Shloka 36

प्रलय-त्रिविध-विभागः एवं प्राकृतप्रलय-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

कूटागारनिभाश् चान्ये केचित् स्थलनिभा घनाः महारावा महाकायाः पूरयन्ति नभस्तलम्

Transliteration

kūṭāgāranibhāś cānye kecit sthalanibhā ghanāḥ mahārāvā mahākāyāḥ pūrayanti nabhastalam

Translation

Some appear like towering mansions with peaked roofs; others are dense and massive like whole tracts of land. With thunderous cries and colossal bodies, they fill the entire expanse of the sky.

Word by Word

• कूटागारनिभाः: like lofty mansions
• कूटागारनिभाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कूटागार + निभ (प्रातिपदिक; कूटागार=lofty house/palace + निभ=like)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; adjectival)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; indefinite pronoun)

• स्थलनिभाः: like the earth/ground
• स्थलनिभाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थल + निभ (प्रातिपदिक; स्थल=ground/land + निभ=like)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; adjectival)

• घनाः: clouds
• घनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Plural)

• महारावाः: loud-roaring
• महारावाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + राव (प्रातिपदिक; महा=great + राव=roar)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; adjectival)

• महाकायाः: huge-bodied
• महाकायाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + काय (प्रातिपदिक; महा=great + काय=body)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (Masculine, Nominative, Plural; adjectival)

• पूरयन्ति: fill
• पूरयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूर्/पॄ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (Present indicative, 3rd person plural, Parasmaipada)

• नभस्तलम्: the surface of the sky
• नभस्तलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नभस् + तल (प्रातिपदिक; नभस्=sky + तल=surface)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How dissolution unfolds under the supreme ordinance (niyati) and sovereignty of Vishnu

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even the terrifying immensity of pralaya operates within a divinely ordered cosmos governed by Viṣṇu as the inner ruler and supreme cause.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate impermanence to loosen attachment, and cultivate steadiness (śānti) by trusting the cosmic order (niyati) as ultimately grounded in the Lord.

Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos is real as Viṣṇu’s body (śarīra), while Viṣṇu remains the indwelling controller (antaryāmin) who orders its dissolution and renewal.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

FAQs

What is the significance of vast sky-filling beings in the Vishnu Purana?

They emphasize cosmic scale and hierarchy—showing that the universe contains orders of beings beyond human measure within an intelligible, structured creation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmology in this chapter?

He uses vivid, comparative imagery (towers, landmasses, thunderous sound) to map the inhabited cosmos and convey the magnitude of its regions and residents.

The theological importance of Lord Viṣṇu in this context?

Even when Viṣṇu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic cosmology is presented as operating under the Supreme Reality’s sovereignty—creation’s vastness points to the Lord who sustains and orders it.