Question: In Srimad Bhagavatam 5.1.29 it is said the duration of Maharaja Priyavrata’s ruling was 1,100,000,000 years (11 arbudas) In another place 5.7.8 it is stated, that the enjoyment of Bharat Maharaja was 1000 times 10,000 years (equals to one crore 10,000,000). How do we understand this in terms with the shorter duration of the subtotal of the 4 yugas?
Answer by Romapada Swami: The Sanskrit dictionary defines arbuda as 10 million, so 11 arbudas would be 110,000,000 years.
It is not impossible that a single king, Priyavrata or Bharata, ruled different yugas, just as in more recent history, kings often governed during times of prosperity and hardship.
Some personalities in the Vedic universe have lifetimes that are not limited to a particular yuga cycle. For example, Brahma has a lifetime of trillions of years. The Gita says sahasra yuga paryantam ahur yad brahmana viduh. A thousand yuga cycles are one day of Brahma. The Manus also have long lives, at least as long as a manvantara period, and may be even longer. The various categories of demigods also have long lives. So Priyavrata took up the post of his father, Svayambhuva Manu. So he was no an ordinary human. He was on the level of a Manu, and three of his sons became Manus. As for Bharat Maharaja, he was a direct son of Rsabhadeva, who was an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So it seems that like many other personalities, he had a long life.
