Shloka 27

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

अम्बरीषम् इवाभाति त्रैलोक्यम् अखिलं तदा ज्वालावर्तपरीवारम् उपक्षीणचराचरम्

Transliteration

ambarīṣam ivābhāti trailokyam akhilaṃ tadā jvālāvartaparīvāram upakṣīṇacarācaram

Translation

Then the entire threefold world appeared like a blazing furnace, encircled by whirlpools of flame, as all that moves and all that does not move withered away in exhaustion.

Word by Word

• अम्बरीषम्: a brazier/fire-pan
• अम्बरीषम्: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बरीष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन; उपमान (object of comparison)

• इव: like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparator/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमावाचक-निपात (comparative particle)

• आभाति: shines, appears
• आभाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-भा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• त्रैलोक्यम्: the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (त्रयाणां लोकानां समाहारः)

• अखिलम्: entire
• अखिलम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying त्रैलोक्यम्)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• ज्वालावर्तपरीवारम्: surrounded by a whirl of flames
• ज्वालावर्तपरीवारम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वाला + वर्त + परिवार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying त्रैलोक्यम्); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ज्वालावर्तस्य परिवारः यस्य तत्)

• उपक्षीणचराचरम्: with moving and unmoving beings wasted away
• उपक्षीणचराचरम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-क्षीण + चर + अचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying त्रैलोक्यम्); समासः: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (चराचरं उपक्षीणम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The condition of the three worlds during the height of pralaya

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: All moving and unmoving beings are exhausted and wither during dissolution, revealing the fragility of embodied existence.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Reflect on mortality and impermanence to deepen steadiness in sādhanā and ethical living.

Vishishtadvaita: Jīvas and matter undergo transformation and exhaustion, while the Lord remains the stable support in whom the cosmos is reabsorbed.

Characters & Entities

• Three Worlds (Trailokya)
• All beings (Cara-Acara)

FAQs

What is the significance of describing the Trailokya as a ‘furnace’ in the Vishnu Purana?

It conveys pralaya as an all-consuming, purifying cosmic phase where the manifested worlds lose their ordinary structure and are reduced toward an undifferentiated state.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the state of beings during dissolution in this verse?

He states that both the moving and unmoving creation (cara–acara) becomes “upakṣīṇa”—drained and diminished—showing the universal scope of decline before renewal.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Even when the cosmos appears as a ringed blaze of dissolution, the Vishnu Purana frames such cycles as occurring under the supreme reality and sovereignty of Vishnu, who remains the ground of order beyond change.