Shloka 21
नैमित्तिक-प्राकृत-प्रलयवर्णनम्
Periodic and Elemental Dissolution; Reabsorption into Paramātman
प्रलीने च ततस् तस्मिन् वायुभूते ऽखिलात्मनि प्रणष्टे रूपतन्मात्रे हृतरूपो विभावसुः
pralīne ca tatas tasmin vāyubhūte 'khilātmani praṇaṣṭe rūpatanmātre hṛtarūpo vibhāvasuḥ
प्रलीने तस्मिन् वायुभूतेऽखिलात्मनि, प्रणष्टे रूपतन्मात्रे, हृतरूपो विभावसुः स्वयोनौ लीयते।
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Creation Stage: Primary
Concept: In dissolution, fire (tejas) loses its defining form as its subtle cause (rūpa-tanmātra) is withdrawn into the prior principle, showing the ordered reabsorption of tattvas into their sources under the all-pervading Self.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Contemplate impermanence: observe how sensory qualities depend on subtler causes, cultivating dispassion toward external forms.
Vishishtadvaita: The ‘all-pervading Self’ remains the inner ruler while elemental powers subside, implying a real cosmos dependent on Viṣṇu as its support and cause.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse shows that when the subtle essence of form (rūpa-tanmātra) disappears, Fire (Agni)—which depends on form/visibility—loses its defining quality and is reabsorbed, illustrating dissolution from gross elements into subtler principles.
Parāśara presents a stepwise reabsorption: as the cosmos returns into subtler states, Fire is deprived of its ‘form’ and merges when the rūpa-tanmātra is gone, with the universal principle described as becoming ‘wind’ (vāyubhūta) in the sequence.
Even while naming elemental principles, the verse frames pralaya as occurring within the ‘all-Self’ (akhilātman), aligning with Vishnu Purana theology that Vishnu is the supreme ground in which elements arise and into which they finally return.