Vishnupurana 6.4.14
Viṣṇupurāṇa (critical edition) 6.4.14
- Language
- Sanskrit
6.4.14
āpo grasanti vai pūrvaṃ bhūmer gandhātmakaṃ guṇam
āttagandhā tato bhūmiḥ pralayatvāya kalpate //
I have thus described to you the intermediate dissolution of the world, occurring at the end of every Kalpa. I will now, Maitreya, describe to you elemental dissolution. When by dearth and fire all the worlds and Pátálas are withered up, and the modifications of Mahat and other products of nature are by the will of Krishńa destroyed, the progress of elemental dissolution is begun. Then, first, the waters swallow up the property of earth, which is the rudiment of smell; and earth, deprived of its property, proceeds to destruction. Devoid of the rudiment of odour, the earth becomes one with water. The waters then being much augmented, roaring, and rushing along, fill up all space, whether agitated or still. When the universe is thus pervaded by the waves of the watery element, its rudimental flavour is licked up by the element of fire, and, in consequence of the destruction of their rudiments, the waters themselves are destroyed. Deprived of the essential rudiment of flavour, they become one with fire, and the universe is therefore entirely filled with flame, which drinks up the water on every side, and gradually overspreads the whole of the world. While space is enveloped in flame, above, below, and all around, the element of wind seizes upon the rudimental property, or form, which is the cause of light; and that being withdrawn, all becomes of the nature of air.
Translations (2)
- The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English
- A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English
Other recensions (1)
- Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Brahmapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit