How Old Is the Universe Age? Insights from Science and Sanatan Dharma

Chinmayi Devi Dasi
Sep 25
5 min read

How old is the universe age? Understand the universe from science and Hindu scriptures — from observable data to Brahma’s trillions-of-years cycles and the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita.

From the earliest humans gazing at the night sky to modern astronomers peering through space telescopes, one question has always inspired awe: How old is the universe age? Science attempts to measure it with telescopes, cosmic background radiation, and galaxy expansion models. But Hindu scriptures, including the Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu Purana, and Shiva Purana, reveal a cosmic timeline far beyond human comprehension — an infinite, cyclical framework of creation, preservation, and dissolution.

What Physics Says About the Universe Age

The Big Bang and Observable Universe

Modern astronomy tells us the universe began with the Big Bang approximately 13.8 billion years ago. Evidence includes:

Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR): The faint afterglow of the early universe.
Hubble’s Law: Galaxies receding from each other prove the universe is still expanding.

Recent observations have challenged the standard model. A 2023 study published by the Royal Astronomical Society suggests the universe may be as old as 26.7 billion years.

These numbers remind us that scientific measurements are model-dependent and can evolve with new data.

Raw Data About the Universe

Observable Universe Size: ~93 billion light-years across.
Speed of Light: 299,792 km/s.
1 Light-Year: 9.46 trillion km.
Earth’s Age: ~4.5 billion years.
Human Civilization: ~10,000 years.

Even though billions of years seem incomprehensible, they are finite — a small fraction of what Sanatan Dharma describes.

What Sanatan Dharma Knows About the Universe’s Vastness

Cyclical Time in Sanatan Dharma

Unlike science’s linear model, Sanatan Dharma describes time as cyclical. Creation and destruction repeat in endless cycles.

1 Mahayuga (Cycle of 4 Yugas): 4.32 million years.
- Satya Yuga – 1,728,000 years
- Treta Yuga – 1,296,000 years
- Dwapara Yuga – 864,000 years
- Kali Yuga – 432,000 years
1 Kalpa (Brahma’s Day): 1,000 Mahayugas = 4.32 billion years.
1 Night of Brahma: 4.32 billion years.
1 Brahma Year (360 day-nights): 3.1104 trillion years.
Brahma’s Lifespan: 100 Brahma years = 311 trillion years.

This is already far beyond science’s estimates of 13.8 or 26 billion years.

Where We Are Now in 2025

According to Bhagavata Purana and Hindu scriptures:

We are in the 51st year of Brahma,
On the first day,
In the 7th Manvantara,
In the 28th Kali Yuga.

This means that in 2025, the current Brahmand’s age is:

155,521,966,853,126 solar years (≈ 155.5 trillion years).

This calculation comes from:

50 full years of Brahma already passed = 155,520,000,000,000 years,
Plus the years elapsed in the current Kalpa = about 1.97 billion years,
Making the total ≈ 1.55522 × 10¹⁴ years.

Sanatan Dharma thus reveals a universe that is not just billions, but hundreds of trillions of years old.

Infinite Universes

The scriptures also state that countless universes exist:

“Anantakoti Brahmand Nayak” — Lord Vishnu is the master of infinite universes.
Each Brahmand (universe) is born, expands, and dissolves in cycles.

From the Bhagavad Gita (10.8):

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते। I am the source of all creation; everything emanates from Me.

The Days and Years of Brahma

1 Kalpa (Brahma’s day): 1,000 Mahayugas = 4.32 billion years
Brahma’s night: 4.32 billion years
1 Brahma Year (360 days & nights): 3.1104 trillion years
Brahma’s Lifespan: 100 years = 311 trillion years

This scale of time is unimaginable when compared to even the highest scientific estimate of 26.7 billion years.

Current Age of the Universe According to Sanatan Dharma

As of 2025, according to the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana:

We are in Brahma’s 51st year
On the first day
In the 7th Manvantara
In the 28th Kali Yuga

This converts to an age of approximately 155,521,966,853,126 solar years (~155 trillion years).

Infinite Universes — Anantakoti Brahmand

Hindu cosmology also speaks of countless universes, each with its own Brahma and cosmic cycles. Lord Vishnu is called “Anantakoti Brahmand Nayak”, the master of infinite universes.

How old is the universe age? — A Comparative Insight

Science measures the universe in billions of years — currently estimated between 13.8 and 26.7 billion — based on what we can observe, calculate, and verify. It focuses on how much time has passed and gives us a finite picture of the cosmos: a single observable universe, expanding according to Hubble’s Law, with measurable distances and speeds. Sanatan Dharma, however, speaks a far grander language of time. According to Hindu cosmology, our universe alone is already 155 trillion years old, and it exists as part of countless Brahmandas in endless cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Time here is cyclical and infinite, not just a sequence of events but a reflection of divine purpose.

While science explains the mechanics, Sanatan Dharma reveals the meaning — the universe is not only vast in scale but infinitely orchestrated by the Divine, echoing the eternal wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, the Puranas, and the Vedas. Even modern ideas like the multiverse and dark energy are shadows of what Hindu texts have described for thousands of years: a reality beyond the observable, immeasurable, and eternal.

From Bhagavad Gita 2.20:

इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः॥

The soul is never born and never dies; it is eternal and beyond time.

This reminds us that while universes come and go, the soul remains eternal.

Conclusion: Embracing the Infinite

In the vast play of creation and dissolution, our human life is brief, yet sacred. The cosmic scale teaches us to live with purpose, devotion, and awareness of the eternal.

“In the infinite dance of billions of universes, one human life may be small, but a life lived in Dharma and devotion is eternal.”

While the universe stretches across trillions of years, and countless Brahmandas come and go in endless cycles, the soul’s true purpose lies in Krishna Bhakti. Science may measure time, and scriptures may reveal the vastness of cosmic cycles, but devotion to Lord Krishna transcends all measurements. Through Bhakti, one aligns with the eternal source of creation, as He Himself declares in the Bhagavad Gita (9.22):

“To those who are constantly devoted and who worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

No matter how old the universe is — whether billions by scientific standards or trillions by Brahma’s years — the path to Krishna remains the ultimate anchor for the soul. Practices like Nama Sankirtan (chanting His name), meditation on His form, and surrender through loving service allow us to connect with the infinite within our finite lives. In a cosmos so vast, Krishna Bhakti becomes the guiding light, showing that eternal joy and purpose are found not in counting cosmic years but in loving union with the Divine.