Primary Creation
Kalpa and the Creation of Universe
Lord Vishnu is the prime cause of creation. The whole Universe is his manifestation. It is He who materializes it, sustain it and dissolve it. Brahma and Shiva is also his other form. Vishnu, the supreme spirit in Ananthasayana posture with Brahma sitting on the lotus shoot from navel of Vishnu do the creation. The chronology describes by Padma Purana is a periods as long as a hundred trillion (1014) years.
In the beginning it was Brahmanda, the celestial black hole. It kept growing and thus came into existence everything: the Universe with Celestial bodies, Sun, Planet, Ocean, Land, Gods, Demons.
Mahayuga: The four yuga(Krita, Treta, Dwapara, Kali) together constitute a Mahayuga, or great age. The computation goes like this: Krita-yuga (or Satya-yuga) contains 1,728,000 solar years; Treta-yuga, 1,296,000 Dvapara-yuga, 864 000 ; Kali-yuga, 432,000. So a Maha-yuga is of 4,320,000 years
Manu, period of a Manu: 71 maha-yugas, each of which are having 4,320,000 years form the period of the reign of one Manu. So the total period of a Manu is 306, 720,000 years.
Brahma Kalpa or a day of Brahma: A “day of Brahmā,” consisting of a period of fourteen manvantaras, together with the period intervening between two Manus, equal in all to 1,000 mahayugas, or 4,320,000,000 solar Years.
Brahma, Period of life: The reigns of 14 Manus (embracing the duration of 944 mahayugas) equal 4,294,080, 000 years; and, adding to these the sandhis (transitional period), equal to 6 maha-yugas, or 25,920,000 years, the total of these reigns and interregnums of 14 Manus is 1,000 maha-yugas, which constitute a kalpa, or "day of Brahma," amounting to 4,320,000,000 solar years. As Brahma's "night" is of equal duration, one day and night of Brahma would contain8,640,000,000 solar years; and 360 such days and nights make a year of Brahma, containing 3,110, 040, 000, 000 solar years; while 100 such years of Brahma constitute the whole period of Brahma's age, comprising 311, 004, 000, 000, 000 years. A full life of Brahma is called Para. Half of the life of Brahma is now over.
Pralaya: At the close of the day of Brahma a Pralaya or a partial collapse take place which last for equal time as a night of Brahma. Brahma sleep in the night and again start creation in early morning. There are two more kind of Pralaya apart from Brahma Kalapa. The second kind of Pralaya is the elemental dissolution of all being resolved into primary spirit and the third dissolution is the final liberation of all material from existence.