Avasarpini is the descending half of the Jain time cycle. It began after the previous ascending phase and, in the present era, we are living in this Avasarpini period. The traditional account places the start of the current Avasarpini a few years after Mahavira’s Nirvana, commonly cited around 525 BCE (some texts give 527 BCE). In short: Avasarpini started roughly in the mid-6th century BCE. There are slight variations in the exact year among Digambar and Śvētāmbara texts, but the general idea is that this is the present half-cycle that began after Mahavira’s Nirvana. For ongoing discussion about the current ara within Avasarpini, see the discussions in Jain cosmology. You can read more here and for the meaning of Avasarpini itself, see .