Brahma Purana — Chapter 232

BrP 232.1

सर्वेषाम् एव भूतानां त्रिविधः प्रतिसंचरः नैमित्तिकः प्राकृतिकस् तथैवात्यन्तिको मतः ॥

sarveṣām eva bhūtānāṃ trividhaḥ pratisaṃcaraḥ naimittikaḥ prākṛtikas tathaivātyantiko mataḥ //

For all beings alike the dissolution is held to be of three kinds: the occasional, the elemental, and likewise the final.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.2

ब्राह्मो नैमित्तिकस् तेषां कल्पान्ते प्रतिसंचरः आत्यन्तिको वै मोक्षश् च प्राकृतो द्विपरार्धिकः ॥

brāhmo naimittikas teṣāṃ kalpānte pratisaṃcaraḥ ātyantiko vai mokṣaś ca prākṛto dviparārdhikaḥ //

Theirs is the occasional dissolution, belonging to Brahmā, at the end of a kalpa; the final is indeed liberation, while the elemental one comprises two parārdhas.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.3

परार्धसंख्यां भगवंस् त्वम् आचक्ष्व यथोदिताम् द्विगुणीकृतयज्ज्ञेयः प्राकृतः प्रतिसंचरः ॥

parārdhasaṃkhyāṃ bhagavaṃs tvam ācakṣva yathoditām dviguṇīkṛtayajjñeyaḥ prākṛtaḥ pratisaṃcaraḥ //

Lord, tell us the reckoning of a parārdha as it has been declared; the elemental dissolution is to be known as twice that.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain

BrP 232.4

स्थानात् स्थानं दशगुणम् एकैकं गण्यते द्विजाः ततो ऽष्टादशमे भागे परार्धम् अभिधीयते ॥

sthānāt sthānaṃ daśaguṇam ekaikaṃ gaṇyate dvijāḥ tato 'ṣṭādaśame bhāge parārdham abhidhīyate //

From station to station each single one is counted as tenfold, O twice-born; then at the eighteenth place a parārdha is spoken of.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain

BrP 232.5

परार्धं द्विगुणं यत् तु प्राकृतः स लयो द्विजाः तदाव्यक्ते ऽखिलं व्यक्तं सहेतौ लयम् एति वै ॥

parārdhaṃ dviguṇaṃ yat tu prākṛtaḥ sa layo dvijāḥ tadāvyakte 'khilaṃ vyaktaṃ sahetau layam eti vai //

But twice the parārdha — that, O twice-born, is the elemental dissolution; then the whole manifest world, together with its cause, goes to dissolution in the unmanifest.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.6

निमेषो मानुषो यो ऽयं मात्रामात्रप्रमाणतः तैः पञ्चदशभिः काष्ठा त्रिंशत् काष्ठास् तथा कला ॥

nimeṣo mānuṣo yo 'yaṃ mātrāmātrapramāṇataḥ taiḥ pañcadaśabhiḥ kāṣṭhā triṃśat kāṣṭhās tathā kalā //

This human wink of the eye is by the measure of a mere mātrā; by fifteen of these (comes) a kāṣṭhā, and thirty kāṣṭhās likewise a kalā.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.7

नाडिका तु प्रमाणेन कला च दश पञ्च च उन्मानेनाम्भसः सा तु पलान्य् अर्धत्रयोदश ॥

nāḍikā tu pramāṇena kalā ca daśa pañca ca unmānenāmbhasaḥ sā tu palāny ardhatrayodaśa //

A nāḍikā, by measure, is fifteen kalās; but by the weight-measure of water it is twelve and a half palas.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.8

हेममाषैः कृतच्छिद्रा चतुर्भिश् चतुरङ्गुलैः मागधेन प्रमाणेन जलप्रस्थस् तु स स्मृतः ॥

hemamāṣaiḥ kṛtacchidrā caturbhiś caturaṅgulaiḥ māgadhena pramāṇena jalaprasthas tu sa smṛtaḥ //

Pierced with a hole (made) by four gold māṣas four aṅgulas (long) — by the Magadha measure that is declared to be a prastha of water.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain

BrP 232.9

नाडिकाभ्याम् अथ द्वाभ्यां मुहूर्तो द्विजसत्तमाः अहोरात्रं मुहूर्तास् तु त्रिंशन् मासो दिनैस् तथा ॥

nāḍikābhyām atha dvābhyāṃ muhūrto dvijasattamāḥ ahorātraṃ muhūrtās tu triṃśan māso dinais tathā //

By two nāḍikās, then, (comes) a muhūrta, O best of the twice-born; thirty muhūrtas make a day and night, and (thirty) days a month.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.10

मासैर् द्वादशभिर् वर्षम् अहोरात्रं तु तद् दिवि त्रिभिर् वर्षशतैर् वर्षं षष्ट्या चैवासुरद्विषाम् ॥

māsair dvādaśabhir varṣam ahorātraṃ tu tad divi tribhir varṣaśatair varṣaṃ ṣaṣṭyā caivāsuradviṣām //

By twelve months (comes) a year, and that is a day and night in heaven; by three hundred and sixty years (comes) a year of the enemies of the Asuras (the gods).

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.11

तैस् तु द्वादशसाहस्रैश् चतुर्युगम् उदाहृतम् चतुर्युगसहस्रं तु कथ्यते ब्रह्मणो दिनम् ॥

tais tu dvādaśasāhasraiś caturyugam udāhṛtam caturyugasahasraṃ tu kathyate brahmaṇo dinam //

By twelve thousand of those (divine years) a set of four yugas is declared; but a thousand sets of four yugas is called a day of Brahmā.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.12

स कल्पस् तत्र मनवश् चतुर्दश द्विजोत्तमाः तदन्ते चैव भो विप्रा ब्रह्मनैमित्तिको लयः ॥

sa kalpas tatra manavaś caturdaśa dvijottamāḥ tadante caiva bho viprā brahmanaimittiko layaḥ //

That is a kalpa, and in it (there are) fourteen Manus, O best of the twice-born; and at its end, O brahmins, comes the dissolution occasioned by Brahmā.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.13

तस्य स्वरूपम् अत्युग्रं द्विजेन्द्रा गदतो मम शृणुध्वं प्राकृतं भूयस् ततो वक्ष्याम्य् अहं लयम् ॥

tasya svarūpam atyugraṃ dvijendrā gadato mama śṛṇudhvaṃ prākṛtaṃ bhūyas tato vakṣyāmy ahaṃ layam //

Hear from me as I tell of its exceedingly terrible nature, O chief of the twice-born; then afterwards I shall speak of the elemental (prākṛta) dissolution.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.14

चतुर्युगसहस्रान्ते क्षीणप्राये महीतले अनावृष्टिर् अतीवोग्रा जायते शतवार्षिकी ॥

caturyugasahasrānte kṣīṇaprāye mahītale anāvṛṣṭir atīvogrā jāyate śatavārṣikī //

At the end of the thousand sets of four yugas, when the surface of the earth is all but wasted away, a most terrible drought lasting a hundred years arises.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.15

ततो यान्य् अल्पसाराणि तानि सत्त्वान्य् अनेकशः क्षयं यान्ति मुनिश्रेष्ठाः पार्थिवान्य् अतिपीडनात् ॥

tato yāny alpasārāṇi tāni sattvāny anekaśaḥ kṣayaṃ yānti muniśreṣṭhāḥ pārthivāny atipīḍanāt //

Then those earthly beings that have little substance perish in their multitudes, O best of sages, from the excessive affliction.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.16

ततः स भगवान् कृष्णो रुद्ररूपी तथाव्ययः क्षयाय यतते कर्तुम् आत्मस्थाः सकलाः प्रजाः ॥

tataḥ sa bhagavān kṛṣṇo rudrarūpī tathāvyayaḥ kṣayāya yatate kartum ātmasthāḥ sakalāḥ prajāḥ //

Then that imperishable Lord Kṛṣṇa, in the form of Rudra, exerts himself to bring about the destruction (of all), all creatures abiding in himself.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain

BrP 232.17

ततः स भगवान् विष्णुर् भानोः सप्तसु रश्मिषु स्थितः पिबत्य् अशेषाणि जलानि मुनिसत्तमाः ॥

tataḥ sa bhagavān viṣṇur bhānoḥ saptasu raśmiṣu sthitaḥ pibaty aśeṣāṇi jalāni munisattamāḥ //

Then that Lord Viṣṇu, stationed in the seven rays of the sun, drinks up all the waters without remainder, O best of sages.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.18

पीत्वाम्भांसि समस्तानि प्राणिभूतगतानि वै शोषं नयति भो विप्राः समस्तं पृथिवीतलम् ॥

pītvāmbhāṃsi samastāni prāṇibhūtagatāni vai śoṣaṃ nayati bho viprāḥ samastaṃ pṛthivītalam //

Having drunk all the waters that are present in living beings, he dries up the whole surface of the earth, O brahmins.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.19

समुद्रान् सरितः शैलाञ् शैलप्रस्रवणानि च पातालेषु च यत् तोयं तत् सर्वं नयति क्षयम् ॥

samudrān saritaḥ śailāñ śailaprasravaṇāni ca pātāleṣu ca yat toyaṃ tat sarvaṃ nayati kṣayam //

The oceans, the rivers, the mountains and the mountain streams, and whatever water is in the nether worlds — all that he brings to destruction.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.20

ततस् तस्याप्य् अभावेन तोयाहारोपबृंहिताः सहस्ररश्मयः सप्त जायन्ते तत्र भास्कराः ॥

tatas tasyāpy abhāvena toyāhāropabṛṃhitāḥ sahasraraśmayaḥ sapta jāyante tatra bhāskarāḥ //

Then, by the absence of that (water) too, seven thousand-rayed suns arise there, swollen by their intake of the water.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.21

अधश् चोर्ध्वं च ते दीप्तास् ततः सप्त दिवाकराः दहन्त्य् अशेषं त्रैलोक्यं सपातालतलं द्विजाः ॥

adhaś cordhvaṃ ca te dīptās tataḥ sapta divākarāḥ dahanty aśeṣaṃ trailokyaṃ sapātālatalaṃ dvijāḥ //

Then those seven suns, blazing below and above, burn up the whole triple world together with the floor of the nether regions, O twice-born ones.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.22

दह्यमानं तु तैर् दीप्तैस् त्रैलोक्यं दीप्तभास्करैः साद्रिनगार्णवाभोगं निःस्नेहम् अभिजायते ॥

dahyamānaṃ tu tair dīptais trailokyaṃ dīptabhāskaraiḥ sādrinagārṇavābhogaṃ niḥsneham abhijāyate //

And the triple world, burning with those blazing, flaming suns, with its expanse of mountains, cities and oceans, becomes devoid of moisture.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.23

ततो निर्दग्धवृक्षाम्बु त्रैलोक्यम् अखिलं द्विजाः भवत्य् एषा च वसुधा कूर्मपृष्ठोपमाकृतिः ॥

tato nirdagdhavṛkṣāmbu trailokyam akhilaṃ dvijāḥ bhavaty eṣā ca vasudhā kūrmapṛṣṭhopamākṛtiḥ //

Then the whole triple world has its trees and waters burnt away, O brahmins, and this earth becomes shaped like the back of a tortoise.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.24

ततः कालाग्निरुद्रो ऽसौ भूतसर्गहरो हरः शेषाहिश्वाससंतापात् पातालानि दहत्य् अधः ॥

tataḥ kālāgnirudro 'sau bhūtasargaharo haraḥ śeṣāhiśvāsasaṃtāpāt pātālāni dahaty adhaḥ //

Then that Rudra who is the fire of time, Hara, the destroyer of the creation of beings, burns the nether worlds below by the heat of the breath of the serpent Śeṣa.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.25

पातालानि समस्तानि स दग्ध्वा ज्वलनो महान् भूमिम् अभ्येत्य सकलं दग्ध्वा तु वसुधातलम् ॥

pātālāni samastāni sa dagdhvā jvalano mahān bhūmim abhyetya sakalaṃ dagdhvā tu vasudhātalam //

Having burnt all the nether worlds, that great fire comes to the earth and burns the whole surface of the ground,

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.26

भुवो लोकं ततः सर्वं स्वर्गलोकं च दारुणः ज्वालामालामहावर्तस् तत्रैव परिवर्तते ॥

bhuvo lokaṃ tataḥ sarvaṃ svargalokaṃ ca dāruṇaḥ jvālāmālāmahāvartas tatraiva parivartate //

then all the world of the atmosphere and the world of heaven; the dreadful one, a great whirl of garlands of flame, revolves there.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.27

अम्बरीषम् इवाभाति त्रैलोक्यम् अखिलं तदा ज्वालावर्तपरीवारम् उपक्षीणबलास् ततः ॥

ambarīṣam ivābhāti trailokyam akhilaṃ tadā jvālāvartaparīvāram upakṣīṇabalās tataḥ //

Then the whole triple world looks like a frying pan, ringed about with whirls of flame; thereupon (its inhabitants become) weakened in strength.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.28

ततस् तापपरीतास् तु लोकद्वयनिवासिनः हृतावकाशा गच्छन्ति महर्लोकं द्विजास् तदा ॥

tatas tāpaparītās tu lokadvayanivāsinaḥ hṛtāvakāśā gacchanti maharlokaṃ dvijās tadā //

Then the dwellers of the two worlds, encompassed by the heat and robbed of their place, go at that time to the Mahar world, O twice-born.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.29

तस्माद् अपि महातापतप्ता लोकास् ततः परम् गच्छन्ति जनलोकं ते दशावृत्या परैषिणः ॥

tasmād api mahātāpataptā lokās tataḥ param gacchanti janalokaṃ te daśāvṛtyā paraiṣiṇaḥ //

Scorched by the great heat from that world too, those people then go beyond, to the Jana world, seeking what is further because of their condition.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain

BrP 232.30

ततो दग्ध्वा जगत् सर्वं रुद्ररूपी जनार्दनः मुखनिःश्वासजान् मेघान् करोति मुनिसत्तमाः ॥

tato dagdhvā jagat sarvaṃ rudrarūpī janārdanaḥ mukhaniḥśvāsajān meghān karoti munisattamāḥ //

Then, having burnt the whole world, Janārdana in the form of Rudra makes clouds born of the exhalation of his mouth, O best of sages.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.31

ततो गजकुलप्रख्यास् तडिद्वन्तो निनादिनः उत्तिष्ठन्ति तदा व्योम्नि घोराः संवर्तका घनाः ॥

tato gajakulaprakhyās taḍidvanto ninādinaḥ uttiṣṭhanti tadā vyomni ghorāḥ saṃvartakā ghanāḥ //

Then terrible clouds of the dissolution, like herds of elephants, bearing lightning and roaring, rise up in the sky.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.32

केचिद् अञ्जनसंकाशाः केचित् कुमुदसंनिभाः धूमवर्णा घनाः केचित् केचित् पीताः पयोधराः ॥

kecid añjanasaṃkāśāḥ kecit kumudasaṃnibhāḥ dhūmavarṇā ghanāḥ kecit kecit pītāḥ payodharāḥ //

Some resemble collyrium, some are like white water-lilies, some clouds are smoke-coloured, and some rain-bearers are yellow.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.33

केचिद् धरिद्रावर्णाभा लाक्षारसनिभास् तथा केचिद् वैदूर्यसंकाशा इन्द्रनीलनिभास् तथा ॥

kecid dharidrāvarṇābhā lākṣārasanibhās tathā kecid vaidūryasaṃkāśā indranīlanibhās tathā //

Some have the hue of turmeric, some are like lac-juice, some resemble cat's-eye gems, and some sapphire.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.34

शङ्खकुन्दनिभाश् चान्ये जातीकुन्दनिभास् तथा इन्द्रगोपनिभाः केचिन् मनःशिलानिभास् तथा ॥

śaṅkhakundanibhāś cānye jātīkundanibhās tathā indragopanibhāḥ kecin manaḥśilānibhās tathā //

Others are like conch and jasmine, and some like jātī-jasmine buds; some are like the indragopa insect, and some like red arsenic.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.35

पद्मपत्त्रनिभाः केचिद् उत्तिष्ठन्ति घनाघनाः केचित् पुरवराकाराः केचित् पर्वतसंनिभाः ॥

padmapattranibhāḥ kecid uttiṣṭhanti ghanāghanāḥ kecit puravarākārāḥ kecit parvatasaṃnibhāḥ //

Some dense clouds rise up looking like lotus-petals, some shaped like fine cities, some like mountains.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.36

कूटागारनिभाश् चान्ये केचित् स्थलनिभा घनाः महाकाया महारावा पूरयन्ति नभस्तलम् ॥

kūṭāgāranibhāś cānye kecit sthalanibhā ghanāḥ mahākāyā mahārāvā pūrayanti nabhastalam //

Others look like peaked houses, and some clouds like tablelands; huge-bodied and greatly roaring, they fill the vault of the sky.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.37

वर्षन्तस् ते महासारास् तम् अग्निम् अतिभैरवम् शमयन्त्य् अखिलं विप्रास् त्रैलोक्यान्तरविस्तृतम् ॥

varṣantas te mahāsārās tam agnim atibhairavam śamayanty akhilaṃ viprās trailokyāntaravistṛtam //

Raining with great force, they quench that most terrible fire entirely, O brahmins, spread as it was throughout the three worlds.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.38

नष्टे चाग्नौ शतं ते ऽपि वर्षाणाम् अधिकं घनाः प्लावयन्तो जगत् सर्वं वर्षन्ति मुनिसत्तमाः ॥

naṣṭe cāgnau śataṃ te 'pi varṣāṇām adhikaṃ ghanāḥ plāvayanto jagat sarvaṃ varṣanti munisattamāḥ //

And when the fire is destroyed, those clouds rain for more than a hundred years, flooding the whole world, O best of sages.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.39

धाराभिर् अक्षमात्राभिः प्लावयित्वाखिलां भुवम् भुवो लोकं तथैवोर्ध्वं प्लावयन्ति दिवं द्विजाः ॥

dhārābhir akṣamātrābhiḥ plāvayitvākhilāṃ bhuvam bhuvo lokaṃ tathaivordhvaṃ plāvayanti divaṃ dvijāḥ //

With streams the size of an axle, having flooded the entire earth, they flood likewise the Bhuvar world above and the sky, O twice-born.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition

BrP 232.40

अन्धकारीकृते लोके नष्टे स्थावरजङ्गमे वर्षन्ति ते महामेघा वर्षाणाम् अधिकं शतम् ॥

andhakārīkṛte loke naṣṭe sthāvarajaṅgame varṣanti te mahāmeghā varṣāṇām adhikaṃ śatam //

When the world has been made dark and all that moves and stands still has perished, those great clouds rain for more than a hundred years.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition