RoundsandManvantaras:AnOutline [1]

1.Thereare10kingdoms/lifewaves/classesofmonads:threeelementalkingdoms,themineralkingdom,thevegetablekingdom,the
animalkingdom,thehumankingdom,andthreedhynichohanickingdoms. [2]
2.Aplanetarychainconsistsof12globes:therearesevenlowerormanifestedglobes(globesAtoG)onthefourlowerplanes,andfive
upperglobesonthethreehigherplanes. [3]

Schematicrepresentationofthetwelveglobesofaplanetarychain.
3.Aplanetaryround [4] isthepassageofalifewavefromglobeAtoglobeG,andlasts,onaverage,616,896,000years. [5] Oneachglobe
eachlifewavegoesthroughsevenstagesofdevelopment(rootraces)thisisknownasagloberound.[6] Aplanetaryroundtherefore
consistsofsevengloberounds.
4.Onleavingaglobe,alifewaveentersaninterglobalrestperiodor(lower)nirvnabeforeenteringthenextglobethelengthoftherest
periodisequaltoonetenthofthetimespentontheglobejustleft.Thatglobethenentersaperiodofobscurationordormancyuntilthe
nextlifewavearrives.AftercompletingthegloberoundonglobeG,thelifewavesenteraninterroundnirvna(duringwhichtheypass
throughthefiveupperglobes),andaplanetaryobscurationorrestperiodtakesplace,untilthenextplanetaryroundbeginsonglobeA. [7]
[1]Generalreferences:OccultGlossary[OG](2nded.),201,523,76,1012,1201,1334,1512FundamentalsoftheEsotericPhilosophy[FEP](2nded.),111
6,145,2956,510StudiesinOccultPhilosophy[SOP],1606,35760FountainSourceofOccultism[FSO],15962SecretDoctrine[SD],1:15860,2:6870,
30710MahatmaLetters[ML](2nded.),80,939.
[2]OG8990SOP161,184,194,3401FSO3523,6156.Therearetwoadditionallifewaves,making12inall:seeSOP170DialoguesofG.dePurucker[Dia]
3:1678.
[3]OG12931FEP5335.
[4]Alsocalledachainround,roundmanvantara,orchainroundmanvantara.
[5]SOP1601SD2:69.
[6]Alsocalledaglobemanvantara.
[7]FSO350,3618FEP112,163,1712OG1189.Fromanotherpointofview,aroundbeginsandendsonthetopmostglobe(FSO197,248,361Dia3:440).

5.Sevenplanetaryrounds=oneplanetarymanvantaraorkalpa,ordayofBrahm,[8] equalto4,320,000,000years.Itisfollowedbya
planetarypralaya,ornightofBrahm,aparinirvnicperiodofthesamelength.Duringthepralayathelowerprinciplesofeachglobeof
theplanetarychaindisintegrate.Atthedawnofthenextplanetarymanvantaratheplanetarychainreembodies.
6.Thecurrentplanetarymanvantaraoftheearthchainbeganapproximately2billionyearsago. [9] ThefourthroundonglobeDbegan
about320millionyearsago. [10] Themidpointwasreachedinthemiddleofthefourthsubraceofthefourthrootrace,some4.5million
yearsago. [11]
7.Sevenplanetarymanvantarasandpralayas(i.e.sevenplanetaryembodiments)=one(minor)solarmanvantaraorsolarkalpa,orweek
ofBrahm.Itisfollowedbyasolarpralaya.
8.Duringasolarmanvantara,theglobesofaplanetarychainsuccessivelyembodyonesubplanelowerineachofthefirstfour
embodiments,thenonesubplanehigherineachofthelastthreeembodiments.Aftersevenembodimentsaplanetarychainentersanew
cosmicplane.Duringeachplanetaryembodiment,theglobesmaterializeduringthefirstthreeandahalfroundsandthenetherealize,

therebydescendingandascendingthroughsevensubsubplanes. [12]
[8]Alsocalledaplanetarychainmanvantara,andsometimesamahmanvantara(OG20,76,102FEP115),orasolarmanvantara(FSO160).Aplanetaryround
issometimescalledaminormanvantara(OG118FEP172Dia3:409).'Minormanvantara'canalsorefertoagloberound,and'majormanvantara'toaplanetary
round(SD2:3089),whileanobscurationissometimescalledaminorpralaya(SD1:12fn,18,172n TransactionsoftheBlavatskyLodge,42).'Minormanvantara'
and'minorpralaya'canalsorefertoaplanetarymanvantaraandpralaya(ML88,934,978).Notethattherearereally12rounds(FEP111Dia2:260,3:169,281,
4412SD2:257).
[9]SD2:68IsisUnveiled,1:32.
[10]SD2:710,715fnTheEsotericTradition[ET],323SOP360FSO161.
[11]SOP201,63840ET1046SD1:439fn,2:147fn.Themiddleofthefourthraceissometimessaidtohaveoccurred8to9millionyearsago(ET326fnSOP
201,97,161,422ManinEvolution,152).
[12]FSO2467SOP391ET4478fnFEP5124.

9.Themoonchainistheformerembodimentoftheearthchain.Themoonchainwasthefourthandlowestembodimentinthecurrent
solarmanvantara,andtheearthchainisthefifthembodiment. [13] Theearthchainembodiedonesubplanehigherthanthemoonchain
andthereforethemoonweseeisnottheformerphysicalglobeDofthemoonchainbuttheastralshellorkmarpaofitsglobeD. [14]
10.Themonadsembodyingineachkingdomtakesevenplanetaryrounds,oroneplanetarymanvantara,tograduatetothenextkingdom.
Forinstance,theanimalmonadsonthemoonchainbecamethehumanmonads(i.e.ourselves)ontheearthchain,andthehuman
monadsonthemoonchainbecamethelowestclassofdhyanichohanicmonadsontheearthchain.Itthereforetakesseven(orten)
planetaryembodimentsforanunselfconsciousgodsparktoevolvetoselfconsciousdivinity. [15]
11.Amahmanvantaraoruniversalmanvantara [16] alsocalledalifeorageofBrahmlasts100divineyears,adivineyearbeing
equalto360ofBrahm'sdaysandnights.Themahmanvantarathereforecomprises36,000planetaryembodiments,andlasts36,000
x8,640,000,000=311,040,000,000,000years.Itisfollowedbyamahpralaya.Themoonchainwasthe18,000thembodimentand
markedtheendofthefirsthalfofthemahmanvantara.Theearthchainisthe18,001stembodiment. [17]
12.Theinnerroundsarethepassageofthetwelvelifewavesorfamiliesofmonadsthroughthetwelveglobesofaplanetarychain,while
theouterroundsarethepassageofthelifewavesfromplanetarychaintoplanetarychain,orfromsolarsystemtosolarsystem,etc.The
innerandouterroundsareoftwotypes:majorandminor.Themajor(orgrand)innerandouterroundsaremadebythelifewaves
collectively,whiletheminorinnerandouterroundsaremadebyindividualmonadsduringsleep,afterdeath,andduringinitiation. [18]
[13]EchoesoftheOrient,2:4056FEP184,468Dia1:178.
[14]FEP54850FSO342Dia2:139SD2:45,115,611.
[15]Dia2:306,3:1678SOP16792,592ML76.
[16]Sometimescalledasolarorcosmicmahkalpaorasolarmanvantara.'Solarmanvantara'canmeanadayofBrahm(point5),aweekofBrahm(point7),or
anageofBrahm(FSO160,235fn).'Mahmanvantara',too,canmeanadayofBrahm(note8),oraweekorageofBrahm(Dia2:305).
[17]OG201SOP358FEP145,184,468SD1:368,2:179.
[18]ET83978OG152FEP5323FSO35060,599603,62736Dia1:21,72,2446,3:27585.

byDavidPratt.January1998.Lastrevised:May2003.

Rootracechronology
Geochronology:theosophyandscience
Evolutioninthefourthround
Innerandouterrounds
Secretcycles
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