The Tower of Brahma, a puzzle that dictates when the world will end. 'With a thunderclap...'

The world is believed to have been born 13.7 billion years ago when the Big Bang happened. It will one day end as well, but no one knows when. However, Indian mythology seems to have the answer to this question. According to ancient legends, the life of this universe is linked to Lord Brahma's life cycle. 

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, is believed to house three diamond rods on a brass plate right under its dome, which apparently marks the centre of the world. This is known as Brahma's Disc, or the Tower of Brahma. Each rod is about 20 inches high. When God created this world, he put 64 golden discs on one of them. 

The biggest one is at the bottom, with a smaller one resting on top of it, getting smaller and smaller up to the top one. All the discs need to be moved to the third rod in such a way that only one disc is lifted at a time. The middle rod is used to facilitate the transition. The catch is that a smaller plate can never be under a bigger plate. 

Also Read: God exists, and the proof lies in a mathematical equation, expert says

According to ancient Indian tales, priests have been solving this puzzle every second of every day. The day all the 64 discs are moved to the third rod while perfectly following the rules of the puzzle, the world will crumble to dust, "and with a thunderclap, the world will vanish."

While it might seem scary right now to have a puzzle decide the fate of the world, calculations say that if priests continue to work on it unceasingly, every second, without making any mistake, it would still take 1,84,46,74,40,73,70,95,51,615 moves to solve it. At this rate, it would take 584 billion years. 

Also Read: Radio burst reaches Earth from other side of the universe

Age of Brahma, according to Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita also carries a reference to Brahma and his link to the life cycle of the universe. According to the revered text, a day of Brahma lasts a 1,000 cycles of the four yugas, or ages - Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kala Yuga. This translates to 4.32 billion solar years. The life of Brahma and the universe is said to be 100 Brahma years. 

When Brahma reaches this threshold, the universe will end. However, the good news is that we are only on the fifth day of Brahma's life.

Brahma's Discs, or Tower of Brahma, a mathematical treatise

Ancient Indians used this game to handle big numbers while doing mathematical calculations. The number of moves it takes to solve can be reached using a formula.

Also Read: Cosmic explosions killed all life on Earth 445mn yrs ago and then again 73mn years later

Suppose there are only three discs that need to be transferred; it will take seven moves to move them all to the last peg. The formula 2n - 1 can be used to deduce the number of moves.

To move all 64 discs to the last peg, it will take 2⁶⁴−1 = 1.84 × 10¹⁹ moves. If a disc is moved every second, it will take about 5.85x10¹¹ years. However, the universe is believed to be between a few thousand and 1.38x 10¹⁰ years old. Completing the puzzle will take 42 times the current age of the universe.

Also Read: 13-billion-year-old galaxy mysteriously crosses a cosmic veil to reach Webb

It is fascinating how the universe has intrigued human minds since the start of civilisation. Curiosity about what is out there led them to study the stars. They discovered planets and millions of celestial bodies that found a place in ancient texts. It is amazing how Brahma's Discs have been linked to the age of the universe, a mere puzzle that when solved, will lead to the end of the world "with a thunderous clap."