The smallest measurable unit
Āvalikā
आवलिका
Innumerable samaya. About one five-thousand-eight-hundredth of a second.
This is the lowest rung with a real number attached, because everything above it is defined against the muhūrta: one muhūrta holds 1,67,77,216 āvalikā. That figure is exactly 2²⁴, which is a pleasing thing to find in a text from before the common era.
Working it back from 48 minutes gives an āvalikā of roughly 0.00017 seconds. It is the unit that matters most for the shortest possible life, and for karmic processes, which the texts time in āvalikā rather than in anything larger.
Measurements and counts
| Contains | asaṃkhyāta samaya |
|---|---|
| Per muhūrta | 1,67,77,216 (2²⁴) |
| In seconds | ≈ 0.00017 |
| As a fraction | ≈ 1 / 5,800 second |
| 256 of them | one kṣullaka bhava |