
Kaala has thousands of axes. An axis is a line around which a wheel rotates. Time has not a single axis, but has thousands of axes. Time rotates on the Earth around one axis, while on the other planets the time revolves around other axes. Therefore the time on the Earth is different from the time on other planets, which are situated in our Solar system. The time is different on various planets, therefore the days and nights are of the different durations. This fact is proved by the modern science. This shows that the Time revolves around different axes. There are minimum ten planets in our solar system, which means the time rotates around ten axes in one solar system. There are innumerable solar systems in the Universe. Each of them rotates around a particular axis. Therefore obviously there are innumerable axes for the time to revolve around. The word ‘Sahasra Aksha’ shows the multiplicity of the axes.
The Time never gets tired of those rotations. Time does not stop moving any time. This fact shows that it must have a tremendous energy. This tremendous force is depicted by a single word ‘Bhoori Reta’.
The wise think continuously about the time and try to ride over the time; but never get any success. The wheels of the Time are the worlds and the Galaxies. Bhuvana means a world consisting of a planet and a Sun.
Viswa means Galaxy, in which innumerable solar systems rotate. There are many galaxies. Therefore the sage says ‘Viswah’, a pleural.
Modern science knows that there are many galaxies so also the sage Bhrugu knew this fact. The worlds and the galaxies continuously rotate because of the Time, the Kaala.
Time (Kaala) rotates all of them.
Atharva Veda [53-2] : This Kaala rotates the seven wheels and has seven centres around which it moves. Its axis is really immortal. The Kaala manifests those galaxies and worlds.
He is the first God, who really moves.
These seven wheels are the (1) rotations of the Earth, around its own axis and (2) around the Sun, (3) the rotations of the Moon around the Earth, (4) the rotations of the seasons on the Earth, (5) the rotations of the days and the nights, (6) the rotations of the Sun around the centre of the galaxy, and (7) the rotations of the galaxy around its centre.
These rotations take place at seven places; naturally there must be seven Nabhis i.e. centres. Rotation is a circular motion around one centre. That centre is called as Nabhi. There are so many wheels rotating around an axis and these wheels are rotating for unaccounted period. So it must be immortal.
The Kaala or the Time manifests these worlds and galaxies. Unless He decides no new star will emerge. Nobody can tell when a new star will be born. However, new stars do form as far as knowledge of modern science goes. Sage Bhrugu knew all this science. Therefore he says, ‘ Kaala is the first God, who really moves.’
Atharva Veda [53-3] : The great Kaala is a full pitcher installed. We see him at present by various ways. The wise say that he is situated in the super sky, behind the galaxies and the worlds.
The Kaala or Time is like a full pot. It never empties. In the present time, we the wise try to see it by various ways just to solve its riddle. Kaala is placed behind the worlds and the galaxies. We do not understand the real nature of time by looking towards any Sun or any planet or any galaxy, because the Kaala remains behind them and revolves them. The planets, the worlds and the galaxies lie in the space or the sky; but the Kaala does not lie there in the space. Therefore the sage says that the Time is situated in the super space, beyond the ordinary space or sky.
The Kaala was present when the worlds and the galaxies took their form. The Time was present when the space or the sky came into being. Therefore it is said to be present in the super space. The modern science presents the theory of the genesis of the Universe, called as the Big Bang theory.
The Big Bang theory says that to begin with there was one fireball, which exploded and this Universe came into existence. However, before the explosion there occurred many events, tells the science. Naturally, there must be time present before those actions and reactions. Thus the sage appears true.
The famous Nasadeeya SUkta of the Rigveda states that before the Universe came into existence there was no space and nothing else was present then. The space present before the genesis of the Universe is named as the super space.
Sage Bhrigu tells that in that super space, Parama Wyoma (Wyoma = space), the Kaala resides.
Atharva Veda [53-4 ]: The Kaala nourished the worlds. Kaala supports and holds and covers them from all the sides. (Pari + Ait). The father of the worlds then became the son of the worlds. Therefore there is nothing else superior to its Teja i.e. energy.
The Parama Kaala nourished all the worlds and is covering them. All the worlds are dependent on the Kaala. The Kaala has full control on them and decides whether to support them or destroy them. The worlds are created by the Kaala and therefore He is the father of them all. But later the Kaala became the sons of the worlds. This happened because the Time is revealed by them, and can be counted with their help. The Sun and the Earth constitute our Bhuvana i.e. our world, which is created by the Kaala, so that Kaala is the father of our world. But now we decide the time from them. The measurement of time such as day and night, months, seasons, depend on the Sun and the Earth; so that the time became the son of the Sun and the Earth. Thus the Kaala is the supreme power. Nothing is superior to Time, more important than time.
Atharva Veda [53-5] : The Time has procreated this sky, space, the Earth. Past and future are hurled (Ish) into time and they are situated specially in the Kaala.
The Earth, the sky and every thing situated in it is created by the Kaala. Bhoota means the past, whatever has happened till the present moment. Bhavya means whatever is going to happen in future, next to the present moment. The present moment, the past and the future all are present in the time only. Because Kaala is present, they get the place; without the Kaala where they could have been placed? Of course there would have been no place for them to reside.
Atharva Veda [53-6] : Bhooti, the existent is created by the Time only. The Sun shines in the Kaala only. All the entities and the galaxies reside in the Kaala alone. Our eyes see only in the Kaala.
Atharva Veda [53-7] : Manas,( the mind), the Prana and the Nama (name) is nicely placed in the Kaala. According to the time all the species live happily.
The statement appears quite logical. Every thing is created by the Kaala. Prana is an energy superior to the life. Prana controls life according to the Adhyatma Shastra and the Upanishads. Science does not know this Prana, so we will consider Prana and life as the same entity. The life and the mind all reside in the Kaala and hence they work according to the directions of the Kaala. Due to Kaala our mind thinks and proposes to work. Life, too, behaves according to the Kaala. Life comes on the Earth when the Kaala sends it and the life goes away when the Kaala decides.
Nama means the name, the fame. It depends and resides in the Kaala. Only when the Kaala decides a person gets fame and all the people understand his name. If the Kaala is not favourable, no efforts can give fame. Even after the death, some persons bear fame; that fame resides in the Kaala itself. Only the Kaala promotes that and the posthumous name and fame remain in the Kaala itself. Had there been no Kaala, where the name and the fame would have resided?
All the life, all the species behave according to the Kaala (Time).
In the ancient era mountainous lizards, the Dinosaurs, about 100 feet long, inhabited the Earth; but now the same lizards have reduced to the length of 5 to 6 inches only. They changed according to Kaala or rather the Kaala changed their form. In the remote past the elephants lived in the oceans as aquatic animals; but now they changed their form and began living on the land. The present day whales, which reside in the ocean, were the land-dwellers in the remote past. All the animals were happily living then, and now also they are happy. The human beings were savage in the long past, but lived quite happily on the Earth. Now they are civilised and cultured and live happily on the same Earth. All these effects are due to the greatness of the Kaala.
Atharva Veda [53-8] : All the efforts (Tapa) are done in the Kaala. Greatness or might of any body also is present in the Kaala. The whole of the Universe is situated in the Kaala. Kaala is Iswara i.e. the controller of every body. Kaala is the father of the procreation (Praja).
Iswara means the ruler. Kaala is the ruler of every thing. Even the Brahman is situated in the Kaala. All the animate and inanimate things are produced and their producer is called as Prajapati; but the Kaala produces this Prajapati.
Atharva Veda [53-9 ]: Every thing induced by the Kaala, every thing produced by the Kaala is established in the Kaala.
Kaala is the Brahman. Kaala supports and nourishes even the supreme most spirit. (Parameshthhin).
Whatever we think about is created by the Kaala and is enthused by Kaala.
Kaala Himself is the Brahman. The Kaala is totally unmanifested, but Brahman is manifested to some extent. Hence it appears that the Kaala Himself manifests to become the Brahman.
Brahman means the one, which is spreading. At present the Brahman is very very vast. However, before it spread, it must be very small. When the Brahman was very small, there was the Kaala working. Therefore it is wise to say that the Kaala Himself turned into the Brahman. In the vast expanse of the Brahman, the Brahman itself is the most supreme. Therefore, the Brahman is supposed to be ‘Parameshthhin’. The Gods like Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, Agni are supposed to be the Parameshthhin; but they are all fed and nourished by the Kaaala. This statement appears true because before these Deities appear, there was Kaala working.
Atharva Veda [53-10] : To begin with the Kaala produced Prajapati, who then produced all other Prajas.
Kashyap, the first man, who was considered to be born from himself (Swayambhoo), was created by the Kaaala. Tapa, which means all the efforts, heat, light etc, is derived from the Kaala.
Modern science today holds that the Earth came into being automatically. In the same way the ancient Indian people used to say that Kashyap came into existence of his own, automatically. Whatever is said to be born by itself, born automatically, is all created by the Kaala.
Science says that the Earth came into being automatically and the same science holds that nothing happens automatically, there must be some force applied. The opinion of science is not logical. If it is true that some force is applied, then it becomes compulsory to accept the presence of some agent, who applied the force. That force and its applicator is the Kaala, according to the sage.
Sage Bhrigu appears quite logical.