The wise have described how, after dissolution, the three worlds are re-created. This process of re-creation arises from the very nature of things, and those who contemplate the mysteries of time speak of it with reverence. The cycle of dissolution and re-creation is known as 'pralaya' by the twice-born, those who reflect deeply upon time’s passage. Now, let me briefly tell you about the occasional dissolution. The Lord of creatures, Prajapati, undertakes the creation of beings, establishing them within his own self. Yet, when the fierce force of destruction arises, it brings about the end of all creatures. First, all beings dissolve and return to the state of earth. At this time, the sun’s rays become unbearable, drinking up all the water with their intense beams. Through this consumption, the suns become seven in number, each more radiant than before. These blazing suns burn across all four worlds, radiating the heat of the fire that marks the end of the age. They cover the sky and remain, scorching the earth below. With their relentless rays, the earth loses all moisture—mountains, rivers, oceans, and islands dry up completely. Above, below, and across, everything is enveloped by these scorching beams. When the seven suns unite, they become a single, immense flame. The entire fourfold world is consumed by its own inner radiance. The earth, stripped of trees and grass, appears bare, like the back of a tortoise. All of it is filled and blazes anew with those flames. Then, everything dissolves once more, returning to the state of earth. Reduced to ashes, only the sevenfold Fire—the Lord himself—remains. This blazing fire, resting upon the earth, drinks up the remaining waters. Manifesting the energy of Rudra, with radiant brilliance, it burns the worlds. Having consumed the earth below, it turns to burn the heavens above. The flames of this fire of dissolution rise up, and, urged on by Kāla-Rudra, the blazing one continues to burn. The fire of time, Kāla, the universal form himself, burns everything, leaving nothing untouched. All that remains appears as a single mass, like a lump of iron. Then, dreadful clouds of dissolution arise in the sky. Some are smoky in color, some yellow; some resemble conch shells or jasmine, others are dark as pure collyrium. Some clouds appear in the sky like Indra’s bow, and they take on many terrible forms, resounding with dreadful voices. These clouds, enveloped sevenfold, extinguish the darkness-fire. They destroy the fierce, inauspicious, all-consuming fire, for at this time, water overcomes fire, and the fire enters into the waters. With great streams, these clouds flood the worlds, pouring torrents of water like the shore of the great ocean. The waters fall again upon the earth, filling the oceans anew. The mountains dissolve, and the earth itself sinks into the waters. At this moment, the Lord, Prajapati, assuming yogic sleep, lies down, resting within the vastness of dissolution.