Texts 22-27
anne pralīyate martyam
annaṁ dhānāsu līyate
dhānā bhūmau pralīyante
bhūmir gandhe pralīyate
apsu pralīyate gandha
āpaś ca sva-guṇe rase
līyate jyotiṣi raso
jyotī rūpe pralīyate
rūpaṁ vāyau sa ca sparśe
līyate so ’pi cāmbare
ambaraṁ śabda-tan-mātra
indriyāṇi sva-yoniṣu
yonir vaikārike saumya
līyate manasīśvare
śabdo bhūtādim apyeti
bhūtādir mahati prabhuḥ
sa līyate mahān sveṣu
guṇesu guṇa-vattamaḥ
te ’vyakte sampralīyante
tat kāle līyate ’vyaye
kālo māyā-maye jīve
jīva ātmani mayy aje
ātmā kevala ātma-stho
vikalpāpāya-lakṣaṇaḥ
anne — in food; pralīyate — becomes merged; martyam — the mortal body; annam — food; dhānāsu — within the grains; līyate — becomes merged; dhānāḥ — the grains; bhūmau — in the earth; pralīyante — become merged; bhūmiḥ — the earth; gandhe — within fragrance; pralīyate — becomes merged; apsu — in water; pralīyate — becomes merged; gandhaḥ — fragrance; āpaḥ — water; ca — and; sva-guṇe — within its own quality; rase — taste; līyate — becomes merged; jyotiṣi — within fire; rasaḥ — taste; jyotiḥ — fire; rūpe — within form; pralīyate — becomes merged; rūpam — form; vāyau — in air; saḥ — it; ca — and; sparśe — in touch; līyate — becomes merged; saḥ — it; api — also; ca — and; ambare — in ether; ambaram — ether; śabda — in sound; tat-mātre — its corresponding subtle sensation; indriyāṇi — the senses; sva-yoniṣu — in their sources, the demigods; yoniḥ — the demigods; vaikārike — in false ego in the mode of goodness; saumya — My dear Uddhava; līyate — become merged; manasi — in the mind; īśvare — which is the controller; śabdaḥ — sound; bhūta-ādim — in the original false ego; apyeti — becomes merged; bhūta-ādiḥ — false ego; mahati — in the total material nature; prabhuḥ — powerful; saḥ — that; līyate — becomes merged; mahān — the total material nature; sveṣu — in its own; guṇeṣu — three modes; guṇa-vat-tamaḥ — being the ultimate abode of these modes; te — they; avyakte — in the unmanifest form of nature; sampralīyante — become completely merged; tat — that; kāle — in time; līyate — become merged; avyaye — in the infallible; kālaḥ — time; māyā-maye — who is full of transcendental knowledge; jīve — in the Supreme Lord, who activates all living beings; jīvaḥ — that Lord; ātmani — in the Supreme Self; mayi — in Me; aje — the unborn; ātmā — the original Self; kevalaḥ — alone; ātma-sthaḥ — self-situated; vikalpa — by creation; apāya — and annihilation; lakṣaṇaḥ — characterized.
At the time of annihilation, the mortal body of the living being becomes merged into food. Food merges into the grains, and the grains merge back into the earth. The earth merges into its subtle sensation, fragrance. Fragrance merges into water, and water further merges into its own quality, taste. That taste merges into fire, which merges into form. Form merges into touch, and touch merges into ether. Ether finally merges into the sensation of sound. The senses all merge into their own origins, the presiding demigods, and they, O gentle Uddhava, merge into the controlling mind, which itself merges into false ego in the mode of goodness. Sound becomes one with false ego in the mode of ignorance, and all-powerful false ego, the first of all the physical elements, merges into the total nature. The total material nature, the primary repository of the three basic modes, dissolves into the modes. These modes of nature then merge into the unmanifest form of nature, and that unmanifest form merges into time. Time merges into the Supreme Lord, present in the form of the omniscient Mahā-puruṣa, the original activator of all living beings. That origin of all life merges into Me, the unborn Supreme Soul, who remains alone, established within Himself. It is from Him that all creation and annihilation are manifested.
The annihilation of the material world is the reversal of the process of creation, and ultimately everything is merged to rest within the Supreme Lord, who remains full in His absolute position.