Shloka 4
Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies
उन्मूलान् अथ तान् वृक्षान् कृत्वा वायुर् अशोषयत् तान् अग्निर् अदहद् घोरस् तत्राभूद् द्रुमसंक्षयः
unmūlān atha tān vṛkṣān kṛtvā vāyur aśoṣayat tān agnir adahad ghoras tatrābhūd drumasaṃkṣayaḥ
Then the wind tore those trees up by the roots and dried them utterly; and the fierce fire consumed them, so that there came to be a complete destruction of the forests.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The immediate effects of the Pracetās’ unleashed elements
Teaching: Historical
Quality: graphic
Concept: Corrective action that restores balance can be fierce, yet it must aim at re-establishing proportion rather than annihilation for its own sake.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: In governance or personal life, apply strong remedies only to remove root-causes; avoid excess that creates new harm.
Vishishtadvaita: Elemental forces act as instruments within a higher moral-cosmic order; ‘purification’ is meaningful when aligned with sustaining the Lord’s harmonious creation.
FAQs
This verse uses Vāyu drying and Agni burning to show how the elements withdraw the manifested world, illustrating dissolution as an ordered cosmic process rather than random ruin.
He narrates a sequential collapse of the natural world—trees are uprooted, desiccated, and then incinerated—presenting pralaya as a stepwise unraveling of creation.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Vishnu Purana frames such dissolution as occurring within Vishnu’s supreme governance—creation and destruction unfold as expressions of His cosmic sovereignty.