Shloka 19
नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्
Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman
स चाग्निः सर्वतो व्याप्य आदत्ते तज् जलं तथा सर्वम् आपूर्यते ऽर्चिभिस् तदा जगद् इदं शनैः
sa cāgniḥ sarvato vyāpya ādatte taj jalaṃ tathā sarvam āpūryate 'rcibhis tadā jagad idaṃ śanaiḥ
And that Fire, spreading everywhere, draws in that very water; then, little by little, this entire world is filled on every side with its flames.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Fire’s all-pervasion in pralaya and the progressive filling of the cosmos with flames
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: vivid, authoritative
Creation Stage: Primary
Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)
Concept: As tejas spreads everywhere and consumes the waters, the manifested world is gradually engulfed—an image for the inexorable withdrawal of all supports.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use mortality-and-impermanence contemplation to prioritize dharma and devotion over accumulation.
Vishishtadvaita: Even dissolution proceeds ‘śanaiḥ’ (in ordered stages), reflecting niyati under the Supreme’s will rather than random annihilation.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
FAQs
It marks an advanced stage of dissolution where elemental order collapses—fire becomes all-pervasive and consumes even the waters, signaling the world’s gradual withdrawal toward an unmanifest state under Vishnu’s sovereign law.
Parāśara presents pralaya as a staged, sequential process: forces spread, intensify, and only then engulf the cosmos—showing dissolution as an ordered transformation rather than a sudden annihilation.
Even when the verse describes impersonal elements like fire and water, the Purana’s framework treats such cosmic processes as operating within Vishnu’s supreme governance—He is the sustaining and withdrawing Reality behind creation and dissolution.