Shloka 32
मानससृष्टिः, रुद्रोत्पत्तिः, मन्वादिवंशः, प्रलयचतुष्टयम्
रौद्राण्य् एतानि रूपाणि विष्णोर् मुनिवरात्मज नित्यप्रलयहेतुत्वं जगतो ऽस्य प्रयान्ति वै
raudrāṇy etāni rūpāṇi viṣṇor munivarātmaja nityapralayahetutvaṃ jagato 'sya prayānti vai
O son of the foremost sage, these are the Raudra—terrible—forms of Viṣṇu; through them He is known as the enduring cause of this world’s pralaya, the power by which the universe is brought again and again to its end.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How destructive/terrible powers belong to Viṣṇu and function as continual causes of dissolution
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Kalpa
Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda
Concept: Even the ‘Raudra’ destructive forces are forms (rūpāṇi) of Viṣṇu, by which He becomes the constant cause of the world’s recurring dissolution.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Revere the Lord not only as protector but as regulator of endings; practice surrender (prapatti) to remain steady amid loss, change, and cyclic time.
Vishishtadvaita: Viṣṇu is both transcendent ruler and immanent cause: creation, maintenance, and dissolution are His modes (prakāras) without compromising His supremacy.
Vishnu Form: Hari
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
They show that Vishnu’s sovereignty includes not only protection and creation, but also the fierce power that ends cycles of the cosmos—dissolution as a divine function under His control.
By stating that these forms “attain” the status of being the cause of dissolution, Parashara frames pralaya as an ever-recurring cosmic principle governed by Vishnu, not as a random catastrophe.
Vishnu is presented as the Supreme Reality whose will encompasses the full cosmic cycle—sustenance and the inevitable return of the universe into dissolution—supporting a strongly theistic, supremacy-centered reading.