9. This paragraph succinctly and thoroughly defines the Brahma day. Cosmic time is measured in kalpas which each last 12,000 divine years; each divine year is 360 human years, making one kalpa 4,320,000 human years. Each kalpa has four distinct ages. One thousand kalpas make a Brahma Day, which starts with the creation of the universe and ends with the destruction of the universe; this is the period of srishti, or cosmic creation. Following Brahma day, there is a one thousand kalpa Brahma night in which there is no universe; this is the period of pralaya, or cosmic dormancy. The number of Brahma days and nights extends to infinity in the past and the future.