Shloka 19

Devanagari script

कल्पान्ते यस्य वक्त्रेभ्यो विषानलशिखोज्ज्वलः संकर्षणात्मको रुद्रो निष्क्रम्यात्ति जगत्त्रयम्

Transliteration

kalpānte yasya vaktrebhyo viṣānalaśikhojjvalaḥ saṃkarṣaṇātmako rudro niṣkramyātti jagattrayam

Translation

কল্পান্তত যাৰ মুখসমূহৰ পৰা বিষাগ্নিশিখাৰ দৰে জ্বলি উঠা, সংকৰ্ষণ-স্বৰূপ ৰুদ্ৰ নিৰ্গত হৈ ত্ৰিলোকক গ্ৰাস কৰে।

Word by Word

• कल्पान्ते: at the end of the aeon
• कल्पान्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्पान्त (प्रातिपदिक: कल्प + अन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘कल्पस्य अन्ते’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमासः; Locative singular

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; Genitive singular pronoun

• वक्त्रेभ्यः: from (his) mouths
• वक्त्रेभ्यः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), बहुवचन; Ablative plural

• विषानलशिखोज्ज्वलः: blazing with the flame of poisonous fire
• विषानलशिखोज्ज्वलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष + अनल + शिखा + उज्ज्वल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (‘विषानलस्य शिखया उज्ज्वलः’); Nominative singular adjective

• संकर्षणात्मको: having Saṃkarṣaṇa as his essence
• संकर्षणात्मको: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संकर्षण + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘संकर्षणः आत्मा यस्य’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; Nominative singular

• रुद्रः: Rudra
• रुद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• निष्क्रम्य: having emerged
• निष्क्रम्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नि√क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive); ‘निष्क्रम्य’ = having gone forth

• अत्ति: devours
• अत्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; ‘अद्’ धातोः—he eats/devours

• जगत्त्रयम्: the three worlds
• जगत्त्रयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘त्रयम् जगत्’ इति द्विगु-समासः; Accusative singular

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Sacred geography/cosmic supports and the nether regions (Pātāla), including Śeṣa and the end-of-kalpa dissolution forces.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: At the close of Brahmā’s day, the Rudra-principle—identified with Saṅkarṣaṇa—erupts as a consuming fire that dissolves the three worlds.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Contemplate impermanence to loosen attachment and orient life toward the imperishable Lord beyond cyclic dissolution.

Vishishtadvaita: Dissolution is not random: it proceeds through divinely ordered powers (vyūha-tattva), showing the Lord’s sovereign governance over cosmic cycles.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Vyuha Form: Sankarshana

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Saṅkarṣaṇa
• Triloka (Three Worlds)

FAQs

What is the significance of Rudra as “Saṅkarṣaṇātmaka” in the Vishnu Purana?

It frames dissolution as operating under Vishnu’s supreme order: Rudra’s pralaya-function is presented as arising in connection with Saṅkarṣaṇa, emphasizing a Vaishnava hierarchy where destructive power is an emanational role, not an independent absolute.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the end-of-kalpa dissolution here?

Parāśara describes a cosmic event: at the kalpa’s end, a blazing Rudra emerges and devours the three worlds—an image of pralaya that fits the Purana’s cycle of creation, maintenance, and reabsorption.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Rudra appears as the world-consuming force, the verse’s linkage to Saṅkarṣaṇa supports the Vishnu Purana’s message that all cosmic functions—including dissolution—ultimately proceed within Vishnu’s sovereign reality.