Shloka 3
Atithi’s Direction to the Nāga-sage Padma at Naimiṣa (अतिथ्युपदेशः—नैमिषे पद्मनागोपाख्यानप्रस्तावः)
सम्प्रक्षालनकाले>तिक्रान्ते चतुर्युगसहस्रान्ते अव्यक्ते सर्वभूते प्रलये सर्वभूतस्था वरजडूमे ज्योतिर्धरणिवायुरहिते5न्धे तमसि जलैकार्णवे लोके
arjuna uvāca | samprakṣālana-kāle 'tikrānte caturyuga-sahasrānte 'vyakte sarva-bhūte pralaye sarva-bhūta-sthāvare jaṅgame jyotir-dharaṇi-vāyu-rahite 'ndhe tamasi jalaikārṇave loke |
阿周那说道：“当宇宙溶灭之时到来——四劫一循环，千循环既尽——一切存在皆归入无显（未显）之中。诸有情，无论不动者或动者，悉皆消融。大地、光焰（火）与风皆无处可寻。浓重黑暗遍覆四方，整个世界沉没于那唯一、包罗万有的水之大海。”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence at a cosmic scale: all manifested forms—beings and even the elements—withdraw into the Unmanifest during pralaya. It frames ethical reflection by reminding the listener that worldly power and possessions are transient, while deeper principles (dharma and knowledge of reality) endure in significance.
Arjuna describes the onset of pralaya after an immense cosmic period (a thousand caturyugas). All creatures dissolve into the Unmanifest; the elemental supports of ordinary life (earth, fire/light, wind) are absent; darkness prevails; and the world is submerged in a single boundless ocean.