Pralaya

Pralaya (devanāgarī: प्रलय) is a Sanskrit word that means "dissolution" or "melting away" (from laya: "to dissolve" and pra "away"). In Hinduism it refers to a period where the universe is in a state of non-existence, which happens when the three gunas or qualities of matter are in perfect balance. The idea of pralaya is part of a cyclic model of the universe (present in several Eastern philosophies as well as in Theosophy) where the cosmos is said to appear and disappear regularly within the Absolute Reality:

As the sun arises every morning on our objective horizon out of its (to us) subjective and antipodal space, so does the Universe emerge periodically on the plane of objectivity, issuing from that of subjectivity—the antipodes of the former. This is the "Cycle of Life." And as the sun disappears from our horizon, so does the Universe disappear at regular periods, when the "Universal night" sets in. The Hindoos call such alternations the "Days and Nights of Brahma," or the time of Manvantara and that of Pralaya (dissolution). The Westerns may call them Universal Days and Nights if they prefer.

In Hinduism

Pralaya is of four kinds: a) Naimittaka or occasional, b) Prakrittika or elemental, c) Atyantika or absolute, and d) Nitya or perpetual.

The Vishnu Purana describes three kinds of pralaya:

a) Naimittika is described as the intervals of Brahma's days, when the sovereign of the world rests in sleep. This involves the destruction of creatures, though not of the substance of the world, occurring during his night.

b) Prakrittika or elemental is when the Mundane egg resolves into the primary element from whence it was derived. It occurs at the end of Brahma's life.

c) Atyantika is individual annihilation or Moksha. Moksha is the exclusion forever from future existence. It is described as the absolute non-existence of the world, is the absorption of the sage through knowledge, into the supreme spirit.

The Bhagavad Gita describes a fourth kind of pralaya:

d) Nitya or the constant dissolution of all that is born. This is the imperceptible change that all things suffer, in the various stages of growth and decay, life and death. The various conditions of beings subject to change are occasioned by that constant dissolution of life, which is rapidly produced by the resistless stream of time, taking everything perpetually away.

In Theosophy

The Theosophical view of pralaya is similar in many aspects to that of Hinduism, although there are some other pralayas not mentioned in the Hindu literature. Mme. Blavatsky explains:

There are many kinds of Pralaya, but three chief ones are specially mentioned in old Hindu books. The first is called NAIMITTIKA "occasional" or "incidental", caused by the intervals of "Brahmâ’s Days"; it is the destruction of creatures, of all that lives and has a form, but not of the substance which remains in statu quo till the new DAWN in that "Night". The other is called PRAKRITIKA, and occurs at the end of the Age or Life of Brahma, when everything that exists is resolved into the primal element, to be remodelled at the end of that longer night. But the third, ATYANTIKA, does not concern the Worlds or the Universe, but only the individualities of some people; it is thus individual pralaya or NIRVANA; after having reached which, there is no more future existence possible, no rebirth till after the Maha Pralaya.

In Theosophy the different pralayas are connected with the teachings about cyclic evolution through rounds and chains:

Occultism divides the periods of Rest (Pralaya) into several kinds; there is the individual pralaya of each Globe, as humanity and life pass on to the next; seven minor Pralayas in each Round; the planetary Pralaya, when seven Rounds are completed; the Solar Pralaya, when the whole system is at an end; and finally the Universal Maha—or Brahmâ—Pralaya at the close of the "Age of Brahmâ." These are the three chief pralayas or “destruction periods.” There are many other minor ones, but with these we are not concerned at present.

Duration

When talking about chronology of evolutionary cycles, H. P. Blavatsky frequently used the Hindu one, claiming that it is the closest to the occult chronology. Thus, she explained that the Naimittika pralaya or Night of Brahmâ lasts approximately 4,320,000,000 years, while the Maha-pralaya at the end of an Age of Brahmâ lasts for about 311,040,000,000,000 years.

Further reading

• Pralaya at Theosopedia

• "The Days and Nights of Brahma" Secret Doctrine vol. I, Section VII by H. P. Blavatsky