Kalpa designates in Hindu chronology the Brahminical period of one day and night, and corresponds to a period of 4,320,000,000 solar sidereal years, or years of mortals, measuring the duration of the world, and, according to many, including even the interval of its annihilation. The Bhavishya- Purana admits of an infinity of kalpas; other Puranas enumerate thirty. A great kalpa comprises not a day, but a life of Brahma. In Vedic literature, kalpa is a Vedanga (q.v.). See Hardy, Manual of Buddhism, p. 1 sq., 7 sq. SEE KALPA-SUTRA.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More