Shloka 13
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
ततो यान्यल्पसाराणि सत्त्वानि पृथिवीतले / तानि चाग्रे प्रलीयन्ते भूमित्वमुपयान्ति च
tato yānyalpasārāṇi sattvāni pṛthivītale / tāni cāgre pralīyante bhūmitvamupayānti ca
Puis, les êtres vivant à la surface de la terre, de substance légère et de vigueur faible—ceux-là se dissolvent d’abord et passent à l’état de terre (absorbés dans l’élément terrestre).
Sūta (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages, describing pralaya)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By depicting beings dissolving into the earth-element, the verse highlights that embodied forms are elemental and transient; the Atman is implied as distinct from such material reabsorption and thus not subject to pralaya.
The verse supports pralaya-anusandhāna (contemplation of dissolution) as a vairāgya-generating practice: reflecting on the collapse of embodied identity into the elements steadies the mind for yogic detachment and devotion to Īśvara.
Though not naming them directly, the teaching aligns with the Purāṇa’s unified theism: dissolution proceeds under the one Īśvara who is praised in both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms, with elemental reabsorption occurring within that single divine order.