Shloka 19
मेरु-प्रमाणम्, सप्त-पाताल-वर्णनम्, तथा अनन्त-शेष-तत्त्वम्
कल्पान्ते यस्य वक्त्रेभ्यो विषानलशिखोज्ज्वलः संकर्षणात्मको रुद्रो निष्क्रम्यात्ति जगत्त्रयम्
kalpānte yasya vaktrebhyo viṣānalaśikhojjvalaḥ saṃkarṣaṇātmako rudro niṣkramyātti jagattrayam
At the end of a kalpa, from His mouths bursts forth Rudra—of the very nature of Saṅkarṣaṇa—blazing with tongues of fire like venomous flame; emerging, he consumes the three worlds.
Sage Parāśara (to Maitreya)
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
Creation Stage: Kalpa
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
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.
Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)
Vyuha Form: Sankarshana
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
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.
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.
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.