How Vedic Philosophy Influenced My Sci-Fi World

When I first read the Nasadiya Sukta from the Rigveda, I found myself returning to a single idea that refused to leave me. The hymn speaks of creation in a way that feels almost quantum in its ambiguity. It describes a time when neither existence nor nonexistence had formed, a moment where everything and nothing lived together in a state beyond definition.

nāsad āsīn no sad āsīt tadānīṁ nāsīd rajo no vyomā paro yat |
kim āvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarmann ambhaḥ kim āsīd gahanaṁ gabhīram || 1 |

Then even nothingness was not, nor existence,
There was no air then, nor the heavens beyond it.
What covered it? Where was it? In whose keeping
Was there then cosmic water, in depths unfathomed?

Some scholars interpret this as a hint toward parallel realities, layers of creation unfolding at the same time without a single linear origin. I remember reading those verses and feeling as if the ancients had quietly mapped the very questions that modern physics is still trying to understand. It did not feel mystical. It felt strangely familiar, like the universe had always been holding more than one truth at a time.

Those verses became a doorway for me long before I began writing my sci-fi novel.

I kept returning to them during late nights when I sat near my window, staring at the sky and wondering what lies behind the version of reality I can see. The idea that multiple worlds could coexist without contradiction made space feel less like a distant expanse and more like a living, breathing presence. When I started building my fictional universe, I realized how much of my imagination had been shaped by these early encounters with Vedic thought.

In this guide, I will show you how Vedic philosophy shaped the logic, emotion, and depth of the sci-fi world I created.

Nasadiya Sukta from Rigveda

Whenever I revisit the Nasadiya Sukta in the Rigveda, I feel as if I am stepping into a space where language tries to describe something larger than thought. The hymn does not offer a neat origin story.

As I mentioned earlier, it speaks of a time before creation, before separation, before certainty. It describes a state where existence and nonexistence rested together, where darkness covered darkness, and where even the gods came later. This ambiguity is what shaped my understanding of parallel realities. It felt like an ancient acknowledgment that the universe might not be a single, linear event but an unfolding of many layers at once.

Some of the key ideas from the Nasadiya Sukta that influenced my sci-fi world:

• It presents creation as an unresolved question rather than a fixed event.
• It suggests a pre-creation state where multiple possibilities may have coexisted.
• It acknowledges that even the highest beings might not know the ultimate truth.
• It hints at a universe born from both chaos and potential rather than clear boundaries.
• It captures the idea that mystery is an essential part of cosmic understanding, not a flaw.

Vedic Stories That Echo Science Fiction

When I began exploring Vedic literature as an adult, I realised how effortlessly these ancient texts speak in the language of possibilities. The stories do not treat the universe as a closed structure. They treat it as an endless landscape where travel, time, perception, and reality shift depending on the seeker.

One of the stories that stayed with me is the description of King Kakudmi visiting Brahma’s realm to find a suitable groom for his daughter. The tale explains that when Kakudmi returned to Earth, ages had passed. This is one of the clearest depictions of time dilation in ancient literature.

Another example is the account of Narada moving between worlds with ease, unaffected by the limitations that bind ordinary beings. These narratives do not feel symbolic to me. They feel like early attempts to articulate the fluidity of time, consciousness, and dimensions.

There are also the descriptions of multiple universes existing side by side, like bubbles within a vast cosmic ocean. The Bhagavata Purana states that each universe has its own Brahma, its own structure, and its own timeline. When I first encountered this idea, I felt an unexpected sense of kinship with it. It aligned with the same scientific curiosity that drives conversations about bubble universes, multiverse theory, and overlapping dimensions.

These stories do not try to impress the reader with grandeur. They simply state that reality is not confined to a single shape or direction. This openness became a quiet influence on how I built my own sci-fi world.

Sci-fi resonances in these Vedic stories:

• The Kakudmi narrative mirrors the concept of time dilation across different realms.
• Narada’s travel between worlds resembles interdimensional mobility.
• The idea of countless universes aligns with multiverse and bubble universe theories.
• Cyclic time challenges the Western notion of linear progression.
• Each universe having its own Brahma reflects the possibility of varied cosmic hierarchies.

Why My Story Is Different

When I started shaping my sci-fi world, I knew I did not want to imitate anything I had admired before. My story grew out of nights spent thinking about the people I have lost and the quiet places inside me that still search for them.

The science, the wormholes, the cosmic structures, and the alternate worlds became the landscape, but the heartbeat of the story remained Indian. It is rooted in the rhythm of our philosophies, the way we speak about time, the way we interpret destiny, and the way we carry memories across generations. At its core, my book is not about distant planets. It is about grief. It is about looking for something that slipped away too early. It is about the possibility that every search, no matter how vast, begins from a very personal place.

If these ideas speak to you, I would love for you to join me on this journey. Please pre-order my book today.