Shloka 33

नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्

Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman

Devanagari script

आकाशं चैव भूतादिर् ग्रसते तं तथा महान् महान्तम् एभिः सहितं प्रकृतिर् ग्रसते द्विज

Transliteration

ākāśaṃ caiva bhūtādir grasate taṃ tathā mahān mahāntam ebhiḥ sahitaṃ prakṛtir grasate dvija

Translation

Then the primal source of the elements withdraws space itself; thereafter Mahān (the Great Principle) absorbs that source. And Prakṛti, O twice-born one, draws Mahān—together with all these principles—back into her own undifferentiated state.

Word by Word

• आकाशम्: ether/space
• आकाशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (and)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारणार्थक-निपातः (indeed/just)

• भूतादिः: the source of beings (bhūtādi)
• भूतादिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘भूतानाम् आदिः’ (the origin of beings; here: mahān/ahaṅkāra contextually)

• ग्रसते: devours, absorbs
• ग्रसते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ग्रस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• तम्: that (one)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (refers to bhūtādi/mahān as context)

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (thus/in the same way)

• महान्: Mahān (the Great principle)
• महान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता (महान् तत्त्वम्)

• महान्तम्: Mahān (as object)
• महान्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of ‘ग्रसते’)

• एभिः: with these
• एभिः: Sahakāraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, बहुवचन; सहार्थे करणम् (with these)

• सहितम्: accompanied (together)
• सहितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सह (उपसर्ग/अव्ययार्थ) + √इ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त) / ‘सहित’ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त/विशेषण, पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘एभिः’ इति सह-सम्बन्धः (accompanied by)

• प्रकृतिः: Prakṛti (primordial nature)
• प्रकृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• ग्रसते: devours, absorbs
• ग्रसते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ग्रस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How subtle principles (bhūtādi/ahaṅkāra, mahān, prakṛti) reabsorb the elements in pralaya

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The dissolution proceeds beyond the gross elements into their causal principles—space into bhūtādi (the elemental source/ahaṅkāra), that into Mahān, and Mahān into Prakṛti—showing a causal regress to the unmanifest root.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Reflect on causality to loosen identification with the body-mind complex and trace experience back to its subtlest supports.

Vishishtadvaita: Even prakṛti and its evolutes are not independent absolutes; they are instruments within the Supreme’s cosmic order, ultimately subordinate to the Lord beyond prakṛti.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)

Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Mahat (Mahan)
• Bhutadi (Ahamkara)
• Akasha

FAQs

What is the significance of tattva-laya (reabsorption of principles) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse summarizes the orderly dissolution where subtle principles absorb grosser ones, culminating in all manifested categories returning into Prakṛti—showing pralaya as a structured cosmic process.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the sequence of dissolution here?

Parāśara describes a stepwise absorption: ākāśa is taken back into bhūtādi (the elemental source/ahaṅkāra), bhūtādi is absorbed into Mahān (mahat), and Mahān with all associated principles is finally absorbed into Prakṛti.

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

Even when the verse names Sāṅkhya categories, the Vishnu Purana frames such cosmic processes as operating under the Supreme Lord’s sovereignty—dissolution is not chaos but the Lord-governed return of creation to its primordial ground.