Shloka 18

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

पीत्वाम्भांसि समस्तानि प्राणिभूमिगतानि वै शोषं नयति मैत्रेय समस्तं पृथिवीतलम्

Transliteration

pītvāmbhāṃsi samastāni prāṇibhūmigatāni vai śoṣaṃ nayati maitreya samastaṃ pṛthivītalam

Translation

Having drunk up all the waters—those upon the earth and those that sustain embodied beings—O Maitreya, he brings the whole surface of the world to utter dryness.

Word by Word

• पीत्वा: having drunk
• पीत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Gerund/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पा (धातु; to drink)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/क्त्वान्त), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having drunk)

• अम्भांसि: waters
• अम्भांसि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• समस्तानि: all/entire
• समस्तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (अम्भांसि)

• प्राणिभूमिगतानि: that have reached the ground/land of living beings
• प्राणिभूमिगतानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राणि (प्रातिपदिक) + भूमि (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त; from √गम्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (अम्भांसि); समासः—(प्राणिनां) भूमौ गतानि इति (षष्ठी + सप्तमी) तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (समासान्ते द्वितीया)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (निपात/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• शोषम्: drying up
• शोषम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोष (प्रातिपदिक; from √शुष्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• नयति: brings/leads (to)
• नयति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नी (धातु; to lead)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• समस्तम्: entire
• समस्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पृथिवीतलम्)

• पृथिवीतलम्: the earth’s surface
• पृथिवीतलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—पृथिव्याः तलम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The concrete mechanics of pralaya—how waters and life-supporting fluids are removed.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Kalpa

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When dissolution begins, the life-supporting principle symbolized by waters is retracted, leaving the world incapable of sustaining embodiment.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Remember the contingency of bodily life; prioritize sādhanā that does not depend on external conditions—japa, remembrance, and ethical steadiness.

Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos operates as the Lord’s body; withdrawal of its sustaining powers occurs under His will, while the Lord remains the inner support of all.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Parāśara

FAQs

What is the significance of the drying of the earth in the Vishnu Purana?

It signifies the onset of pralaya imagery—life-supporting waters are withdrawn, showing that the cosmos depends on higher divine order and can be reabsorbed when that order turns toward dissolution.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the process of dissolution in this passage?

Parāśara frames dissolution as a systematic removal of sustaining elements—here, water—addressing Maitreya directly to emphasize the inevitability and cosmic-scale completeness of the process.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s pralaya narrative is ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s sovereignty: the withdrawal and restoration of the world occurs under the Supreme Reality who governs cosmic cycles.