The Sequence of Creation, the Emergence of the Praṇava, and the Fish Incarnation’s Retrieval of the Vedas
सुप्ते तु देवे कल्पान्ते तावती रात्रिरिष्यते । त्रैलोक्यमेतत् सुप्तं स्यात् तथोपप्लवतां गतम् ॥ ९.२३ ॥
supte tu deve kalpānte tāvatī rātrir iṣyate | trailokyam etat suptaṃ syāt tathopaplavataṃ gatam || 9.23 ||
कल्पान्ते देवस्य सुप्तौ तावती रात्रिरुच्यते। तस्यां त्रैलोक्यमिदं सर्वं सुप्तवत् स्यात्, उपप्लव-विलयावस्थां गच्छति॥
Varāha
It reflects a widely attested Purāṇic cosmological model in which creation and dissolution proceed in cyclical time units (kalpas), including a ‘night’ associated with cosmic withdrawal, a theme shared across several Sanskrit Purāṇas.
No specific geographic location is named in this verse; it is framed as a universal cosmological statement about the triple world (trailokya).
Rather than a direct ethical injunction, the verse conveys a philosophical instruction about impermanence and cyclical change—emphasizing that even the structured cosmos undergoes periodic quiescence and dissolution.
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