Shloka 31
Kāla-vibhāga: The Divisions of Time from Atom to Brahmā, and the Lord Beyond Time
तावत्त्रिभुवनं सद्य: कल्पान्तैधितसिन्धव: । प्लावयन्त्युत्कटाटोपचण्डवातेरितोर्मय: ॥ ३१ ॥
tāvat tri-bhuvanaṁ sadyaḥ kalpāntaidhita-sindhavaḥ plāvayanty utkaṭāṭopa- caṇḍa-vāteritormayaḥ
প্রলয়ের শুরুতে কল্পান্তে স্ফীত সমুদ্রসমূহ তৎক্ষণাৎ উথলে উঠে ত্রিভুবন প্লাবিত করে; প্রবল ঘূর্ণিঝড়ে তাড়িত ভয়ংকর তরঙ্গ অল্পক্ষণেই সব জগৎ জলময় করে তোলে।
It is said that the blazing fire from the mouth of Saṅkarṣaṇa rages for one hundred years of the demigods, or 36,000 human years. Then for another 36,000 years there are torrents of rain, accompanied by violent winds and waves, and the seas and oceans overflow. These reactions of 72,000 years are the beginning of the partial devastation of the three worlds. People forget all these devastations of the worlds and think themselves happy in the material progress of civilization. This is called māyā, or “that which is not.”
FAQs
In this verse, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam describes the end-of-kalpa dissolution as the oceans swelling and immediately inundating the three worlds, with massive waves driven by fierce winds.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī speaks this verse while instructing King Parīkṣit, continuing his explanation of time, cosmic cycles, and dissolution in Canto 3, Chapter 11.
By remembering that even entire worlds are temporary, a person can reduce attachment and anxiety, and prioritize lasting spiritual practice—bhakti, humility, and remembrance of the Lord.