ऐका प्रळयाचें लक्षण । पिंडीं दोनी प्रळये जाण । येकनिद्रा येक मरण । देहांतकाळ ॥ १ ॥

Now hear the nature of dissolution. Within the individual body there are two kinds of dissolution - one is sleep, and the other is death, the time of the body's end.

देहाधारक तिनी मूर्ती । निद्रा जेव्हां संपादिती । तो निद्राप्रळय श्रोतीं । ब्रह्मांडींचा जाणावा ॥ २ ॥

When the three deities who sustain the body - Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh - themselves take sleep, listeners should understand that as the cosmic dissolution of sleep at the level of the universe.

तिनी मूर्तीस होईल अंत । ब्रह्मांडास मांडेल कल्पांत । तेव्हां जाणावा नेमस्त । ब्रह्मप्रळये जाला ॥ ३ ॥

When even these three deities themselves come to an end, and the universe undergoes its final cosmic dissolution, then one should know with certainty that the Brahma-dissolution has occurred.

दोनी पिंडीं दोनी ब्रह्मांडीं । च्यारी प्रळय नवखंडीं । पांचवा प्रळय उदंडी । जाणिजे विवेकाचा ॥ ४ ॥

Thus two kinds of dissolution occur at the level of the body, and two at the level of the universe, making four in all within this world of nine continents. And the fifth, greatest dissolution of all should be understood as the dissolution brought about by discernment.

ऐसे हे पांचहि प्रळये । सांगितले येथान्वयें । आतां हें अनुभवास ये । ऐसें करूं ॥ ५ ॥

Thus all five kinds of dissolution have been described in order. Now let us explain this further so that it becomes a matter of direct experience.

निद्रा जेव्हां संचरे । तेव्हां जागृतीव्यापार सरे । सुषुप्ति अथवा स्वप्न भरे । अकस्मात आअंगीं ॥ ६ ॥

When sleep comes over a person, all the activity of the waking state ceases, and suddenly either deep dreamless sleep or the dream state takes hold of the being.

या नांव निद्राप्रळये । जागृतीचा होये क्षये । आतां ऐका देहांतसमये । म्हणिजे मृत्युप्रळये ॥ ७ ॥

This is called the dissolution of sleep, since in it the waking state comes to an end. Now hear about the time of the body's end, that is, the dissolution called death.

देहीं रोग बळावती । अथवा कठीण प्रसंग पडती । तेणें पंचप्राण जाती । व्यापार सांडुनी ॥ ८ ॥

Illnesses grow severe within the body, or some grave crisis strikes, and because of this the five vital breaths abandon their functioning and depart.

तिकडे गेला मनपवनु । इकडे राहीली नुस्ती तनु । दुसरा प्रळयो अनुमानु । असेचिना ॥ ९ ॥

The mind and vital breath depart from that place, and only the bare lifeless body remains here. There is no room left for further speculation - this itself is the second dissolution.

तिसरा ब्रह्मा निजेला । तों हा मृत्यलोक गोळा जाला । अवघा व्यापार खुंटला । प्राणीमात्रांचा ॥ १० ॥

The third dissolution is this: when Brahmadeva falls asleep, this entire mortal world contracts and merges into dissolution, and the activity of all living beings comes to a complete halt.

तेव्हां प्राणीयांचे सुक्ष्मांश । वायोचक्रीं करिती वास । कित्येक काल जातां ब्रह्मयास । जागृती घडे ॥ ११ ॥

At that time the subtle essences of all beings dwell within the cycle of air. After some period passes, Brahmadeva awakens once more.

पुन्हा मागुती सृष्टि रची । विसंचिले जीव मागुतें संची । सीमा होतां आयुष्याची । ब्रह्मप्रळय मांडे ॥ १२ ॥

On waking he once again fashions creation, and gathers together the beings that had been dispersed. Then, when the span of his own life comes to its end, the great Brahma-dissolution takes place.

शत वरुषें मेघ जाती । तेणें प्राणी मृत्यु पावती । असंभाव्य तर्के क्षिती । मर्यादेवेगळी ॥ १३ ॥

For a hundred years the clouds are said to pour down without cease, and through this beings meet their death. By such seemingly impossible events, the earth departs from all its ordinary bounds.

सूर्य तपे बाराकळी । तेणें पृथ्वीची होय होळी । अग्नी पावतां पाताळीं । शेष विष वमी ॥ १४ ॥

The sun blazes forth with all its twelve intensified rays, and by this the earth is set ablaze. The fire reaches even down to the netherworld, and Shesha, the great serpent, vomits forth his venom.

आकाशीं सूर्याच्या ज्वाळा । पाताळीं शेष विष वमी गरळा । दोहिकडून जळतां भूगोळा । उरी कैंची ॥ १५ ॥

In the sky the sun's flames blaze fiercely, and in the netherworld Shesha spews forth his poisonous venom. When the earth is thus consumed by fire from both sides at once, how could anything of it possibly remain?

सूर्यास खडतरता चढे । हलकालोळ चहुंकडे । कोंसळती मेरूचे कडे । घडघडायमान ॥ १६ ॥

The sun grows fiercer and fiercer still, a tremendous uproar breaks out on every side, and the very cliffs of Mount Meru come crashing down with a thunderous roar.

अमरावती सत्यलोक । वैकुंठ कैळासादिक । याहिवेगळे नाना लोक । भस्मोन जाती ॥ १७ ॥

Indra's Amaravati, Satyaloka, Vaikuntha, Kailasa, and countless other worlds besides these - all of them are reduced to ashes.

मेरु अवघाचि घसरे । तेथील महीमाच वोसरे । देवसमुदाव वावरे । वायोचक्रीं ॥ १८ ॥

Mount Meru collapses entirely, and all its former grandeur vanishes away. Then the whole assembly of gods is left merely wandering within the cycle of air.

भस्म जालिया धरत्री । प्रजन्य पडें शुंडाधारीं । मही विरे जळांतरीं । निमिष्यमात्रें ॥ १९ ॥

Once the earth has thus been reduced to ashes, rain pours down in torrents thick as elephant-trunks, and in the very blink of an eye the earth dissolves away into that water.

पुढें नुस्ते उरेल जळ । तयास शोषील अनळ । पुढें एकवटती ज्वाळ । मर्यादेवेगळे ॥ २० ॥

Then only water is left remaining, and even that is dried up by fire. Then all the flames merge together into one, transgressing every bound and limit.

समुद्रींचा वडवानळ । शिवनेत्रींचा नेत्रानळ । सप्तकंचुकींचा आवर्णानळ । सूर्य आणी विद्युल्यता ॥ २१ ॥

The submarine fire of the ocean, the fire from Shiva's third eye, the enveloping fire within the seven sheaths, along with the sun and lightning - all these fires converge together.

ऐसे ज्वाळ एकवटती । तेणें देव देह सोडिती । पूर्वरूपें मिळोन जाती । प्रभंजनीं ॥ २२ ॥

In this way all the flames merge together into one, and because of it even the gods give up their bodily forms. They all merge back into their original form, that is, into the great wind.

तो वारा झडपी वैश्वानरा । वन्ही विझेल येकसरा । वायो धावें सैरावैरा । परब्रह्मीं ॥ २३ ॥

That wind then overtakes even the cosmic fire itself, and in an instant the fire is extinguished altogether. Then that very wind rushes headlong, dissolving itself into the Supreme Brahman.

धूम्र वितुळे आकाशीं । तैसे होईल समीरासी । वहुतां मधें थोडियासी । नाश बोलिला ॥ २४ ॥

Just as smoke dissolves away into the sky, so too will happen to that wind. Among all the many things that were, this last small remnant too is said to meet its final dissolution.

वायो वितुळतांच जाण । सूक्ष्म भूतें आणी त्रिगुण । ईश्वर सांडी अधिष्ठान । निर्विकल्पीं ॥ २५ ॥

Know that as soon as the wind dissolves, the subtle elements and the three qualities also merge into dissolution. And then Ishwara too relinquishes his seat and dissolves into the state beyond all distinction.

तेथें जाणिव राहिली । आणी जगज्जोती निमाली । शुद्ध सारांश उरली । स्वरूपस्थिती ॥ २६ ॥

There, even awareness itself ceases to remain, and the light of consciousness pervading the world also vanishes. Only the pure, essential state of one's own true nature remains.

जितुकीं काहीं नामाभिधानें । तये प्रकृतीचेनि गुणें । प्रकृती नस्तां बोलणें । कैसें बोलावें ॥ २७ ॥

All the names and forms that exist, exist only by virtue of the qualities of prakriti. When prakriti itself no longer exists, then what is there left to say, and how could one even speak of it?

प्रकृती अस्तां विवेक कीजे । त्यास विवेकप्रळये बोलिजे । पांचहि प्रळय वोजें । तुज निरोपिलें ॥ २८ ॥

While prakriti still exists, the discernment by which one turns away from it toward one's true nature is itself called the dissolution of discernment. Thus all five kinds of dissolution have been explained to you in proper order.