Shloka 9
नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्
Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman
पद्मयोनेर् दिनं यत् तु चतुर्युगसहस्रवत् एकार्णवे कृते लोके तावती रात्रिर् इष्यते
padmayoner dinaṃ yat tu caturyugasahasravat ekārṇave kṛte loke tāvatī rātrir iṣyate
The day of the Lotus-born (Brahmā) is said to equal a thousand cycles of the four yugas; and when the world becomes a single ocean, an equal span is declared to be his night.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Creation Stage: Kalpa
Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda
Concept: Brahmā’s day equals one thousand mahāyugas, and his night is of equal length, during which the world becomes a single ocean.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Use cosmic time as a lens for humility and detachment: prioritize enduring virtues over short-lived gains.
Vishishtadvaita: Time cycles are real modes within the Lord’s order; the cosmos undergoes periodic contraction without negating its dependence on Brahman.
FAQs
This verse fixes cosmic time by stating that one day of Brahmā equals 1,000 chaturyugas, and his night is of the same duration—framing creation and dissolution within a vast, ordered cycle.
He describes the world becoming “one ocean” (ekārṇava), a poetic cosmological sign that differentiated creation has withdrawn, corresponding to Brahmā’s night when manifest activity ceases.
Although Brahmā’s time is being measured, the Purāṇic framework treats these cycles as operating under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty—Vishnu remains the sustaining reality through both manifestation and withdrawal.