Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 44
Sṛṣṭi-pralaya-kathana: Mahābhūta-guṇāḥ, Vṛkṣa-indriya-vādaḥ, Prāṇa-vāyu-vyavasthā
परित्यक्ताश्च नश्यंति तेनेदं सर्वमावृत्तम् । पृथिवी पर्वता मेघा मूर्तिमंतश्च ये परे । सर्वं तद्वारुणं ज्ञेयमापस्तस्तंभिरे पुनः ॥ ४४ ॥
parityaktāśca naśyaṃti tenedaṃ sarvamāvṛttam | pṛthivī parvatā meghā mūrtimaṃtaśca ye pare | sarvaṃ tadvāruṇaṃ jñeyamāpastastaṃbhire punaḥ || 44 ||
当水被舍离时，万物便趋于毁灭；由此水性之理，整个世界被包覆。大地、群山、云霭以及一切具形之物——当知皆归于伐楼那（Varuṇa，水之主宰），因为诸水（Āpas）再次支撑并维系着它们。
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada in the Moksha-dharma dialogue)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It points to Āpas (the cosmic Waters) as a sustaining, all-pervading principle: forms endure while supported by it, and when that support is withdrawn, they dissolve—encouraging detachment from perishable embodiments and contemplation of the underlying tattva.
By highlighting that all embodied things depend on a higher sustaining power, it prepares the mind for bhakti: seeing the world as upheld by a divine order (here expressed through Varuṇa/Āpas) and turning devotion toward the supporter rather than the supported.
Primarily nirukta-style (etymological/semantic) and cosmological understanding: recognizing vāruṇa (Varuṇa-related) as a technical descriptor for the watery principle (āpas) used in Vedic and Purāṇic element theory.