Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 8: The Imperishable Absolute

Bhagavad Gita 8.17

sahasrayugaparyantamaharyadbrahmaṇo viduḥ | rātriṃ yugasahasrāntāṃ te'horātravido janāḥ ||

Those who know that a day of Brahma lasts a thousand ages, and that his night lasts a thousand ages, are the people who truly know day and night.

Modern context

A single day of Brahma lasts a thousand ages, and his night as long again. The numbers are meant to stagger the mind. Against that scale, a human life, a dynasty, even a civilization, is a moment. Those who grasp this, the verse says, 'truly know day and night'. The effect is not to make human life meaningless but to shrink our anxieties to their right size. Much of what feels enormous today will not matter at all in a few years.