In Jain Dharma, “one āra” does not have a single fixed number of years. Each half‑cycle of time (Utsarpini or Avasarpini) has six different ārās, and each āra has its own duration.

For the current half‑cycle (Avasarpini) the traditional durations are:

1. 1st āra – Suṣama‑suṣamā

- Duration: 4 koḍī‑koḍī sāgaropama

1. 2nd āra – Suṣamā

- Duration: 3 koḍī‑koḍī sāgaropama

1. 3rd āra – Suṣama‑duṣamā

- Duration: 2 koḍī‑koḍī sāgaropama

1. 4th āra – Duṣama‑suṣamā

- Duration: 1 koḍī‑koḍī sāgaropama minus 42,000 years

1. 5th āra – Duṣamā (Dukhmā)

- Duration: 21,000 years

1. 6th āra – Duṣama‑duṣamā (Dukhmā‑dukhmā)

- Duration: 21,000 years

Important:

• Sāgaropama and koḍī‑koḍī sāgaropama are immensely large Jain time‑units, described as countless, practically impossible to express in normal years.
• So we can clearly say “one āra = 21,000 years” only for the 5th or 6th āra.
• For the first four ārās, the length is given in these huge units, not in ordinary years.

So, when asking “one āra is how many years?”, the accurate Jain answer is: