Shloka 38
Adhyaya 46 — Cosmic Dissolution, the Emergence of Brahma, and the Measures of Time (Yugas, Manvantaras, and Brahma’s Day)
चतुर्दशगुणो ह्येष कालो ब्रह्म्यमहः स्मृतम् ।
तस्यान्ते प्रलयः प्रोक्तो ब्रह्मन् नैमित्तिको बुधैः ॥
caturdaśa-guṇo hyeṣa kālo brahmyam ahaḥ smṛtam | tasyānte pralayaḥ prokto brahman naimittiko budhaiḥ ||
Este tiempo, multiplicado catorce veces, es recordado como un día de Brahmā. Al término de él, oh brāhmana, los sabios declaran una disolución naimittika (ocasional).
FAQs
All manifested order is periodic; recognizing naimittika pralaya fosters detachment (vairāgya) and steadiness in dharma amid inevitable cycles of ending and renewal.
Pratisarga/saṃhāra (periodic dissolution) is explicit; Manvantara is the basis for the fourteenfold computation.
Naimittika pralaya points to ‘functional dissolution’: not absolute annihilation, but withdrawal into causal latency—analogous to deep sleep where forms cease yet potential remains.