Shloka 28

नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्

Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman

Devanagari script

भूतादिं ग्रसते चापि महान् वै बुद्धिलक्षणः

Transliteration

bhūtādiṃ grasate cāpi mahān vai buddhilakṣaṇaḥ

Translation

And Mahān—the Great Principle, whose very mark is Buddhi (cosmic intelligence)—also absorbs Bhūtādi, drawing the primordial elements back into itself.

Word by Word

• भूतादिम्: bhūtādi
• भूतादिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (masc acc sg)

• ग्रसते: swallows; absorbs
• ग्रसते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ग्रस् (ग्रसँ अदने)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (present indicative, 3rd sg, ātmanepada)

• च: and
• च: Prayojaka (Connector/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Prayojaka (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (also/even)

• महान्: Mahān (the Great principle)
• महान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (masc nom sg)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Prayojaka (Emphasis/नipāt)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• बुद्धिलक्षणः: characterized by intellect
• बुद्धिलक्षणः: Karta (Subject complement/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (masc nom sg; adjective)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Which higher principle absorbs bhūtādi during pralaya

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: succinct, authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Mahān (cosmic buddhi) is subtler and prior to bhūtādi, and in dissolution it reabsorbs the ego-principle into itself.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Cultivate buddhi (discernment) to master egoic impulses, mirroring the cosmic order of subtler governing the grosser.

Vishishtadvaita: Buddhi and ego are real, dependent categories within prakṛti; their ordered subordination points to a higher governing Reality beyond them.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Mahat (Mahān)

FAQs

What is the significance of Mahat (Mahān) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse identifies Mahat as the cosmic intellect (buddhi-lakṣaṇa) and presents it as a higher principle that can re-absorb Bhūtādi during dissolution, showing the ordered hierarchy of tattvas.

How does Sage Parāśara explain dissolution (pralaya) through tattva re-absorption?

Parāśara explains pralaya as a stepwise withdrawal of the cosmos: subtler principles absorb grosser ones. Here, Mahat (cosmic intelligence) absorbs Bhūtādi, indicating a return from elemental causation back to a more primordial intelligence-principle.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when the verse names Sāṅkhya-like principles, the Vishnu Purana frames cosmic evolution and dissolution under the supreme governance of Vishnu as the ultimate reality in whom these principles arise and into whom they finally resolve.