व्यास उवाच प्रत्याहारं तु वक्ष्यामि शर्वर्यादौ गतेऽहनि। यथेदं कुरुतेऽध्यात्म सुसूक्ष्मं विश्वमीश्वरः॥
Vyasa said I shall now tell you how, when his day is gone and his night comes, he withdraws ali things to himself, or how the Supreme Master, making this gross universe exceedingly subtile, inerges every thing into his Soul.
दिवि सूर्यस्तथा सप्त दहन्ति शिखिनोऽर्चिषः। सर्वमेतत् तदार्चिभिः पूर्ण जाज्वल्यते जगत्॥
When the time for universal dissolution comes twelve Suns, and Agni with his seven flames, begin to burn. Wrapt by those flames, the entire universe begins to blaze forth in a huge fire.
पृथिव्यां यानि भूतानि जङ्गमानि ध्रुवाणि च। तान्येवाने प्रलीयन्ते भूमित्वमुपयान्ति च॥
All things mobile and immobile that are on the Earth first disappear and merge into the substance of which this planet is formed.
ततः प्रलीने सर्वस्मिन् स्थावरे जङ्गमे तथा। निर्वृक्षा निस्तृणा भूमिदृश्यते कूर्मपृष्ठवत्॥
After all mobile and immobile objects have thus disappeared, the Earth, shorn of trees and herbs, looks nude like a tortoise shell.
भूमेरपि गुणं गन्धमाप आददते यदा। आत्तगन्धा तदा भूमिः प्रलयत्वाय कल्पते॥
Then water takes up the attribute of earth, viz., scent. When earth becomes shorn of its principal attribute, that element is about to be destroyed.
आपस्तत्र प्रतिष्ठन्ति उर्मिमत्यो महास्वनाः। सर्वमेवेदमापूर्य तिष्ठन्ति च चरन्ति च॥
Water then prevails. Surging into big billows and roaring dreadfully only water fills this space and moves about or stands still.
अपामपि गुणं तात ज्योतिराददते यदा। आपस्तदा त्वात्तगुणा ज्योतिःषूपरमन्ति वै॥
Then the attribute of water is taken by Heat, and losing its own attribute, water emerges in that element.
यदाऽऽदित्यं स्थितं मध्ये गृहन्ति शिखिनोऽर्चिषः। सर्वमेवेदमर्चिभिः पूर्ण जाज्वल्यते नभः॥
Dazzling flames of fire, ablaze all around, hide the Sun that is in the centre of ether. Indeed, then, ether itself, full of those flames, burns in a vast fire.
ज्योतिषोऽपि गुणं रूपं वायुराददते यदा। प्रशाम्यति ततो ज्योतिर्वायुर्दोधूयते महान्॥
Then Wind comes and takes the attribute, viz., form, of Heat of Light, which, possessed of great power, begins to be awfully agitated.
ततस्तु स्वनमासाद्य वायुः सम्भवमात्मनः। अधश्चोर्ध्वं च तिर्यक् च दोधवीति दिशो दश॥
Obtaining its own attribute, viz., sound the Wind begins to move upwards and downwards and transversely along all the ten points.
वायोरपि गुणं स्पर्शमाकाशं ग्रसते यदा। प्रशाम्यति तदा वायुः खं तु तिष्ठति नादवत्॥
Then Space takes the attribute, viz., sound, of Wind, upon which the latter is extinguished and enters into a state of existence resembling that of unheard or unuttered sound.
अरूपमरसस्पर्शमगन्धं न च मूर्तिमत्। सर्वलोकप्रणदितं खं तु तिष्ठति नादवत्॥
Then Space is all that remains, that element whose attribute, viz., sound, exists in all the other elements, shorn of the attributes of form, and taste, and touch, and scent, and without shape of any kind, like sound in its unmanifest form of existence.
आकाशस्य गुणं शब्दमभिव्यक्तात्मकं मनः। मनसो व्यक्तमव्यक्तं ब्राह्मः सम्प्रतिसंचरः॥
Then sound, which is the attribute of space, is swallowed up by Mind which is the essence of all manifest things. Thus Mind which in itself is unmanifest withdraws all that is manifested by Mind. This withdrawal of manifest Mind into unmanifest Mind, is called the destruction of the external universe.
तदात्मगुणमाविश्य मनो ग्रसति चन्द्रमाः। मनस्युपरते चापि चन्द्रमस्युपतिष्ठते॥
Then the Moon having made Mind withdraw its attribute into itself, swallows it up. When Mind, ceasing to exist, thus enters into the Moon, the other attributes of Creator are all that remain.
तं तु कालेन महता संकल्पः कुरुते वशे। चित्तं ग्रसति संकल्पं तच्च ज्ञानमनुत्तमम्॥
This Moon which is called also determination, is then, after a very long time, brought under Creator's sway, the reason being that determination has to perform a very difficult work, viz., the destruction of the faculties that are employed in the process of judgement. When this has been done, the condition reached is said to be of high knowledge.
कालो गिरति विज्ञानं कालं बलमिति श्रुतिः। बलं कालो ग्रसति तु तं विद्वान् कुरुते वशे॥
Then time swallows up this Knowledge, and as the Shruti says, Time itself in its turn is devoured by Might or Energy. Might or cnergy, however, is (again) devoured by time, which last is then brought under her sway by kilowledge.
आकाशस्य यथा घोषं तं विद्वान् कुरुतेऽऽत्मनि। तदव्यक्तं परं ब्रह्म तच्छाश्वतमनुत्तमम्। एवं सर्वाणि भूतानि ब्रह्मैव प्रतिसंचरः॥
Possessed of Knowledge, the Creator then swallows up non-existence itself into his Soui. That is Unmanifest and Supreme Brahma. That is Eternal, and that is the Highest of the High. Thus all existent creatures are withdrawn into Brahma.
यथावत् कीर्तितं सम्यगेवमेतदसंशयम्। बोध्यं विद्यामयं दृष्ट्वा योगिभिः परमात्मभिः॥
Truly has this, which should be conceived (with the aid of the scriptures) and which is a topic of Science, been thus said by Yogins endued with Supreme Souls, after actual experience.
एवं विस्तारसंक्षेपौ ब्रह्माव्यक्ते पुनः पुनः। युगसाहस्रयोरादावहोरात्रस्तथैव च॥
Even thus does Unmanifest Brahma repeatedly practise the processes of Creation and Destruction, and even thus are Brahman's Day and Night each consisting of a thousand Yugas.