How old is our universe? In 2013, the European Space Agency measured the fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation and concluded that our universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old. If you want to understand what CMB is, don’t forget to watch our previous video, "How Big is the Universe?"
The European Space Agency’s findings were accepted by the global scientific community, including NASA. However, in July 2023, the Royal Astronomical Society published a research article titled "JWST Early Universe Observations and Lambda-CDM Cosmology" by University of Ottawa scientist Rajendra P. Gupta. This article unsettled the previously accepted age of the universe and provided evidence that our universe is at least 26.7 billion years old, not 13.8 billion.
In just ten years, the estimated age of the universe jumped from 13 billion to 26 billion years. With the rapid advancement of technology, there is a good chance that even the 26-billion-year estimate will soon be proven incorrect.
However, we do not have to live in bewilderment or ignorance. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam gives us the exact formula to calculate the age of our universe.
According to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, there are countless universes, each with its own Brahmā (the secondary creator). All these universes originate from the bodily pores of Mahā-Viṣṇu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu).
The lifespan of each universe is equal to the lifespan of its Brahmā.
In our universe, the one day of Brahmā consists of 1,000 Mahā-Yugas (cycles of four yugas), and his night is of the same duration.
A full year of Brahmā consists of 360 such cycles of day and night.
Brahmā lives for 100 such years, and 50 of his years have already passed.
Currently, we are in:
- The first day of Brahmā’s 51st year
- The seventh Manvantara of this day
- The 28th Mahā-Yuga
- The Kali Yuga, which has completed 5,126 years as of 2025 CE
Now, let’s calculate the exact age of our universe based on the Vedic model:
Calculation of the Universe’s Age:
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1 Mahā-Yuga = 4,320,000 solar years
- Satya Yuga = 1,728,000 years
- Tretā Yuga = 1,296,000 years
- Dvāpara Yuga = 864,000 years
- Kali Yuga = 432,000 years
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1 Manvantara = 71 Mahā-Yugas
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1 Day of Brahmā = 14 Manvantaras + 15 Satya, Tretā, and Dvāpara Yugas
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1 Year of Brahmā = 360 Brahmā days
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50 Years of Brahmā = Half of his total lifespan
Based on these calculations, as of the year 2025 CE, the age of our universe is approximately:
155.52 trillion years (155,521,960,853,126 solar years).
While modern scientific estimates of the universe’s age fluctuate with new discoveries, Vedic scriptures have consistently provided a precise calculation for millennia. The knowledge from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam offers a much broader and deeper understanding of cosmic time than contemporary scientific models.
So, while the world debates whether the universe is 13.8 billion or 26 billion years old, the Vedic perspective already provides a definitive answer!
