Shloka 18
नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्
Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman
ततश् चापो हृतरसा ज्योतिषं प्राप्नुवन्ति वै अग्न्यवस्थे तु सलिले तेजसा सर्वतो वृते
tataś cāpo hṛtarasā jyotiṣaṃ prāpnuvanti vai agnyavasthe tu salile tejasā sarvato vṛte
Thereafter, the waters—having had their essence drawn away—attain the state of radiance. For when water is brought into the condition of fire, it becomes enveloped on every side by blazing energy.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Elemental transmutation during pralaya: water’s essence withdrawn and its attainment of the fire-state
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: explanatory
Creation Stage: Primary
Concept: When deprived of rasa, water no longer remains ‘water’ but is absorbed into tejas, illustrating reversion of the gross into a subtler elemental condition.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Meditate on the ‘return’ of experiences into their sources to cultivate detachment and steadiness amid change.
Vishishtadvaita: The cosmos undergoes real transformation of modes (not sheer illusion), yet always within the Lord’s governance—supporting qualified non-dualism’s real but dependent world.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
FAQs
It signals the pralaya-stage withdrawal of the sustaining quality of water, after which it no longer functions as water and is re-absorbed into the subtler luminous/fire principle (tejas/jyotis).
He describes a step in the chain of re-absorption: water, deprived of its defining potency, transitions into a fiery-luminous state, indicating the upward movement from gross to subtler principles.
Even when elements transform and dissolve, the process is framed as an ordered return into the higher principle ultimately grounded in Vishnu—the sovereign reality behind cyclical creation and dissolution.