Hinduism does not begin with the assumption of a singular creator who stands outside the universe. Instead, it holds that existence itself is eternal. The cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution are governed not by the arbitrary will of an external deity, but by the intrinsic laws of cosmic rhythm. The profound symbolism of Ananta Naga (the infinite serpent) swallowing its own tail illustrates this principle: time and the cosmos are cyclical, without beginning or end, eternally recurring in infinite patterns of manifestation and dissolution.
This vision is not merely mythological. When compared with modern physics and cosmology, we find astonishing parallels. The Hindu idea of cyclic universes resonates directly with scientific theories of entropy, cosmic expansion, heat death, and potential rebirths of the cosmos.
The Cosmic Egg and Entropy Zero
In Hindu cosmology, the universe originates from the Hiraṇyagarbha — the golden cosmic egg. At this primordial stage, the universe is in a state of zero entropy: all energy and matter are perfectly unified, compressed into an undifferentiated singularity of potential. This correlates with the modern scientific idea of the Big Bang singularity: an infinitely dense state where all information, energy, and spacetime are concentrated.
In physics, entropy measures disorder or dispersion of energy. At the singularity (Hiraṇyagarbha), entropy is minimal — all is ordered and potential. The explosion or unfolding of this egg initiates time, space, matter, and energy. Just as Prajāpati or Brahmā emerges from the egg to create, the Big Bang initiates physical processes that structure the cosmos.
Expansion and Increasing Entropy
Once the cosmic egg "cracks," the universe begins to expand. Hindu scriptures describe this as Brahmā’s day — the active phase of creation. Stars, galaxies, planets, and life emerge during this period of growth and unfolding.
Modern science describes this process through thermodynamics: entropy increases with expansion. Systems evolve from ordered states toward more disorderly ones. Stars burn fuel, galaxies disperse, and black holes consume matter. The universe becomes increasingly complex but also increasingly entropic.
The Vedic concept of Ṛta (cosmic order) slowly gives way to Pralaya (dissolution) as Brahmā ages. This is mirrored in physics: as entropy grows, usable energy decreases, leading eventually toward thermodynamic equilibrium.
Entropy Maximum and Cosmic Dissolution
At the end of Brahmā’s life — measured as 100 Brahmā years, equivalent to trillions of human years — the universe reaches maximum expansion. This is the phase when entropy reaches its highest possible state. Energy becomes uniformly distributed, no useful work is possible, and all distinctions fade away.
Hindu texts describe this as Mahāpralaya — the great dissolution. The worlds burn in fire, are consumed by waters, and collapse into subtle essence. Modern physics echoes this with the concept of the Heat Death or the Big Freeze: galaxies drift apart, stars extinguish, black holes evaporate, and all matter is reduced to a near-uniform distribution of radiation. Time itself becomes meaningless as nothing further happens.
This ultimate entropy maximum is symbolized in the image of Ananta Naga fully consuming its own form — the end of one complete cosmic cycle.
Return to Entropy Zero: The Cyclic Process
Yet Hindu cosmology does not end with dissolution. After Mahāpralaya, the cosmos rests in causal latency, like a seed holding within it the blueprint of rebirth. The serpent releases its tail and the cycle begins again. From the still waters of dissolution, a new Hiraṇyagarbha arises, and another Brahmā awakens to create a new universe.
Modern cosmological theories increasingly point toward such cyclicity. The Big Bounce theory suggests that after maximum expansion, the universe may contract under gravity, collapse into another singularity, and then explode again into a new Big Bang. Similarly, models like conformal cyclic cosmology (Roger Penrose) envision infinite sequences of universes, each born from the entropy-maximum state of the previous.
Thus, Hinduism’s eternal cycles of creation and dissolution align remarkably with advanced physics: entropy flows from zero to maximum and returns to zero, setting the stage for another genesis.
Ananta Naga as the Symbol of Entropy and Eternity
The image of Ananta Naga swallowing its tail is more than mythic artistry. It represents:
Eternity: The serpent has no beginning or end.
Self-sufficiency: The universe consumes itself and regenerates itself.
Entropy flow: The circular motion represents the cosmic journey from order to disorder, then back to perfect potential.
Unity of science and spirituality: Hindu seers intuited principles of thermodynamics and cosmology long before modern physics named them.
Nārada Pañcarātra (1.2.15)
अनन्तशक्तिरनन्तात्मा जगत्सृष्टिस्थितिलयः ।
anantaśaktir anantātmā jagat-sṛṣṭi-sthiti-layaḥ
Meaning – Ananta, of infinite power and self, is the source of creation, preservation, and dissolution of the worlds.
This establishes him as cyclic principle of universe.
Just as the Ouroboros in alchemy represents the cyclical nature of existence, Ananta Naga illustrates the endless recycling of cosmic energy.
Eternal Existence Beyond Entities
Hinduism stresses that the universe is not created by an external god in time; rather, it is the eternal reality itself, moving through rhythmic transformations. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva personify the phases of creation, preservation, and destruction — but they are not ultimate entities; they are cosmic principles describing eternal scientific processes.
Modern physics similarly recognizes that the laws of nature are eternal, not bound to one beginning or one end. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. The conservation of energy reflects the same insight the Ṛṣis encoded in myth.
Science and Sanātana Dharma
The Hindu doctrine of cosmic cycles is not primitive mythology but a sophisticated scientific vision. The cosmic egg (Hiraṇyagarbha), expansion and entropy, Mahāpralaya, and the cyclic rebirth of universes mirror modern scientific theories with startling clarity.
Where physics speaks of entropy, expansion, heat death, and possible big bounces, Hindu seers spoke of Brahmā’s life, Pralaya, and Ananta Naga. Both describe the same eternal truth: the cosmos has no beginning and no end, only endless cycles of emergence and dissolution.
In this sense, Hinduism represents the science of the eternal universe — not a faith in a creator god, but a recognition of the timeless principles of existence. The Ananta Naga swallowing its tail is both a spiritual symbol and a scientific metaphor: the eternal return of entropy, the endless breathing of the cosmos.