Yug

What does Yug mean?

Yug means ‘age’ or ‘era’ in Hindi, from Sanskrit yuga. Wiktionary records the time-related meaning alongside older Sanskrit senses including a yoke, pair and generation. The cosmic age is one use of this broader vocabulary of time. The Hindi meaning is direct and also applies to ordinary historical periods, so the name's scale need not be understood only through religious cosmology.

Source: Wiktionary, युग. How we use sources.

Spelling and pronunciation

युग is read yug in one Hindi syllable, with a short u like that in ‘put’ and a hard g. Yuga retains the Sanskrit final vowel and is used in writing about cosmic ages. Yugh is another Roman spelling, though the added h is not present in युग.

Also spelled Yuga, Yugh.

Yug in tradition and story

Hindu cosmology describes four yugas: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. The Bhagavad Gita uses the expression ‘age after age’ in Krishna's promise to appear, giving the word a familiar scriptural context alongside everyday Hindi use.