मोक्षधर्म पर्व — जगत्को प्रलय

I have, one after another, told you the order of the creation, with their total number, of the various principles, as also the extent of the duration of each. Hear as I tell you of their destruction.

Listen to me how Brahman, who is eternal and undeteriorating, and who is without beginning and without end, repeatedly creates and destroys all created objects.

When his day expires and night comes, he seeks sleep. At such a time the unmanifest and holy one moves the Being called Maharudra, who is conscious of his great powers.

Urged by the unmanifest, that Being, assuming the form of the Sun of hundreds of thousands of rays, divides himself into a dozen parts each resembling a burning fire.

He then consumes with his energy, O king, without any loss of time, the four sorts of created beings, viz., viviparous, oviparious, filth-born, and vegetable.

Within, the twinkling of the eye all mobile and immobile creatures being thus destroyed, the Earth becomes on all sides, bare as a tortoise shell.

Having burnt everything on the face of the Earth, Rudra of incomparable might, then quickly fills the bare Earth with Water, possessed of great force.

He then creates the cycle-fire which dries up that Water. The Water disappearing, the great element of Fire continues to blaze dreadfully.

Then comes the powerful Wind of iinmeasurable force, in his eight forms, who devours speedily that blazing fire of transcendent force, possessed of seven flames, and al one with the heat that exists in every crcature. Having devoured that fire, the Wind passes in every direction, upwards, downwards and transversely.

Then Space of inmeasurable existent devours that Wind of transcendent power. Then mind cheerfully devours that immeasurable Space.

Then that Lord of all creatures, viz., Consciousness, who is the Soul of everything, devours the Mind. Consciousness in his turn, is devoured by the Great Soul who is conversant with the Past, the Present, and the Future.

The incomparable Universe is then devoured by Shambhu, that Lord of all things in whom exist the lordly powers of Anima, Laghima, Prapti, etc., and who is considered as Supreme and pure Effulgence that is Iminutable.

His hands and feet extend over every part his eyes and head and face are everywhere, his reach every places, and he exists possessing all things.

He is the heart of all creatures. He measures a digit of the thumb. That Infinite and Supreme Soul that Lord of all, thus devours the Universe. cars

After this, what remains is the Undeteriorating and the Immutable One who is without shortcoming of any sort, who is the Creator of the Past, the Present, and the Future; and who is perfectly faultless.

I have thus, O king, duly told you of Destruction. I shall now describe to you the subject of Adhyatma (Spiritual), Adhibhuta (Eternal) and Adhidaivata (Accidental).