ICM Public Lecture: Manjul Bhargava

Magic Squares, Cubes, and Hypercubes from Ancient Origins to Recent Advances Speaker: Manjul Bhargava Date: July 27, 2026, 3:30 - 4:30 pm ABSTRACT Inscribed on a wall near the entrance of the majestic Parshvanath Jain Temple in Khajuraho (built around 960 CE) is a 4 × 4 magic square with remarkable arithmetic properties. We will explain why this magic square is the unique one of its kind, up to certain transformations. This answers a question posed by the legendary geometer HSM Coxeter in 1938. We will also explain why there is a unique such magic object in every dimension.