Shloka 11
Matsya Purana — Dialogue of Aṣṭaka and Yayāti: Exhaustion of Merit
वनस्पतीन् ओषधींश्चाविशन्ति अपो वायुं पृथिवीं चान्तरिक्षम् चतुष्पदं द्विपदं चापि सर्व एवंभूता गर्भभूता भवन्ति //
vanaspatīn oṣadhīṃścāviśanti apo vāyuṃ pṛthivīṃ cāntarikṣam catuṣpadaṃ dvipadaṃ cāpi sarva evaṃbhūtā garbhabhūtā bhavanti //
Trees and medicinal herbs enter into the waters, the wind, the earth, and the mid-space (atmosphere). Likewise all beings—whether four-footed or two-footed—become of that condition and pass into an embryonic, seed-like state.
FAQs
It describes pralaya as a process of reabsorption: plants and all creatures merge back into the elemental substrata (water, wind, earth, and atmosphere) and persist in a latent, embryo/seed-like state until creation resumes.
By stressing impermanence and cyclical dissolution, it reinforces detachment and dharmic stewardship: a king or householder should rule, earn, and perform rites without pride, knowing all embodied forms return to elemental sources.
No direct Vastu or iconography rule is stated; ritually, it supports the logic of purification and pañcabhūta-based rites—seeing bodies and nature as composed of elements that can be ritually harmonized and restored.