Devanagari
नष्टे लोके द्विपरार्धावसाने
महाभूतेष्वादिभूतं गतेषु ।
व्यक्तेऽव्यक्तं कालवेगेन याते
भवानेक: शिष्यतेऽशेषसंज्ञ: ॥ २५ ॥
Verse text
naṣṭe loke dvi-parārdhāvasāne
mahā-bhūteṣv ādi-bhūtaṁ gateṣu
vyakte ’vyaktaṁ kāla-vegena yāte
bhavān ekaḥ śiṣyate ’śeṣa-saṁjṣaḥ
Synonyms
naṣṭe
—
after the annihilation
;
loke
—
of the cosmic manifestation
;
dvi
—
parārdha — avasāne — after millions and millions of years (the life of Brahmā)
;
mahā
—
bhūteṣu — when the five primary elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether)
;
ādi
—
bhūtam gateṣu — enter within the subtle elements of sense perception
;
vyakte
—
when everything manifested
;
avyaktam
—
into the unmanifested
;
kāla
—
vegena — by the force of time
;
yāte
—
enters
;
bhavān
—
Your Lordship
;
ekaḥ
—
only one
;
śiṣyate
—
remains
;
aśeṣa
—
saṁjṣaḥ — the same one with different names .
Translation
After millions of years, at the time of cosmic annihilation, when everything, manifested and unmanifested, is annihilated by the force of time, the five gross elements enter into the subtle conception, and the manifested categories enter into the unmanifested substance. At that time, You alone remain, and You are known as Ananta Śeṣa-nāga.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
After millions of years, at the time of cosmic annihilation, when everything, manifested and unmanifested, is annihilated by the force of time, the five gross elements enter into the subtle conception, and the manifested categories enter into the unmanifested substance. At that time, You alone remain, and You are known as Ananta Śeṣa-nāga.
KB 10.3.25
“After many millions of years, when Lord Brahmā comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether—enter into the mahat-tattva. The mahat-tattva then enters, by the force of time, into the nonmanifested total material energy, the total material energy enters into the energetic pradhāna, and the pradhāna enters into You. Therefore, after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, You alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, qualities and paraphernalia.
Purport
At the time of annihilation, the five gross elements — earth, water, fire, air and ether — enter into the mind, intelligence and false ego (
ahaṅkāra
), and the entire cosmic manifestation enters into the spiritual energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who alone remains as the origin of everything. The Lord is therefore known as Śeṣa-nāga, as Ādi-puruṣa and by many other names.
Devakī therefore prayed, “After many millions of years, when Lord Brahmā comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements — namely earth, water, fire, air and ether — enter into the
mahat-tattva.
The
mahat-tattva
again enters, by the force of time, into the nonmanifested total material energy, the total material energy enters into the energetic
pradhāna,
and the
pradhāna
enters into You. Therefore after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, You alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, quality and paraphernalia.
“My Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because You are the director of the unmanifested total energy, and the ultimate reservoir of the material nature. My Lord, the whole cosmic manifestation is under the influence of time, beginning from the moment up to the duration of the year. All act under Your direction. You are the original director of everything and the reservoir of all potent energies.”
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
For one who is not destroyed during mahapralaya, what is the question of fear? The five elements(mahabhutam) merge into adibhutam or ahankara. Ahankara merges into vyaktam or mahat tattva. The mahat tattva merges into avyakta or prakrti. Then only you remain. Those things mentioned in the previous verse, the forms of Narayan and others, brahma jyoti and the dhama (sattamatram) also remain. The Lord’s associates, place and cloth are all eternal. You are called sesa because you remain (avasesa). This is a way of deriving the name Sesa.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Time is the cause of destruction. You alone remain. Since Vaikuṇṭha is non-different from the Lord it and other spiritual objects are included in the statement. Or you alone remain with those forms designated as unlimited that also remain in Vaikuṇṭha after pralaya. Or the word aśeṣa can also be taken as śeṣa (remain). Thus they inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha also remain after destruction. Or śeṣa can refer to all the objects of Vaikuṇṭha that remain after destruction. You alone, along with the objects of Vaikuṇṭha understood (saṁjñaḥ) to be non-different from you, remain. You alone exist. This does not include the jīvas of the material world.
tattvānāṁ bhagavaṁs teṣāṁ katidhā pratisaṅkramaḥ
tatremaṁ ka upāsīran ka u svid anuśerate
How many types of destruction are there for the various elements? Who remains serving the Lord during destruction, and who goes to sleep? SB 3.7.37
However the devotees are in a special position:
martyo mṛtyu-vyāla-bhītaḥ palāyan
lokān sarvān nirbhayaṁ nādhyagacchat
tvat pādābjaṁ prāpya yadṛcchayādya
susthaḥ śete mṛtyur asmād apaiti
No one in this material world has become free from the four principles birth, death, old age and disease, even by fleeing to various planets. But now that you have appeared, my Lord, death is fleeing in fear of you, and the living entities, having obtained shelter at your lotus feet by your mercy, are sleeping in full mental peace. SB 10.3.27
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
Even at the time of universal destruction you remain playing with your associates. By the force of time everything is destroyed. At that time the associate Śeṣa remains. This stands for Garuḍa and others as well. They remain or they stand (śiśyate) even at destruction. Or that which is known as śeṣa, because it remains—everything in Vaikuṇṭha—is left. Yatheṣṭa-viniyogārhaṁ śeṣa-śabdena kathyate: all that which is utilized for the Lord’s pleasure is called śeṣa. Those things which are eternally with the Lord are called śeṣa.